Though the phrase, "The lust of the flesh" is probably most familiar to my readers as referring somehow to the 'fallen' nature of humanity, as well as the foremost of the infamous 'Seven Deadly Sins'; in this blogpost, I will primarily be exploring the benefits of 'veganism' or even 'vegetarianism' ( note of warning; like any other 'ism'; great care MUST be exercised when broaching either subject! ) While I am not opposed to eating meat for any reason, either spiritual or physical, I DO try to be careful in my consumption of any kind of meat! For instance, I'm becoming wary of consuming any ( beef, for instance ) that I know has been raised/slaughtered inhumanely ( whatever THAT means ), or in other words, in Fear! I read somewhere recently that cows have the greatest ( largest? ) aura of all animals, including the human animal; this actually make sense with the reverence that the Indian ( Hindu ) peoples ascribe to their bovine counterparts. Actually, it wouldn't hurt for us here in the West ( America ) to take a lesson from them & worship OUR cows, even though we DO consume their flesh!
"Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals.[c]" This definition from the Wikipedia article of the same name hits a chord with me personally, in particular the last part, because it speaks to the sad fact that we, as a race, tend to look at everything, from the earth/land we live on, to the 'livestock' we 'own' as simply 'means to an end', as possessions & use them ( or rather, 'abuse' them ) them to sate our lusts, rather than living in Harmony with them, as Mother Nature intended! As intimated earlier though, we must exercise great care with this 'ism', lest we begin to think & act as if our practice makes us somehow better than those who don't. Even worse, we might begin to vilify those who don't believe the way we do ( "wait..............that sounds strangely familiar!" )
Vegetarianism, on the other hand; while it means pretty much the same thing, allows the consumption of by-products, such as eggs & milk. To be a true Vegan, in other words, means the traditional American breakfast of bacon & eggs or milk & cereal is out of the question. ( I use almond milk myself )
My readers may be familiar with this concept already, but I heard somewhere that the longer gut ( 'bowel' ) of the human animal, as opposed to other animals, like cats, means that rather than being carnivores ( meat-eaters ), we are actually herbivores. Bible-believing Christians may point to Genesis 1:30 & 9;3 as indications that we are, or SHOULD BE, Vegans, or at the very least Vegetarians. There are many arguments available for perusal, both pro & con, on the subject, but the idea that the human animal is naturally herbivorous resonates with me because, with the longer intestines, the meat, which is more difficult to digest anyway, would thus spend more time & may in fact become partially lodged in the intestine, thereby, in some sense, becoming one with the consumer. Thus, we bear witness to things like obesity, IBS & in general, poor gut health, which in turn affects the REST of the human body! Now, don't get me wrong; I'm NOT saying either that human beings should NOT consume flesh, but personally speaking, I WILL say that I have learned that when I eat meat at certain times of the day or in certain amounts, it DOES tend to disrupt, for instance, my sleep pattern ( such as it is ). On the other hand, a diet of vegetables moves more quickly through the digestive tract, cleaning up its own crap ( pun intended ) as it goes. Speaking of 'crap', my best friend gave me some books recently, on reversing disease ( 'Dis-Ease' ) which prescribes a diet primarily ( if not wholly ) of fruits & vegetables as a means of detoxification of the gut. Not only is this advantageous in the physical sense, it also makes sense spiritually, as I mentioned earlier, the Fear Factor: When we ingest the flesh of cows ( chickens, etc. ) that were full of fear when they were slaughtered/murdered, we unwittingly ingest their Fear as well!
'Life is about Intention!" 'Choice' may well be inserted here as well, but the point is, much of what I've written above is really only applicable to those who choose to consume in ignorance ( "Ignorance is Bliss"? ) Generally, we here in the West in particular, with our generally unhealthy lifestyle ( especially, maybe, when it comes to the food we eat ), usually don't spare a second thought when we shove, for instance, a slice of pizza ( not a very healthy choice to begin with ) in the microwave, or when we stop at Mickey D's for a quick bite to eat, but I'm sure I don't need to inform my readers of the dangers ( yes, I said "dangers" ) of eating fast food ). Microwaved pizza? Depending, of course, on the pizza, this is usually not the healthiest option anyway, but depending on what information you choose to believe, the microwaves employed to heat the pizza ( or whatever ) tend to deplete or otherwise remove whatever nutrition was there ( if any ) in the first place!
However, in the greatest, spiritual sense, one might argue that, as the apostle Peter saw, in Acts 10; when we eat with Intention, ALL meat is good for us! In other words, if we eat with the intention of nourishing our biological bodies & with reverence for, as well as thankfulness to the animal whose flesh we are consuming, it could well be argued that we may eat with impunity, or without fear of harm. I do not wish here, to get into the politics of religion by defending my statement about eating with intention, nor do I intend to defend the Bible against those who doubt its veracity. I simply, by using Peter's experience, whether real OR imagined, as an example, intend to show that more often than not, it is our BELIEF about something, that makes it so for us! Does that make it so for the next person? "Of course not!"
"At this point in the game", some would likely say, "our biological bodies, thanks to evolution, have become so accustomed to consuming meat that it has become a necessary evil." I am not a biologist by any stretch of the imagination, so while I would agree somewhat with that statement, I would not wholly agree. "Have our bodies being accustomed to, even in some sense chemically dependent on meat?" I would have to say "yes"! "Necessary"? "No", I do NOT believe that we would perish from lack of sating our lust for flesh! It may feel like we're dying, but I would imagine it would be just like coming down off any other drug: we'd be 'jonesing' for awhile ( probably even get 'the shakes' ), but after we got through that, I'm pretty sure that we'd feel like a brand new person!
That said, while I would love to feel like a "a brand new person", I am nowhere near ready to quit consuming meat, to say nothing of meat by-products. However, with THAT said; I DO love my 'dairy crack' ( most people simply call it 'cheese' ); strangely enough, cow's milk does not set too well with me ( hence the almond 'milk' ), but I DO love me some cheese! Chicken is probably my favorite meat, aside from a good salmon steak, but nowadays most chicken is pumped so full of hormones & other such ingredients that I'd almost prefer not to go there either. I do not eat a lot of meat anymore, not just because it does not agree with me sometimes, but simply because I know it is not healthy for me! "Could I go totally meat-free?' I think I could without too much problem. The question to ask though is, "WOULD I?!" To be totally honest, 'twould be hard to give up my 'dairy crack'!
Namaste' & Blessed Be!
Sage Charles
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