Do NO harm - Animals have souls and feelings too!

Consider Veganism. Consider having compassion for other sentient beings. Consider animals as our soul brothers and sisters.

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I have been vegetarian or pescetarian since 1997, and then in January this year (2018) finally went Vegan. Here is my story on how and why I made this life change, and what it has done for me.

In the early to mid- nineties I was a bodybuilder and long distance runner. I was heavily into nutrition as part of my daily physical fitness regime. I thought I knew a great deal about the importance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and metabolism. While I was somewhat aware of the mind/body connection, when it came to my health and body image I fell hook, line and sinker for the propaganda dished out by the meat and dairy industries.

During a three month 'cut up' diet in preparation for a body building contest I cut a lot out of my diet. I did not consume any dairy and even though I continued to eat meat, it was more of the 'lean' varieties, such as chicken, fish and veal. I knew that veal was baby cow, but still somehow, and much to my disgust now, managed to turn a blind eye to the animals suffering. This was in 1996.

After the contest when I was able to return to a 'normal' diet, I found I became ill after eating red meat, pork or bacon. Because I'd become used to eliminating these from my diet during my body building comp preps it was easy to do so again. I also chose at this stage to eliminate veal. My conscience was getting to me thinking about those poor baby animals in horrendous conditions. I had a friend who became a vegetarian after working in an abattoir. Upon hearing some of her tales of what went on at these places I had even more motivation to cut certain 'foods' out of my diet. Slowly over the next year I cut out all red and white meat, including chicken, then by mid- 1997 I even stopped eating seafood.

The transition to vegetarianism was partly due to wanting to become more humane, but at that time, it was mainly due to the fact that my body was no longer coping with digesting this diet. For a few years I remained a vegetarian. After reading a book by Juliet Gellately, the founder of Viva, called "The Silent Ark: A Chilling Expose of Meat – The Global Killer", not only did I learn more about the horrific treatment of the animals, and the disgusting practices used to hide the ulcerous abscesses and puss ridden sores in 'meat' sold to consumers, but I became aware of the horrendous unethical and disastrous ecological implication and implementation of the farming industries. All this, plus the realisation through further research that the human body was not designed to eat meat was enough to put me off for life. Or so I thought at that time.

After a few years of being completely vegetarian, for some reason I gradually began to reintroduce fish and then other seafood into my diet. I think it started after giving blood and finding out that I had low iron levels. I certainly didn't want to start eating fellow mammals or our fair feathered friends, but felt that sea creatures were less sentient. So for a few years I was pescetarian, then gradually weaned myself off eating seafood to become a vegetarian again.

In all those years I never considered veganism. For one, I loved my cheese too much and I reasoned that animals were not harmed or killed for their byproducts. I was ill informed and clearly did not do sufficient research. In the last year or so I have educated myself about the inhumane practices in the dairy industry. I have also learned more about the damage that dairy products do to the human body and the lies and propaganda of this industry to keep people thinking that we need dairy to have healthy calcium levels, when in fact the opposite is true. Dairy leaches calcium from the body as well as causes increased mucus buildup and acidity. All animal products, AND byproducts, are full of growth hormones, genetically modified DNA, antibiotics, preservatives and other nasties such as puss and blood.

I won't go into all the nutritional information deceptions, or the horrific inhumane practices here in this blog. There are many sources for this information on the internet and in books such as Juliet's. I also won't detail all the spiritually inhibiting implications of partaking in the consuming of flesh, other than to say that the Prime Directive, the Golden Rule is to, "DO NO HARM." This doesn't just apply to humans. This applies to all creatures, great and small. There is so much more to be said for becoming vegan when it comes to the salvation of our soul, and I am not talking about fundamentalist religious salvation, although some religions agree with this stance. I am speaking about our spirituality. This subject deserves a blog of its own. Suffice to say, in order to break free of the matrix, the karmic cycle and recycling, we must clear our physical bodies of all animal flesh and byproducts.

I've been vegan since the beginning of 2018. It was easier than I thought, but I guess being mostly vegetarian for the last twenty-one years, I was ahead of the game. Since becoming vegan I have rid myself of unwanted weight. I generally have more energy and can think more clearly. I sleep more soundly and feel well rested. Little niggles and aches and pains that I used to put down to the ageing process have since disappeared. Acid re-flux is a thing of the past, and I have been able to quit a lifelong addiction to alcohol.

#donoharm
#animalshavefeelings
#veganforsoulrelease
#meatismurder

Love and blessings
Amanda

www.returninghomemyjourneyofalifetime.com

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Photo 1 - Sammantha Fisher - Animals Australia , for a kinder world
Photo 2 - Amanda H. McLeod Photography