Karma Student

Here is a copy of the review I posted for F Street Adult Store in North Park…. yikes tikes…

__________________________________________________________________

Wow am I not happy about this place. I went in to grab a few things for a shoot. It was a bit overpriced, but I figured I could use what I needed and return the rest if it was never opened. I’m a porn star and adult actress and sometimes need these crazy toys for work; I was pretty taken aback that they did not offer any kind of celebrity or industry discount at all. Nearly all stores from makeup counters to sexy lingerie stores will offer discounts for celebrities or people that can give them good press or publicity, etc. And I am one of those ppl. I ended up spending about $100 which was a little overpriced in my opinion. They were limited on the things I needed but I did find a couple useful items that I could use. However, my shoot got canceled…. but since I only bought the stuff 1 day ago, and its all unopened and I have my receipt and paid cash, then I can just return it… As per pretty much any stores reasonable return policy. I grab the receipt to see that, well it says NO RETURNS at all, and only exchanges on damaged items and only within 3 days. I am within the 3 days but that doesn’t do me any good. The very very very unfortunate thing is that no one told me as I was checking out that they don’t take returns, you only find out after you get your receipt, which says on there that they do not accept returns, but by the time you get the receipt, its already too late. You’ve made the purchase and when I called today the manager said that even if I checked out, and didn’t leave the store that I could not return the items I bought.

I was really happy that I had found a nice new local sex store to get my stuff from, albeit limited on selection, I figured I could always find at least 1 of what I needed, since they don’t really have inventory, just more 1 of each random item type of thing… anyway I am sad to say that this is clearly not going to be my store for all my work stuff. From no celebrity discounts to a ridiculous return policy this place gets a zero stars in my book. I am already hesitant to give it a 1 star rating, but I do want to let ppl know about it, so thats my only choice.

Whatever you do, don’t shop there, its worth the drive to go somewhere else. I just lost $100… what is up with some of these San Diego companies?

Alright, sooo, let me figure out where to start here.

PROTEIN and KIDNEYS:
Basically the research they did in 2003 found that higher protein diets can accelerate kidney disease in those who are already at risk. It will not create it in those who are not at risk. High protein will create a greater amount of nitrates in the blood which simply mean drink more water. Basically if you are drinking enough water, there is not even a supposed negative side effects… Does that make sense?

Here’s a little more info –> “Dehydration forces the kidneys to work harder to clean toxins from the blood. Kidneys not only filter the blood, but they also help regulate blood pressure and the number of red blood cells. Increased protein intake leads to a build-up of nitrogen in the blood. The nitrogen ends up at the kidney in the form of urea, where it needs to be cleaned from the blood and got rid of in the urine. The resulting increase in urination can cause dehydration, which can lead to strain on the kidneys” – This is from the director of the American Kidney

Some more quotes on their findings –>The researchers found that in women who had normal kidney function, there was no link between high-protein diets and a decline in renal function. But those who already had a mild kidney problem who ate a high-protein diet, particularly one high in meat protein, showed some deterioration. Dairy or vegetable protein was not linked with worsening kidney function. AND also… “Elizabeth Ward, founder and president of the British Kidney Patient Association said: “If you have healthy kidneys, you can’t eat enough protein to damage your kidneys.”..

There is not a higher correlation of Kidney Failure associated with Ketosis… none… not even implied. Additionally one should note that a low carb diet is really not higher than the recommended dosage of protein so its really not even considered a high protein diet. Its just higher in protein than a non-low carb diet.

Ok, moving on…

INSULIN:

Just a couple things to day about this. First off, carbohydrates and sugars spike insulin levels which lead to sugar crashes, and more detrimental, insulin spikes. Insulin resistance is a growing epidemic. The constant insulin spikes caused by starchy carbohydrates and foods high on the Glycemic Index are leading to the pancreas not producing insulin at all… Researchers have been seeing this happening more and more as the low fat craze hit the media. Not to mention that several studies have shown that when you have insulin spikes, you have greater appetite which leads to overeating. There was a study conducted a few years back that took cute little rabbits and placed tubes directly into their stomachs. They gave half the rabbits sugar water basically (directly into their stomach) and the other half a saline solution… then they monitored the amount of food they ate over the next 24 hours. It showed that the rabbits with the sugar water actually ate a significantly greater amount of food than the rabbits that did not have the sugar. That was an earlier study, at the moment it is pretty common knowledge that insulin levels are directly proportional to appetite and food consumption.

KETOSIS (How it works):

Basically yes its is the switch from burning sugar for energy into burning fat for energy. Does it use your fat storage’s for energy? No that’s actually a false statement. It does burn fat, from foods and from your fat storage’s for energy. Is it unhealthy or dangerous? Not at all. Basically your body is made to work two ways… sugar or fat as energy. We are naturally hunters and gatherers… Sometimes we burn sugar, sometimes we burn fat. During the winter months when berries and fruits were rare, our bodies would use the fats used on meats to sustain us through winter. Our body does prefer sugar to fats, but it is not unhealthy or dangerous to use one vs the other. If anything sugar is much more dangerous than fats.

FATS and CHOLESTEROL:

Fat does not make you fat. Fat is not stored without carbs… what does that mean? Well its actually that fat is not stored without insulin and carbs spike insulin levels. You need carbs in order to store fats… here is something that tries to break it down the science of it (This is causing insulin resistance… as well as epidemics of child diabetes among many other health issues.)

“As alluded to earlier, without alpha-glycerol phosphate present, fatty acids cannot be bound into triglyceride (which is stored body fat). Therefore: (and this wraps it up)…You cannot gain fat on a ‘high fat/low carb’ diet.”

Article here —> High Fat Diet

Fat does not clog arteries or cause high cholesterol.

Here are a couple cholesterol links… this shows that hydrogenated oils are the biggest and worst culprit for clogged arteries… and if you’ve ever read a food label for crackers or bread or any refined carbohydrate you will know that they are packed full of trans fats (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils). Coincidence that we blame fats when all the conglomerates are pumping out these refined carbs packed full of trans fats?

“Hydrogenated fats, also known as trans-fats, are three times more dangerous than saturated fats, because they increase the bad cholesterol and decrease the good cholesterol. Hydrogenated fats are hidden in many processed products such as cakes, biscuits, cookies, cereals, rolls, candies, breads and fast foods.”

Here’s a link Lower Bad Cholesterol

Additionally there is a growing number of research – this particular study was conducted by Duke University — that shows that low carb diets actually increase good cholesterol while lowering bad cholesterol… this is a report of the 2005 study . This was a 6 month study..
Cholesterol

Another study was released in July of 2008 that was conducted over a period of 2 years that shows staggering results
2 year study

What is commonly mistaken for fats is actually a combination of fat AND carbohydrates. That is clogged arteries is a result of eating things like french fries, Philly cheese steak, Cheeseburgers, steak and potatoes, pizza and any other number of foods that mix high carbohydrates (spiking insulin) with high fats… Fat cannot be stored in the body without binding to alpha-glycerol phosphate. When you don’t have carbs, your body literally poops out the fat that is not used for energy. It cannot be stored in your body, arteries, or otherwise. Here is an interesting article that I think is well worth the read… it is in addition to a growing number of evidence in this realm
Fat won’t make you fat There is also Lots of new studies like the one I linked above that show that ‘high fat / low carb’ diets actually increase good cholesterol while decreasing triglycerides and bad cholesterol.

Saturated Fats

Here is someones criticism of the studies against fat — all of which as a researcher become very important. Such as all the studies of fat in diet didn’t record the number of carbohydrates being consumed along side these fats. A huge error for those of the scientific community to ignore other diet variables. Bad Science

KETOACIDOSIS:
I’d like to also point out that Ketosis is commonly mistaken by nay Sayers as Ketoacidosis — “Ketoacidosis should not be confused with ketosis, which is one of the body’s normal processes for the metabolism of body fat. In ketoacidosis, the body fails to adequately regulate ketone production causing such a severe accumulation of keto acids that the pH of the blood is substantially decreased.” Many people refer to ketosis as a “dangerous metabolic state” but they are actually referring to Ketoacidosis which symptoms are pretty severe including vomiting, weakness and confusion. It is most common and dare I say ONLY occurring in Type 1 diabetics who cannot produce insulin, and in alcoholics who are experiencing severe dehydration among other consequences of high alcohol consumption and lack of nutrition.

Here is a wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketoacidosis

OTHER COMMON LOW CARB MYTHS:

Good Article with some myths though. As a very important side note – People have lots of misconceptions about low-carb diets. There are a lot of common MYTHS about low-carb eating all over the internet. The assumption is that you eat bacon and cheese and steak and that’s all… that’s completely untrue. In fact most research shows that low-carb “dieters” actually increase their vegetable intake… “A recent study suggests that the major change in eating patterns for dieters on low-carbohydrate diets has been the addition of large amounts of vegetables and salads to replace carbohydrates removed from their diet. The report was published in the open access journal Nutrition Journal.

I find this to be very true for myself… I eat WAY more veggies when I’m low carbing. My fiber intake is tripled and the carbs that I do get are complex carbs from veggies, not starchy simple carbs and sugars. The foods I eat the most are Zucchini, Spinach, Raspberries, avocados, cucumbers and tofu.

Here’s a link to this article… just one of many. http://www.naturalnews.com/021141.html

Here is a really good read on the 7 most common myths of low carb diets…

Low Carb Myths

I’m sure that you wouldn’t disagree that a diet highest in fiber and vegetable isn’t bad for you. You do eat fats as well but I don’t necessarily see how its higher than normal. I eat Avocados, a piece or two of cheese a day, and I do use cream for my coffee, and have salmon maybe once a week and maybe some cream cheese here and there to spice things up. I also eat a LOT of flax seed meal and nuts. I’m not sure that anyone looking at it from a realistic perspective can say that is an unhealthy diet.

Lastly there is an extremely long and comprehensive article published in the New York Times a few years back that is packed with some great stuff… You can find it here –> http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E2D61F3EF934A35754C0A9649C8B63&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=7

Here is the low-carb food pyramid for those of you interested. Does this really look unhealthy?

Ok.. I’m done for now, that was a lot.

Just wanted to post my happy new year video here for you to check it… I need to start doing more vlogs I think. Just been busy with other work but its time to get back out there and post some happy videos!

<
Happy New Year – More free videos are here

As a side note, YouTube deleted my account for this video… YUP. Permanently deleted for saying Happy New Year… Haters – Sigh!

A heart free of desire is true emptiness:

No holding back,

Just drift with the untied clouds,

Existence and non-existence are one

And the same:

Embrace the void.

To the seeker, emptiness is All.

-Loy Ching-Yuen -

Hey guys.. hope your Holiday is filled with love and joy and laughter and good eats!

Here’s a pic from a couple minutes ago… btw, did I mention I love you?

Merry Christmas!

I went down to the tidepools yesterday. So so so much fun. We didn’t really see much and oh my gosh it was freezing out, but it was a great time with friends. I had lots of winter gear on. You wouldn’t think you’d need 3 layers in Southern California but low and behold I did… AND gloves AND a hat.

Anyway I had a great time. Here’s a couple pics. I love the Pacific Ocean. It will always be my home.

Love you.

I’ve been abusively tagged by Halcyon in 666 photo meme: which forces you to post the 6th picture on the 6th page of your Flickr account, then tag/victimize 6 more people to do the same.

This is my pic, from Burning Man… featuring me and Danger Booty! Tee hee…

As for tagging 6th others… I don’t have 6 people I dislike enough to do that to, sooooo, if you are reading this and you WANT to participate, how about you say I tagged you and then we’re all good!

Love Me!

.
“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.”

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

“He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still”

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

.

This being human is a guest house

Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

- Rumi

Gorging at the Spiritual Buffet

“One thing I hear a lot as a result of my spiritual cowgirl status – and this is something you might hear too, as you progress down your own individual path – is the ol’ “spiritual buffet” indictment almost anyone who follows a single tradition or teacher likes to throw my way. The spiritual buffet indictment speaks to the fact that far too many spiritual curious people in this day and age think its perfectly fine to nonchalantly pick and choose what they want from the tantalizing array of religions and beliefs, books and teachers available in the modern world, only taking what they like, what feels good or looks good or matches their lives the way a nice painting matches their couch, while possibly missing what they might actually need: “Om, I’ll have the small shamanic salad with lite Vishnu dressing, a side order of Zen, and a fat free Torah shake with a channeled Star Being sprinkled on top.” The assumption of concern is that these spiritual gazers don’t really grow; they merely remain on the shallow surface of divine possibility, allowing their ego and personal issues and even unconscious negative habits to determine their spiritual meals. They eat the sweet and easy parts of spirituality (“Yum, goddess twirling is yay fun! Look how cool and spiritual I am!”), but don’t get the necessary spiritual roughage (“Oh shit, this practice has made me realize I’m the only reason why my life sucks right now”). They pass over the stuff that’s gonna truly fortify them, because it doesn’t taste as good and usually requires a bit of work, time, and discipline. Without any clear-cut guidelines, like those from a strict teacher or tradition, these buffet addicts merely become more self-involved. They think they are being spiritual while in fact they are just breeding more unhealthy patterns.

It all comes down to a simple, but absolutely essential reminder: As you explore, be exceptionally careful not to use spirituality as a cocktail, as just a quick high or a mere inebriating distraction. The point is to use various spiritual practices, beliefs, teachers, and even deities as self-empowering refreshers, to help you sober up for a more authentic divine connection.”

Sera Beak – The Red Book, Gorging at the Spiritual Buffet (page 22-23)

Wow, I knew I loved her from the very beginning of the preface. She definitely gets it. Now some of you might read that and be rather offended and disagree and you might have even stopped reading half way through out of enormous rejection at the very idea… the other portion of you are silently nodding your head with a smile, as a progressively stronger feeling of love and compassion overcomes you… If you’re one of the first ones, I really hope you decide to read that again, and hold the mirror up a little closer. Although if you keep reading, you’re likely to be even more offended, just an fyi.

Not to take this food thing too far, but spirituality is like a muscle. It needs to be exercised or what we commonly call “practice”. If you’re eating all this sweet candy and deserts and not having any real substance, those muscles aren’t going to gain very much strength. Take it from the body builders and athletes. Diet is very important… and your spiritual diet is even more important. In order to grow, you need real sustenance. You need to eat the stuff that doesn’t always taste so good.

All too often I run into spiritual people who love to talk the talk. They will tell you how spiritual and evolved they are, just as their phone rings and they lose their temper on the person they claim to love the most. I’m sorry but maybe I’m missing something… is spirituality just something you think and feel, but not something you DO? I think not. The entire premise of spirituality is action, and by the way non-action is also doing something, and that something happens to be nothing. I’ve seen the let-me-pick-what-is-easiest spiritual path, and I know exactly where that leads: In a circle… not a spiral, a circle.

I often go see a spiritual lecturer Jacob Glass (http://jacobglass.typepad.com/) who if you ever get a chance to go see him or purchase his lectures, I highly suggest it. He often talks about people through the years that have come to his lectures to be entertained. They come to get their spiritual high, per say… I think people do this with spirituality across the board, from New Age to Christianity to Buddhism to Wicca alike. It’s rather amusing to me that when Jacob gives a lecture that is more about action and change, its one of my favorite lectures. I’m always rather surprised to hear people around me say how they didn’t enjoy it as much. It didn’t give them their spiritual high cause it wasn’t all pretty fluff, it was more ‘here is some work for you to do on yourself’. People never like doing something, they like feeling something. In my spiritual path I can tell you time and time again much of the growth that I’ve done, the growth that really changed my baseline happiness level and the work that allowed me to stay calm in nearly any situation; that growth happened in the midst of turmoil and pain. It happened when I really dug deeper into my patterns and my thoughts and painfully ripped away those things that no longer served me. Even now as I continue to grow, as I retrain my ego daily and let go of beliefs that cause me suffering, even now as I do those things, it always takes work, and it never feels good. Letting go of the things we identify with is not only horrifying to most people, it really isn’t fluffy and pretty and soft. It’s rough and harsh and many times very painful. Growth takes discipline, focus and real courage.

A few months back Jacob developed a “Happiness Boot Camp” for his students. I was surprised when I would hear people say that it didn’t resonate with them. Umm what? You didn’t even try it and it already doesn’t work for you? For goodness sakes it’s called HAPPINESS Boot Camp. Oh no you might actually have to DO something instead of FEEL something. Jacob even says right there on the page It only works if you DO it! Pardon my frankness…

Another great example of this that I’ve noticed in the past few months is the Byron Katie material… wow is she amazing. She has an amazing formula for growth and it really works. If you aren’t familiar with her, I’d suggest the audio book “Loving What Is” and you can also check her out on the web at www.thework.com. Her formula is simple “Judge your neighbor, write it down, ask 4 questions, turn it around.” Simple right? What I’ve noticed is that in “The Work’ as she calls it there are some amazing steps, but the most essential step is the turn-around. That’s the painful step right? The step where we actually take all of our judgments on the world and we say, wow, this is really all about ME. Not him or her or them… that’s the part where we take responsibility for ourselves, and that’s the part where that painful stretching happens. Katie says herself about the turnarounds, “They are revelations, showing you previously unseen aspects of yourself reflected back through others.” This is where we truly begin to let go of our beliefs and change our patterns. Do you know how many times I’ve watched someone stop at the second question? Or how many times I’ve watched someone never even use the worksheet? The turn-around is where we actually heal… that’s the part that actually helps us to dissolve those patterns and ways of thinking and create a whole new baseline for our happiness.

Now, having practiced the Byron Katie material, I’ve learned quickly enough to understand that what someone else does is not my business. In fact as of late I’ve taken to being rather silent on advice, spiritual topics when they come up in conversation, or just about most things. In my life at this moment, my lessons have been to be less, talk less, listen more and seek to understand, not to be understood.

I didn’t write this today to tell anyone what to do or not to do, or even how to live for that matter… what seems to be clear is that if you consider yourself spiritual and are still suffering then maybe its time to go a little deeper. Lasting joy (not the external kind) comes when you painfully rip away those parts of yourself that cause suffering, those beliefs and patterns and ego centered thinking that separate us from the Divine. Happiness comes from the turn-around. It’s fostered in those moments of clarity, those healing moments of radical self-awareness, not self-pity.

That being said, if you come to me with your pity party, I’m unlikely to join in the festivities. I have little desire to interact with someone who isn’t willing to take responsibility for their life and their actions. If you decide to feel sorry for yourself and beat yourself up, maybe look a little deeper in that spiritual buffet and see what sustenance you might be missing… or don’t. It’s your life and you will suffer as long as you wish to suffer and when you’ve had just enough, you’ll let it go, and move on. There is no doubt that any action, anyone takes is just perfect in its entirety. No mistakes…

And with that, please know this all comes from a place of love.