Accomplished, Compassionate, Thankful and Loving

TaaDAHHH! 30 days Vegan Blogging Practice Complete as of this very post right here! Started out with a big BANG on Day One's post that sparked some nerves in the good people of Facebookland! That first post created all kinds of commotion enticing lots of comments, likes, messages and support. Over the next two weeks the frenzy subsided and plateaued. With the final fourteen days or so interaction minimized and it seemed I almost completely lost your attention. Fortunately, last nights breakfast bagel pic got all kinds of love! Way to end it on a high note! Thanks for that guys :)

So what now? Well, my Vegan Practice will be maintained at it's current level as I strive to be better and better each day by eliminating any form of animal byproducts from my daily experience. Today, I felt a split second of saddness when I walked by and ice cream store and realized that next time I go home I won't get to eat ice cream from Far Far's, the most amazing ice cream store on the whole planet, and a place that represents so many joyful childhood memories, but then I remembered two things that instantly made me feel better:

1. It's a practice. I am not expected to be perfect. If I choose to eat a little Far Far's next time I'm in Duxbury it doesn't make me a bad person and I don't have to feel guilty. I know why I have chosen this practice and I am proud of my new lifestyle.

2. I always remember I have everything I need to fully enjoy my here and now, unless I am letting my consciousness be dominated by expectations and demands based on the dead past or the imagined future. (Third pathway from The Handbook to Higher Consciousness by Ken Keyes Jr.) I don't know when I will be going back to Duxbury, it is highly likely that by the time I do, I won't even want to eat the ice cream anyway! It's all just the imagined future.

So here and now, I prefer to feel satisfied, joyful, successful, accomplished, thankful, compassionate and loving. Thank you to everyone who has followed this journey it has been a pleasure. I have gained so much from this experience and it's only the beginning. I am so thankful!!!

#PracticeVegan
#AnimalsAreTeachersNotFood

I'll Take One Pizza!! NO CHEESE!

In almost 30 full days of Practicing the Traditional form of Vegan, i.e. no eggs dairy or animal byproducts in my diet, I thought I would be able to say that I feel a drastict physical difference. The truth is most of the benefits I've noticed are emotional and phychology. I feel better with my overall health and wellness because I know that I am doing the right thing for my body and my planet.

However, I will say that by eliminating cheese I feel like my portions have gotten smaller. They really haven't, but without the greasy extra fat my meals don't weigh me down as much. One of the last things I ate before I embarked on this Vegan journey was an entire half of an extra large pizza. I felt so sick and disgusted afterwards that I knew I was about to make an extreme change.

Today, I ordered the same pie from my favorite Hollywood Pizza joint WITHOUT cheese and extra toppings. I ate the entire things and I feel awesome. It was delicous and my heart doesn't hurt, emotionally or physically. Glory to God I am so thankful! Now if only I could remember to take photos of my meals before I eat them!!

Oh well, here's a Cinnamon Rasin Sprouted Wheat Breakfast Bagel with Organic peanut butter, rasberry jam and bananas that I devoured the other day :)

Boycot Circus

Seems like every time I open my devices or look outside the window of Halo, or do anything anywhere, I am reminded of yet another industry thriving off the torture of animals.

Ringling Brothers Circus is in town? Oh Awesome, cool, let's kidnap wild animals out of their natural environments and beat them until they are broken for our own selfish amusement. Bull fighting abroad?   Yes, another systematic torment and killing of an incredible one of God's creatures. Might as well include the Good Ol' Rodeo to the list. Oh I know, Seaworld! Of course, the citizens of the Ocean should receive equal affliction. I guess that means Hunting is out of the question, and that's just some of the "Entertainment" Category.

We have been so de-sensitized that participating in the suffering of animals has become commonplace to an afternoon of badminton....of course, now it'd be way more fun to use a live birdie right? Jeeze, do you see my frustration at the level of Zombiedom showing through in my sarcasm tonight? 

#PracticeVegan

#boycotSeaworld #boycotBullfight #boycotCircus #boycotRodeo #boycotAnimalAbuse

#AnimalsAreTeachersNotFood

For The Love of Water

Let's talk about water then. California is in the midst of a pretty intense drought and consumption of animals adds a heavy toll to that ticket. So if you don't care about saving animals maybe you care about saving yourself and the the Planet?

Just stop and think for a second how much water it must require to sustain all those animals, not to mention the amount used to grow the grain that they are eating. Can you even fathom it? Can you guess how many gallons per day? It's lost on me that's for sure.

According to National Geographic :

• A serving of poultry costs about 90 gallons of water to produce. There are also water costs embedded in the transportation of food (gasoline costs water to make). So, consider how far your food has to travel, and buy local to cut your water footprint.
• Pork costs water to produce, and traditional pork production—to make your sausage, bacon, and chops—has also been the cause of some water pollution, as pig waste runs into local water sources. ***Note from Bee: Slaughterhouse waste lagoons are a whole separately disgusting issue***
• On average, a vegan, a person who doesn't eat meat or dairy, indirectly consumes nearly 600 gallons of water per day less than a person who eats the average American diet.

600 gallons of water LESS per day than the average American meat eater if you Practice Vegan?  Yeah, that's about a 5 person hot-tub worth of water...A DAY!

From the Film "Cowspiracy" we learn

• Animal agriculture uses 55% of the water in the US
• It takes 660 gallons of water to produce 1/4 pound of hamburger meat
• And 1,000 gallons of water to produce ONE GALLON of milk
• Worldwide the meat and dairy industries use 30% of our fresh water every day

We can talk about food "choice" this and diet that but we all know for certain that without water and oxygen we die. I'd like to live, so I Practice Vegan better and better every day. FOR THE LOVE OF WATER PEOPLE!!!

Animals Are Pure

Here I am again, late at night, and I'm searching all around for an article, video, post, or photo for a soild dovetail post but I just feel redundant. It is interesting how the times I post videos of suffering animals or things that made me cry my blog gets more attention and interaction. I guess it makes sense. I find myself still watching heartbreaking videos and documentaries despite the fact that I am already fully aware of the revulsive acts that take place every day within animal agriculture.

It's like the whole trainwreck thing, you just can't look away. And good thing. I'm glad people are paying attention to these hard to swallow images and information maybe it will make their next meaty meal hard to swallow too. 

There are many reason for being Vegan, but the primary reason I have made this choice is because of my deep love for animals and my connection to them. Animals are pure. They are source energy. I realize now, this is why I feel repetitious. My focus is on saving the animals, so this is what I feel most guided to post. Ending the cycle of rape, separation, torture, and murder. 

'A professor of Engligh literature and lifelong student of the macabre, Eric G Wilson believes that there's soemthing nourishing in darkenss. "To repress death is to lose the feeling of life," he writes.' So if we ignore the disturbing videos and posts of dying animals we feel less alive ourselves. By giving it our attention our lives become more vital and eventually we realize the imporantance of ALL LIVES. 

Go ahead guys, feel alive. Link --> Stand Up for Chickens!

One Day Challenge

HI! Okay, so I offer a One Day Challenge: Tomorrow, yes tomorrow, not Monday or next week, TOMORROW. Just try it. For one day see what it's like to be Vegetarian. Or, if you're a One Day Challenge Superstar kind of person then go on with your hardcore self and try the Vegan Practice out.

You may find that you feel better at the end of the day, you may find that it's actually not that hard , or discover some new delicous food you never knew you loved, and you may learn more about yourself.  Or...you may experience your self fulfilling prophecy and "feel hungry all day" because you didn't get your meat. Either way, I still love you.

Some suggestions: Peanut butter, Brown Rice, Sweet Potatoes, Watermelon, Bananas, Hummus, Avocados

No committment, no pressure, just say to yourself first thing in the morning "TODAY! I WILL DO MY BEST TO BE VEGETARIAN (or VEGAN)." Even if you don't make it, you practiced and you set an intention and that is the first step. Good Luck!!! Let me know how it goes. And remember, I love you.