Born from my original musings at Confessions of a Modern Witch, this revitalized platform will blend familiar voices with new formats. Hosted in a lively YouTube-style podcast, this venture aims to weave together a rich blend of discussions surrounding current events, holistic wellness, energy healing, deep-rooted paganism, and the essence of whole food plant-based living. I'll move from recorded sessions on to live events as the show progresses.
What to Expect?
Current Events: Dive into the latest happenings with a magical twist, where we explore the underlying energies and spiritual perspectives that shape our world.
Health & Wellness: Join me as we journey through the realms of holistic health, discussing everything from natural remedies to mental clarity and physical vitality.
Energy Healing: Discover transformative techniques to balance and energize your life force. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or just starting, there's something to spark your spiritual journey.
Paganism: Reconnect with ancient traditions and modern practices that celebrate the magic of the natural world and its cycles.
Plant-Based Living: Embrace a lifestyle that nourishes not only the body but also the spirit. Explore delicious, soul-sustaining recipes and tips on thriving with a plant-based diet.
Special Celebrations!
To mark this exciting relaunch, I'm also thrilled to share a single card pull from my beloved River Witch Oracle deck. This card, revealed in today's episode, carries a message that resonates deeply with the essence of our new journey. Tune in to discover the wisdom it holds for us!
In celebration of this new chapter, I'm offering a special 30% off sale across all my products at By Her Fires. This includes all my handcrafted wire jewelry, personal readings, classes, eBooks, and my original oracle decks like The Crossroads Oracle and the River Witch Oracle. It's my way of saying thank you for your support and to help you bring a little more magic into your everyday life.
Thank you for walking this path with me. I am excited to embark on this new phase of our journey together, exploring the mysteries of life and the magic within us all. Remember, every day holds a little bit of magic; let's discover it together on Confessions of a Modern Witch.
Generally I like to start out with a disclaimer. I am identify as a magical Buddhist. I look for the connection between magic and science without the need to search for a creator. I believe in spiritually and holistic wellness. I find that we can heal the world if we just sit down and and listen to the breath. I believe that magic, science and nutritional well being are the cornerstone to a well rounded holistic life. I have recently updated my site from Confessions of a Modern Witch to my new page To Live Whole. I welcome you to come along for my journey of health, wellness and self exploration. I receive no compensation for these reviews and all my links are standard Amazon links and not affiliate links. I am a practicing photo reader and have spent the last 16 years honing my craft. I offer personal readings by request and have a strong online history that boasts over 438,000 views.
As you know I'll be switching over to reviewing only e-copies of books shortly. I will miss handling the books but the amount of trash that I had piling up for all the shipping was just overwhelming. I will be doing a giveaway for the remaining physical books that actually arrive as well as asking my publishers to provide giveaway copies shipped directly to my winner's homes going forward for all giveaways.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
My review copy was a soft cover slightly larger than average sized book. Its a soft cover book in a journal format that requires the reader to crease the seam in order to jot down all the daily food logging that this book recommends. I should also add, that I am not a vegan. I do have a very vegan like diet. I believe that being vegan has a bit of a history around it and leads people to believe certain things about people who wear that badge. I live a mindful, compassionate life. I follow the eight fold path and practice meditation. I diet is best described as Whole Food Plant Based No Oil. Being plant based, that means that it is a type of a vegan diet, however vegan diets include things like canola oil while excluding honey. My way of eating would be opposite of that. I see tons of health benefits for honey, while oil on the other hand is quite harmful to the body. That being said, many of the suggested recipes in this book would be strictly off limits for my household, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about the first part of the book before going into the recipes.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
This book starts out with the author giving us an overview of the Vegan diet as a whole. She covers vitamins and minerals and includes a section on that all important question we are all asked, "Where do you get your protein??" I like the inclusion of a vegan pantry. While, I wouldn't recommend going out and purchasing all this at one time, it is a great place to find a list of all the typical things one would find in a vegan pantry. Keeping in mind that a large majority of people I am meeting in my groups are also gluten intolerant, I would skip the breads altogether in our house. And of course, no oil at all. We don't use any type of processed oils, spreads, mixes, butters or anything of that nature. I think that some of these items are great to help wean you off of the bad stuff but overall they contain just as much harmful ingredients and should really just be skipped completely. I found the vegan substitution chart to be useful in some cases and in others a tad redundant. The yogurt substitution is vegan yogurt. I think that's pretty self explanatory and seemed like just a space filler.
There are a lot of charts in this book. One on fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, meat replacements and of course vegetables. There's even a few blank pages for you to fill in with the nutritional information around your own favorite foods.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
The planner section is next. It is broken down into weekly sections over twelve weeks. Each week has a recommendation for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack, with a review page to jot down what you ate, including the nutritional break down, a section for thoughts and a plate diagram to show your fruits, grains, protein, veg and even a little place to tick off your water consumption.
The very first day recommends whole grain toast with peanut butter and sugar free jam with a banana for breakfast. A veggie burger on whole grain bread with cake and baked beans for lunch and vegetable marinara with whole grain pasta for dinner with a kale and tomato salad. Not a horrible day but for me, I would have to do a lot of removing. The pasta and bread are both highly processed and have gluten so both of those would be out for me. I don't eat nut butters or jam, so both of those are out and of course that veggie burger is processed as well. Instead of this I would have something like an oat bowl for breakfast with oat milk, blueberries, raisins and strawberries. For lunch I might have a veggie stir fry *no oil* over brown rice or maybe some vegan Tom Kha soup with Soy Curls.
The book does include a recipe for every day of the week in the book. I found that the Vanilla Date Breakfast Smoothie looked really good. I use frozen bananas and dried dates for an assortment of recipes. Once you are able to cleanse, your taste buds will go back to their normal unprocessed setting and you'll find that things taste quite different that you are used to. For example, oats are naturally very sweet. Oat milk is amazing without any sweetener at all and I pour it over my oat bowl every morning. Raisins are another great sweet treat. Once off the processed sugar you'll find that so many foods are just great tasting on their own. Over the years (even documented in this blog) you'll find me posting about how much I hate onions, mushrooms and peppers. I now eat them everyday. It is quite amazing how quickly you can switch over to a healthy lifestyle if given the chance.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
Overall I think this is a great book for becoming vegan. The daily entry allows you to take responsibility for your eating habits and the charts and tables provide a great deal of information. I think that going vegan is a great step in the right direction to getting back to where I believe we were naturally intended to eat.
If you think you might be interested in learning more about the whole food plant based no oil lifestyle, be sure to check out my Facebook page - Real Rations and my Facebook group Real Rations Recipes. Here my hubby and I share information on health, holistic wellness and nutrition as well as great recipes that will get you on the way. I have lost 137 pounds changing to this lifestyle and Elijah has lost 120. We welcome you to come over and check it out!
At some point in everyone's life there comes a moment when you look back at a relationship, a job, an event where your friends around you offered suggestions, encouragement or support. After that moment has passed retrospection usually follows. As an analytical person, I spend a great deal of time looking back over tasks, jobs, positions and the like trying to determine the best course of action. Did I follow the rules? Did I meet my goal? Was the outcome, the best outcome?
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
One of my recent blog posts was a book review about a great book that helped me really sit back and look at what brought me bliss. This retrospection is all about understanding what brings you happiness and contentment. Today I have a great job, a wonderful family and am working on getting my health to the best it can be for a 50 year old. I may not ever be a kick-boxer, but I know that I will be able to take care of myself in my golden years, instead of relying on someone else to bathe me.
Over the last few years I have read everything I can get my hands on related to health and wellness. I have poured my soul into understanding the best course of action to fully take charge of my health, my well being and my surroundings. I took a year to live in an RV in the desert just to come to terms with what is really important for me.
What I needed to do was read that my weight, while maybe normal for someone on a SAD eating plan, it wasn't normal for my body. In those articles I learned that all the oil I was putting in my body, all the sugar was killing me. And I needed to change that.
I commented this morning on a article about kicking wellness to the curb on a page called "Fat Fe..... Wi...." Name blurred to protect the innocent. I was met with the reply of, your comment is off topic and will be deleted shortly. I removed my comment and un-liked the page. You see, sometimes people, especially fat people who are unhealthy (and I can speak to this because I was one), don't like to be told they are accountable for their own actions. This article was speaking to how people fall into stereotypes and go into one fad diet after another to try to "fix" what isn't broken. Because you know, if you just love fat people (who are unhealthy) they'll be fine. To that I say bullshit.
Fat (who are unhealthy) people don't need to be told their beautiful. We need to be told we're in danger. And I say that with a loud fucking yell because I heard from all my friends how beautiful I was at 300 pounds. I heard them tell me what I was loved and I was find just the way I was. But you know what? I wasn't fine. I was close to death. I couldn't breathe when I walked up a slight incline. I couldn't sleep well because the fat around my throat was choking me while I slept. What I need was someone to come to me and say:
Photo Credit Elijah Olson Pic 1 July 2016 - Pic 2 July 2019 128 lbs lost
Hey, Renee, you should really get rid of all the processed food in your cabinets.
Hey Renee, you should toss out that milk because, you know you're not a fucking baby cow and you shouldn't drink it.
Hey Renee, you can't breathe because the fat around your neck is getting so think that its choking you to death while you sleep.
Hey Renee, your knee and hip arthritis is so bad because your knees weren't intended to carry around three hundred fucking pounds.
Hey Renee, stop eating pizza or you're going to die, way early and way painfully.
I completely understand being a support system for those who are unhealthy. You see my weight, my size was directly related to my health. Today I'm a much healthier person and a side effect of my new eating habits are having lost 128 lbs. My blood work is amazing now. I no longer have issues with sleep, my knees, my hip or my fibro. I have completely reversed my type 2 diabetes and have seem to have no continued issues with my congestive heart failure.
Photo Credit - Screen Cap UNC Health
Photo Credit - Screen Cap UNC Health
Just so I'm clear, I'm not saying we need to be ugly to people who are overweight. I'm not saying you need to call names or shun anyone. What I am saying is look out for your tribe. If you see someone struggling, lend a hand. A real hand. Don't tell someone a dress looks great on them when it doesn't. A real friend will tell you that you have a booger showing. A real friend will tell you that you need to address certain things. Be someone who helps straighten a crown when NO ONE is watching.
I'm also not saying that everyone over a certain size is unhealthy. We are all different. We all have different body make ups and there is no perfect size. Your body will tell you what is right for you when you give it the nutrients it needs. I figured this out the hard way.
I am putting this offer out there. Anyone at all who is interested in learning about WFPB lifestyle and healing your body holistically feel free to reach out to me via this blog or on my support page at Real Rations. I share science based resources to learning to live and heal your body using food. I share recipes in my group Real Rations Recipes as well as welcome stories and before and afters here. Everything I share there is free. My goal is to help those out there who were like me. Those who were morbidly obese and utterly hopeless. Those who felt as though they wanted to die.
I'm not trying to change your mind on plant based eating. That's not my business and frankly, I don't have the energy for that fight. I'm here for those who want to change. Who want to try something new. Those who need to try something new. For those, this message is for you. I see you. I hear you. You are important. You are worth it. <3
For the majority of my life I have had a connection with the energy of both humans and animals alike. I have been able to "feel" the pain of those around me and even been able to sense what is going to happen before it happens. As a child as I would eat meat I would feel pain in my body and soul. I couldn't touch raw meat and had to wear gloves to work with it in the kitchen. When I would cut a piece of meat my brain would flash images of me cutting my own hands and fingers while the blade sliced through the meat.
I always thought there was something wrong with me. As I matured in witchcraft I watched those around me who practiced. I watched their magic and their lives. I took note of what their skin looked like, what their hands looked like and what their aura looked like. I slowly began to think that perhaps there was much more happening here that meets the eye.
For the majority of my life I have been obese. Recently I changed over to a Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle (WFPB). You can read about my journey here. As I switched over to a plant based diet I found that my senses were changing. I am now able to focus on things I could not before.
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
I completed my Holistic Wellness Coach Certification and completed an International Yogi Certification. I'm currently working on a Mediation Coach Certification. All things that were always just outside my ability to focus on in order to complete. I am amazed at the way the fog has lifted off my brain and now I no longer require a stack of sticky notes to remind me of things. I no longer write down every single thing in order to remember it. My mind is now here in the present with my body and working to achieve my goals as I lay them out as opposed to the broken, struggled life I was experiencing before.
I quickly began researching what empathetic people tend to eat and I found some pretty interesting information around it. I'm sure there are just as many on the other side, so please understand I am not knocking the abilities of those who do not follow a WFPB lifestyle. I am simply showing what I and others like me have found by switching. I'll be adding a few links at the end for you to review.
As my body began to change, my mind began to clear. The further away I was from the clutter of TV news and media the better I felt. The more I removed animal products from my diet the happier I felt. I know longer had the hurt of the cows crying for their calves or the images of the slaughterhouses in my mind. They drifted away like a bad dream. My mind raced back to a class I took years ago that referenced the fact that all things are related. The table came from the earth, because it came from a tree, just as I came from the earth. All things are related.
I made a mad dash to my science literature to find out what early man ate. If we think about this logically, do we really believe that early man ate a pound of bacon every morning? Anyone who has ever hunted understands that if they get one large deer they make that one animal last for their family for the season. They never loaded their plates with more than they could use. They all joined together and ate as one. Looking at life today we can see how much we have changed. We can see just how far we have removed ourselves from the natural world.
I think the word Vegan has become a dirty word. I think that people associate PETA (who I detest) with veganism. They also don't understand how much the meat and dairy industry pay in lobby money to our government to endorse their products. We forget that if we look at our bodies and the bodies of those animals that we eat today, we can see harm we're doing. I'm not huge on showing images of baby cows being pulled from their mothers or the screams these mother cows make in the days and weeks that follow calling out for their missing young. I can't share those. All I can do is use my words to try to show the emotion that is involved in that milk.
If I walk across a cemetery, I can feel the energy there. If I walk into a room, or shake someone's hand, I can feel the energy they present. Why is it that big of a leap to feel the energy of the suffering of that mother in each glass of cow's milk? People think, Oh, milk and butter, they don't hurt anyone. You just milk the cow, the cow lives. Yeah, that cow lives. But the baby she had to feed that milk to is taken away from her immediately. Males are tossed into small boxes to become veal and females are put back into the factory to continue to produce milk. If a person wants milk we should be drinking human milk. Cow's milk is made to nourish baby cows. They need more fat and calories because they're bigger. There is really no reason for a weaned person to consume milk. We are convinced that we need this through all the money coming in from the dairy industry.
As part of my Yogi certification, part of my assignments were to study the differing types of Yoga. The first yama of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra is Ahimsa. The word ahimsa literally means not to injure or show cruelty to any creature or any person in any way whatsoever. Ahimsa is, however, more than just lack of violence as adapted in yoga. Ahimsa can be practiced as vegetarianism or veganism. In my case, while not feeling completely comfortable with the the baggage that appears to follow the word Vegan, I opt for the WFPB label instead. To me, this cross connection with my Yogi certification, the Holistic Wellness Coach Certification led me directly to this place I am today.
I know that not everyone is going to agree here. I mean we have been convinced by the powers that be, that Milk, Does a Body Good, after all. We have be asked, Where are you getting your protein? There are burger joints on every corner, certainly our government wouldn't allow money to influence their opinions on what is and is not healthy.
All I can say is I sit here before you, weighing less than I have ever weighed while eating normally. I have removed all medications from my diet. I have little to no manias associated with my BiPolar 2 diagnosis. I can walk and breathe at the same time. I can feel my energy increasing both physically and spiritually. For me, this works. Elijah has stopped all his medications as well, he's lost 100 pounds just as I have. We're spending more time on yoga and mediation. We're cooking our meals together and not rushing around trying to check things off a list. So while naysayers may contend that "we must eat meat" "we are meat eaters" I say, just try it. Take a month and remove the meat and see what happens? I mean if you're right, nothing will happen.
I think something will happen though. I think you will find that you are indeed what you eat. And if you eat fear, you are fear. If you eat terror or sorrow, you will be those. I encourage you to go through the list of info below. Look up the Doctors I follow and judge for yourself.
While I continue this journey just like anything else I do, I'll continue to research and share my progress. I know for me this is the right way to move forward. In harmony with the natural world and the spiritual world. I know that my choice to remove these products from my life have had a huge impact on my abilities.
Resources:
Doctors:
Joel Fuhrman M.D
John A. McDougall M.D.
Neal D. Barnard M.D.
Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. M.D.
Michael Greger M.D
Michael Klaper M.D.
Dean Ornish M.D.
Joel Kahn M.D.
Anthony Lim M.D., J.D.
Colin Campbell
The China Study Doug Lisle
The Pleasure Trap Neal Barnard MD
Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes
Breaking the Food Seduction
21 Day Weight-loss Kick start John McDougall MD
The Starch Solution
Dr. McDougall’s Digestive Tune-Up
The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook
Dr. McDougall’s Total Health Solution for the 21st Century
The McDougall Program: Twelve Days to Dynamic Health
The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
The New McDougall Cookbook
Rip Esselstyn
Forks Over Knives Presents The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue with Rip Esselstyn
John McDougall MD
Dr. McDougall’s Total Health Solution for the 21st Century DVD
The Jeff Novick Series
Lighten Up
Calorie Density
Should I Eat That
From Oil To Nuts
Nuts & Health
Fast Food Vol 1 The Basics
Fast Food Vol 2 Burgers & Fries
Fast Food Vol 3 Shopping School
Neal Barnard MD
Tackling Diabetes DVD
Kick Start Your Health DVD
Douglas Lisle
The Continuum of Evil
Losing weight without losing your mind
The Pleasure Trap
Michael Klaper
Digestion Made Easy
More Movies/Documentaries
Forks Over Knives
Processed People
Immersions and Programs
Dr Esselstyn - 5-hour intensive counseling seminar at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute
Farms To Forks Immersions
The McDougall Program
MORE BOOKS
John Abramson MD
Overdosed America
Gilbert H. Welch MD
Should I be tested for Cancer?
Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health
Know Your Chances: Understanding Health Statistics
Nortin Hadler MD
Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America
Lists of Documentaries
https://nutriciously.com/best-vegan-documentaries/
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/10-best-food-and-health-documentaries/
YouTube:
Why do empaths over eat?
Let's Talk Nutrition
Your Vegan Brain on Empathy
Vandana Shiva on the Problem with Genetically-Modified Seeds