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1723 Avenida Del Sol
Boca Raton, Florida
33432, U.S.A.
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888-572-KAVA (5282)
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A Blog About Kava, Island Life, and Beyond
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Written by julia
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Thursday, 21 April 2011 |
April 21, 2011
Smile. Breathe. Relax.
Imagine a place where no one fights. Where everyone gets along. Where there is nothing but pure happiness and good times.
Many argue that such a place does not exist but I think it can happen. It can happen because it takes one person to smile and to share a good thought or good idea. Why waste energy on negativity? Why ruin someone's day? Why look for problems? Even the most negative person in the world was born into this world with the possibility of happiness. Whatever outside factors have influenced the negativity, one happy thought and idea could change someone's life.
Unfortunately, many are challenged by the idea of emptying their mind and finding peace within themselves because...life is stressful.
Life is stressful because no matter how much we have or how much we think we have, it is never enough. And we strive to get to a point of having "everything," encountering life's obstacles that come along the way, making life stressful.
In 2006, Vanuatu was voted "The Happiest Place on Earth," by the Happy Planet Index, created by the New Economics Foundation(NEF). However, "The Index doesn’t reveal the ‘happiest’ country in the world. It shows the relative efficiency with which nations convert the planet’s natural resources into long and happy lives for their citizens." (www.happyplanetindex.org/learn) I say, "however," because as I started to explain, happiness begins within us. And somehow we are becoming a world where happiness is acheived with money and materialism, and we are forgetting about the most important thing, ourselves.
The New Economics Foundation "aims to improve quality of life by promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environment and social issues." (www.neweconomics.org/about) What exactly is mainstream thinking? This question allows for numerous answers, however, one can agree that as society becomes more and more "civilized," and as we continue to rely on techonology and materialism to grow, the earth's response seems to be... a negative one.
What's even worse is that as situations get rough, people freak out more. Wars are usually over land and power. Power to control the land. Why? Because resources are starting to run out and everyone's need and want for more is causing chaos between people, between people and the earth. Eventually we'll start to invade land that has not been demolished already - for what? For resources. Can we blame us? As children we are taught to want and need
more. But what about being satisfied with the simple things in life? When did it become okay for our freedom to be taken away by money?
It seems like I'm going off topic more and more. But it is all linked together for one reason, the reason for this blog: The Happiest Place on Earth. While Vanuatu is a third-world country, has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, and "mainstream thinking" would call it, "uncivilized," the people are happy.
They find peace within themselves, their natural surroundings, their family, their culture. They have not yet been introduced to the idea of materialism. But as they become more and more introduced to money, perhaps they will also begin to adapt to the mentality of wanting more. Not being satisfied with what they have. Then they will have to fight for their land once it becomes inhabited by people looking for more resources. More war, more stress, more problems. The people are friendly and despite the country having over 83 different islands with vast languages, they for the most part get along and rather than fight each other, they find harmony. Once the need for power erupts, which could start once money gets involved and it already has, they might face the same dangers Native Americans faced years ago.
Technology has allowed us to bring a Nakamal (Kava Bar) to your home. And I am not arguing against the need for advancement. But when will it be too much? When machines start to take over? When will we be able to combine happiness with both advancement and nature?
Obviously people drink kava in Vanuatu. This is possibly one of the many factors that make the people calm and more stress-free. While kava can not "cure" life's difficulties, it brings together a peaceful atmosphere and relaxes our over thinking heads. And we all know what over thinking does...causes stress and can drive us crazy. This is why I say, drink a shell and relax. "Don't worry about the world coming to an end, it's already tomorrow in Australia."- Charles M. Schulz. Just try to best you can to be happy...it's not easy but it's possible.
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Written by julia
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 |
March 29th, 2011
Are you on Spring Break? Is Spring Break over? Well, the Spring season is here and while many automatically know its party time, how about partying South Pacific Style?! Kava does not have the same effects as alcohol. Alcohol usually makes people wild and crazy! If you're looking for some time away from wild and crazy, drink Kava! Many people always assume kava doesn't do anything because they are expecting to get the alcoholic effects from beer and liquor. However, you need to drink kava with the mind set that you want to relax and just chill....
Florida is a huge spring break hot spot! "Sunny south Florida" they call it, mostly known for the sunny beaches, and parties and crazy night life! But there's a special part in Florida that veers away from this life style.
Nakava, North America's first real kava bar, located in Boca Raton, Florida, offers everyone a taste of "South Pacific" krunkness! No alcohol, no rowdyness, just some island time relaxation.
Why do people like to get crazy drunk? Are we trying to escape our realities? Drinking kava does not take you away from life's realities, but it makes you take a step back and focus on yourself, your breathing, and most of all, it keeps you out of trouble.
Many people don't understand that kava is NOT a drug, it is NOT an "upper" and it is NOT meant to get people all crazy. In a way, "the doctor is in" like in peanuts. That is what Nakava is.
Nakava was built to resemble the "nakamals" they have in the South Pacific Islands. Nakamal is the name for kava bar in the South Pacific, hence Nakamal at Home.
During Spring Break, many of the local students attending the college nearby look for a "good time" by getting drunk and consuming large amounts of alcohol. But why? Sure its great to go out and have fun and get crazy, but why is it that people need alcohol?
Give kava a chance....let your mind go....let go of over thinking....realize that there is more to life than wanting to escape the world's miseries...
Live in the moment and be happy. " If you want to be happy...be.."
Bula!
http://www.nakava.com/
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Written by julia
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Friday, 18 March 2011 |
It's a Kava Tea Party and Everyone is Invited!
Kava is an alternative to alcohol, as explained in previous blogs. Many people drink alcohol to eliminate the day's stress or just to "clear their head." What people tend to forget is that alcohol is a depressant and if someone is in a negative state of mind, too much alcohol can lead to problems.
According to the center for disease control (CDC), there are approximately 79,000 deaths related to alcohol abuse each year. Alcohol abuse, as in, binge drinking, heavy drinking, drinking and driving, and simply drinking irresponsibly, is so common yet many don't realize the damage they are causing.
It's one thing to have a drink or two every now and then, but when you're drinking every day, drinking constantly, all you can think about is being drunk, I think it's safe to say there's a problem. Unfortunately, if people don't have alcohol, what else will they use to "relax?" Of course prescription medication can help, but we go back to chemicals and unknown substances. Not everyone can get "medical marijuana," and some don't even really agree with it.
Kava has existed for thousands of years, but it was only until recently that it has become a growing business. However, it is important to remember the true and honest reasons for drinking kava. Not because it is the cool new thing to do. Not because everyone is doing it. Not because celebrities are drinking it. Not because society expects you to. Drink kava to escape your own mental madness and just learn to relax.
An interesting video about kava was posted on You Tube recently, exploring the kava culture in Vanuatu, and how kava plays an important role in their society. In Vanuatu, the government's attempt to enhance kava drinking, included placing high taxes on alcohol. This would decrease the amount of people drinking alcohol due to high taxes, and would make more people drink kava. Due to this, the amount of violence decreased significantly and there was said to be more peace on the island.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFuYsSq4914
This should not be of any surprise to those familiar with kava. Kava's purpose, to bring relaxation and reduce the amount of violence and negativity in the islands, should be respected and understood. Kava time fun time exists only when the atmosphere/ environment is positive. Back before the American Revolution, Britain decided to impose higher taxes on their tea and as a result, "the Boston Tea Party," occured leading to an American Revolution.
If America were to impose higher taxes on alcohol, many people might become a little upset. But what if we introduced kava at the same time and took away the alcohol? We could call it the Kava Tea Party, everyone drinks kava as opposed to alcohol and the results might be surprising. It would be America's new Revolution. "All I can do is just pour some tea for two, and speak my point of view but its not sane."- No Rain, by Blind Melon. Who's ideas are sane? No one's really. So just pour some kava tea, share ideas, and realize there's more to life than social status, materialism, and not forget to be thankful for everything we have. Once we figure this out, we will be amazed at how less stressed we are and how easy it is to stay away from addiction- whether its alcohol or any other drugs.
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Written by julia
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Tuesday, 15 March 2011 |
Life is stressful. Stressful situations have been around since the beginning of time, since the dinosaur ages, and so on. But why exactly are we stressed? What causes stress? Well if we want to really break it down, it starts with chemicals in our bodies, in our brains, and then aside from that, we have society and it's social "pressures," ultimately leading us to...well...stress.
It really is simple. We get stressed when things that, sometimes are out of our control and sometime ARE in our control, bombard us. When we feel overwhelmed, whether by anger, sadness, or just too much going on at once, we need to "take a chill pill." Well, fortunately for us, pharmaceutical companies have cleverly designed medications for anti-anxiety and anti-stress! Some call it, Xanax, others, "bars." I can come up with a list to name all the anxiety and anti-stress medication out there but that's not too important. I'll let everyone else look up exactly what they are putting in their bodies. Meaning, what chemicals are involved in making these medications? That seems more important.
Most of today's population are okay with pills and unknown medications in bottles. Yet, some people spend ridiculous amounts of money on "organic" items. Seems silly. Stores like "Whole Foods," and "Trader Joes," are great for providing us with our organic food supply. We spend a little more, but don't we prefer natural over synthetic?
We are not doctors here at Nakamal at Home, and we certainly do not hold any liability when telling people that kava can help with anxiety and stress. The testimonials speak for themselves, however, and most will tell you, kava is a natural medicine.
What do we mean by natural medicine? Natural herbs? Natural plants? Not man-made. Straight from the earth. Kava is made from the root of a pepper plant. A pepper plant grown predominantly in the South Pacific Islands. All kava is, is ground up plant roots and water. THAT'S IT. Most commonly referred to as "dirt water," because it looks and tastes like that. Well, why do people dirnk wheat grass? Isn't that ground up grass and water?
Why do we drink Liquor? Beer? They seem to damage livers and lead to more car accidents than I can think of. DUI's and domestic violence. Many will argue, this is only for people that are out of control and can't handle themselves. True. But can't that be said for most things? Too much is just that...too much. Too much of anything can be harmful. Too much water can be harmful and you can drink yourself to death.
Kava has helped many MANY people with muscle relaxation, mind relaxation, and even just someone's "chill pill." Looking up the definition of medicine, it reads, "medicine is the art and science of healing." (Wikipedia) Alongside this definition, it also states "treatment of illness," and "other forms of therapy." Kava helps people, relaxes people, and provides therapy for people in times of stress.
Prehistoric medicine involved the use of plants and herbs. Many plants and natural resources were used to heal muscle pains, infections, and diseases. In fact, most pharmaceutical companies today derive their medications from plants, but they add additional chemicals. One side effect from kava is numbing of the mouth, hence why one of it's active properties is the same property found in Novacain, an anasthetic for tooth aches.
We don't need a Ph.D to tell people, drink kava, and find out what all the talk is about. We can't guarantee everyone will love it, but it may change your life. The Pope even tried it!
 BULA!
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Written by Jeffrey Bowman
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Wednesday, 22 April 2009 |
Summer is upon us kava people. Now is the time to plan the perfect kava party when the weather starts to warm up and the sun shines into the evening. Nakamal At Home has all of the supplies you need to throw the perfect kava party for your friends. Having a kava party is a great way to get friends and family together for a relaxing night of converstion around the bonfire under the stars. Kava drinking is really an oudoor affair. In the south Pacific kava is rarely drank indoors. Throwing a party inside in the winter just isn't the same as having one outside. |
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