Online Gratitude Journal January 2010 Edition #37
January 29, 2010 by akemi
Are you having a great start of the year? Keeping up with your new year’s resolution? Time is speeding up and I can hardly believe one twelfth of the year is already gone. (Photo credit)
January in review
My big goal of this year is to write a book on Akashic Records. This will be published in the old fashioned way in print. The starseed series will be incorporated in the book, with some additions and updates. So I’m putting extra effort in completing this series.
My another goal is to eat healthy and well. The Slow Down Diet that I reviewed was very influential to me. I want to pay attention not just to WHAT I eat but also to HOW I eat.
Fun & Challenges
This is the dilemma I face: When I was working in the corporate world, I wrote in the evenings and weekends. I love writing. I forget foods when I write. I can almost forget sleep when I write. I love to express my thoughts and feelings, and the possibility that my writing might help you is exciting.
Now that I work for myself, writing for this blog and the book is part of my life and work. I do what I love all day long — reading interesting books and blogs, writing my own, and doing Akashic Record Reading. Life is full of joy and fun, right?
Right. Yes. And a bit of no somehow. When I have so many things to do (again, all fun things I like to do), I’m a bit overwhelmed, and for a reason I don’t really know, the fun becomes a challenge, too.
Does anyone know how to keep the fun as fun? Do I need to introduce some dread so that fun can stand out as fun? Do I need to meditate more?
Link Love
Be sure to check the book review of the controversial The God Delusion, by my friend Hunter Nuttall. I think the discussion in the comment section is very interesting, too.
My old post on meat eating vs vegetarianism still gets hot comments. While some people insist vegetarianism, or even stricter veganism, is good for health and environment, I found a few information that question this statement.
One is from someone who has been raw vegan for 15 years who found some deficiencies when he had blood test.
Another is a book called The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability
I don’t think this is a bad thing, however. All lives are in the big ecosystem, supporting one another. The problems happens when we reject this system. When I die, please throw the cremated ash in the ocean so the fish can benefit. The fish may end up on your dinner table or become fertilizer for the farm that grows your vegetable. This very Buddhism view sits fine in my mind and spirituality.
Word of month
“Laughter is a great way of letting go. . . Laughing releases endorphins and lowers stress hormones in our system. The other two activities that do the same are sex and meditation.”
– Lisa, aka Mommy Mystic
Well said. Let’s pick at least one of the three for our well-being.
This is all for today. Enjoy your weekend — the day is getting so much longer (in the northern hemisphere, that is 
)
Related reading: After I posted this article, I was informed about another great post about the problem vegans face, especially raw vegans. (HT: Gena) I think the whole discussion on vegan nutritional health is very interesting. Additionally, this part by Shazzie caught my eye:
“…many raw food enthusiasts who identify themselves as vegans are in fact not totally vegan. Whether it’s a free range organic egg or a little raw goat’s cheese once a week or some fish once a month, these people think of themselves as vegan and will tell you they’re vegan…This makes us wonder how many more who identify themselves as vegans are doing the same but not admitting to it.”
Ah. So there is honesty and awareness issue, too.
Hi Akemi:
The issue of vegan/vegetarian/omnivore is a complicated one for sure, but it can be boiled down in one way. Biologically speaking there are two types of organisms – autotrophs and heterotrophs. Autotrophs, you give them sunlight, water, CO2 and they make their own food. We call them green plants. In their chloroplasts they convert CO2 and water into sugars, but even plants need to get other minerals – iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium… through their roots – and those minerals come from decaying biological material – plant or animal, it matters not.
Aside from autotrophs we have heterotrophs. Heterotrophs get their energy from eating other things. Some get their energy from eating decaying matter (saprophytes), some from feeding on host organisms (parasites), some from eating plants (herbivores), some from eating meat (carnivores), and some from eating both (omnivores). Humans fall into the latter category. Now plant proteins tend to be very complex, so strict herbivores deal with this in several ways. Some, like ungulates have a 4-chambered stomach to break down these plant materials. Cows ‘chew their cud’ to help break down the grass fibres and make them easier to digest. Others, like rabbits, have an extra section of their digestive tract that does the same thing. Rabbits are also coprophytes, which is a fancy way of saying that their food passes through their bodies twice. They eat plant material, it works its way through their bodies and comes out the other end, still green. They eat that and it passes through their digestive system again, coming out the second time as those little brown pellets.
Now meats have enzymes that aid in the breakdown of those complex plant proteins, etc so when humans for example developed an omnivorous diet, that extra section of the digestive system shrunk over time and became vestigial. We know it as the appendix.
Granted, none of this addresses the issues of feedlot management, takeout burgers, the tremendous amounts of waste generated by one 11000 hog operation or issues like that. Those are separate issues, and all valid.
There are those who claim vegetarianism because they don’t want to kill anything. Eating kills. Period. Everything else is belief. In Christianity for example, only humans have souls. In Buddhism, animals are sentient beings but plants aren’t. Among every aboriginal culture on this planet throughout history you will find a belief that says everything has a spirit. Take what you need, take only what you need, be grateful for what you have, and when you can, give something back.
Love,
Mike.
.-= Mike Nelson Pedde´s last blog ..Mike’s Writings VI =-.
Mike,
This is interesting. I just have one question about your comment.
You wrote,
” meats have enzymes that aid in the breakdown of those complex plant proteins,”
I thought eating meat helps because animal proteins are easier (according to some people) to assimilate than plant proteins. But you say meat has enzymes that help breakdown plant proteins.
My question is, I know all enzymes lose potency when heated above certain degrees (because the heat changes the chemical structure), so do you mean we should eat raw meat to benefit from this enzyme?
Thank you,
I think it is a super interesting and complex issue. I know that there are 2 types (well likely many many more) of monks in China: the ones who are vegetarian and the ones who aren’t vegetarian because they know animals are part of the cycle. They say that even eating vegetables means eating little bugs, so in the end they are doing nothing different.
However, I do think that the way we are currently “raising” animals in less than ideal situations is much worse than hunting or other ways that we used to acquire meat.
So it’s a tough subject, a tough discussion, and in the end a personal choice. A choice that should not be forced upon other people or dogmatised either.
Thanks for bringing it up Akemi!
.-= Nathalie Lussier´s last blog ..Natural Remedies for Constipation: Help is On The Way! =-.
I know when I was on a strict raw vegan diet for nine months, it didnt take long before I was deficient despite all the vegetables, sea veggies, blue/green algae, and so on I ingested on a daily basis. I wont bore you with all the details but my hair falling in in clumps was the last straw. I dont think all ways of eating works for everyone. My diet is still largely raw, but its not vegan.
Its always an interesting topic for me.
Hi Akemi, I commented on the blog you posted and on the meat-eating discussion (I don’t know if I had before, well, I commented again, it was interesting to sort out my thoughts on the matter). Thanks
Advice for you: I think you should try not to “make” yourself do what you need to do. Instead, work on “gentle discipline” – simply put yourself in the place to be doing the work, just to see what happens, and let the words come out, if they do. My sort of discipline is like reminding of what might be a good thing to do, and simply making space to do it. The motivation has to come out of joy, not dread or resistance to laziness.
I do believe veganism is more spiritual, unless you need to eat animal products. But I don’t like dogma either. I eat honey. I just feel it’s hard to eat with gratitude when you’re being so wasteful (meat is a very wasteful way of nourishing oneself, and disrespectful, at least in the way we eat it). More like, that is just gluttony, and destructive, uncaring gluttony at that.
However, there are many more things to look at in your spiritual journey and perhaps it’s more important how you eat than what you eat (though this will be connected). I have a solid rule with myself about animal foods, because it works for me and feels right. I do not like to make it too important though, and I don’t see it as a fundamental truth, just a rule that works for me for many reasons.
Love
Andrew
.-= Andrew´s last blog ..Beyond proper etiquette: How to respond to thanks =-.
My personal view on this is that even doing stuff you love can become a chore if you push yourself to do it everyday.
Maybe you just need to give yourself a day off. Not a weekend but a mid-week day off when it all feels a bit more naughty than it should. You know, a complete day off from life entirely. do something naughty, if you are on a strict diet then go have a burger and a beer!! Spend a day without the Internet, mobile phone, email. go do some shopping, anything that is against character and allows you to “cut loose”.
Do something you shouldn’t be doing! It will do you good to do nothing you should be doing for 24 hours.
In the corporate world this would be called “having a sickie” most of us do it and it works. It allows you to re-charge your batteries and then you can return to your disciplined, motivated life the day after with renewed energy.
Go on, be naughty just for one day!! you deserve it
.-= Andy´s last blog ..Frosty monday morning: day 3 of 365 =-.
Natalie,
Welcome. That’s interesting that some monks (Buddhist monks, I guess?) eat meat. I agree with their views.
Carla,
Thank you for sharing. Hair falling in clumps — that is scary! So what animal product do you eat now? Dairy? Eggs?
Andrew,
I agree with you. The inspiration of joy is a lot more meaningful and powerful. And dogma is counterproductive in many ways. And although I am not against meat eating habits, it does feel gluttonous. And eating is related to spirituality big time, but not everything about spirituality. Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
Andy,
Haha, thank you, I like the idea of taking a “sick day” from my internal boss
Everyone, the topic of vegetarian diet and spirituality is so interesting that I am writing up a big article. Will be posted soon!
Hi Akemi,
I cant eat dairy or eggs (or soy, and gluten!), but I do eat some fish, chicken mostly. I may have a little grass fed beef but that’s usually only once a year or so. Everything else I eat is nuts, seeds, veggies, fruit, sea veggies, etc…
Carla
.-= Carla´s last blog ..Cherry Berry Vegan Leather Handbags =-.
I view human diet and Earth’s ecology in this way:
Era 1) Circle of life. Humans were in Africa. We hunted and were hunted. Nature was in balance. (for at least 100,000 years)
Era 2) Human colonization. We leave Africa. Spread to other continents. We soon become too good at hunting and gathering. We colonized the planet. We over-hunting and over-fishing etc. We got too smart, too technically adept. Humans thrive. Animals don’t. (for 55,000 years)
Era 3) Humans exploits end. We off-set the ecological balance. So much so to survive we switched to a mostly plant food diet. We domesticated animals (and they us). Many die in the transition. But we adapt quick. (BTW, Wars start with farming societies. It’s just an after effect our new ecology). A 25,000 years transition period.
Era 4) Modern times—10-15,000 years. We’re too good at agriculture. Plant and animal life suffer, just like in Era 2) but for different reasons. Big agriculture enables factory farms. Our numbers balloon. The cycle feeds on itself. Everything feels the effects.
I think now we have these choices. We can either eat a) plant-food only b) eat animal food only or c) eat both. Really we can do whatever we want, and just deal with the consequences. Honestly, I have no ideas how a) or b) would be sustainable. The Earth seems to prefer c). Some people say only a) is possible at this point. But I believe if we wanted to, somehow humans could create sustainable ways to do a) and b). But I don’t think we’ll ever need to do either.