October 21, 2009
Interview with Terces and Matthew Engelhart by Megan Faulkner
Cafe Gratitude - San Francisco
I have always been a healthy eater, I am a vegetarian and try to be conscious of getting a fairly good balance of fresh fruit and vegetables in my diet, one of my favorite places to eat in Sydney is IKU for it’s creative raw and macrobiotic meals.
Since moving to San Francisco I have really appreciated it’s focus on sourcing local produce, much of it organically grown. I was intrigued when I first visited Cafe Gratitude, a cafe dedicated to healthy vegan and raw food meals, drinks and delicious desserts.
However, as I have discovered there is so much more to the ‘Cafe Gratitude’ phenomenon than just the food, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to interview the founders of Cafe Gratitude, Matthew and Terces Engelhart.
Tell ‘Gorgeous Things’ readers about the philosophy behind Cafe Gratitude?
Matthew Engelhart I met Terces in September 2000, and about six months later we realised we wanted to have a life together, our children were grown. We said “what’s this life going to look like that we’re going to create”, and we somehow concluded that “how about we just live our life from inner guidence”.
It’s not about strategising how to get to the beach with a Pina Colada and a retirement nest egg, but what if we just followed inner guidence and surrendered to that.
One of the first insights we got was to invent a board game. This board game was to train people in what we call ‘the being of abundence’, to extract people from the ’scarcity paradigm’, not enough money, not enough time, not enough beauty, not enough love, not enough, not enough, not enough….that human beings have found themselves in.
So we spent a year kind of just sitting down at a blank canvas so to speak, with some dice and some index cards, and we spent a year creating this game. About a year into that we got the idea to develop a workshop around the game, to write a book around the game, then finally because we saw how difficult it was to inspire people to take time to do a workshop…everyone has to eat, lets have a gaming parlour where people come and have coffee, eat a croissant and play this game.
In the mean time we tried to experiment with a raw food diet on Terces insight. We tried it for thirty days and felt so good and so alive, and so clear that we said “Oh I guess it’s going to be a raw food gaming parlour. I would say that’s the humble beginnings.
So the Cafe actually started out of the game?
Terces Engelhart Yes, we created the game first
And the name of the game is…?
ME ‘The Abounding River’. That game and there is also a book with a 42 day practice in it that are for sale on Amazon and CafeGratitude.com.
Is a raw food diet safe?
October 12, 2009
In a single moment I felt the deep inner wisdom of what it really means to be a woman. The moment was a simple interaction between myself and an incredibly charming man - and this simply is how it went.
I was part of a group who’d been listening to the aforementioned gentleman speak on a subject he seemed incredibly passionate about. At the end of his presentation I decided to go over and personally thank him for sharing his knowledge in such an inspiring way. He saw me approach him and smiled as he put his hand out to shake mine – I could feel the energy build between us as I approached and decided I’d just smile and continue to breath calmly and fully. I chose to be present – and I now actually know what that really means.
As our hands touched and our fingers folded to clasp firmly, I met his gaze at closer than usual quarters, then thanked and praised him for his presentation. He beamed a warm smile and thanked me for coming along. At which point it would have been quite natural for him to release my hand and acknowledge the person behind me waiting to thank him also. Instead we stood for a moment, held each others gaze and seemingly enjoyed the exchange of energy.
Now I don’t know what you’d call that in the Tantric world but to me it was something quite beautiful. A passionate, present man, standing together with a calm, present woman – now that’s an experience I will cherish and re-create at any opportunity.
I felt like a woman – that’s the only way I can describe it.
“Thanks Martina…it was something special to be part of your Day for Women…and without a doubt – a life altering experience.”
Related Posts
www.gorgeousthings.com.au/blog/waaaaay-outside-my-comfort-zone/
www.gorgeousthings.com.au/blog/natural-way-to-better-sex/
October 5, 2009
THE MOTHER OF ALL RALLIES
by Angela Stewart
Homebirth Rally 7 September 2009, Canberra ACT
Recently, on a very cold, wet and dull Canberra day, my close friend, her four year old daughter and myself joined more than 2000 others to protest against federal government plans that would see homebirthing effectively made illegal.
Our participation began listening to Fluer Magick, an Indigenous woman, perform a special welcome ceremony at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, in front of Old Parliament House. Despite the weather the mood was determined and jubilant amongst the crowd. It was amazing to be part of this energy.
We then marched up the hill to the lawns of new Parliament House, and gathered – under a sea of umbrellas – Read the rest of this entry »
