10 Steps to Going and Staying Raw

Adapted from The Raw Food Blog, this outlines one way of approaching a raw food lifestyle. This might work for most people. Myself, the journey was more about really listening to my body and going with the flow. The point at which i made a significant shift was when i made my kitchen raw. Cleared out all the cooked foods, gave away my cooking gear and started using the oven as extra bench space. I had already been eating mostly raw, but this just nudged me over that point of no return.

1. Assemble the tools you need. A blender - any blender - a juicer, a dehydrator, some jars for sprouting, and a variety of raw recipes are the minimum requirements. If you can't bring it all together at once, then start with the blender and jars.

2. Assemble your list of suppliers. Where are you going to buy your food? Are you going be mostly organic? Will you be able to source from growers' markets or a food co-op? Find a supply of sprouting seeds - at least some alfalfa, sunflower and broccoli. The wider the variety the better. We've started the Living Foods Co-operative in Melbourne to support the raw community here.

3. Read your instructions. Do you know how to sprout, how to use the juicer?

4. Plan out what you're going to do. If you decide you'd like to make angel-hair pasta from zucchini, for example, you might find having a spiral slicing machine handy. This might put you back to step 1.

5. Set a starting date and create a support crew around you. Having a support group is the greatest. Check meetup.com for raw groups in your area. If you don't know any raw foodies in your area, find a raw chat group or two for support. A professional Raw Coach is ideal, if available.

Share with them what you plan to do, and the date you're going to start. You'll find yourself more successful this way, than if you "go raw secretly."

6. Stay inspired. So build a collection of books, videos, and CDs so you'll have lots of material as you go raw. This will help maintain momentum. Videos are good for motivation. There are many places online where these can be viewed, The Best of Raw Food, RawDoctors.com and YouTube are just some. There are also an increasing number of films being released. Check some of my previous blogs for these.

7. Eat consciously. Research shows that it takes 21 days for a new behaviour to become a habit. This is just as true for eating as it is for any other kind of habit. So exercise your consciousness when you are eating live foods and be aware of your attitude towards the food.

Victoria Boutenko and Gabriel Cousens have written a book on the subject of eating raw and breaking that dependency on cooked foods - 12 Steps to Raw Foods. Her book covers the subject in detail, but here are her 12 Steps to Raw Food:

Step 1 - I admit that I have lost control of my addiction to cooked food and my eating is becoming unmanageable.
Step 2 - I believe that live vegan food is the most natural diet for a human being.
Step 3 - I shall gain necessary skills, learn basic raw recipes and obtain equipment to prepare live food.
Step 4 - I shall live in harmony with people who eat cooked food.
Step 5 - I shall stay away from temptations.
Step 6 - I shall create a support group.
Step 7 - I shall find alternative activities or hobbies.
Step 8 - I shall let my higher self lead my life.
Step 9 - I shall make a searching and fearless inventory of the real reasons for seeking comfort and pleasure from cooked foods.
Step 10 - I shall let my intuition help me.
Step 11 - Through clarity I will gain happiness.
Step 12 - I shall provide support to other raw fooders.

8. Part of changing diet and lifestyle is detoxifying the body. Not as a one-time detox, but instead, we should be constantly detoxing. That's where Dr. Ann Wigmore's program comes in. She taught much more than a diet. In her books and videos she lays out the procedures for a continuous healthy detox, including the foods we eat, how we combine them, the usage of colonics or enemas, the uses of wheatgrass juice, and more.

The basics are laid out in her book, Why Suffer? How I Overcame Illness and Pain Naturally.

9. Be aware, not discouraged. You're going to backslide at times, and it's normal. Don't feel like you've "failed" if you happen to go out for your favourite cooked meal. Instead, think about how well you've been doing, how much better you're eating than you used to, and how much better you're feeling since you started going raw.

10. Experiment, experiment, experiment. Knowing that I have addictions to comfort foods, I found new comfort foods. For me that's fresh blueberries, raspberries, and bananas.

a note about citrus

after a little bit of investigation i believe i have found some useful solutions for the vexed question of how (and if) to compost citrus.
this is something i have been asked more than once. and i've had my fair share of grief seeing orange and lemon peel add to the slush i am attempting to remediate in my own bin right now. yes, it is acidic and the worms do not like it. and, according to Paul Stamet, there is no fungi that breaks down the volatile oils, which apparently are as much of a problem as is the acidity. after all, it is the orange oil that is used as the antiseptic agent in many of the "green" cleaners to cut grease and kill living things.
however, there are other uses. you can dry the peel and use it as fuel, in this case there's even a commercial application. not only does the dried peel burn well, but it gives off a great aroma. you can freeze the peel and then compost it. apparently it breaks down much faster, and the freezer smells great. however the following three stage juice pulp composting recipe - from the Permaculture Discussion Forum - takes the cake for the most innovative solution:

Re: Composting citrus?
by Ichsani » Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:42 pm
Hi all After my first attempts at juice pulp composting ended in rank, pongy failure
I hit upon a recipe that worked- found through lots (did I say lots?) of trial and error-

1 part pulp (citrus mainly, some vege and other fruits)
1 part coffee grounds a couple of handfuls of rich soil/old compost/ leaf litter etc
some token handfuls of lime (for later)
lots of microbes and wormies (free!)
the luck of the compost faeries (with us all)

I used a three stage process - involved, but it worked better than anything else I tried.
Stage 1:
The pulp and coffee came in garbage bags when I got them - either way, mix the pulp, coffee and those handfuls of soil in one bag (it really doesn't work without this step - the coffee has effectively been heat sterilised and the pulp doesn't have many microbes in it - cause the inside of the fruit doesn't - or shouldn't. When I mixed bags without the soil/old compost added, the coffee/pulp 'mummified' and didn't break down for yonks).
Don't add any water - just the pulp, coffee and soil/old compost innoculent.

The bags can't be so full else they'll tear. After mixing twist the bag shut so there's little air and turn over so its doesn't come undone - you can stack up several bags this way. Leave in a shady spot for at least a few weeks (no sun, not even a bit - another lesson learnt).

Stage 2:
When you have enough to make a pile (mine were ~1/2 cubic metre) slice open the bags - they'll be a little whiffy but only slightly. Its not a 'knock you over' kind of pong. The coffee bits look more 'fluffy' and the pulp looks pretty much the same but the smell is 'different' to when it went in ..... don't put it on plants 'to finish off in the garden' at this stage - it'll kill seedlings and such as there is a bit of alcohol produced.

Make the pile as big as you can comfortably turn (or use one of those tumbler things for bigger jobs). I did mine in compost bays open onto the ground (this helps for stage 3).

For each bag you add, chunk in a handful of lime (its nowhere near enough lime to neutralise the acidity of the citric acid 'in theory' BUT the theory strictly only holds for an acid and an alkali by themselves....and can't account for the diversity of molecules that make up the pulp and coffee, the wonders of life, microbial succession and all that guff.
Mix the pile around and sprinkle with water - moist not sodden is the aim.
You can add some leaves or straw at this point to make the finished compost less dense but try without first then adapt the mix how you see fit next time.

Fork it around a few times a week, sprinkle with water to keep it moist. It'll get HOT after each forking. This went for about 4 weeks depending on the season and the number of times I turned it. When the pulp doesn't look like pulp any more and it doesn't really get hot after turning, its time for:

Stage 3:
Either move to a finishing bay or leave in the same spot to 'finish' out of the sun. No more forking just let the worms move in. This stage takes about 4 - 8 weeks depending on the season - shorter if its warm. It also helps to cover the pile with hessian, old felt, leaves or something to keep it humid. Leave it alone except for a bit of water now and again.

That's it.

This made perhaps the best compost I have ever produced. Rich, very dark, very sticky and very very dense. It smelt wonderfully earthy and was so densely humusy that I reckon you could have modelled figurines out of it. My 1/2 cubic metre piles became about 20 buckets worth each - less than a 1/3 of the original size.

I had to cut it 70:30 (crappy sandy soil: compost) to use it. Other, more crumbly composts I grow straight into no problem - but not this one. I tried higher amounts of this compost in pots but it dried very hard and shrunk by about 1/3 and would only wet up if submerged in a bucket - hardcore compost!

If leaves, straw etc are added at stage 2 the compost comes out more fluffy and only needs a 50:50 cut.

Out of my own curiosity I tested the pH through the stages - end of stage 1 pH ~ 4, end of stage 2 pH ~ 6-7, end of stage 3 pH about 7-9. More often it was about pH 8. After cutting with (formerly) crappy sandy soil pH was ~7. Perfect.

Like everybody else here - I would rather all that organic matter goes to making us more gardens!!!!! (rather than going to landfill to make methane to warm our toes).

building a compost bin

i'm going to replace the old green plastic one with something that actually works. the unfortunate problem with the plastic bins is they don't aerate very well. once the anaerobic activity gets going it interferes with the breakdown and the organic matter starts to rot instead of composting. the other thing that can happen is not enough moisture, or too much heat. this can affect the breakdown process and the microbial action.

so the answer is to build a bin with wooden slats, have gaps between the boards to allow air to circulate and turn the compost as and when needed. a good compost that is breaking down well does NOT smell. if anything it has that rich sweet smell of live soil, and worms abound in plenty. a lid is good though to keep vermin out, and for aesthetics.

these are some designs i am considering. placed a WANTED post on Freecycle tonight and have managed to locate some old pallets for the timber.

Vasili on SBS has detailed instructions for building a wooden compost pallet bin, including a video clip.

This three-bin structure is the rolls royce of compost bins, complete with detailed instructions and photographs. Even management students from Bucknell University can build one so it can't be that hard.

And this is my favourite, the twin bin, portable and compact. The instructions are clearly laid out, step-by-step with photos.

Watch this space as i begin to construct my own variation and combination to fit the space where the plastic bin sits.

grow food :: it's empowering

From Angela Stokes' raw reform newsletter, the trailer for the new documentary from the Dervaes family, the ‘Urban Homesteaders’ in Pasadena, California. They now have a documentary about their simple way of life – called ‘Homegrown Revolution’. I LOVE this quote in the trailer from the dad of the Dervaes family:

“...if you can grow food, it’s empowering.
In fact, I believe growing food is one of the most dangerous occupations on the face of this Earth, because you’re in danger of becoming free!”

The Dervaes family report that they grow 6000lbs of food a year on 1/10th of an acre of cultivated land...WOW...this is the future of raw foodism, folks – spade in hand – DIG FOR VICTORY ;)

carmella's sunny raw kitchen

i've had a lot of friends ask about raw food recipes recently, and i am continually lending out my recipe books. i have a small stable of favourites, even though most often they serve to inspire me rather than being something i follow religiously.
so, here is a great blog - the Sunny Raw Kitchen - from a Canadian woman, carmella, who has posted some wonderful recipes and absolutely mouth-watering photos.
And for Amanda, who makes (i'm told) the most delicious vegan cakes in the Blue Mountains, here is a raw cake recipe for chocolate and cream charlotte. i haven't dared to make it yet, but it looks good.

my new hippo

yes, last month my faithful Champion juicer died. the engine seized. i doubt this has to do with the amount of juicing i do daily. the juicer was second-hand and i'm guessing, more than 20 years old. i give it credit for lasting as long as it did. it is sitting on the lounge room floor awaiting a decent farewell. will be putting it on freecycle shortly unless one of my friends would like to take it in and resuscitate it.
meanwhile i have purchased a fabulous new Hippocrates coldpress juicer by Greenpower. The Hippocrates is one of those twin gear dudes and is actually quite a lot more silent than the Champion. it is especially good at juicing leafy greens.
the trickiest part of owning this juicer is the cleaning. it's a lot of work, however given how much better the juice tastes, i believe it's worth it. there's barely any fibre in the juice. i used to strain the juice from the champion and get 1-2 tsp of pulp per litre from the straining. there is nothing to strain with this juice. it also stays fresher longer. when i juice i do at least 1 litre and then put whatever i don't drink in a glass bottle in the fridge. the juice from this juicer still tastes fantastic and fresh 12 hours later. very little oxidation.
be interested to hear readers' views and experiences as there's been a lot of discussion recently amongst members of our raw food group.

Juicer Comparisons: http://www.juicercomparisons.co.uk/

back on my bike

oohhweee, i cycled from St Kilda West to Hampton yesterday evening. what a ride - 25 kms round trip. it's so good to be back in body and functioning again after several years of bringing my Self back to full health. the setting sun was beautiful, the evening breeze warm, soft and gentle and my body breathed free. i'm a little sore this morning, but only due to the fall i had at sandringham when some silly walker stepped right into my path AFTER i rang the bell to warn them of my coming. why do the groups of walkers have to take up the ENTIRE path, and then ramble all over the show? we cyclists manage to keep left unless passing. can't they?

International Buy Nothing Day

challenge yourself to switch off from shopping and tune into life. this is the byline from the BND site.
it is interesting to note that of all the countries around the world who have a presence (including New Zealand), Australia doesn't have a mention.
are we so steeped in consumerism that this hasn't hit the radar here?

mail goggles

well, this is so pertinent, having just got off skype, talking to my dear friend paul. ahhh, relationships. the stuff the world is made of, in all it's splendour and brilliant colours. the folk at google have come up with a little gadget that aims to intercept human nature at it's most vulnerable. how often do you click the "send" button a nanosecond before you realise that you don't want to send that email. mail goggles is a way of automatically asking yourself "are you sure?" in that moment when you forget to do it.
i like it, but can't help feeling that perhaps this is one of those things that a google engineer thought of at 3am when maybe he'd have been better to wait until the morning and the cold sober light of day.
quite serendipitous, as part of our skype conversation made mention of the phenomenum of beer goggles. and paul explained how this could be stretched to take in the concept of hormonal goggles. that's when the conversation started to get interesting (off topic for this blog ;-)

throw out your microwave!

This, from Dr Gabriel Cousens. I first wrote about him in an earlier post on diabetes.

"A microwave oven decays and changes the molecular structure of the food by the process of radiation, making it a "radiation oven". The Soviet Union banned the use of microwave ovens in 1976. Yet, more than 90 percent of American homes have microwave ovens. The general perception, even among health food professionals, is that whatever a microwave oven does to foods cooked in it doesn't have any negative effect on either the food or the consumer of the food. This is far from the truth."

Cousens goes on to give five pieces of documented evidence, including an article in The Lancet, citing the use of a microwave oven to heat baby formula.

There is a Cure For Diabetes: the Tree of Life 21-Day Program,
by Gabriel Cousens, MD

I have never owned a microwave and, when i ate cooked food, avoided wherever possible food that was heated in a microwave oven. I still cannot believe how many people still use them and in particular people whom i would consider to understand the risks. This includes my friends and colleagues in the so-called health industry.

Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking is an article originally published in Acres USA (1994), which cites a lawsuit in Oaklahoma and a study in Switzerland.
What is your microwave doing to your health? the article is sourced from the mercola.com site, but posted on Food Matters.
History of the microwave oven, invented by Dr Percy Spencer in 1946, according to what i could find out.
i wrote about Dr Gabriel Cousens in an earlier post on diabetes, and have just received a copy of his book, There is a Cure for Diabetes. when i opened it, this was the first thing i read.

eat your heart out nori rolls

inspiration from the i am grateful recipe book. last night i prepared nori rolls, my very first, using raw nori sheets - thank you julie from conscious choice in sydney - and making raw "rice". i was pleasantly surprised to find that, though it seems like they might require elaborate preparation, nori rolls are quite easy to make, and fun.

they look really sexy and were so filling we couldn't get through them all. i'll make these again. yummy.

the heat from meat

ho ho ho. seen in Tuesday's Age, this little snippet from crikey.com:

"There is an interesting statistic that is relevant to both the Garnaut report and climate change. It comes from a large European cancer and nutrition study group of about 50,000 meat eaters, vegans and vegetarians in the UK - 41% of vegan are single, compared with 13% of meat eaters and 25% vegetarians. Why is this relevant to Garnaut? We vegans aren't very good at compromise, so living with a non-vegan is unlikely and finding mate is statistically harder for us. Our diplomatic skills are dismal. That little bit of bacon added to a salad tends to make us froth at the mout and protest to an otherwise genial host: "how could you f___ up a perfectly good salad with dead pig?"
This tends to earn us a limited social life so we spend a lot of time reading and thinking and getting really pissed off with hypocrisy and compromise. We are pissed off with people who pretend to care about the planet but won't forego the primary driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss - meat. We are pissed off with people who tell everybody to turn off lights whe they leave the room but conveniently forget to mention that australia's biggest contribution to global warming is livestock." From Geoff Russell, Animal Liberation South Australia.

Hear, hear! Omigod, can i ever relate to this. Vegan and single, but not as uncompromising about others' food preferences. And not content with simply vegan, why not up the ante and live a (sustainable) raw food lifestyle. Save energy in food preparation as well.
As i often remind friends, i refuse to switch to energy-saving light bulbs as long as people around me are still preferring to do that over eating one less meat meal a week. When people wonder why i drive my car in a city with the best public transport system in the country, i ask them to consider why they are still eating meat when food production consumes 14% of our total greenhouse gases compared with 11% for transportation. now that's food for thought.

i am grateful

i have just bought myself the most wonderful rawfood recipe book called "i am grateful". it is based on a rawfood restaurant by the same name in california (where else!). the recipes are so inspiring. "i am divine fiery avocado carrot soup" "i am rapture strawberry shortcake" "i am sensational pesto pizza". apparently, in the restaurant the staff serve the dishes to you by presenting them and saying "you are sensational . . ."
From what i can glean, this restaurant is based on the new paradigm of business, which is not based on worrying about the bottom line. Instead the founders (and workers) are about keeping attention focused on positive affirmations, and creating the business model they want, with love. They also keep the work place clear by working with the employees to be present to their day.
Terce Engelhart's own story brought tears to my eyes. I realise that this is the heart of where my dreams for a cafe are.

green smoothies

in honour of the anniversary of my mother's passing, i dedicate this post to her. three years ago today, the first blooms of the lilac bush in her front garden were showing themselves. and at the same time that buds where opening to spring, my mother was closing a chapter on this life.
i know mum would never have gone within 50 feet of a green smoothie. or maybe she would. whatever, i'm linking to John Palmer's fabulous green smoothie recipe from last month's potluck meal at Donna's place. this one is legend. we all loved it.
then the month before that, Kristen wowed us with one of her concoctions using fresh young coconut. she has devised an entire repertoire of green smoothies on squidoo. and not content with just providing the recipes, this is the green smoothie encyclopaedia. Green smoothie facts and figures, why green smoothies, and the principles of green smoothie making. in summary though, i'm not entirely convinced that mixing fruits with vegetables is necessarily the best thing for the body. having said that i do enjoy the occasional green smoothie, but remain a juice girl. i wish to keep my fruits and my vegetables firmly segregated. they even go in different bowls in the kitchen.

great scrumping here

i'm staying with Dad in Palmerston North, a medium-sized regional town (they call it a city) in the heart of a dairy-farming district in the North Island of aotearoa. in this suburb everyone has a lawn and a garden. most properties have trees and that just about always includes a lemon and/or a grapefruit tree. citrus is king. the trees are laden, and they hang freely over garden fences and into laneways. so not only do i have the pick of Dad's lemon tree, but also the neighbour's grapefruit. nothing like a freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice first thing in the morning.

Dr Tam Mateo and Miracle Green Tea

In my last post i mentioned (in the comments) that Polly had been to a seminar in Manila earlier this year where she first came across the idea of eating food in it's natural whole state. The seminar was one held by Dr Tom Mateo, who is considered a "miracle doctor" in the Philippines. He is apparently the first Filipino naturopathic doctor. Dr Mateo's promotes the use of a miracle tea which is aimed at cleansing the digestive system. From what I can make out this tea is the equivalent of doing colon hydrotherapy, though less invasive. Polly tells me there were a lot of people with cancer attending his seminar. From what i've learnt on my healing journey there are definitely two areas - on the physical level - that need attention. One, cleaning out the accumulated toxic gunk in the digestive system. And secondly, to make sure that what goes into the body is as clean and natural as possible. this means organic and raw and mostly plant-based. From what Polly tells me, this is the basis of Dr Tom Mateo's protocol. Similar in fact to the Gerson Therapy, and to what Ian Gawler suggests as an optimal diet for those with cancer. In his book The China Study, Colin Campbell goes further and believes that any chronic illness (such as diabetes, heart disease, etc.) can be reversed through a change of diet towards eating more plant-based foods. Gawler, Gerson and Dr Norm Walker all believe that colon cleansing is an important and integral part to any change in diet. Thanks to my earlier experiences this year, i can vouch for this. Eating nutritionally rich and clean raw foods leads the body into detoxing and when the detox moves faster than the body can reasonably eliminate toxins, that's when a colonic can be helpful. Matt Monarch talks some more about this subject in one of his articles.

simply raw :: reversing diabetes

Yes, it can be done. Last night i sat down with dad and Polly and we watched Simply Raw. And this isn't the first time i have come across the concept. Caroline duPont has also worked with people to help reverse diabetes through diet.

I borrowed the DVD from my friend Donna. This documentary tells the story of six diabetics who switch to a diet consisting entirely of organic, vegan, uncooked food to reverse diabetes without the use of prescription drugs. Most of the participants had been told by their doctors "you will be on insulin for the rest of your life". They came from a range of cultural backgrounds aged from 26 to 68, and were challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, processed and packaged food, and even cooked food for 30 days.
The film follows their journey through this process and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations.

It includes additional wisdom from Morgan Spurlock, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Robbins, Rev. Michael Beckwith, and Doctors Fred Bisci, Joel Fuhrman, David Wolfe, and Gabriel Cousens.

Even though i have been eating 100% raw for six months now, i was impressed by the moments captured in this film. The statistical results alone are astounding. These people were able to go off all medication within 3 days of eating in this way. But even more incredible were the emotional transformations. With one of the guys you could see the sparkle in his eyes, the spring in his step. He said he hadn't felt so good in years and he looked good too.

In my own journey I have come to take this for granted now. But it is no small thing to be feeling constantly cheerful and in a positive mood, feeling good every day and having energy in reserve. Until recently, i had grappled with depression for many years. But no longer!

i don't have diabetes but i have no doubt that eating in this way has helped me on all levels to live a much higher quality of life than the way i was before. my mind is clearer and my body is healthier. but as one of the people in the film says, why wait - as so many people do - until you have a life-threatening disease before doing something about it.

And yes, there is a Facebook page Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes
If you want to watch the YouTube film trailer or share it with friends, go to this link.
Dr Gabriel Cousens has written the book, There Is A Cure for Diabetes.
He is also filmed at Hippocrates Health Institute, talking about reversing diabetes.
See a later post on Cousens and (not )microwaving for health.

bursting the chocolate bubble

thanks donna for bringing me down to earth on the matter of cacao. here's an excerpt from the email penned by raw foodist Paul Nison:
One of the biggest deceptions in the raw food movement is that cacao is a healthy food. It is very addicting and toxic to the body. I have written two articles on the subject that you can view by clicking here. Don’t feel bad, I myself was once deceived by it as well, but after conducting my own research, I found the truth. It is not needed in the diet and I suggest avoiding it. Brian Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute has also confirmed it is a very toxic food. Also another thing I have learned is that there is no such thing as truly Raw Cacao. Once it is processed, it is cooked. Only the beans by themselves are raw. Eating these beans raw is just as crazy as eating raw coffee beans. Many of the people who sell cacao are good hearted people who are just not aware of the harm it does. However, there are a few people who are very aware of the issue with cacao but make so much money selling it, that they continue to promote it as a super food. Some of these people even make a religion out of it, calling themselves cacao gods. I would definitely avoid anything these people promote, especially cacao. I understand many people have cravings for chocolate and I would suggest carob as a healthy alternative.
Okay, i have tried carob and although i know it is supposed to be much healthier, i just don't like the taste. i also have to disagree with Paul's claim that there is no truly raw cacao. Scott Fry of Loving Earth is working with communities in South America to produce cacao that is processed using no heating method whatever.

anand and runi :: their raw blog

some entralling reading here from anand (and runi). their blog contains some really interesting posts about the 80/10/10 diet, the green smoothie challenge and photos too of what a raw body looks like (thanks anand).

Anand runs classes on raw food preparation. Though i have not personally attended any of his classes yet i hear that they are good.

today i am still trying to recover from eating too much raw cacao (theobroma cacao - food of the gods). it's powerful stuff and my head feels as though it is still in outer space. i do hope i'll be able to sleep tonight. i have a real weakness for chocolate coconut butter.

into the abyss . . .

. . . this - from the recent permablitz newsletter - reflects a little of how i am feeling today.

Five simple steps to dealing with the modern world: 1. Find the abyss. 2. Approach the abyss. 3. Stare into the abyss. (Firmly, but compassionately.) 4. Hold the abyss. And gently caress the abyss. (Don't take advantage of the abyss's vulnerability at this point.) 5. Feed the abyss soup. Lots of soup, obviously, it being an abyss. The abyss will be tame now, but take it out of the house regularly to experience the wondrousness and fantasticality that is Life. Like, for the sake of example, a most exciting permablitz event...

My personal abyss feeds on a diet of chocolate coconut butter, and definitely doesn't get out enough.