How To Be Eco-Friendly & A Clean Meat-Eater
You've heard it somewhere before - the request that you consider a more sustainable and natural lifestyle as a spiritual person, with one recommendation as becoming a vegan (or at least a vegetarian). Even if you just want to learn Reiki, you quickly find out that the 21-day attunement period asks that you refrain from all mind-altering/toxic substances and meat so that the integration settles in stronger. I have to admit that taking this as a permanent change was a little harder for me for specific reasons, which I will reveal here... but I'm going to share the many ways that I adopted a healthier lifestyle that makes me feel MUCH better about being someone that started working for the interests of a healthier planet and which made my body feel more connected to everything.
With the exception of the few and very select meat products I bring into the home for consumption, there isn't anything in my house that's made from, or tested on, any animal. Before I even became a Healer, I was someone that lived in a metropolitan area ("the city") and felt completely out of place and unagreeable with the way of living that most city folk take for granted. I was that odd man out, talking to friends about how the world [in a general sense] is now too overcrowded to be sustainable (just think about where all that city garbage has to go, for starters).. which was quickly met with an argument by those that don't give any thoughts to how these "small" everyday things work. Any given city has to import tons and tons of meat to keep up with food demand, which only grows because it's so easily available and tempting by being on every street corner.
 | |
|
Being someone that thought about these factors was just one of many ways I realized I was different, and at the same time I asked myself how I was contributing to these situations. If I was 1 of 20 people on my street that ate a chicken a week, that means over 1000 chickens have to be slaughtered every year JUST TO FEED MY STREET! Times that by the hundreds of other streets in the city, and the number is astronomical - and it's only an approximation on one city. Which brought me to the question of where all these chickens come from... and the answer is that they certainly don't come from local sources [because there's no space left for these farms to be local!], and sometimes, it comes from somewhere that has just crowded dozens of chickens into a tight space. Just thinking about this made me ask myself, "Am I okay with this?".
 |
Having our water supply coming from our own ground means I can't spray away weeds, I set up rain barrels in the Spring, and it's pure water that goes into the gardens... because I don't want any chemicals to end up in my drinking water! (Makes you wonder how your city system keeps your water clean?) |
In a more recent conversation where I was asked this, I honestly told them; I've thought about it as if we were back in an age where we all had to get supplies for ourselves. Would I be able to kill an animal every time I needed a meal? The answer was a big "no". And the truth is that in this age, we're just paying someone else to do it for us so that we don't have to know what's involved; something that's true for so much more than just food. Now that I don't want my hard-earned money to support things I don't agree with, it made me finally consider stopping meat-eating as well. But I have to be honest with you -- I was raised as a meat-eater and am married to a meat lover, so I was heavily conflicted about changing. So instead, I decided to take on an alternate approach that I want to start getting into for those that want a change, but can't completely cut meat out of their diet...
For starters, my researching on companies bled over to the places and sources of the meat I was buying. Free run, steroid-free chicken? YES PLEASE! Did the store I was buying my meat supply from contract farms based on inspections? Yes. Were companies transparent about the wellbeing of the animals and how they were housed on their websites? Yes - because seeing this on one company's website only calls into question those that don't allow the public to know these details. After narrowing down the products I was going to allow myself to continue to eat, I made sure to stick to those while cutting back on how much I ate. I went from being a daily (sometimes 2-3 times a day) meat-eater to only having meat with one meal once or twice a week. Just knowing I was limiting my personal demand made me feel a bit better about this.
 |
This is no vegetable garden, but it contains plenty of herbs & ingredients for spiritual items. The possibilities for growing vegetables are endless though - I once grew tomatoes and peppers on my apartment balcony! (Food for thought here; eliminate need and costs by growing your own food) |
And it goes without saying that because I was a part of a household that would've demanded meat even if I didn't buy it, I had to be okay with the whole process of easing into the change. So I began my own research on alternative forms of protein and began trying vegan fake-meat products. As soon as I found the brand that was so delicious that it fooled my husband, I started bringing that into the house to make up half the meals that had "meat". Before long I found that the supply of chicken that used to last a couple weeks in the house was now staying in my freezer for 3-4 months. And since a lot of these fake-meat products turn out to be cheaper, I was saving both money and my conscious.
But I have to share a practice that allows me to continue eating this meat. Because I'm not going to lie - once my sensitivities heightened following my first Reiki attunement, I found out that meat started to have a different taste -- and it was a sickening one that was accompanied by the smell of blood and thoughts of unrest. In order to negate those effects, I had to start blessing the meat. For anyone attuned to Reiki, you would simply need to use the first symbol (Cho-Ku-Rei) on it. While it's true that you can look this symbol up online, it won't have the power or effects unless you're attuned to use it, SO, instead you can stand before it and say a silent prayer -- giving your gratitude for their sacrifice in the meal, and asking for peace for the affected soul(s) to pass on. Personally, I do a mixture of the symbol and a prayer, but either or works. This stage is best done ASAP, meaning preferably before the meat is prepared and cooked... but you can still do it right before consumption if that's your only option.
As it is with spiritual work, it's always intention that counts! Some people don't make the same decisions that I've made simply because they feel they can't make a difference, but you can. Even if 1 out of every 15 people did this, the global demand decreases... and through living this way, you find ways to inform and show others how easy it can be to make these decisions. Even if it's baby steps, or making one small change at a time, it DOES make an impact. Take what you will from all of this, but the bottom line is to be a more informed person and all-around consumer - it may shock you to find out just one truth about a household staple, if you look!
#greensolutions #goingvegan #goingvegetarian #spirituallifestyle #becomingmoreaware #lovetheearth #empathconfessions
.png)
