New Products | Fall 2016

We are pleased to announce that we can now offer over 200 organic ingredients from our facilities in 25 countries across the globe. We will continue to add unique items once they meet our standards for quality, food safety and fair labor practices. 

For a full product listing, please follow this link: Divine Ingredients List

New items:
Spain
Organic Tiger Nuts
Organic Almond Oil
Organic Pistachio Kernels
 
Italy
Organic Almonds
Organic Almond Paste
Organic Hazelnut Paste
Organic Pistachio Paste

Greece 
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Australia
Organic Macadamia Nuts (single-estate)
Organic Thompson Seedless Raisins
Organic Raisins Jumbo
Organic Sultanas
Organic Currants
Organic Sun Muscat Raisins

Bio Update | Mei 2016

Ik stuur een update over de belangrijkste punten in de biologische markt. We zien momenteel een prijs stijging van op de Spaanse en Amerikaanse Amandelen als gevolg van een kleinere oogst verwachting in 2016 in Californië op 2 miljard pond of minder. Volgende week verwachten we een grotere stijging met de toenemende Euro en een kleiner aanbod. Turkse hazelnoten zijn gestegen in de afgelopen maand met minder verkoper steun in de aanloop naar de nieuwe oogst.

Biologische amandelen van de nieuwe oogst uit Spanje, 2016.

We zien nog steeds aannemelijke prijzen op Moldavische Walnoten. Dit is een goede tijd om wat merchandise voorafgaand aan de zomermaanden te beveiligen. De prijzen staan vast voor biologische cashewnoten uit Ivoorkust, India en Vietnam. We verwachten niet dat de markt veel gaat verzachten als de meeste product is geoogst en ongewone weerpatronen volharden in West-Afrika.

Er is nog steeds een goede beschikbaarheid van biologische abrikozen, vijgen en mulberries met relatief stabiele prijzen. We zien minder steun voor biologisch dadels in Tunesië en Pakistan met voornamelijk verdere verwerking kwaliteiten overgebleven. Er zijn geen nieuwe oogst indicaties tot nu toe.

Biologische Chia zaad ligt bijna door de verkoop te wijten aan een kleinere 2015 oogst. We verwachten een normale oogst voor 2016 waarvoor de prijzen iets naar beneden komen. Quinoa ziet lage prijzen op de 2015 oogst met een geleidelijke toename als we verder gaan naar de kleinere nieuwe oogst in Peru en Bolivia die onlangs getroffen zijn door El Niño weersomstandigheden.

Als u een specifieke vraag, laat het me weten. Onze huidige indicaties zijn toegevoegd.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Manon Hollingsworth

Organic Market Update | May 2016

We are currently seeing a rise in prices on Spanish and US Almonds due to a smaller 2016 crop expected in California at 2 billion lbs of less. Next week, we expect to see a larger rise with the increasing Euro and shorter supply. Turkish Hazelnuts have risen in the last month with less seller support leading up to the new harvest. 

Organic Almond Orchards in Spain, 2016.

We are still seeing good pricing on Moldovan Walnuts. This is a good time to secure some merchandise prior to the summer months. Prices are firm on Organic Cashews from Ivory Coast, India and Vietnam. We do not expect the market to soften much as most product has been harvested and unusual weather patterns continue to persist in West Africa. 

There is still availability for Organic Apricots, Figs and Mulberries with relatively stable pricing. We are seeing less support for Organic Dates in Tunisia and Pakistan with mostly further processing grades remaining. There are no new crop indications as of yet. 

Organic Chia Seeds are close to selling through due to a small 2015 crop. We expect a normal harvest for 2016 which will bring prices down slightly. Quinoa is seeing low prices currently on 2015 crop with a gradual increase as we move into the smaller new harvest in Peru and Bolivia affected by El Niño weather conditions. 

With gratitude, 

Tristan Hollingsworth

Dear Ego,

In a society that shares every mundane moment, is there room left for the sacred? 

Banksy

The vibrations of our minds create our experience. We are writing the story of our lives, creating a play set on a planet, circling a star, in a physical body with perception, consciousness and billions of years of evolutionary knowledge. The question is: who are we writing for? Many of us have gone on our own path. Into the mystical woods, the bridge over fire, the escape. A personal myth, created in dreamtime. The perceptive level in which we become one with ourselves and truly free. There is, however, one limitation that may be obstructing this path. We were writing through the ego, not our soul. Each advancement of our character, travel, experience: was this truly our soul’s wish? Or a desire to share another accomplishment of the mundane? At the end, will we each read our social timelines like some technological Ivan Ilyich, yearning for timelessness?

Memory is illusion. The future is dead. The only true experience uncolored by thought is now. This is the point in which our experience is full, awake! It is best said by William Blake: 

If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear as it is, Infinite.

This is to say that once we release the binds of memory, ego and expectation, we become free. No longer will the past dull our present, or the future inundate us with fear. We can only live in the full experience of infinitude when we surrender. Letting go of what others may think, what will satisfy the ego’s vision of ourselves, or the ideals society may force upon us to become a gear in a mechanical world. Most of us would choose not to be dependent, yet we silently choose this everyday. We scroll the mundane, fingering through clicks and taps and mindlessness. At the end, what remains? 

Is there room left for the sacred? 

Did each click awaken a new level of presence? Did your breath explode like a summer flower or twist and contract like a mechanical cord plugged into a system of illusion? 

The only guru, coach or teacher is your own soul. 

There is no person, thing, diet or choice that can enlighten you more than your soul. Even meditation is, at a point, limited to the act of meditation. Videos, photos, words will not save us. The self-explored soul alone will prevail. For this is true experience. This is atomic love. The space between each molecule saturated in expansive, pure love. Cellular proliferation encapsulated in the blossoming expression of the feeling. The feeling of soul’s birth. The path is waiting. The sacred play is there to be played. 

Are we still stuck at Dear Ego,?

...

The Divine Foundation

In the coming year, Divine Foods and selected partners will be launching The Divine Foundation, a collectively-funded organization to provide clean water and organic plant-based foods to those in need. 

We feel everyone deserves access to clean water and organic foods.

In addition to providing water and food to impoverished areas, we view this as an opportunity to set a positive example. An example that organic, non-GMO and plant-based foods can sustainably feed a population growing by the billions. We see these foods as a way to ensure environmental conservation, animal liberty, and access to health for all humans around the globe. On the local level, we look to inspire a shift in consciousness through healthy food without a capitalistic attachment. This is our chance to give back selflessly through the partnerships we have established with Divine Foods. 

The primary mission of The Divine Foundation will be to: 

• connect organic food suppliers and farmers to selected points in the world with an imbalance of wealth and excessive hunger
• encourage local farming, water-filtration and nutrition through a team-led education program
• create an outlet for financially stable individuals to give in a way that is 100% ethical

The initial focus will be to start in our own communities with a vision to establish kitchens and storage facilities around the world in order to serve as many people as possible.  

If you would like to be a volunteer or have ideas to share, please comment below or send mail to manon@divine-foods.com

Thank you for your support.

The Limiting Aspect of Categorical Thinking

We are all well aware of the corporate and governmental control mechanisms in place; yet, why as a species, do humans self-regulate to the point of limiting themselves?

Galaksija Magazine | 1976

Perhaps in a shower, you have some sort of bathing routine that always follows the same order that it has for years. Did you ever ask why you do things this way? What causes this habituation of action when we pride ourselves on freedom and liberty? 

The mind is perpetually collecting a universe of data from the sensory realm with the impulse to categorize everything. This categorical system is unique to each individual. You could say this is the framework of our personas: viewing each idea, event, being or thing by our own interpretive design. Through this, there is the potential to a self-limited existence based solely on the mind's precepts rather than a liberated experience.

Yoga, as a philosophy, is designed to reconfigure the mind and create a crystalline state of consciousness free from attachment to words, ideas, and beliefs. This consciousness represents true presence uncolored by thought. Fear, worry, and anxiety do not exist when one is in a state of pure consciousness in the present. The full experience of the now does not allow for manipulation by the mind. There is no room for fear, racism, sexism or hatred. These ideas only enter the mind based on past memories, both our own and that of previous generations. Without memory, we cannot hate.  

The goal of a spiritual life is to be in the present, unattached to any direction karma may lead us, in constant acceptance and love. When we accept and love all experience, the divine flows freely. 

Ideas to realize the present:

Purify | cleanse the body and mind. A diet of organic fruits and vegetables is very helpful in the cleansing of not only the body, but also the mind. Practice positive thinking and embrace your true self.

Meditation | a short daily practice will greatly increase our ability to expand consciousness. There is an expansive world of experience to dive into!

Mind | reconfigure the act of perception to that of a non-discriminatory nature. Leave the association of past experience behind and allow for new interpretive measures of thinking. 

Love | the act of giving without attachment of return is love. This greatly challenges the design of our society. We are taught to give only under the benefit of financial gain or notoriety. Give selflessly and see the world of abundance overflow.

These are all ideas that have worked for centuries. This is not new information. Perhaps, the interpretation is portrayed through different voices, but the general meaning still remains. The experience of full consciousness is only possible without words and thinking. This state is the union with your soul. A soul that is waiting for connection, your eternal self, unchangeable, immortal and beyond space and time. 

OM NAMO NARAYANA ॐ OM NAMO NARAYANA ॐ OM NAMO NARAYANA

The Origin of Consciousness

Could it be that the first prokaryotic cell attained enlightenment? Are plants more selfless and grounded beings? Why is it that we run to the idea that humans are the most evolved and superior species - perhaps, because we are ourselves human?

Plant cell division or colliding universes?

How did the ancient yogis reach enlightenment without designer yoga mats, meditation apps, and expensive retreats?

Really how did they do it? Were they tapping into some sort of primordial energy that we cannot buy at Lululemon? Perhaps, all this time that we are feeling superiority of consciousness as humans, we are wrong. Bacteria are the original Buddhas. The only change that evolution has brought to the world is complexity. Complexity of lifeforms, thoughts and actions. Yoga and ancient philosophy tells us that the goal is not to complicate thinking, but rather to simplify, in order to bring clarity and focus to the oneness of the eternal light. If this philosophy is agreed upon, it is also possible that a plant cell has a higher level of consciousness than that of a human. Plants are rooted in the earth in direct connection with the ancient information of our planet. Humans wear shoes and walk on the pavement. Plants are true breatharians, obtaining all energy from the earth and sun, using that energy to unintentionally create oxygen and all of human existence. Humans eat fast food and use oil to pollute the planet. Are we not the puppets of these plants? Our attachment to oxygen says so. 

The experience of an Ayahuasca ceremony proves the high level of consciousness that these plants can instill on our being. If a plant can offer this experience when taken in small doses, is it perpetually in a state of bliss? Note that this is not an essay to bash on humans, but rather to present a new perspective that realizes the energy of nature. Divine consciousness surrounds us all of the time. If we remain tuned into that level of experience, we are in what the ancients called samadhi, or enlightenment. What holds us back? What examples can nature give us that will lead to supreme states of being? The sun shines selflessly to illuminate our blue ball of life called Earth. How can we use this same example to illuminate our fellow beings to higher states? Words, money, wars, emotions, fear and pleasure will never serve us. Instead, if we take a path of observation, we see that there is a world of beauty that can be experienced through the consciousness intertwining us all. The same consciousness as a 1,000 year old tree, a lion cub, an organ in a plant cell, a fellow human - no matter the color or preferences, and even our dear old sun. We are all these things in one breath.

We exist as a result of the formation of this universe, galaxy, solar system, sun, water, bacteria,  plants, oxygen and the explosion of existence that is life. Because of this, WE ARE ALL ONE. There is no else. Without words or thoughts, we can all tap into the origin of consciousness experiencing the energetic expansion of being and lightness of our souls!

OM NAMO NARAYANA ॐ OM NAMO NARAYANA ॐ OM NAMO NARAYANA

Community

Societal citizens are the keepers of this system. It does not exist without our active participation. When we begin to support local community-based living and commerce, we create harmonious clusters of society to nourish the whole.

Place de la République, Paris 2015.

As long as we view the natural world as an object to exploit, we fail to realize the important role nature and community plays on our souls. There is an intrinsic need for the natural experience that a city cannot offer. We are taught to choke on the fumes of overpopulation with no support for the creation of community, equality and freedom of thought. Gone are the elders, the tribes - in are televisions and headsets. We are programmed to tune out this world, to overlook the atrocities of greed, and instead, march on serving corporate machines and war-driven governments. 

The anthropocentric view of life is an illusion created by the human ego. It is a false reality. There is no hierarchy outside of our own design. Each individual has the power to find connection with their community and rise above corporate globalism.

The shift begins with our youth. How can we support future generations? Will all the overworked parents need an app to raise their children for them? Perhaps, the first expressions of sound from the toddlers of the future will not be mama or dada, but iPad! This will only create a society of more unconscious adults, rushing to the next job in hopes for the dangling carrot of ephemeral wealth. Perhaps it is time to measure society in terms of true wealth. Nourished by maternal, paternal, natural, spiritual, and communal wealth. The signs of a healthy society. 

Here are some ways we can re-tune the values of society and adopt a community-based mindset:

nature | leave the city behind - the fluorescent world of cubicles - and take your first deep breath of this decade. Now with trees around and a bright sun above, decide if a city is your truth. 

empower | anything you want is possible. There are no limits in the world of manifestation. Your will determines your future. Why not design one of an agreeable nature?

commune | connecting and sharing with other humans that border our "property" is not a sign of weakness, or an intrusion of privacy. In a society that values each others needs, there is no fear of the other, but rather a sense of community. In times of an extreme weather event, we feel this connection and support from our neighbors. This can extend into a group garden/bulk buying, the raising of children, or any means of support: medical, emotional, or spiritual. 

We can begin today with these simple steps: 

• Buy organic local foods
• Share with a fellow human, even a kind word
• Pick up trash from a park or beach
• Recycle, reuse or upcycle 
• Offer knowledge to the community in any way: art, health, gardening, science, spirituality
• Try to bike or use public transit in place of individualized oil-based travel
• Be conscious of what you want from life and make that your reality
• Open your heart to love and remove fear

OM NAMO NARAYANA ॐ OM NAMO NARAYANA ॐ OM NAMO NARAYANA

The Space Between Thoughts

If we take a moment to explore the space between two thoughts, we begin to understand that this is not simply a lack of thinking, but rather a full expression of all that exists.

The Trail of the Ancients, Utah

In each thought we hold, we design a combination of sounds called words, in a language we did not personally create, to express an idea, feeling or demand. If we examine the meaning of each word, there is a variance among the agreed understanding. Multiply this by the words used to formulate a thought, and we see the depth to which language can misrepresent our true feelings. 

How can a space in thinking hold more meaning than actual thought?

In each thought we hold in the mind's eye, we are delineating our expression to that region of thinking. For example, a thought of wind may take us to a field of wildflowers - rain, a mossy forest - Love, a current or past relationship in which we hold dear or as a source of pain. These same three words will hold a completely different meaning or energy to another being. What about a lack of thinking? Can two beings hold exactly the same non-thought? If we truly disconnect from thinking, we tune into more subtle realms of consciousness that hold the energy of our our true selves, or atman in Sanskrit. This atman is thought to represent oneness - just as the first piece of energy that created the universe. If we can agree that all things are one and connected, then a lack of thought is what allows us to experience oneness - even more so than audible language. 

How do you experience a lack of thinking?

In a culture built on greed, advertising, television and social programming, we lose our connection with oneness and, thus, our true being. Some ways in which we can reconnect with our truth are:

• nature | a simple walk in the woods, on the beach, near a lake or mountain will re-create our primordial experience in which nature is the loudest sound
   
• language | taking a break from our inherited language (or all languages) can allow for us to express ourselves in new ways
   
• energy | moments of silence and disintegration of thinking will harmonize our being to allow for our true feelings to express - we can then explore which energies truly serve us, the earth and all of existence
   
• meditation | a 5-minute per day sitting with the focus on the breath can greatly increase our ability to relax thought patterns and experience other states of being - in time, the duration can be increased for a deeper experience

These additions to our daily lives will tune our being to a higher frequency. We will have a greater understanding of the origin of our thoughts, and the ways in which we express ourselves. We are often taught that we need to "do something" or "see someone" to improve ourselves, but rather it may be that our society needs to do nothing, breathe, and experience the space between our thoughts.

Cancer is simply a miscommunication

If we consider what a cancer cell is, we realize that it is nothing more than a cell that has lost communication with other cells and, thus, the whole being from which it once lived for.

Cancer cells under a microscope, Telegraph, UK (2009)

Cancer can be defined as a cell with abnormal growth, resulting in excessive reproduction without a control mechanism. This often results in tumors, or a collection of cancer cells that accumulate and reproduce in a given area of the body. This can cause major problems and many times death. 

If we take a moment to analyze what cancer is, we find that it is simply a miscommunication among cells in a multicellular organism. Cancer may be a reflection of our mental and external worlds. Note the forms of communication we are presented in a modern society. If living in a city, we experience unnatural light, water & air pollution, poor food choices, low oxygen levels, nature deprivation, negativity & anger... These variables all have an effect on our DNA, minds, and physical bodies beginning at the cellular level. Suppose a toxin from corporatized "food" enters our body. These particles will eventually need to be processed at the cellular level. What type of communication will a cell (and its DNA) have with such an aggressive force? The result will be negative. The cell will suffer, perhaps even resulting in cell death or a mutation of DNA. This is where cancer can arise.

External and mental influences can result in DNA mutation and altered cell growth. 

Now consider the influence of various forms of thought. When trapped in a cycle of fear and stress, we affect our cells. These thoughts are a miscommunication with ourselves. Allowing cyclic fear to exist competes with our intrinsic nature of love, union and harmony. This is the reason we find success in cancer treatments through meditation, yoga, juicing, and other practices that release stress through the nourishment of the body and mind. When we reintroduce pure communication, we remove the potential for our cells to experience negative energy. 

We can affect positive change through the forms of communication we have with ourselves, the environment, fellow beings, and forms of sustenance. This is the point in which we have the power to realign against the tide of cancer that is ever rising in our disconnected society.  Here are some ways in which forms of communication can nourish our being whole:

Mind | reconfigure patterns of thought to that of a positive nature and adopt a practice of awareness in the form of meditation, intention, nature, art, love

Body | maintain the physical body through foods and activities that bring balance rather than depletion

Sustenance | replace chemical-laden, nutrient-less foods of the current paradigm, introduce more fresh, organic, local plant foods that alkalize and balance the body along with pure mineral rich spring water; breathe clean air deeply; enjoy the sun

Nature | re-harmonize our relationship with the natural world, finding time for grounding and an experience with the stillness that is

Beings | If we can create harmony in ourselves, we can create harmony with our fellow beings (all species we share this planet with). Coming from a balanced, grounded space of love will cause all modes of communication to be light and clear 

We are meant to thrive. Our natural state is bliss. When our mind, body, and soul are set on love, we achieve this harmonic state. As beings of mostly water, we can use the beautiful example of Dr. Emoto and the power of intention. What intentions are you living by right now?

Through gratitude and sacred living, our lens of life evolves to that of love in action.

Magnified water crystals set to different energies, masaru-emoto.net (2015)

OM NAMO NARAYANA ॐ OM NAMO NARAYANA ॐ OM NAMO NARAYANA

Adventures in Costa Rica

Our journey across nauyaca waterfall, audio by Tycho. 

The True Story of Christmas

If you have ever celebrated Christmas, this will change everything. 

http://www.shamanicevolution.org/writings/shaman-claus-the-shamanic-origins-of-christmas

The Universe as an Energetic Interface

If the universe is a collection of vibrations in the form of energetic waves, wouldn't our existence be defined by the ways in which we participate in this dynamic dance of life?

Observed vibrating atoms of the Pacific, 2014.

Our universe is comprised of energy in varying forms, shapes, sizes, colors and sounds. Through our body and mind, we have the ability to interpret these vibrations. These interpretations, then, define how we choose to live out this current embodiment.

How can we optimize our connection to the energy that flows through us in the form of sensory information, air, water, and food transforming into thoughts, actions, creations and experiences? In what ways can we maximize our ability to "digest" our world, both mentally and physically, to live in harmony with the vibrations of the universe?

The following is a list of energetic exchanges that I find to be powerful for creating contentment and the awakening of our true nature of love (they are by no means a decree or demand to be, rather a personal learning shared): 

Senses | our sensual experience, or the interpretation of it, defines our reality
- the gates of perception are ours to protect and nourish - what we experience will be digested or undigested by our minds
- if we can stimulate deep thinking and growth towards personal freedom, we can accept our right to happiness within
- meditation is a nice way to fully understand the world we are presented on a daily basis

Air | consciously collecting air through our lungs to create prana or qi for our cells to flourish
- breathing clean, unmanufactured air with intention will adjust our mental state
- breath awareness or yogic breathing exercises called pranayama are extremely beneficial to our physical and mental bodies
- chemical-based cleaners and flame-retardant home furnishings have been linked to many health problems and would be better left alone

Water | drinking the most pure, living water possible
- leaving the fluoridated, prescription drug-infused municipal water supply behind can be achieved through certain filters for both the shower and tap 
- for drinking, spring water has a profound effect on the pineal gland and for cellular hydration with its ideal pH, mineral content and life-force - find your local spring here

Food | eating as clean as possible, in the most ethical way possible
- remove harm from the nutrient-collection process through organic local fresh living foods 
- find what works for you and empower yourself through an eating practice based in gratitude
- what we apply to our skin, we also eat

These opportunities for awareness can ensure true health and ultimately a life saturated in love. We can use our energy to provide the soil from which awakened thinking, acting, creating and experiencing can blossom. From here, we enter the space of mind which nourishes our energetic universe and ultimately ourselves, as we are this universe. 

Recipe: Persimmon-Berry Smoothie with Tonic Herbs

This was a very nice, refreshing organic smoothie made with local California farmers market strawberries, raspberries, persimmons and dates. I also added organic bananas, coconut water/meat and wild extracts of goji, rhodiola, eleuthero and schisandra. 

Blend (of course this recipe does not have to be exact, nature will work her magic): 
- 2 bananas
- 1 persimmon (remove pits)
- handful strawberries
- handful raspberries
- 3 dates (remove pits)
- water & meat of 1 young Thai coconut
- Four Sigma Foods Sport Herbs: goji, rhodiola, eleuthero, schisandra
- pinch Himalayan pink salt

Now feel amazing.

The benefits of the herbs: 
Goji - protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory
- revered for its youth preserving, health protective, strengthening, and mood-supporting properties, regarded as one of the elite tonic herbs in the world, the Goji is said to act on the Kidney and Liver meridians to help with lower back pain, dizziness and eyesight, potent anti-oxidant  
Rhodiola - adaptogenic herb
- strengthens the nervous system, reduces depression, enhances immunity, elevates the capacity for exercise, enhances memory, aids weight reduction, increases sexual function and improves energy levels.
Eleuthero - one of the most powerful adaptogenic herbs
- helps body adapt to stress, strengthens memory and keeps the mind clear, creates sustained long-term energy  without the negative effects of caffeine based stimulants.
Schisandra - “the herb that does it all.”
- It develops and protects the primary energies of life, supports vitality and beauty, promotes beautiful skin, purifies the blood, supports the mind, helps maintain a strong memory and benefits sexual energy in both men and women.

Divine Stream of Consciousness

Malibu, CA 2014

This will be a space for perspectives on organic vegan food, culture, spirituality, love, and activism. We are not here to sell products, nor are we connected with large corporations. We would simply like for the full expression of pure, unbiased knowledge. Our collective of writers love to share their views on the world and how we can improve our relationship with the earth, animals and ourselves - both spiritually and physically. If you have something to share please let us know. 

We love you.