spiritual vegetarianism

[purple_tao]

:dog (and all)....

You eat fish and dairy...hmm..... here goes some classifications:

Lacto-vege : eats milk and milk products but excludes eggs, fish, meat, meat

Lacto-ovo-vege : eats dairy and eggs

Octo-vege : eats eggs (no dairy)

Semi-vege : eats some dairy, eggs and meats

Vegan : eats no animal products (no meat, no eggs, no dairy). Also does not use products tested on animals or has animal products in them or wear animal products (ME!! :supergrin )

So, :dog, you're actually a semi-vege, since you eat dairy and fish. And I don't understand how people can separate FISH from MEAT. To me, they're both animals!!

Ready for more book recommendations??

:stars The Sacred Kitchen by Robin and Jon Robertson . A book full of culinary wisdom, ancient traditions and vege recipes. Very spiritual. Around seventeen dollars

:stars Diet For Transcendence: Vegetarianism and the World Religions by Steven Rosen. Talks about the diets of the religions of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Eastern Religions, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Fascinating !! Around twelve dollars.

:stars The Inner Art of Vegetarianism: Spiritual Practices for Body and Soul by Carol J. Adams. :dog, I thought immediately of this book and how I think you'd like this one. She not only talks about vegetarianism, but also breath awareness, meditation, yoga, journaling......lots of good schtuff :grin ! About fifteen dollars.

:peace to all :fishy
:love

[doggie]

:hugonKieran:hugoff Thanks for the info :happy......I do eventually plan to eschew fish as well so then I will be a lato-ovo vegetarian....:cool....I know what you mean about the animal fish thing especially since I have an aquarium full of loverly :fishy's....I really do find it hard to stick with the no fish diet though as I do not digest alot of soy very well....I imagine eggs would fit the bill though as far as protien goes.....I aspire to eventually get to the place my younger sister's at of eating and using nothing that harm's animals.....Of course that means being a vegan :scared and I do love my dairy products and eggs, but am well aware of what happens to these poor animals when they have served their purpose :cry......I will order the book The Inner Art of Vegetarianism, it has it all, food, breathing, meditation,yoga... thanks for the recommendation.......take care of you.....:love & :peace :dog aka :cousinit

[Starlightgirlie]

:hugon Kieran :hugoff

Thanks for the info! I'm a vegan too, and I agree with you that it's quite difficult to be differentiate between animals/fish/etc. I couldn't do it, but I also believe that we all get to make our own choices about this stuff.

Anyway, I'm just excited to see another vegan here. I don't know about you, but being a vegan has really helped me with my ed, as I have to be a lot more aware about what I'm eating and making sure that I'm getting all of the essential nutrients, etc...and in my book, awareness is so healing.

Anyway, :peace and :love to you all!

[purple_tao]

:hugon Starlight :hugoff
(that's a beautiful name :grin)

Wow!! Another vegan! Way :cool! I've been a vegetarian for over twenty years, a vegan for about six. I personally struggle with the thought of me being vegan, not wanting to harm another living being, yet I destroy myself with bulimia and SI. I guess I'm twisted......

A fish IS an animal, therefore when you partake of eating it's flesh, you ARE eating meat. BUT........yes, it is entirely up to each individual to eat what they see fit and what they're comfortable with. I do not look down upon those who eat meat. Heck, my hubby's a meat and potatoes man :supergrin !! We each have our own level of spiritual awareness when it comes to the food chain.

When I do eat (and not b/p) I eat totally healthy, natural, vegan foods. When I b/p, it's still on vegan foods, just too much and then the trip to the bathroom is inevitable :sad. But I am slowly learning that this healthy food that I choose to put in my body is THE BEST and that I should accept it gladly :grin !!

Nice to meet another vegan :bowtie !! Take Care!

:peace
:love

[Starlightgirlie]

:hugon Kieran :hugoff

I hear you about the fishes :fishy I could never eat them either- for as far as I'm concerned, if it has eyes, it's an animal with feelings and it's not my place to eat it.

Anyway, I hear you about feeling that it's twisted to be so interested in animal rights and still hurt yourself sometimes (totally relate). I'm working on learning the concept of metta towards myself, as it's somehow easier to unconditionally love others but much more of a challenge to apply this to oneself. But, we can and I believe that the more we can accept ourselves and learn to love both the things we're proud of and our struggles, the more we can really bring that love into the world.

Anyway, I'm on a tangent. Take care, okay?

[purple_tao]

:hugon SG :hugoff

First off, I visited your webpage. Oh my........ you are so beautiful :supergrin!!! Are you married? My brother would freak over you!! And I'm jealous that you went to a Celestial Tea Factory. I love that schtuff!

Yup......if it has a face and/or a mother, I won't eat it :grin !!

Metta: loving kindness, gentle friendliness. The practice of metta is an attitude of universal, non-discriminating friendliness and good will toward ALL BEINGS with no exception. THIS WOULD INCLUDE OURSELVES!! It is super easy for me to be loving, kind, gentle and friendly with others, but very difficult (at times) to have these same feelings and compassion towards myself. I would LOVE to go to a retreat to practice mettas on myself for hours on end :bounce !! I think it could help my self-esteem tremendously :grin

:peace Starlight

:love

[CMH]

Since finding recovery, I have often fielded questions regarding my food choices when at work/in public (I follow a food plan).

Once I went vegan, it was so much easier, since *vegan* seems to explain (for many of the people I meet) all that is unusual about my food (and me in general) and I don't have to get into awkward explanations of my eating disorder...

[farmgirl]

Kieran and all,

I promise, I am not being some sort of meat-eating smart ass here - this is a sincere question/need for understanding.

If I understand correctly, the vegan philosophy has a lot to do with not killing any living thing. I guess that's a little hard for me to understand - don't we end up killing whatever we eat? If I eat a serving of green beans, it seems I'm eating that plant's 'children', if you will - the next generation of seeds. I understand that the plant will make more green bean pods - but a hen lays more eggs too, and can hatch more chicks.

I do realize that eating plant sources rather than animal sources has less impact - that the chicken had to eat plant materials, so there's the loss of plant material and the chicken. Is that the point - to have the least impact possible?

I really hope I haven't offended - I'm trying to understand and integrate a lot of stuff right now. Thanks for reading. . .

-Laura

[farmgirl]

bumpity - bump, in hopes that someone will take on my (possibly ignorant) questions.

Love,
Laura

[purple_tao]

:love Laura :love

I'm not ignoring you........just been having a bad (REALLY BAD) week, and I also wanted to spend some time coming up with an answer for you. This is actually a very wonderful question and it proves that you've given this some thought.

Yes, when we eat ANYTHING, we (unfortunately) have to kill. That's the way life is. But, vegans try to eat lowest on the food chain. One reason why we should be thankful for the food we eat. A life had to be taken, even it if was the life of an apple. One life needs another life to sustain itself.

Another thing......animals feel pain and fear. Plants do not. They are missing what animals (humans, too!) have: a central nervous system. Pain does not occur randomly. We (humans and animals) have the ability to feel pain in order than we may get away from that danger. Plants, being immobile, cannot escape.

I'm a vegan mostly for compassionate reasons. I love animals way too much to eat them. And I don't need animals products to live. I'm doing very well without leather, lanolin, animals products in my schtuff........ just makes the world a nicer place to live :grin

Great question, Laura. Sorry it took so long to answer.

[JenRebekah]

Hey fellow vegie:happy
I fall under the catagory of Lacto-vegie, I haven't been able to rid the dairy out of my life, because I love chocolate frozen yogurt. Sorbet just isn't the same :winky, but I have been veggie for over two years now, and it hass helped me eat healthier than I ever have in my entire life!!! Lots of grains, and beans and veggies! I love it!:peace


:hugonFarm girl:hugoff!!! You sound just like my hubby, he says the EXACT same arguement about vegetables being "alive" and I kill them.....

as far as teh lacto thing goes, drinking milk, is not killing the cows, so thats how I rationalize it. I know that some dairy farms are terribly cruel but *sigh* just cant give it up. But learning about how cruel the egg, chicken farms are, that really affected me, thus the no eating eggs.

[farmgirl]

Thanks, :hugonKieran:hugoff for the reply. I understand the concepts, and just wanted to know if there was information I was lacking. I do have one other question - not to stir trouble, but to share some info I've heard. I have seen a documentary on PBS a couple of times - they put these sensors on plants and in yogurt, and they were able to measure reactions coming from both of them when plants (a salad) and bacteria (yogurt) were eaten. Has anyone here seen or heard about this?

Meanwhile, I just want to thank you for taking the time to reply. I am not a vegetarian, much less vegan at this time, but I do eat more consciously than I used to - we have a few hens here on our little hobby farm that give us eggs, for example. In return, they are practically pets, and have run of the five acres. We also garden a great deal, and we are able to raise much of the food we eat.

Again, thanks.
-Laura

[doggie]

:hugonLaura:hugoff I thought of bringing up that very thing after I read your post but I'd already admitted to being a sort of veggie so I just shut up. I too have seen a documentary on the extensive studying that has been done in the old USSR, Europe and USA regarding a definite distortion of the electrical field when plants are harmed. In the studies they had them hooked up to monitors as they were harvested and even just pinching the leaves brought a strong reaction. I discussed this with my vegan sister years ago and asked her just what we are supposed to eat then. So I decided to do my own thing in the food department. In studies I have read where cold blooded creatures are concerned they possess a very primitive brain and go into shock very easily. If introduced to very cold temperatures quickly they go into a sort of hibernation and I belive do not suffer to the same extent as warm blooded creatures. If we take it to the point where we cause no suffering of any living tissue, that leaves us air. All this said I am planning to give up fish and sea food eventually, but till then......of course use only cruelty free products and make up.......:love :dog