Moments shared with Dr. Graham

If you've read my first post you know how I came to be an 811raw vegan. Today, I'd like to tell you a little of my relationship with Dr. Graham. Basically, I've only met him 3 times in person. I've never been to one of his events-nor do I work for him. We've corresponded on his forum and by e-mail a little-but, at best, I must admit that our friendship is very new-I'm not even a particularly good client of his because I've spent only about $120 on his products. However, I'm the type of person that likes to express my gratitude to people that have helped me. He has helped me very much with his books, forum, articles and internet conferences. I also like to give back as much as I can to others who may also benefit from my experience-this is basically why I promote his work.

I met Dr. Graham for the first time in January of 2008. I asked permission through his forum to meet him at his fasting retreat in Chirripo Costa Rica. I went to the hotel and we spoke for about 10 minutes. What struck me at first was that he was not very tall-I expected him to be taller for some reason. I also commented on his crooked baby finger and he explained how he got it. I thanked him for his work and told him how much it had helped me. I remember clearly the spontaneous, childlike smile of glee he flashed me.

This year however, I had a couple more meetings with Dr. Graham that were truly a lot of fun. While Karmyn was visiting me, I made an appointment with Dr. Graham to meet him, Simon and Grant (two of his Natural Hygiene students) on the beach. We all went for a jog and we talked about his farm here in Costa Rica. I'm very much interested in being a part of some sort of intentional community on the property-but I haven't figured out yet what form my participation will be. I don't know if they all slowed the pace for me because I'm a running beginner, but I'm proud to say that I kept up with them and was able to talk while jogging.

Next, Dr. Graham invited me to spend a day on his farm. Simon, Grant, Dr. Graham and I all hiked up to his farm (2.5 hours up is what is took us from the town of Uvita). I kept up, but it was obvious that I was the least in shape, Dr. Graham even walked backwards while talking to me up the hill. Once we reached his farm, Alexandro his farm caretaker was there to greet us. Since my Spanish was the best of the group, Alexandro spoke to me the most and I translated what he said to the others. We then visited the gorgeous farm while hiking through the virgin tropical forest. At this point I was tired and by the time we reached the river I made a bad move and slipped on some rocks and hurt my knees. Next however we reached a fantastic swimming hole on the river that made it all worthwhile. The water was a beautiful turquoise blue/green. It was deep, the waterfall falling on my shoulders was heaven. It was even raining sweet scented flowers from some trees. I soaked up the sun and water.

Finally, we all hiked back up to Dr. Graham's rustic cabin. He collected native greens and estococas(similar to heart of palm) to eat with many delicious rollineas that he picked off his trees. I know this fruit, but to eat it fresh off the tree after heavy physical exertion was just scrumptious! We all talked about the farm, the raw food movement and natural hygiene.

At this point, I left on my own because I was already late in meeting my family and it took me another 1.5 hours to get back down to Uvita.

My overall impression of Dr. Graham is that he's a very generous, kind man. He's also very much on the ball both physically and mentally. He does look his age and some people seem disappointed with that because they unrealistically think that his diet and lifestyle should give him miraculous qualities. I personally think he is much fitter in many ways than the vast majority of people his age and younger, but he is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Meeting him and spending more time to get to know him was a lot of fun and I highly recommend it to all that have the opportunity.