 Sven and Karen Tonisson currently live in the Sunshine Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. They have been
on their journey of learning and living the message of whole, natural health for over 30 years. They conducted inspirational and practically-oriented classes between 1989 and 2000 on natural, whole
foods preparation, the principles of macrobiotics and empowered, healthy living. They founded and operated Gaia Wholefoods, (8
years) Brisbane's first "Slow Foods" take-away and natural foods store. More
recently, over a period of six years, Sven and Karen developed a unique line of popular, gluten-free cookies and snack foods (free of
refined sugars, dairy and artificial preservatives or chemical additives) which were distributed to specialized stores in four states. That
business continues to operate successfully today under new owners. This blog is as
a new seed planted into the fertile soils of a new environment, the internet. They draw upon the experiences of their own life journey and
quest for answers on the healing path to assist others in the practical day-to-day application of principles that support health, healing
and happiness. Their strong points are their wealth of first-hand, practical,
hands-on experience and a sensitive knack for combining sound, nutritious food preparation principles with a flair for good taste and
presentation. Their classes and articles also emphasize the importance of remembering the "big picture" as well as the value of the more
subtle energies of life. Throughout their life journey they committed to a raw food
regime for 5 years while residents in a small, self-reliant community in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. They incorporated
Macrobiotic Principles into their food choices and lifestyle in a very focused way for another 5 years after that. A primarily vegan diet
was adhered to through these years and on into another thirteen years thereafter. More recently their longterm, personal choice of a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle has relaxed dramatically
as health issues once again surfaced amidst stressful surroundings and as new knowledge became available. The influence of authors and
researchers such as
Sally Fallon www.westonaprice.org,
Dr. Mercola www.mercola.com, Bruce Lipton, PhD
www.brucelipton.com, Mary Enig PhD, www.enig.com/trans, Bruce Fife, ND. www.coconutresearchcenter.org
coupled with their own personal experiences, has brought forth a continuing
unfoldment of their perspective and understanding of health and healing. Where once they
chased that "one diet for all mankind" model, they now realize that each person is a unique, beautiful and perfect creation with his/her
own needs, wants and desires to experience. Tradition, culture, ancestry and respective habits and beliefs shape how we interact with the world
and choose our foods. We are all different, yet we are all the same. In this light, each
has his/her own requirements for nourishment at all levels, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. To the degree that we are truly nourished
at each of these levels, then we are satisfied; we are at peace, we are thankful, we are in love. How we each nourish ourselves at all these
levels is an individual thing and what this amazing experience of life is all about. Probably one of the most important bits of advice that Karen and Sven have to offer is to stay
open, to question and to keep learning.
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