Ever since my sister Samana went vegan, I had major questions about the diet and lifestyle. I always had a vague idea of the way we were treating animals but chose to believe that there was something virtuous about it. The religion I was raised in made it more difficult. They taught that animals wanted to be eaten - even if they ran from you.
When I was in college, a young woman was passing out pamphlets on the corner. I didn’t want to take it but did anyway, and asked some questions about the graphic images that were shown. Later on, in spite of myself, I actually looked at some of the images of animal agriculture. As time went on, I learned that the horrible way our animal friends were raised, housed, and ultimately slaughtered was not an exceptional practice. It was standard the world over.
This was some years ago in my early 20s. I had a clear choice. Although I was getting greater exposure to the suffering of animals and the health benefits of a vegan diet through documentaries, personal research, and friends, I found it next to impossible to take the next step and go vegan.
Partially, it had a lot to do with my enmeshment with my mother, who eats meat and believes that it’s ok to do so “until we live in a better world.” Some people would see the basic illogic of that but for me, mom was God.
I am 33 now and more independent. I actively am praying for ways to disconnect emotionally from the parents who raised me and the pressure of society. I can make my own decisions.
I have learned a lot about myself and the process of becoming vegan. For me, it will be different than for others.
For those interested, I have decided to publicly share my diet goals. The following covers my current attitude about veganism and a moral lifestyle. It is subject to change. Also, how things actually happen will undoubtedly be different than my plan.
It’s Time to Go Vegan
After a few attempts over several years, I feel more mature about what the process will be for me and I’ve taken off some of the blinders. On July 22, 2019, on my 34th birthday, I will go vegan.
Only it will be my definition. Although I will endeavor not to buy or eat any animal products, here is where my vegan lifestyle will be different to others:
-I have no problem buying leather second-hand or accepting a gift of leather.
-I am ok with ingesting honey.
-If I find something I have eaten has trace amounts of dairy, like whey powder, I will not freak out.
-I may continue enjoying things that have trace amounts of animal products like Kimchi which has fish paste.
Being Truly Vegan
Although I choose to live a vegan lifestyle, I know that what matters most are the workings of my heart. Some people have watched a vegan documentary and went vegan immediately without looking back. Sadly, I cannot say that for myself.
But there are also those who have gone vegan and have returned to a carnivorous or omnivorous diet. One of my heroes did this and he was an activist who founded a vegan company. How is it that you can make such a crucial choice and then change your mind? The simple answer is that the desire for meat hasn’t left you.
For the next 10 years, I will work on my desire for meat and animal products. This will take humility on my part. Humility, as Jesus currently describes the term, is the desire to feel one’s emotions.
I will get regular opportunities to deal with my desire for animal products. Every time I glance at an advertisement for food with animal flesh or excretions or drive by a restaurant, I will have the chance to feel any pull I have towards this food. Just yesterday, I passed by a pizza restaurant. I barely resisted the urge to jump inside and grab one of the slices off the revolving rack. The trick is to feel the temptation, resist it, and then feel the fear that comes up. Fear will cause you to want to stop breathing. Breathe anyway and allow yourself to shake and convulse. If you get through your fear, you may get down into grief which you can feel by allowing yourself to cry.
The hardest thing for me to contend with is my desire for dairy products. Milk, cream, sour cream, pull-apart mozzarella sticks, stretchy mozzarella on fresh-baked pizza, cheddar cheese, feta cheese, melted American cheese on a hamburger - the list goes on. A lot of these flavors and textures can be mimicked but they may not ultimately be replaced.
When I was in college, a young woman was passing out pamphlets on the corner. I didn’t want to take it but did anyway, and asked some questions about the graphic images that were shown. Later on, in spite of myself, I actually looked at some of the images of animal agriculture. As time went on, I learned that the horrible way our animal friends were raised, housed, and ultimately slaughtered was not an exceptional practice. It was standard the world over.
This was some years ago in my early 20s. I had a clear choice. Although I was getting greater exposure to the suffering of animals and the health benefits of a vegan diet through documentaries, personal research, and friends, I found it next to impossible to take the next step and go vegan.
Partially, it had a lot to do with my enmeshment with my mother, who eats meat and believes that it’s ok to do so “until we live in a better world.” Some people would see the basic illogic of that but for me, mom was God.
I am 33 now and more independent. I actively am praying for ways to disconnect emotionally from the parents who raised me and the pressure of society. I can make my own decisions.
I have learned a lot about myself and the process of becoming vegan. For me, it will be different than for others.
For those interested, I have decided to publicly share my diet goals. The following covers my current attitude about veganism and a moral lifestyle. It is subject to change. Also, how things actually happen will undoubtedly be different than my plan.
It’s Time to Go Vegan
After a few attempts over several years, I feel more mature about what the process will be for me and I’ve taken off some of the blinders. On July 22, 2019, on my 34th birthday, I will go vegan.
Only it will be my definition. Although I will endeavor not to buy or eat any animal products, here is where my vegan lifestyle will be different to others:
-I have no problem buying leather second-hand or accepting a gift of leather.
-I am ok with ingesting honey.
-If I find something I have eaten has trace amounts of dairy, like whey powder, I will not freak out.
-I may continue enjoying things that have trace amounts of animal products like Kimchi which has fish paste.
Being Truly Vegan
Although I choose to live a vegan lifestyle, I know that what matters most are the workings of my heart. Some people have watched a vegan documentary and went vegan immediately without looking back. Sadly, I cannot say that for myself.
But there are also those who have gone vegan and have returned to a carnivorous or omnivorous diet. One of my heroes did this and he was an activist who founded a vegan company. How is it that you can make such a crucial choice and then change your mind? The simple answer is that the desire for meat hasn’t left you.
For the next 10 years, I will work on my desire for meat and animal products. This will take humility on my part. Humility, as Jesus currently describes the term, is the desire to feel one’s emotions.
I will get regular opportunities to deal with my desire for animal products. Every time I glance at an advertisement for food with animal flesh or excretions or drive by a restaurant, I will have the chance to feel any pull I have towards this food. Just yesterday, I passed by a pizza restaurant. I barely resisted the urge to jump inside and grab one of the slices off the revolving rack. The trick is to feel the temptation, resist it, and then feel the fear that comes up. Fear will cause you to want to stop breathing. Breathe anyway and allow yourself to shake and convulse. If you get through your fear, you may get down into grief which you can feel by allowing yourself to cry.
The hardest thing for me to contend with is my desire for dairy products. Milk, cream, sour cream, pull-apart mozzarella sticks, stretchy mozzarella on fresh-baked pizza, cheddar cheese, feta cheese, melted American cheese on a hamburger - the list goes on. A lot of these flavors and textures can be mimicked but they may not ultimately be replaced.
One way to deal with the nostalgia for these foods is by substituting vegan options into traditional dishes which I have begun to do. There are delicious vegan meats coming out all the time and vegan cheese is getting better and better.
Besides all of that, there is more to being a vegan than your concern for the environment and your desire for greater health. At the core of veganism is your love for animals. If I don’t have this essential element, I will always be tempted to place taste and societal pressures above my morality. Over the next 10 years until the age of 44, I will work on this question of morality and the temptations that come my way. When I deal with those issues, releasing all the desire for meat within my heart, I will be truly vegan.
Healthy Veganism
As the marketplace changes, yummy vegan junk food is appearing everywhere. Yes, your vegan lasagna or vegan burger is probably going to be healthier than the alternative but there are better choices.
This topic slides into my other diet issues. Some people get addicted to drugs or alcohol. My primary substance addictions are related to food. Not only do I love to eat junk food, but I overeat it while filling up on starches. This addiction has been in place since I was 5. I’m not going to lick it overnight. And I don’t want to find some other substance to take its place.
The reason we choose addictions in the first place is to cover up painful emotions. When I become humble, deciding to feel the deeper, scary emotions of fear, terror, and grief, I will have licked it for good.
For the next several years, for my own health and well-being, I will develop my cooking, shopping, and general food prep skills. Taking care of yourself is not a walk in the park. It takes dedication. But as I learn to love myself as God’s child, I have confidence that I can handle this important aspect of my diet.
Part of this process will be introducing greater and greater amounts of whole foods into my diet. I will attempt to forego processed foods, even considering removing staples like bread. Chances are I will try the raw food diet a few times.
What Lies Beyond
Since I look into many far-out topics, it wasn’t long before I heard of breatharianism. Breatharians eat the air. They surround themselves in positive environments close to nature and survive through drinking water and breathing. I actually watched a video of a healthy-looking, stable-minded breatharian who claims to have been without food for two years.
When I came across the Divine Truth teachings, I learned that in the higher levels of the spirit world, everyone is breatharian. There are 35 levels of the spirit world. In the first and second sphere people eat food. Beyond that, people can exist off the fragrance from plants and the love in the atmosphere.
If you are new to this topic, it will come to you as a surprise. If it is too hard to imagine, there is the danger that you will dismiss it entirely. I want to humbly request that you allow your heart and mind to be open to this.
I do have a goal of achieving the same level that Jesus achieved in the first century. Jesus calls it at-onement - a state where God’s love has transformed your soul into something brand new. This is what Jesus referred to as being “born again.” In this state, you have no pain, fear, doubt, or proclivity to sin. The way to reach it is through seeking sincerely for God’s bountiful love and feeling the internal pain and false beliefs that block you from God.
If I were to reach this state, I may be able to become a breatharian here on earth. In that case, I might forego all food (except when I want to eat it) and choose to dwell in an area with lush environs.
In summary, here are the things I wish to do in no particular order:
-go vegan by choosing a vegan lifestyle
-remove all desires from my soul for animal flesh and excretions
-lose my addiction for junk food
Besides all of that, there is more to being a vegan than your concern for the environment and your desire for greater health. At the core of veganism is your love for animals. If I don’t have this essential element, I will always be tempted to place taste and societal pressures above my morality. Over the next 10 years until the age of 44, I will work on this question of morality and the temptations that come my way. When I deal with those issues, releasing all the desire for meat within my heart, I will be truly vegan.
Healthy Veganism
As the marketplace changes, yummy vegan junk food is appearing everywhere. Yes, your vegan lasagna or vegan burger is probably going to be healthier than the alternative but there are better choices.
This topic slides into my other diet issues. Some people get addicted to drugs or alcohol. My primary substance addictions are related to food. Not only do I love to eat junk food, but I overeat it while filling up on starches. This addiction has been in place since I was 5. I’m not going to lick it overnight. And I don’t want to find some other substance to take its place.
The reason we choose addictions in the first place is to cover up painful emotions. When I become humble, deciding to feel the deeper, scary emotions of fear, terror, and grief, I will have licked it for good.
For the next several years, for my own health and well-being, I will develop my cooking, shopping, and general food prep skills. Taking care of yourself is not a walk in the park. It takes dedication. But as I learn to love myself as God’s child, I have confidence that I can handle this important aspect of my diet.
Part of this process will be introducing greater and greater amounts of whole foods into my diet. I will attempt to forego processed foods, even considering removing staples like bread. Chances are I will try the raw food diet a few times.
What Lies Beyond
Since I look into many far-out topics, it wasn’t long before I heard of breatharianism. Breatharians eat the air. They surround themselves in positive environments close to nature and survive through drinking water and breathing. I actually watched a video of a healthy-looking, stable-minded breatharian who claims to have been without food for two years.
When I came across the Divine Truth teachings, I learned that in the higher levels of the spirit world, everyone is breatharian. There are 35 levels of the spirit world. In the first and second sphere people eat food. Beyond that, people can exist off the fragrance from plants and the love in the atmosphere.
If you are new to this topic, it will come to you as a surprise. If it is too hard to imagine, there is the danger that you will dismiss it entirely. I want to humbly request that you allow your heart and mind to be open to this.
I do have a goal of achieving the same level that Jesus achieved in the first century. Jesus calls it at-onement - a state where God’s love has transformed your soul into something brand new. This is what Jesus referred to as being “born again.” In this state, you have no pain, fear, doubt, or proclivity to sin. The way to reach it is through seeking sincerely for God’s bountiful love and feeling the internal pain and false beliefs that block you from God.
If I were to reach this state, I may be able to become a breatharian here on earth. In that case, I might forego all food (except when I want to eat it) and choose to dwell in an area with lush environs.
In summary, here are the things I wish to do in no particular order:
-go vegan by choosing a vegan lifestyle
-remove all desires from my soul for animal flesh and excretions
-lose my addiction for junk food
-become a healthy vegan by choosing delicious, nutritious food
-remove unhealthy, processed foods from my diet
-explore the potential of foregoing food altogether
In closing, I want to dedicate this blog post to my friend Josh. If he didn't follow my work and encourage me to continue writing, I may not have done so. He has a sister and brother who are vegan... I'm sure hoping some of their feelings rub off on him!
I also want to thank all the loving vegans out there who have influenced me positively in so many ways. Whether it's by your own choice, your loving encouragement, or the changes I see in your health and outlook, it means very much to me.
Thanks for reading. I hope you were encouraged to consider making positive changes in your own life.
4/26/2020 Update: I was not successful in going vegan on my birthday of last year. However, I did become a vegetarian around October of 2019 and remain so now. I am positive about my future.
-remove unhealthy, processed foods from my diet
-explore the potential of foregoing food altogether
In closing, I want to dedicate this blog post to my friend Josh. If he didn't follow my work and encourage me to continue writing, I may not have done so. He has a sister and brother who are vegan... I'm sure hoping some of their feelings rub off on him!
I also want to thank all the loving vegans out there who have influenced me positively in so many ways. Whether it's by your own choice, your loving encouragement, or the changes I see in your health and outlook, it means very much to me.
Thanks for reading. I hope you were encouraged to consider making positive changes in your own life.
4/26/2020 Update: I was not successful in going vegan on my birthday of last year. However, I did become a vegetarian around October of 2019 and remain so now. I am positive about my future.
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