My reasons for eating vegan were not originally about the animals. It was more for health reasons. I had come across David Wolfe (The Sunfood Diet Success System), and his research seemed to support a raw plant-based diet as the the healthiest choice. The fact that I had been macrobiotic for a few years and was feeling a bit down and heavy may have had something to do with it as well. So, when I came across David’s book, it was like a breath of fresh air!
And so it began. It wasn’t just about being vegan, it was ‘raw’ vegan. This strange new path that I was about to get on board with. I did it for 13 years. 100% raw or certainly ‘uncooked’ to the best of my knowledge. No cooked food, no processed food, hell, not even a bag of crisps! It was tough. My body didn’t know what had happened. I began to lose weight. I was following mainly a fruit diet to start with and it just wasn’t feeling very good after some time.
Thankfully, after a few years of not getting the results I had expected, I came across Gabriel Cousens and his wonderful book ‘Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine’. This book made sense and it covered a lot to do with tailoring a raw food diet on an individual basis and applying it in a balanced way. Cousen’s recommended a mineral rich, low sweet approach which was refreshing after all the fruit sugars I had been consuming.
Cousens went into the scientifics of cellular metabolism and how cancer and candida growth are perpetuated by sugar and the SAD (standard american diet). Dr Cousen’s had over 30 years experience with a raw food diet and had also helped many people heal themselves at his rejuvenation center, following an ‘individuated’ raw plant based diet.
After a few months of following the diet that Cousen’s recommended, I saw results! I finally felt healthy, had lots of energy and the way of eating was far more enjoyable with the inclusion of salty condiments/spices/oils and it all felt more ‘normal’ to me. Being low on salt doesn’t work for everyone! So, now my diet included a more raw ‘gourmet’ style of eating, including raw crackers, cookies, nut milks, salad dressings, spicy falafels and RAW CHOCOLATE!!! Annnnd, I had worked out how my air/water constitution could best be balanced through tailored food preparation.
So, this became more of the norm and I started enjoying the plant based diet. I began writing recipe books,and offering some low GI sweets by mail order. It was all rosy.
And then it happened……….!
One day, I heard the pitter patter of tiny webbed feet on the outside window ledge and I looked up to see Mr Woody, the resident wood pigeon (he was a regular visitor!) Yet something was different. When I looked at him, I felt him as though he was part of me. The sense of connection was so real to me, so amazing, and I knew in that moment ‘We Are All One’. (The realisation inspired a song I entitled ‘All As One’) I will never forget that moment. It was the moment I became aware of my deep sense of connection with other living non-human beings.
I have always loved animals. It wasn’t as though this was the first time I was appreciating them. But there was something about that memory, that moment, that was pivotal in my committment to appreciating, empathically connecting with and respecting animals. It was the day I was vegan not just for health, but absolutely for the animals too.
And so fast forward, blah de blah, to the present! My own journey into dietary exploration in the first place was also from a place of seeking balance withing myself, mentally and emotionally. Even though I had already had a blissful experience that was way beyond ‘chemistry’, still, I undertook this experimental path to learn more about myself in relation to food and to observe the subtle effects on my mind and emotions.
I have always been on a spiritual journey seeking the higher truths of existence. Wondering what the purpose of our existence/creation is. Moving towards eating a plant based diet has been a part of that evolution on the path of self-realization for me. I feel that as we awaken to the best in ourselves, we will also naturally come to respect that all living beings are also here for an individual experience, as part of their species evolution. I feel that since, we can make big changes that affect those lives, we have a responsibility to be guardians of peace and safety to support the fulfillment of their purpose too. And as we do so, we are accelerating our own conscious development in the process.
When I look at an ‘animal’, it is simply a reflection/expression of the Divine or Source, or Infinite Intelligence, or however you wish to put it. It is consicousness looking back at consciousness. And I wish to say,
‘Namaste: I bow to the Divine In You’. ~ Anabrese
And that is how I see the beings known as ‘animals’. In the film Avatar, do you remember the part where the female character says ‘I see you’? It is the moment of recognizing the Beloved in another, the raw infinite intelligence in all.
If we are to be consciously intelligent awake/loving human beings, surely the qualities to develop include compassion and respect for all of the Creator’s Creations? If we are all One, then can we live like that through our choices, with our dollars? We can vote for love, compassion and respect for all. We have that power, YOU have that power……today. I trust you will use it well.
I looked, and behold, I saw that ‘It’ was me ~ Anabrese