Interview with Anna Korakaki
April 25, 2013 · by alexiasymvoulidou · in Body, Interview, Mind, Self. ·
Today the non-hip hippies have the pleasure to present their very first interview! Anna agreed to answer our ten questions via e-mail and let us take a peak in her world. We chose to interview her because some aspects of her lifestyle resonate with the non-hip hippies ideas of what a happy life would look like. On the other hand, Anna mentions some things that we are not familiar with and were glad to find out more about them. Keeping an open mind and exploring other people’s views on life is -in our opinion- fundamental to grow.
1. Anna, you were born in Greece and you chose to live the life of a traveler for much of your life, visiting India, Thailand, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Hawaii and Bali, among others, as you mention on your site. What was your initial motivation to travel and how has it changed throughout the years? I am guessing it started out more as a vague curiosity and transformed into a learning process. Is that so?
1. Traveling came naturally coming out of puberty, feeling finally free from school and responsibilities, all I wanted was to see other places. One thing led to another at 17,5 years old I went a trip to Europe, Italy & France. This was a business trip, I was assisting in filming for a clothing company in their newest commercial.
Then, England and Holland when I was 18,5 years old, a friend paid my tickets to keep her company in the cold and sunny-less London. After that I started working in a summer job in Paros as a waitress and just when I turned 19 years old, India was my first Love affair… I was there. My journey had begun…! India my Love!
Nothing has changed from my motivation, I still travel very often, now with my whole family.
Learning process is everything, all our lives and it never stops being one. I wouldn`t know anything else, since I never travel for touristic reasons!
Always for Learning, or for business or some kind of service. My family was never rich to pay for my travels so, I had to be open and available for opportunities.
I had to invent business ideas, to keep my travels on.
2. You now live in Brussels, Belgium. Not your homeland, but your home-continent. Does that mean that, as fascinating exotic countries might be, it is hard for a European to adapt and integrate?
2. Now in Brussels, Belgium only because my husband has work here and I moved in with him for few years. I would never imagine me living here before, but I find myself liking how quiet, perfect to go within, perfect for raising a child, no one is bothering another, everyone taking their time, no one seems to be rushing for anything, Brussels is… Exotic countries still is my dream! With the first opportunity that will arise for me and my whole family we will jump into living in a green exotic tropical beautiful country, such as Costa Rica! Until then I am enjoying whatever life has to offer, for now, it`s Northern Europe! Everything is part of my learning process!
3. You have a family with a young child and on your website you post recipes of the baby foods that you prepare for your baby. Do you think that a child can thrive on a plant-based diet in all stages of its development?
3. Yes, I have a toddler and I do post recipes, home remedies and know-how and many more on my website. My thoughts on that sensitive subject of nutrition, are simple and are coming from a combination of my studies on Nutrition, my experience as a mother (that includes the mother`s intuition) and a research I started few years ago on it. The results are that a sensitive new digestive system of a baby is best to begin with 1st stage of only breast milk for the first 6-8 months, then naturally/organically the baby is asking for more. In this 2nd stage we can give some easy digestive foods such as fruits, for few weeks, then move to root veggies, then greens (all the green veggies), then some dairy, eggs maybe and superfoods to complete the cycle. I don`t recommend animal flesh at the 1st year as it`s really hard to digest. But from 17th 18th month, I think naturally/organically again the baby is asking for the complete set of proteins, for building a healthy body. In all stages, the best judge is the baby. It is best to listen to what he/she likes, again open mind, available, everything is possible! And if the baby doesn`t like the animal flesh protein, it is best not to give it and stay in a big variety of veggies, fruits and superfoods, to cover the full spectrum of amino acids. I was one of those babies, never wanted to eat animal flesh, but my parents didn`t know what to feed me, in order to cover the essentials! That`s not an option. One should research and try everything out, in order to find the best nutrition for oneself or for the baby. Everyone has his/hers own personal digestive system, organism and therefore his/hers unique way of nourishing the body.
I suggest mothers to read this article before choosing a diet plan for their babies
http://aponinoni.blogspot.be/2013/04/vegan-children-by-shazzie.html
I met few Vegan dogmatic people who think they know everything, who think they are special or enlightened or superior from any meat eater, just because they have few years of Vegan diet. This is so completely wrong way of thinking, to me they sound like they never read any Ancient books on Medicine (Hippocrates books, Chinese medicine). If one studies thoroughly the medicine world, as well as experiment with himself and others in nutrition, one is inevitably resulting his research on the golden mean! Golden mean in Nutrition as well is the balanced way!
4. A bit more on nutrition: you mention on your site that as a Mediterranean living on a northern European country, your body faces more challenges than it would if you were living at your homeland. As this is exactly the case for me and for more and more immigrants from the south of Europe moving to the north, can you give us your top 5 nutrition advice on how to shield our bodies against the cold, sun-less weather?
4. One. Drink a lot of clean water (a spring or good bottled water or good tab one)
Water helps the digestion, liver, kidneys, eliminates fatigue, helps skin. Keeps the weight in moderation. One can change the plain water with herbal teas, such as mountain teas, chamomile, spearmint, mint, sage, rosemary, etc. It is very similar to drinking plain water and it`s warm (sweetens the cold days and nights)
Two. Always eat as much as Local/Organic products as possible. This helps your system to adjust into the new land energies and ground faster.
Three. Every day take as much as 1 kg or more of green leafy seasonal veggies (if not possible to eat them fresh, take a good organic vegan supplement, I always use “Vitamineral greens”, you can find it in Europe in websites) or a good organic spirulina or chlorella supplementation. Chlorophyll is an essential part of photosynthesis of our bodies. Without much sun, is very easy to get depressed, without Chlorophyll too is a sure remedy for depression!
Four. Exercise, move, dance, swim, use a bicycle, do some home yoga, walk a lot. Basically the body is a kinetic mechanism and it works well only when we move it. In cold weather we tend to get into hibernation and once this becomes a habit, is hard to get out of it. Stay maximum 3 days – if at all – in a hibernation mode in cold climates.
Five. Take Vitamin C (natural when possible or supplementation) daily + drink whenever possible and a lot of fresh Apple juice or eat them daily (in Northern countries, apples are the best nourishment one can give oneself) Vitamin C is a shield to the immune system and doesn`t allow hibernation to happen or colds to enter easily.
5. You have a post entitled “Is it wrong to eat meat?” and a 3-part post about why raw diets and vegetarian/vegan diets are not for everyone. Even though I am a vegan, I believe that even a reduction in meat consumption can make a huge difference for the environment, our health and animals. What is your personal approach on the subject? Do you consume any animal products? Why/Why not?
5. The Golden Mean is the answer to this question as well. If everyone ate the proportional amount of animal protein that his/hers body suggested then we wouldn`t have this subject as a problem on the planet. If we didn`t over-consume meat or animal products and we would be balanced in a diet ratio of 5-10% animal flesh, 70% vegetables & fruits, 10-15% animal products (eggs, dairy etc.), 10-15% fasting, cleansing (no chewing food), then we wouldn`t be in this craze of right or wrong. It`s all about balance, but humanity is unbalanced right now and the best thing to do is to choose where each one is at on the two sides.
One side is if someone has eaten a lot of meat, dairy or other animal products then one should stop and become vegetarian/vegan/raw for some time (even for few years) to forget about eating animals until the body wants it again, to stay strong and not believe in his emotions and mental powers telling him to over-consume, instead clean and fast to receive the spirit and his higher self guidance that vibrates on light energies and animals are heavy energies.
And the other side is if someone has not eaten a lot of animal products and feels fatigue, miserly, sick, not fertile, stuck in his duality mind and emotions (black or white) or any other imbalance in his system (fanaticism, dogmatism, spiritualism) then this one should consider trying some animal products again, introducing them slowly into their system, BUT keeping a Golden mean that`s his measure of balance, because animals are heavy/grounding energies that helps us to relate again to the matter/body from too much spiritualism, fanaticism, or emotionalism etc.
My nutrition the past 2 years includes the above ratio in animal products and my intuition says that again in few years I could stop eating them and re-balance the animal consumption. Some tests I had done on myself in August this year showed perfect health, something I never had! (there were always something or another, even little things in my health) Following something along these lines and with our intuition as a guide, we will be fine, because healing is a feeling and healing is in all levels well being , not just in the spirit or the emotion or just in the flesh but in all levels balancing day by day, minute by minute.
6. You are very knowledgeable about colon cleansing. To most of the western people it sounds like a hippie practice with no real benefits and are hesitant to try it. Can you please explain in what ways colon cleansing can benefit one’s health? What other benefits are there and is it for everyone?
6. Colon Cleansing is an ancient technique of cleaning the inner body, just like one is cleaning his/hers car or house. Lately Colon Cleanse has become a great Hollywood fashion and many doctors have adopted the idea by operating very western and very expensive clinics in New York, Austria, England, Australia and more chic places! Many Hollywood stars have been keeping their young look just by practicing colon cleanses (Demi Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow etc.). I have written articles which you can find here http://aponinoni.blogspot.be/2013/04/how-colonics-can-help-our-life.html
And here
http://aponinoni.blogspot.be/p/blog-page.html
also here
http://aponinoni.blogspot.be/2013/04/how-our-colon-is-harmonizer-of-whole.html
that explains exactly in what ways and how colonics and the cleanse can help us in the daily life and in extension in our future life. In short colon cleanse is as essential as cleaning our own house from the collected dirt only in smaller scale, maybe once a year, instead of every other day that we clean our houses!
7. Could you explain in short what is sacred geometry and the template model?
7. Sacred geometry is the template of our human blueprint; the architectural design of our cells and the methodic way of their duplication (see Flower of Life).
Like Pythagoras, Archimedes, Isis, Ancient Mayans and many more in the past have been using the gate of Sacred geometry to explain the universe and the life itself.
All the good mathematicians know that everything in this universe is Geometry, everything is made in a specific perfected geometrical pattern that duplicates, expands and evolves into eternity. It is the omnipotent spiritual truth, given in mathematical language.
Nowadays this Mystic ancient knowledge is understood by Quantum Physics, that tries to explain it in scientific ways. So, we can say that quantum physics is a new age of sacred geometry!
Again in my site I give plenty of explanation about it and also have included few quantum physics facts, read here about them http://aponinoni.blogspot.be/search?q=quantum+physics
The Template model is a body of work that is inspired by the ancient ceremonies on sacred geometry, at the same time, giving the full understanding of geometry and the sacred marriage of matter and spirit.
You can read about them here
http://aponinoni.blogspot.be/p/about-me.html
8. You mention noni fruit a couple of times on your website. What is so special about this fruit? Is it easy to find in Europe?
8. Noni is my favorite subject for many reasons!! Firstly it is a godly given fruit, in Hawaii that is native, the locals have a myth around it, that in ancient times, the Star people brought this fruit to the planet and the Kahunas (local shamans = healers, doctors of the tribe) have been using it for ages to heal their patients. There was a nun, named Mother Marianne of Molokai that went to practice her spiritual path in Hawaii in the early 1900`s. In 1888, she went to Molokai to help Father Damien (now St. Damien) run the leper colony during his final months. She took over after he died and served the lepers for the rest of her life, gaining fame for her holiness as Mother Marianne of Molokai. It was considered a miracle that she did not catch the disease in the 30 years she spent there.
I strongly believe she was using Noni which Hawaii is abundant with and she was healing so many people, while she never caught the disease!
There are numerous healing documentations and reports from this fruit. It really can heal anything, as it looks down the ages!
We can find it in Europe, in Raw food sites, mostly, since the quality counts in anything we choose, choose it in powder, from Raw sites. At other organic stores throughout the European countries you can find the magical fruit in the form of liquid mixed with naturally sweet fruits for easier consumption. This is not recommended at all… it is a money making marketing idea and not the real deal.
Try it few weeks in powder, start with a small spoon per day in the morning or any time of the day in a juice or in water and see the results for yourself!
It is perfect for pregnant women, is great for babies, children of all ages and animals!
It is amazing as a body mask, hair mask, face mask, colon detoxifier, tonic, uplifting, healthy fruit ! Read about the one we are making in Indonesia here http://aponinoni.blogspot.be/p/noni-fruit-is-one-of-most-incredible.html
9. You have written a book about raw food in Greek (Άννα Κορακάκη, Ωμοφαγία και Χρυσή Διατροφή, Εκδόσεις Κέδρος). Greece is now in a deep financial crisis and raw and vegan diets are notorious for being expensive. I personally feel that with the abundance of produce and the warm climate of Greece, it is easy to thrive on a plant based diet without a big budget. What is your opinion on that? Do you have any suggestions on how to eat a cheap raw/ plant-based diet?
9. In the beginning of my return to Greece after 10 years of continuous traveling, I was asked many times from many people about the pricy and elite vegetarian/raw diet I had chosen to work with. My very good friend Elias volunteered to make a try-out of a month on Raw diet, with all the supplementation included and we figured out that he had spent the same amount with a difference of few euros less, on the Raw diet. That`s because when you are on a Raw diet you stop buying things, little things, big things, night outs, clubs, cafés etc. You are buying the supplements once and they mostly last for more than a month and then you spend only on veggies and that`s seasonal veggies form the organic farmers market, not even the grocery store. Truly one can thrive on few veggies and good sunshine and some sea during a vegan/vegetarian/raw diet for few years at least!
At another occasion we where presenting the Raw food diet on T.V on a very famous early morning show “Kalimera Ellada” with Papadakis and the result after the interview was exactly this, that now with the crisis, the easiest thing for people to do is to go on a low budget vegetarian diet. And is also true that many people that grow food or have family and friends in the country side would gladly ex-change their produce with some kind of service or work for them, so, this too could save money and help people become friendlier and more alive again.
Anyways, I think this is what is happening the past months in Greece, more and more people turn to a light diet, be it vegan/vegetarian or raw and many are detoxing too. More and more classes, sites and superfoods sellers are appearing in the scene (which I’m keeping track with, from my book, site, friends that work with it, Greek vegetarians, Facebook, emails etc.)
My suggestion is the same as it was when I was giving classes on raw food in Athens. Try meeting your local organic market farmers, the ones who farm, are selling their produce, most farmers are nice people that really appreciate it when someone is eating their staff raw and a lot. Some give away the older staff (that`s really perfect to eat) for free, some others are giving it in very good price when they get to meet you. You might find yourself in one of their farms, ex-changing or assisting in a crop or something. There is actually one organization in Greece that saves the original seeds from extinction. Their web site is http://www.peliti.gr/
They have a full ex-change program for helpers or farmers etc. that would like to spend some time with them, helping their really important work in Greece but also globally right now. In their website one can find information about their festivities and how to become a volunteer, or their ex-changing programs.
Another little community in Greece that does ex-change programs is
http://www.freeandreal.org/
Feel free to contact these people in both sites, with your questions and insights, everyone is a great seed in the change of this old miser mind set that`s now taking place in Greece.
It`s a conscious revolution and we are the ones we`ve been waiting for. If not us, then who?
10. When I contacted you for this interview, you made a great remark about Greeks needing to see the bigger picture of the world and shift from being country-thinkers to becoming world-thinkers. Did you achieve that by traveling? If traveling is not an option, how could Greeks become global thinkers and fight the feelings of depression and misery that overwhelm them?
10. The idea is to become part of the change that is undoubtedly happening in our world, not only in Greece, but in Greece mostly. Become a chain of inspiration to as many as possible, in as many ways as possible and in any time possible.
Everyone is a different being that has his/hers own gifts to offer.
Service is always a good way to start, to continue and to end with.
Give and give oneself unconditionally when possible, within ones own path, ones timing and within ones limitation.
In Greece in particular we have this way of thinking, that everything is small, Greek pride, mine mine miser attitude that is NOW changing to, we we available people sharing ourselves in solidarity. Times demand such attitude as Global/World thinkers, imagine the possibilities that open at once when we move from being local thinkers to global thinkers!
Immediately we multiply our options, offers, jobs, choices, interactions, relationships, expansions, even our nutrition!
This is a combination of traveling and a built-in mechanism, I think, that was gifted to me by my father, he was always enthusiastic about spirit, music, exotic food, enjoying his life, he was playful, without travelling at all outside Greece. He was just a dreamer!
Greece is an exotic place for most of the non-Greeks! We do have the best piece of the pie called Europe and we ought to be protective of it, not really proud in the sense that we use pride in Greece (superiority-inferiority complex, ego) but in a grateful way, of solidarity to everyone that’s Greek or not-Greek. The words Philoxenia and Filotimo are two words that have no actual translation in other languages. It used to be the Greek way of Greeting in Gratitude the friend or the stranger, there was no difference in heart connection in the old times. The sun, the sea, the herbs, the climate in Greece is so welcoming, so good for a heaven–like life, what on Earth are we thinking really? How come misery and depression have entered Greek heads? From biological point of view, this is impossible! It`s All in our Heads and it`s time to make it all be in our Hearts. The transition is happening. The question is, are you allowing it or screaming and kicking it? The way is BE INSPIRED AND INSPIRE OTHERS! Let the children play! Allow your inner child to take over!
Thank you Anna for taking the time to answer my questions with such detail!
Thank you! Good luck everyone. We shall overcome!
https://thenonhiphippies.org/2013/04/25/interview-with-anna-korakaki/
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