Sprouts and Kirlian Photography

I AM ABOUT TO TELL YOU A LONG STORY ABOUT SPROUTS. HANG ON.

Kirlian Photography

When I was in high school (early sixties) LIFE Magazine did an amazing story
about Kirlian photography, named after Semyon and Valentina Kirlians,
a Russian couple who developed a technology for photographing
the electromagnetic field of living objects.
The cover of that big LIFE magazine was an image
that has remained vivid for me all my life.
It was a full cover picture of a maple leaf which had had one of the
fingers of the leaf dissected and then photographed with the Kirlian technology.

The leaf itself photographed almost like a ghost background, because the real
photograph was of the electromagnetic field of the leaf which extended beyond
the actual earthy physical matter of the leaf. It was a brilliant light aureole
the shape of the leaf but larger, radiating out beyond the leaf.
The electromagnetic pattern where the finger of the leaf had
been dissected was totally intact.

The electronic blueprint of the leaf remained.  I think this was the
first time I began to realize that there are other dimensions to
these bodies we wear besides the densest level.

Many years later I became taken with the idea that since we are Beings of Light
- I do not state this as an airy fairy idea, but as a physically proven reality -
and that light itself, as demonstrated in these photographs,
must be a nutrient for us - not only sunlight but also
the light in the electromagnetic field of live foods. 

In order to explore that idea, I obtained a Kirlian photography machine
to do some research about the difference in the electromagnetic
fields of foods grown differently, harvested differently, prepared differently, etc.
It is one of the real regrets of my life that I didn't carry that experiment out
very far.*  A few things were evident, however, one of them being that the
electromagnetic field is far greater in sprouted seed than in unsprouted seed, 
and raw food has a much larger electromagnetic field than cooked food.

Sprouts, however, far outshine mere raw foods in their electromagnetic magnificence.

(Incidentally, not relevant to the subject at hand but so excitingly evident
in the few photographs I took that I have to share this, WILD foods have a
MUCH greater electromagnetic field than any cultivated food,
no matter how fantastic and healthy the cultivated soil is.) 


Now it may appear as if I am about to go even more off track,
but all this will come together
if you will resolutely follow me to the end.

Enzymes and the Electromagnetic Field

By this time almost everyone who is interested in true
health understands something of the importance of Enzymes.
I read several years ago in a book about enzymes
(that is still unpacked from moving, otherwise I could tell you its name) 
the idea that we are born with a certain lifetime capacity
for the production of enzymes, just as ancient Yogis believed that
we are born with a pre-determined number of breaths.

Enzymes are used in thousands of chemical reactions in the
body and not just for digestive uses. HOWEVER, since the
advent of factory food and the dominance of agribiz farming methods,
the majority of our food no longer has the necessary enzymes in it
for proper digestion due to over processing, over sterilization, overcooking, etc..
This means that our bodies' entire enzyme production is severely
over-taxed just for the digestion of food.  

At least some of our foods should partially digest themselves. 
That means having enough inherent enzymes to do the job.
Fermented and raw foods have always been part of
traditional and indigenous diets for that very reason.
Most westerners no longer eat enzyme rich foods.

So what are we to do? Keep stuffing ourselves with expensive
and really unnatural digestive enzyme tablets from a bottle?
I do recommend this to many of my clients to
re-establish better digestive strength, but I see it as a temporary
measure and would rather see people eating their enzymes

Sprouts are bursting with newly released enzymes that are not present in the 
ungerminated seed and are therefore one of the most efficacious ways to re -establish
good digestive enzyme activity. There is an enormous amount of information
about the actual chemistry that happens in the sprouting process on the internet,
which I was thinking of burdening you with, but you can look it up yourself
if you want to understand it more.


Now full circle. A few years ago, a good friend gave me a book about food
written by a Chinese PhD. and acupuncturist, (as well as other attainments)
named Dr Kim Le who stated in her book, The Simple Path, that
IT IS THE  ENZYME ACTIVITY IN FOOD THAT
PRODUCES THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD!!!

This means that food with a strong electromagnetic field has tons of enzymes.
It also means that food with lots of enzymes has a strong electromagnetic field
which shows up on film as a light field.
 
So I don't have to worry about some unproven, unprovable theory 
about needing to feed ourselves light-filled food. I just need to eat live 
foods that are filled with enzymes.  SPROUTS!



                                                                     WHEW!

Maybe you were wiling to learn sprouting before all of that.



*At the time that I acquired my machine,  one had to be interviewed to get permission to buy one by a brilliant (and I mean this in the spiritual sense. He's radiant) man named Mitchell May whose medical story was nothing short of miraculous and who has  produced some of the most gorgeous and amazing Kirlian photos I've ever seen.  Look him up on the internet.

Sprouting and Fermentation Class at High Mountain Hall

Next wednesday, March 20th, Robin MacCready and I will be teaching
a class on fermentation and sprouting
at High Mountain Hall in Camden from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00p.m.

Cost is $40

Call me at 207 701-1817   or  High Mountain Hall at 207 236-0003
if you are interested.  Thanks

In a couple of days I will be sending the "WHYs"  of sprouting
which has  been almost done but not quite finished for a week.
Thanks,
Susan

Photos of Lentil Sprouting

Here is a little photo show of sprouting lentils

Day one: I have a little more than 1 cup of dried lentils here
and filled the jar to soak overnight. You should start with 1/2 cup.
A much more reasonable amount. They really expand.

DAY TWO, A.M.:

I have not done anything here except let them soak overnight.
You can see that they have nearly doubled in size.
Now I will pour out the soaking water, re-rinse, and drain.

Next comes the MOST IMPORTANT PART of sprouting;  PROPER DRAINING!

 Notice that the jar is NOT completely upside down, but on a slant,
making sure that there is air room at the cheesecloth covered opening.
They need air to keep from getting soggy or moldy. Ruination.

Each time you rinse the sprouts - only twice a day is o.k. with lentils -
finish by leaving them at this angle to drain, and you will have good sprouts.

DAY THREE:
This next photo is the morning of day three, so really
only a day and a half after first putting them in the jar to soak.
It is difficult to see them in this photo,
(I'm not very good with my new camera yet)
but they have broken dormancy and the little sprout is just showing.

They are just barely sprouted but you can begin eating them now,
especially quickly blanched, which does, yes you are right, destroy
the enzymes, but sprouting has made them much more digestible.
However, for raw sprouts I like to wait until they are a little longer.
Watch out, though. At this point they grow really quickly.

(I have taken half of the sprouts out of the jar because I am not home and didn't have a large jar with me.)

Don't forget to rinse and drain a couple of times today.

DAY FOUR: Sprouts are really ready to eat. By this time they have become about four times
larger in volume than they started out.  (Remember I have taken half out of the jar).You can begin to eat them out of the jar, tossing them into salads or soups or whatever, and they will keep growing for another couple of days and still be prime. I throw them into every salad, and on top of cooked vegetables, everywhere.The jar will keep filling as they keep growing.
Keep occasionally rinsing and draining them.

 

NOW, you can put them into the refrigerator, cheesecloth and all,
where they will keep very well for many days so long as they are open to the air.
This is why you place them in the fridge with either the cheesecloth or a
sprouting jar lid if you have one. Every two or three days,
take them out and give them a fresh rinse and drain.

You can keep sprouting until they begin to show tiny leaf development.
Then stop the sprouting by refrigerating.

Hope this helps.

Once you get in the habit of occasionally throwing some seeds
into a jar and covering them with water overnight, the rest is easy.
And so is the part about thowing them into a jar with water overnight.

Good sprouting!

Just a couple of refinments of past posts

I have been corresponding with a few readers,
and there have been a couple of people who have
had too strong responses to the garlic tincture in
the later stages of the regime.

One of these was a cleansing response, and the other probably was also.
But there is no need to be uncomfortable with it.
If you get up to a drop dosage that feels too strong,
just back up a few drops until it feels manageable again.
Then stay on the lower dosage for a while until you feel
comfortable enough to increase again.
If you have to finish the whole regime
at a lower dose that's o.k. too.

The other question was whether or not to add
daikon radish to the sweet vegetable broth.

It won't hurt in any way, but it isn't part of Sweet Veg. Broth
- although Daikon is one of my 33 foods.
It has other great medicinal qualities which I will
write about, but pancreas balancing isn't its specialty,
and it certainly isn't sweet.

That's all for now.

Sweet Vegetable Broth for Curbing Sweets Cravings

Hi Blessed and Appreciated Readers,

Just knowing there are a few people looking in
consistently makes me want to keep writing.

I am in the middle of another longish post about spouting - but between
babies and cooking and sweeping I have not finished it.

However, this is a short intermediate post in response to a question
asked me today regarding a sudden onslaught of yin cravings (sugar,
alchohol,etc., you know the stuff). 
So I quickly offer Sweet Vegetable Broth.

This is a recipe developed decades ago at the
Kushi Institute for smoothing out imbalances of the pancreas
due to excessive consumption of sweets.  If taken regularly
for many days it definitely quells the monster sweet tooth.

It is easy to make but should only be made for two or - at the
most - three days, and can be stored in the refrigerator.

This recipe is always given to all newcomers at the healing
seminars given at the Kushi Institute in the amount of two cups
a day for a week for most people, and then down to one cup a day.
And that is the amount I would recommend for you.

Most people who take those seminars are dealing with serious
disease conditions and so the preparation of this recipe is done with
greater care than I will recommend for you, unless you are also
coping with other serious illness or weakness.

First I will give you the original recipe, and then I will tell you
my modifications and you can choose which works for you.

The original recipe:

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped winter squash
4 cups water

     After mincing by hand each vegetable to about
an eight of an inch, (when dealing with sever illness
or weakness, using electric appliances when preparing
food whether to cook or chop or grate is not at all desirable)
place them with the water in a saucepan,
and slowly bring it just to a boil, then turn it down to simmer.

     Simmer for twenty minutes and turn off the heat. Let cool a little,
strain, and drink the liquid. You can put the left-over vegies into
other things if you  want to but, truth be known,
they are used up and pretty tasteless.
I have used them as filler in bean cakes successfully.
But usually I give them to the compost pile.

 My modifications:

Since most of us will not go to great lengths to do fine detailed
healing cooking unless we are in physical danger, the above
preparation sits in the back of the mind and never makes
it to the stove.  At least that it the case for me.

SO, I put each vegetable roughly chopped, one at a time,
into the food processor and process it until the majority of pieces
are about an eighth to a quarter of an inch big.
This takes about a tenth of the time it takes to hand chop that fine.

I put them in the water and proceed as above - with ONE
personal preference.  Since I don't like the flavor of raw
or even lightly cooked onions, I eliminate them.
In fact, I don't even like Sweet Vegetable Broth all that much,
unless I put in fresh ginger. 
NOT as much as the other vegetables, though.

Here is what it looks like:

1/2 cup processed carrot
1/2 cup processed cabbage
1/2 cup processed winter squash
~ 3 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
4 cups water

Same procedure as above for cooking.
I leave it in the water until it is cool,
because it becomes more flavorful
but reheat it for drinking.      
This is important. It is a bland (saltless)
drink and needs the warmth to make it taste good.

I usually make twice this amount,
and here is one more tip to make it easier.
Don't get too hung up about amounts!  
Here's the real skinny about my slipshod
method of preparation:

I just eyeball the amount of vegies I am processing.
Then I measure the whole amount combined and
quadruple the amount of water, and there you have it.

Drink this religiously for at least two weeks -
two cups a day for at least a week,
one a day for the next week -
for a feeling of freedom from sugar.

( real freedom from sugar takes a much longer time
which you, sugar addict, (me) know very well)

Sprouting - Beginner's Manual

I arrived in California late last night to be an extra hand for my step daughter, husband, and two babies, the younger of whom - an infant - had brain surgery not long ago. He is doing well, but Mama is a little overwhelmed, I think.  I am glad to be here.

Since my last post I have catered a wedding which took far more time and money than it ordinarily would have due to a perfect storm of circumstances. It was a beautiful wedding, but still not entirely negotiated even though it is over. Post wedding work was still happening two days later, and then I traveled here, so I am writing this post later than I planned.

SPROUTING

Several significant things happen when you sprout a seed.
Speaking succinctly but unscientifically, sprouting unlocks the life in the seed.

So what actually happens?

One of the most miraculous things about seeds is that they
contain several hormones that control dormancy and the breaking of dormancy.
Abscisic acid (ABA) regulates dormancy and suppresses germination.
It prevents the seed from sprouting until conditions in the environment
are optimum for growth - the right temperature, oxygen, light, and
especially water - so that the tiny plant will survive.

There are also several other hormones that help counteract ABA and promote
germination and rapid new growth, especially medial (central and upward) growth,
so that when conditions are right, the seed can sprout.

Regarding germination the main item is water control and air control.
The plant will not sprout until it has been in contact with water
long enough to signal that there is enough water in the
environment for survival of the seedling. And it will die of
suffocation if there is not enough air flow.


So to little jar of sprouting seeds on your counter.

SPROUTING 101

1.) Place a small amount of seed
(we will discuss options and amounts later)
in a wide mouthed mason jar with either a sprouting lid,
which can be obtained in almost any health food store,
or with cheesecloth over the mouth held on with a rubber band.

2.) No matter what seeds you are sprouting you begin the
same way - by soaking your seed in a jar overnight in
good water.  Make sure the seed is well covered with plenty
of water so the seed stays covered as it swells. At least four
times the amount of water as seed.

 3.) In the morning drain out the water and then rinse it again.

4.) HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING! Dump out the
new rinse water and place the jar UPSIDE DOWN on a diagonal
slant in the dish drainer and let it drain completely. The reason to
keep it on the diagonal is so that some air can circulate in the jar.
 I  try to keep the jar on a slant as I am pouring out the rinse water,
so the seed doesn't completely cover the mouth of the jar at the end.

Incomplete draining is the main reason people are not successful
with sprouting. If there is a little pool of water in the bottom of the jar
it will cause mold to form in just a couple of days. If you drain
completely this won't happen. I generally leave it in the dish
drainer if there is room.

5.) Repeat this rinsing and draining two or three
times a day until the sprouts are as big (long) as
you want them.  To clarify:

There is quite a bit of leeway in the length of sprouts,
but there are some optimum lengths for certain kinds.
For instance, the traditional mung sprout - which is what
most people have been educated to think of as "bean
sprouts" - are usually eaten about two inches long.
However, to sprout mung beans to 2" long takes a
special procedure, and I personally never make them
myself. Organically grown mung sprouts (bean sprouts)
are easily available at most grocery stores.
You can, however, easily grow and use them only a
half inch long. They just won't be as juicy.

Alfalfa sprouts are usually grow about 1 1/2" long, also
broccoli sprouts. Beans are usually only sprouted until
the actual sprout just starts to protrude out from the bean.
Except for lentil sprouts. They can be eaten at several lengths.

SPROUTING LENTILS

If you are new to sprouting I suggest starting
with the easiest seeds to sprout - lentils.
It can be any kind of lentils - those little green french ones
or the larger browner ones, so long as they are whole.
A broken seed is a dead seed.

The beauty of sprouting lentils is: 1. they can be eaten at
any length from a tiny sprout the length of the seed
or until they are long enough for the first leaves begin to
appear - over an inch. 2. because they are not delicate
like broccoli or alfalfa or radish sprouts, they are a
lot less prone to going bad either from mold or drying out
if you forget to rinse them enough.

Once they have started to sprout, you can begin to eat them
right away and continue to rinse, drain and eat them
until they have reached almost leaf stage. The jar stays the
same fulness for several days even though you are eating
them because they just keep growing.

Anytime you want to stop or severely curtail the sprouting,
put the jar with the the sprouting top or cheesecloth right
into the refrigerator. DO NOT PUT A CLOSED LID ON THEM.
They still need to breathe.  These are living plants and need air.

When my camera arrives here from Maine in a few days,
I'll sprout some lentils and show you pictures. I was too rushed
getting ready and forgot to pack it so Doug is
sending it to me tomorrow

Any specific questions, write and ask.
I'll be talking more about sprouts and sprouting
this week.
- like WHY do it!