Can you imagine yourself at a time when you are a newly born infant?

Of course, you can’t remember it, so just imagine it.

You are unblemished; untouched; a clean slate; a blank piece of paper. Pure.

But you’re not much in the thinking department, so those around you will make decisions on your behalf.

From the time you are born, to the time you become fully aware that your choices are your own, they will do what they consider to be right for you.

What is good, appropriate, normal and acceptable will not be your choice, it will be theirs.

They will decide everything about every aspect of your life until the day comes when you choose to think and decide for yourself.

Those decisions taken on your behalf will stay with you for many years to come.

As such, you will grow up to be the object of reasoning based upon tradition, culture and societal norms, with maybe just a little bit of contemporary thinking thrown into the mix.

You will effectively be the product of those who are in a position to influence you; so in many ways, you are totally at their mercy.

It’s the way things are.

 
What shapes you in these formative years will create a set of habits that you may never question or see a need to break free from.

If you are so inclined, you may never actually think for yourself at all.

Instead, you can carelessly adopt the choices that were imposed upon you.

There is no need to challenge what is good and bad, right or wrong about most things that happen in your life.

Your upbringing will have already dictated how you should act and respond to much of what you will face.

You may have a rebellious phase at some point. You may even disavow everything you get from your key influencers.

But most people don’t.

Somewhere within you will be implanted attitudes towards politics, religion, values, race, sex, and a host of other things that were, in their origins, never truly your own.

In all likelihood, you will be content to be a reflection of the vestiges of your upbringing, if only because to change deeply rooted beliefs is unsettling.

It’s the way things are.
 

The most common habit you are unlikely to challenge is your attitude to what you eat.

What you are fed as an infant automatically becomes right, normal and acceptable.

But did you know that almost all children are born with an innate love of animals?

They’re fascinated by them. They want to touch them. They want to get close to them. They want to hug them. They want to engage with them.

They recognise something in them that reflects a part of themselves.

Yet those responsible for you will probably feed you their flesh.

You won’t make the association that what you’re being fed is the very same thing that so attracts you.

Instead, you will be taught to eat a nameless, faceless commodity that is simply called ‘food’.

Later, you may see pictures of animals with smiling faces advertising the things you eat.

It will all seem very pleasant and normal.

You won’t suspect that behind the pretty pictures is an industry that causes terror and untold suffering to the billions of the creatures you once felt so kindly towards.

If at some point you do make the connection that what you have loved is now on your dinner plate, the horror you feel will be assuaged by those who put it there.

You will be told “It’s alright. It’s the way things are meant to be. It’s what they’re here for.”

If you don’t accept these ‘truths’, the chances are people will be angry with you. You’ll be forced to eat what you had believed was your friend.

For the sake of not getting into trouble, or because you don’t want to upset anyone, you’ll probably go along with it.

For a little while, you may feel guilty or sad. But you’ll get over it. You must. You won’t have a choice.

To protect yourself, you’ll need to push the ghastly truth of their demise out of you mind. You’ll need to bury it in the recesses of your mind and not let it surface again.

You’ll bury it deep.

It’s the way things are.

 
As you get older, it’s unlikely that you’ll be too troubled by the dreadful knowledge that dwells within you.

You’ll look around you and see that everybody is doing the same thing. And that makes it O.K. doesn’t it?

If anybody tries to say it’s wrong, or bad, or immoral, or unjust, they’re weird. It will be acceptable to think they’re strange or mock them.

You may even hear a whole bunch of reasons why they’re stupid to have such outlandish beliefs and you will know better.

Animals don’t have rights. Animals don’t feel pain. Animals don’t suffer. Animals don’t feel grief or fear. Animals don’t mind giving up their lives for our pleasure.

And if you were to suddenly realise that they do (for all of the above), you can always do what you were taught to do from your earliest age: Push this unsettling knowledge out of your mind. Ignore it. Bury it deep.

It’s the way things are.

 
Now it’s possible that as you get older, you may hear some pretty disturbing things.

You may learn that the factory farming of animals is connected to global warming and climate change and that 51% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to livestock and their byproducts.
You may learn that the planet is being deforested to grow crops to feed the animals we eat, and that animal agriculture is responsible for 91% of the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest.
You may learn that the meat and dairy industry use 1/3 of the Earth’s fresh water supplies or that livestock covers 45% of the Earth’s land, resulting in the desertification of 1/3 of it.
You may learn that 90 million tons of fish are pulled from the oceans every year and that for every 1lb of fish caught, 5lb of unintended marine species are caught and discarded (left to die) as ‘waste’.
You may learn that 110 species per day are made extinct due to animal agriculture and rainforest destruction; or that the oceans now contain colossal ‘deadzones’ caused by pollution and habitat destruction.
You may learn that there’s a link between eating animal flesh and cancer.
You may learn the full, gory details of animal slaughter.
You may discover that there’s no such thing as ‘humane killing’.
You may learn that even those things you have been led to believe are harmless, like drinking milk and eating cheese and eggs, only come about as a result of suffering and death.

In fact, all in all, you may conclude that reliance upon animals for food is a very bad thing.

But you’ll tell yourself it’s O.K. because everyone else is doing it.

You’ll tell yourself it’s O.K. because by now, you’re so used to the taste of the dead animal carcasses you eat that you don’t really care if your habituated diet, unwittingly forced upon you by those responsible for your upbringing, is gradually but inexorably destroying the very planet you live on.

You’ll get by hoping that it will only get really bad after you’re long departed.

And in the meantime, you’ll tell yourself you can go on with impunity.

You’ll come up with 101 excuses why there’s no real harm in you being someone who helps perpetrate the awful damage being carried out with your tacit approval.

You’re too deeply imbedded in your ways to change.

Let other people do something about it.

Let them try to make a difference.

It’s someone else’s problem.

It’s someone else’s’ responsibility.

Isn’t it?

It’s the way things are.
 

Can you handle criticism?
Can you handle the truth?
Can you handle being challenged?
Can you accept that you’re not perfect?
Can you accept that you are in the wrong?
Can you accept that the beliefs that you were inculcated with as a tiny child were ignorant and damaging?
Can you face the evidence of what a carnivorous diet really does?
Can you not look away when your planet needs you?
Can you change?
 

This is the way things really are:

While you choose to look away, billions of harmless animals will be killed every year, dozens of whom will die horrible deaths, just because of your choices.

​The world will move ever closer to self-destruction for reasons that are directly attributable to the habituated decisions made by countless millions of people just like you, who are too scared to look at their choices.

You need to face the grim realisation that there are other truths besides those you now cling to.

You are not still a victim of the choices imposed upon you.

There are NO reasonable excuses for ignoring the evidence, other than mental infirmity or psychopathy.

So imagine yourself at a time when you are a newly born infant.

Of course, you can’t remember it, so just imagine it.

You are unblemished; untouched; a clean slate; a blank piece of paper. Pure.

Recognise that you’re all there in the thinking department. No one around you can make decisions on your behalf.

​You own your choices.

You are not a prisoner of other people’s modes of thinking. You do not need to comply with societal norms.

SO THINK FOR YOURSELF.

You can apply logic, reason, sense, practicality, morality, integrity or even emotion to those choices, without fear of any judgement, other than that which you choose to accept from those who may come to fear you.

Appraise yourself in the context of the world at large. Look at the facts. 

Do you want to be part of the unnecessary cycle of global destruction we are caught up in?

YOU CAN HELP STOP IT.

Reconnect with your humanity and do the right thing.

Allow yourself to be metaphorically reborn with the purity of thought, love of all things and strength of purpose that were once yours as of right.

The ONLY thing stopping you is your choice.

It’s the way things can be.

​Some time ago, I wrote a blog entitled “An open letter to my daughter, Jenny’. It was a heartfelt exposition of my reasons for adopting a vegan diet and an exhortation for her to do likewise. Some while later, I met someone who told me he had read that blog. He wanted me to know that it was “one of the most compelling arguments for becoming vegan that he had come across”.

Yet neither my daughter nor this individual have gone vegan.

Why is that?

I have a theory that there are many more who are attracted to a ‘no harm’ lifestyle than actually pursue it. I know so many good, caring and aware people who I cannot believe would endorse the wholesale planetary damage and unspeakable cruelty they are otherwise complicit in, were it not for some mitigating factor. Yet other than "You just don't give a shit" (as musician Pete Crosbie observed to be the only honest argument against veganism), I struggle to fathom what their reasoning could possibly be.

Even for those who are not animal lovers, the logical reasons for adopting veganism are overwhelming. The most basic research reveals personal medical and environmental benefits so stunning and cathartic, that they would surely cause any right-thinking person to change their choices.

Perhaps there are still huge tranches of the population who are ignorant of how destructive our eating habits are for the planet? That would be odd, because the truth is there for all to see, if you but take the time to look at it.

Perhaps insidious lobbying groups are putting out so much self-interested disinformation about the benefits of ingesting dead animals or their excretions (a.k.a. milk) that many are stupidly blinded to the truth of the harm it does? I don’t think so. The people I am referring to are not mindless followers. They are intelligent, sensitive, socially conscious individuals.

I am aghast that it is possible for any good, caring, aware person to miss out on the moral issue involved. Eating animals implies that we have a right to inflict suffering and death upon sentient beings for the frivolous reasons of pleasure, habit and tradition. Isn't the execution of over 26 billion harmless creatures per year (and this is excluding fish) morally repugnant and unjustifiable when there are alternatives?

I can’t really empathise with why it is that some people use excuses like a partner’s eating habits to justify their own choices. (I was vegetarian for 14 years before my family joined me.) If you have made a decision that was right and important to you, isn't the prevailing climate all about we as individuals standing up for what we know to be right, regardless of any difficulties it may cause us? 

Neither can I relate to the weakness of mind of those who make such claims as “I simply can’t give up cheese”. After all, as author Colleen Patrick-Goudreau so aptly puts it: “Being vegan doesn’t take willpower; it just takes a willingness to choose compassion over convenience". Well put!

When I reflect upon rationalisations for still eating animals, I am persuaded by the parallel between meat eaters and drug addicts. Addicts will say and do anything to justify continuing their habit, even if doing so hurts them and others.
​
So what I’d like to think is that perhaps these good, caring and aware people I imagine to be out there simply haven’t asked themselves some basic questions, like:

• Do I care about my health and well-being?
• Do I care about the future of the planet?
• Do I care about issues like climate change, deforestation and animal suffering?
• Do I care about ending the torture and suffering of helpless, gentle creatures?
• Do I really believe that dead animal flesh is good for me when science tells me otherwise?
• Do I really believe that farming animals for food has no effect upon the environment?
• Do I really believe that my appetite is more important than another’s life?
• Do I really believe that killing billions of innocents per year is OK?

If you, as one of the good, caring and aware people, take the time to reflect upon these questions, according them the gravitas they truly deserve, can you possibly come to ANY conclusion other than “Going vegan is the right thing to do”? Or can you, like an addict, come up with excuses? (If so, do tell me what they are, and I’ll knock them down.)

Or do you feel futile? Is your primary reasoning that deciding to go vegan, all by yourself, will change nothing? I believe that amongst good, caring and aware people, that's maybe the most common fallback position. Their bedrock excuse. Their comforting justification.

But if this is you, let me shed some light on the subject:

One can affect a few. Few can affect many. Many can change the world. 

I ask you. I challenge you. I implore you: Go vegan. Do it today. You can make a difference. What possible excuse do you have not to?

Or is it that "You just don't give a shit?"


NB. If you chose to take me up on my challenge and furnish me with your excuses, please be aware that you can never win an argument with a vegan, because your argument is never with the vegan.

It's with your conscience.

Have you studied the picture at the header of this blog?
 
What affect does it have upon you?
 
Does it do anything to you at all?
 
Speaking personally, it impacted upon me almost viscerally. I was moved to tears. For me, the image oozes tragedy and pathos. Although I know it is merely a picture, an imagined representation, for me it is real. It illustrates perfectly the bond I experience with our animals. The words exactly express my sense of futility at not doing enough to change the cruel injustice that costs billions of helpless animals their lives. I want to hug the cow. I want to tell the human “I’m with you”. My overwhelming reaction is that I am not doing enough to make a difference.
 
Yet in spite all that I’ve just written, this is not a blog about veganism, or helping other beings. It's for you.
 
It’s about the way things affect us, and the importance of how we manage our responses to things that affect us. So read on.
 
When I saw the picture, I was shocked by how a simple image could move me so profoundly and generate such a powerful internal response. I decided to see if it was just me, so over dinner, I showed it to Sharon and asked for her reaction. She gazed at it for a few moments in silence while tell-tale flickers of uncomfortable emotion passed across her face, like fleeting clouds. Then she announced that she found it “very disturbing”.

I was perplexed by this response. I thought it seemed 'tame', so I explained that it made me feel that we weren’t doing enough and questioned why she did not feel the same? “I did feel that at first” she said. “But then I thought about what we’re already doing and all of the animals we have, and I realised that we can’t do any more at the moment. We simply don't have the resources. It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that we can’t. If I allowed myself to think about all that the picture means and let it get to me, it would just be too upsetting”.
 
At that point, which could have been the end of the discussion, AA Michael decided to proffer a comment to Sharon. Here it is, only very slightly paraphrased. You may agree that its implications are vast, for all of us:
 
“When something has an impact upon you at such a deep level that you experience it within the core of your being, it has stirred within you an emanation of a vibration of immeasurable force and magnitude. Within this emotion there lies the spark of creation; the seed for manifesting an outcome based solely upon the magnitude of the feelings that you have given birth to. Given free rein, such a state of mind is the substance of a beginning. It is as if a stone has been cast into a pond, from which the ripples begun may go on in perpetuity.
 
However, you [Sharon, in her comments] have overlaid the magnitude of your feelings with a limiting logic, that in its very inception, stifles the possibilities that could emerge. Whilst appearing to substitute the fanciful for what is practical and reasonable, you have instead caused a cessation of a reality that might have evolved to serve the highest good of all. Rather than being energised, you have become enervated in your thinking.
 
Within the 4D reality, there exists endless possibility. The essence of what you experience and what you may bring into being is within you own control, and of your own making. Denial of what may be, will only ensue endless limitations that restrict your contribution to the expansion of the parameters of the possible. Only by fully opening your mind, without reservation or hesitation, to explore potential, will you achieve all that you may for the highest good of all.”
  
Sharon got it straight away. Do you?

There is enough crushing ‘realism’ in the world to dash all of our hopes and expectations for what could be and what we may achieve, without us introducing a limiting (even destructive) mindset of our own. We should all strive to let our imaginations work with our subconscious to maximise our ability to create and bring about what we most desire. If we audit our dreams and live our lives full of “Yes, but”, those dreams simply may not come.

There can be few of us who have not experienced revulsion at the revelations surrounding Harvey Weinstein and his seemingly habituated abuse of women crossing his path. As time has gone on, our response to the slew of ‘star’ names who have been exposed as similar (if somewhat lesser) abusers may have moved from outrage to disappointment, or even ambivalence, as we become less surprised by or even inured to further exposés.

On a positive note, this has provoked the rise of the ‘Time’s Up’ and ‘MeToo’ movements, championing all womens’ right not to receive the brunt of the masculine propensity to dominate the ‘weaker sex’. The obviously well-founded accusations that have opened the Pandora’s box of evidentiary exploitation and manipulation, could and should serve us all well in making our society a fairer and better place. It is surely a given that abuse in any form should not be tolerated.

During the awards season, witnessing the widespread adornment of elaborate dresses and tuxedos with pins supporting the cause, a more cynical observer might suspect that the movements have, at least in part, been hijacked to become more about ensuring equal pay for actresses than any broader purpose. Abuse has obviously become institutionalised in Tinseltown where time is indeed ripe for change, but there remains a danger that the whole overblown spectacle now becomes more about the vulnerable in Hollywood than a campaign against abuse in general.

The majority (but by no means all) of those victims who have now stepped forward to level their indictments have revealed that the abuses perpetrated against them fell short of actual rape. Nonetheless, they all seem to have felt compelled to go along with what happened to them and subsequently accept it, ignore it or otherwise pretend that it did not happen. Why? They universally state that they were afraid, not necessarily for their lives or well-being, but because to not do so would have meant that opportunities may have evaporated, that parts would not be available to them, that their careers would have been jeopardised, or their livelihoods otherwise threatened.

Coercion is a powerful imperative, and being subjected to such pressure is an unconscionable thing. I have nothing but sympathy for those who were raped, and can think of few things more awful to go through. But there are some questions that should be asked about how the whole ghastly melee could have been handled:

• Were the victims deprived of their freedom of choice?
• Were there other choices the victims could have made at the time?
• Were there other choices the victims could have made subsequently?

There exists in this whole scenario an unsettling possibility that at least some of those who have now come forward to denounce their tormentors acquiesced to what transpired because in the moment of choice, when they could have prevented it, they decided that on balance, to go along with the unwelcome attentions of the monsters that preyed upon them was the lesser of the evils they faced. by their own account, they chose opportunity and the possibility of career advancement over removing themselves from the events that threatened them. They kept silent for (in many cases) years, because the personal career backlash that may have resulted from speaking out was considered worse than acquainting the world at large with what was going on.

We all know that people have to go through what they go through. They chose it before incarnation. However, the etheric were anxious to pass broader comment, so here is their input. as dictated by AA Michael:

“In all things you have freedom of choice.

Whilst you may not (apparently) control that which befalls you, at all times you are able to be in mastery of how you respond. 

In all those situations you face, your weighing of the relative merits of the likely outcomes which may be extrapolated from what is occurring, prompts your decisions and subsequent actions.

Decisions based on the course of action that best meets your needs or appears to be for your personal highest good will inevitably lead to a life littered with errors of conclusion.

This is a vital part of the learning process and experience all must go through.

Over time, analysis of your adjudications will inevitably cause you to conclude that you are unable to escape culpability for your own actions.

​Responsibility for our response to what befalls us, in all things, must be accepted. 

It may take a multitude of experiences or lifetimes to arrive at this wisdom, but it is so.

If a society observes and seizes upon the lessons being offered to young souls (who have not yet grasped the import of the truths that face them) and relies upon their outpourings to form their own understanding which subsequently directs intentions and pathways, wrong turnings are inevitable, for all.

Thus in all things, individual discernment is imperative and the power and value of personal choice must be recognised and assumed.

Situations must be viewed from the perspective of a neutral observer, wherein an individual's role in all that is becomes evident.

There are, in all things, many wrongs to be righted in the world you have created.

Effective corrective action must begin with a thorough examination of that which you do that contributes to your individual state of being and thus to the world at large.

These passings [the whole Hollywood abuse scenario] simply serve to illustrate a far wider and more significant learning point that may be misconstrued.

There is more understanding to grasp here than is evident.

For the old souls amongst you, there is a need to understand and apply this message in all aspects of your life and being. “
 
It is certainly not the case that this input exonerates or mitigates on behalf of the Harvey Weinsteins of the world. Far from it. Neither does it lessen the hideousness of the experience of the victims. Nobody should be subjected to the kind of coercive and threatening behaviour that Weinstein (and all his ilk) obviously used.

​But none of us should ignore the role we play in the outcomes of what faces us. Every day we face choices where we weigh up consequences. The most obvious course of action to take is perhaps the one that seems to best serve ourselves in the short term. Yet in the long run, it is often that route which may seem harder, but serves the highest good of all, that may lead us down what is ultimately the easiest and safest pathway. 

NB. This theme is hardly a new one for the etheric. I was last instructed to write about in June 2016, in the blog entitled 'The Dire Perils of Victimology'. The mere fact that they want me to address it again (albeit from a very different perspective) is, perhaps, quite revealing...

I regularly read articles about the spread of veganism throughout the world. In case you are not similarly inclined, here are just a few snippets of news from 2017:

• VEGAN ALTERNATIVES MAKE UP 40% OF NEW ‘DAIRY’ STYLE PRODUCTS.
• UK’S VEGAN ‘MEAT’ MARKET TO GROW 25% WITHIN THE NEXT 4 YEARS.
• NEARLY 50% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT A BAN ON SLAUGHTERHOUSES.
• 40% OF CONSUMERS ARE TRYING TO INCLUDE MORE VEGAN FOODS INTO EVERY MEAL.
• VEGAN MARKET IN CHINA PREDICTED TO RISE BY 17% BY 2020.
• DEMAND FOR VEGAN FOOD HAS SPIKED BY 140%.
• MORE ‘MAINSTREAM’ RESTAURANTS ARE NOW OFFERING VEGAN MENUS AT LEAST ONE DAY PER WEEK.
• GLOBAL PLANT BASED MILK MARKET SET TO REACH $21.6 BILLION BY 2022.
• SWITZERLAND HAS BANNED THE BOILING ALIVE OF LOBSTERS.
• GOOGLE TRENDS SHOW A 90% INCREASE IN VEGAN SEARCHES.
• MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION AMERICANS OVER 17 ARE NOW VEGAN.
• VEGANUARY 2017 HAD OVER 59,500 PARTICIPANTS GLOBALLY.
• 44% OF CONSUMERS IN GERMANY NOW FOLLOW A LOW-MEAT DIET.
• 'GOING VEGAN’ IS PREDICTED TO BE THE BIGGEST FOOD TREND OF 2018

This is all cheering stuff, isn’t it? It’s easy to imagine that slowly but surely, the message is getting through and that ultimately, a vegan lifestyle will proliferate to such an extent that it predominates global eating habits.

Yet the momentary glow I get from reading statistics like those above, can easily be extinguished by those below.

• THE UNITED NATIONS REPORTS THAT THE DEMAND FOR MEAT IS INCREASING AND WILL HAVE RISEN BY 70% BY THE YEAR 2050. THIS WILL REQUIRE THE SLAUGHTER OF OVER 300 BILLION ANIMALS ANNUALLY.
• OF THOSE CHOOSING A VEGETARIAN/VEGAN DIET, 84% ABANDON IT.

Statistics, as we all know, can paint any picture we choose to see.

Clearly, if progress is being made, there’s a long way to go before the majority of the population will look at the carnage of theriocide and ask themselves “How could we ever do that?”

In the meantime, those of us who care and want to make a change cannot afford to be complacent.

Not for one moment.

I am constantly surprised when I meet individuals who have no knowledge or awareness of what a vegan is. I have even met one individual who, when I explained that I was vegan, thought that the word meant I came from the planet Vega, and I was having a joke with them!

Awareness is critical. You’d have to be an alien visitor not to know what a vegetarian was, but veganism still takes people by surprise. It’s still a minority that have full-blown knowledge of the suffering and death that is still caused by eating dairy, eggs, or any product that comes from another creature. If nothing else, knowing of the harm that is perpetuated in our names may be a way of provoking thought and consideration, and if this is the beginning of change for some, we should all be broadcasting the desperate need to end this suffering, loud and clear.

If you’ve listened to AAM’s channeled pronouncements on the subject, you’re already aware of this. But if you then couple that input with the import (if not the actual words) of previous blogs such as ‘Actions Speak Louder Than Petitions’ or ‘Time To Shout About What You Believe In’, you might find yourself asking “How much of a difference am I making personally, in ensuring that the message gets out?”

For most people, the greatest issue is possibly one of platform. What opportunities do they have to espouse beliefs and prick the consciences of those around them? We don’t all have blogs, websites, or even people who are interested in hearing what we have to say. If you’re one of those who doesn’t, have you ever thought about using yourself or your vehicle as a vegan billboard?
​
The internet is replete with websites that offer clothing espousing veganism. They are almost limitless in the varying styles (and degrees of taste!) available. Some companies will make items to your personal colour specification, or even with the precise wording you want. Elsewhere (although often on the same sites) a vast range of vegan bumper stickers, car magnets and decals are available. The ones that adorn our SUV mimic the 'Intel Inside' logo (see the mini version below - it's much bigger in real life). And if you see me out and about in warm weather, the chances are I will be wearing one of my vegan T shirts (my personal favourite one is above, but no, unfortunately that’s not me modelling it!)

I have no problem broadcasting exhortations to those around me. Consider the alternative: The fashion industry likes to make us walking advertisements for their brands and products. Many people will pay vastly inflated prices for fairly ordinary items of clothing, just so that they may be seen to be associated with a vogue name. For my part (and many years ago now), I used to only purchase Ralph Lauren clothing simply for the cachet I felt the little polo player logo offered. But how facile a choice that was. What a waste of an opportunity for me to proclaim something that was worthwhile; something that I actually believe in.

So why don’t we all become walking adverts for the vegan cause? How many of you reading this are prepared to make a point to your friends and those around you? Don’t you want to stand up for what you believe in? Don’t you feel that strongly about it? Don’t you want to make a difference, even in such an undemanding, passive manner? Are you afraid?

Well, it could be that when faced with a real live vegan, a carnatarian’s response could run to anything from disdain and teasing, to out-and-out abuse and ridicule. When habit and deeply held beliefs are challenged, even in an ambient fashion, conflict may ensue. Recognise that if this were the case, a perpetrator would be displaying another sort of fear. That fear is a deeper and more unsettling one than anything which will be experienced by the hapless vegan, because it is borne out of an insidious, deep-seated knowledge that carnism is a despicable act of cruelty that is fundamentally wrong, at any moral, intellectual or spiritual level you may care to explore it on. Reactionary responses are always a possibility.

Does that mean that you should hold back?

In truth, the worse thing I have encountered is people whispering behind my back (literally) as some of my T shirts use double sided messaging (why waste a selling opportunity?). More often, I have been the recipient of interested comments, approbation, thanks, and even a request for to “Give me a high five, brother” (from a shelf stacker in Superstore!). But most significantly, what I wear has prompted questions and raised awareness. I see no reason why it should be any different for you.

So, the next time you decide to update your wardrobe, think about adding something that is meaningful; something that might just make a difference. Don’t be afraid to be a walking advertisement for a kinder way of living. Be proud of what you believe in and let everybody else know about it. Ralph Lauren really doesn’t need you. Animals do!

It is a seemingly inevitable feature of my attempts to persuade people of the value of personal veganism, that I reach a point where my efforts are confronted (and often dashed) by an absence of ability to create a sufficiently powerful motivation in my audience to bring about change. Indeed, this is a phenomenon I have discussed in previous blogs (albeit from a slightly different perspective), where the potential of differing influencing strategies has been explored.
 
Today, something struck me about my preferred ‘hardcore’ methodology of ‘telling it like it is’. It may be uncomfortable, distressing and downright off-putting for people to hear truths about their carnatarian living, but to have its implications explained in any other way, is a shameful act of concealing harsh realities that cost lives.
 
I am put in mind of the attitude of the European population during WWII. From 1942 onwards, there were frequent, verifiable reports of man’s inhumanity to man, that filtered their way to the Allied powers. The existence of extermination camps was known and whispered of in the corridors of Government. Yet it was not until the first of these hell holes were liberated, and photographs of barely alive, skeletal human forms, and deeply distressing images of rotting corpses in mass graves were published, for all to see, that it became ‘real’. The population en mass was finally forced to accept the horrors of what had come to pass, and righteous outrage followed.
 
Just like the Nazi death camps, slaughterhouses try to keep their activities a closely guarded secret. Nonetheless, we all know what goes on there. The dairy industry tries to fool us with images of smiling bovines, allowing us to pretend to be (happily) ignorant of the vile practices that lurk within. Most of us will never have to watch a fish gasping desperately for breath or writhing in agony before its lungs explode, yet we must know that their ending is not a pleasant one. Bees are drugged by smoke, and countless numbers are ‘squished’ by industrial collecting methods, before the honey they have made to feed themselves on is stolen from them, and still we allow ourselves to believe that they make it just for us. I could go on...
 
The difference between one of our darkest historical eras and now, is, perhaps, that we actively choose not to see, and we make that choice with impunity. Most of humanity could/would not concede that animal lives are as significant as our human ones. Thus, the theriocide that so closely parallels (yet vastly eclipses) the terrible genocide of the Nazi’s moment in history, never meets with disapprobation, let alone the revulsion or distress that it actually warrants.
 
Yet were we to see it, were we to even get a glimpse of the horrors that are carried out with our tacit approval, I wonder how many of us would not feel the same heartbreaking level of pity for those rankly abused and mistreated beings, that we can still feel for concentration camp victims?
 
If you are a vegan, you might have made that life-changing choice without even seeing the nightmare world that we have created for animals. You might be one of those who believes that, like you, your fellow human beings will change as a result of natural progression resulting in an abandonment of lifelong habits.
 
But my take is this. Habits die hard, particularly those based upon selfish self-interest. We don’t change quickly. Our ignorance is a comforting bliss. We need emotional imperative to prompt major change. Imagery obviously affects us powerfully and can shake us out of complacency and create that imperative. If we as individuals are forced to confront our own carelessness to the suffering that we are passively endorsing, we are more likely to do something about it. We are more likely to change. As vegans, we should not shrink from revealing the awful truths that are all around us. Indeed, it may be our duty to do so. There are things we all need to see.

There are many reasons for becoming a vegan. Perhaps the most powerfully motivational one, and the one that produces the greatest passion, is the choice that stems from the desire to do no harm.

Recognising the sentience in other beings, accepting their right to their lives, and then respecting that life, can create a revelatory consciousness. If you make the choice to adopt a fully vegan lifestyle (one that ultimately eschews all products harmfully stolen from other beings) it almost becomes a personal mantra. There are no half measures.

Like religious converts experiencing their ‘road to Damascus’ moment, those who wake up to the recognition of the preciousness of animal lives, hold their new-found values dear. They wish to do everything in their power to act upon those personally liberating tenets. They want to make a difference. Whilst they may not be able to change the world, they can change everything that is within their control; and the obvious starting point is in their own home.

I have a friend who is just such a convert.

Recently, she relayed to me the tale of a forthcoming visit from a large group of her family members. She had offered to play host, throwing open her home, and providing a rent-free holiday destination for them all. But as the date grew closer and they were firming up plans, she realised she needed to make it clear that during the time they were with her, she could not accept any non-vegan foodstuffs in her house.

Their reaction was angry and negative and very quickly, things got ugly. Rather than pause for consideration, they berated her for trying to control their food intake choices and foisting her ideas and values upon them. En-mass, they ‘ganged up’ on her, trying to pressure her to change her mind, even using emotional blackmail by asserting “You never used to be this way”. There was no attempt to explore her reasoning or perspective. She didn't even get so much as an iota of support from another family member, who had himself (notionally) turned vegetarian!

Nonetheless, in the face of considerable unpleasantness and hostility, she bravely stood her ground and remained true to her convictions. Alas, the final result was that the long-anticipated visit was cancelled, and a rift developed within the family unit.
 
I find this situation worthy of comment for several reasons. It is, perhaps, a salutary tale for all of us who are faced with situations where our vegan beliefs place us in conflict with our loved ones. You may, perhaps, imagine what you would have done had you been faced with this situation. Here’s my take on it:

I believe it is an extraordinarily insensitive person who enters the world of another and ignores or disrespects their beliefs and values. We may not agree with them, but it is surely a matter of common courtesy to at least demonstrate a level of acceptance, through our behaviours and actions, if those beliefs do us no harm. Granted, it may be jarring when we can see no logic, reason or purpose behind another’s value base (extreme, oppressive religious beliefs being, perhaps, a good example), and we may struggle to empathise with another’s viewpoint.

But is it a bridge too far for any of us to allow ourselves an imagined, exploratory trip into the world of beings we slaughter for food? Is it that hard to empathise with harmless creatures, dragged away from their homes and loved ones, only to be cruelly and mercilessly slaughtered for our pleasure?

My friend, in dealing with her family members, faced a group of people who were apparently unprepared to consider why one of their number might have changed their position, vis a vis the lives of animals. She didn’t demand that they change their lifetime habits for any more than the week they were due to be with her. She would have provided them with sumptuous vegan meals, wherein they wouldn’t even have noticed the absence of a living being’s flesh. They would have participated in a culinary adventure that could have been eye-opening. They would have had the opportunity to experience a week wherein they momentarily removed themselves from their tacit complicity in the theriocide that they willingly participate in for the remaining fifty-one weeks of the year.

Yet sadly, they seemingly couldn’t bring themselves to do that.

Instead they mindlessly chose to behave like spoiled children, railing against something that wasn’t of their choosing. They elected to put their stomachs and their intransigence before a basic consideration of another’s sensitivities. They allowed their habituated beliefs to overrule their recognition that maybe, a member of their kin was simply doing what she believed to be right. They didn’t allow themselves to look at their own actions and choices, or question their own values. Instead, they elected to drive a wedge into a previously happy and loving family unit.

Let’s not forget the “you never used to be this way” accusation they levelled at my friend…

Of all the stupid and inane things they could have said, this maybe tops the bill. Why on earth would they imagine that she would be the same as she used to be? Is it not fundamental to all of us, that as we progress through our lives, we change and grow and evolve? Do they imagine that development stops when a certain age is reached? Are they really that stupid a group?

Perhaps what is really behind this glib phrase is vested interest coming into play. We all like others to be as we believe we know them. We fix them at a certain point in time and want them to stay that way. (Perhaps it is only when we live in close proximity to others that we allow them to change without rancor; and then, only because, like infants who grow taller before our eyes, we fail to notice their growth, until something forces recognition upon us.) This group wanted my friend to be the same person they had fixed her as, because that best served their purpose. It would allow them to believe they fully understood her, and that person could be manipulated so as to allow them to get their own way under the circumstances.

Let’s be honest here. We may like to imagine that we know people well, particularly those closest to us. But we don’t. Not unless we pay considerably more attention than most family relationships allow for. Therefore, we can only conjecture, and hopefully demonstrate empathy and acceptance when somebody doesn’t quite fit the mold we had envisaged for them. To demand otherwise is surely unrealistic, naïve and disrespectful of anyone’s need/right to become the person they intended to be. Yet that’s what this family was trying to do to my friend.

And what about that family member who didn't speak up in support of my friend?

I understand that some people like to avoid conflict. I get that to be contentious can damage personal popularity and reduce influence. I know that to go against the flow can be threatening. But is it really right, when somebody ostensibly shares the same beliefs that we do, to not support them when they find themselves under attack? And my friend was under attack.

If you make the choice to go vegan or vegetarian for the (rather selfless) reasons outlined above, is it not beholden upon you to stand up and be counted? If you too are trying to do your bit to end theriocide, why would you not come to the aide of another who was taking steps to achieve that end; especially when the circumstances are hardly life threatening for you? To abandon one in need of support, to me, demonstrates a certain moral cowardice, and frankly, a rather lame commitment to ending animal suffering. Then again, perhaps this individual’s reasons for becoming vegetarian were not so pure.
 
So, what can be concluded from all of this? Well, I believe this, or something similar, could have happened to anyone who has the strength of mind to go it alone and be true to their convictions. This is not the first situation I have come across where those we trust most, behave poorly when their comfort zones about their loved ones are challenged. This blog is simply written in response to my friend’s deep and on-going distress at what has come to pass. She is reaping the not-so-nice rewards of demonstrating courage and integrity, and standing up for what she believes in. It would have been much easier for her to cave in to the pressure and acquiesce to her family’s demands. But she didn’t.

Make no mistake, this is how people make a difference. Nothing happens when we sit on the sidelines, pretending that all is well, and ignoring that which is within our power to influence. My friend, in this situation, is a hero.

As for her family…  shameful and thoughtless as their responses may be, they are not untypical. Disappointing for me personally, is that I have met many of them, and found them to be (very) intelligent, sensitive people, who one might otherwise have expected better from. I doubt very much that they recognise the stress and hurt their unthinking self-focus, in these circumstances, has wrought upon my friend. I consider it an egregious level of selfishness on their part to run roughshod over the (obviously) deeply held values of one of their kin, irrespective of how different she may have been in the past. To ignore (or at best, fail to) accept her sensitivities, particularly when her viewpoint is such a kindly one, is stunning; more so when it comes from such ostensibly caring people. I can only imagine they found it threatening, as so many do, when faced with even the slightest measure of their culpability in unnecessary suffering and agony. I guess it’s their choice, and that has to be respected. But that choice sucks. They should get over themselves. 

I offer kudos to my friend for sticking to her guns. Her commitment and determination to do what is right may have been the spur that damaged family relationships, and the cost may prove high for her in this respect; but there is no fault on her part. We must all stand up for what we believe is right if we are to create the ripples of change that will impact the world; irrespective of the personal cost. Her actions should be an inspiration to us all.

Finally, from an etheric perspective, you may wish to observe that it is my friend who is the one who is making progress on her ascension pathway, not her family. A bit further down the line, that’s going to matter. A lot.

​I know this because an Archangel told me so.

​It’s no big secret that people put on metaphorical masks when dealing with the world around us. To a greater or lesser degree, we all do it. Right from the earliest age, we learn that in order to keep other people happy, we must conceal aspects of ourselves and present an image to the world that we are something ‘more’ or different from how we really are.
At one level, wearing a ‘mask’ is disingenuous and false. However, when viewed from a very human perspective, it is understandable that we may feel we need to do this to protect ourselves. The imperative stems from an apparently desperate desire to be accepted by those around us.

Our mask is unlikely to be an all-encompassing facade, but it can still work at almost every level of our being, causing us to misrepresent anything from matters as (relatively) insignificant as our taste in music, to something as important as our fundamental beliefs about the way we should treat other people.

In part, we will put on a ‘mask’ to make ourselves more agreeable to our immediate families, our peers/social group, or even specific individuals. But we also wear them for ourselves. Our ego presents us with an image of how we would like to be seen, and we all too willingly go along with it, seldom checking out the reality of it. We convince ourselves of the reality of our self-projection, and dismiss any contradictory evidence.

The sense of imperative to falsify ourselves begins when we start to experience insecurities and vulnerability (most frequently during teenage years). By the time adulthood arrives, wearing a ‘mask’ has all too often become a behavioural trait that we can no longer shed. Worse still, the ‘mask’ that we had initially put on merely to avoid being the outcast, or the weird kid, may now be who we have become. We may have identified with an adopted persona for so long that we believe it is who we actually are.

As well as causing us to deceive ourselves, masks intentionally confuse the image others have of us. Wearing them may cause us to (willingly) act against our personal values, adopt attitudes that may be uncomfortable for us, misrepresent our real viewpoints, and make claims for ourselves that exaggerate or distort our true nature. We may deliver ourselves in a manner that is an inaccurate representation of what lies at the essence of our being. And all the while, we believe that doing this in some way makes us ‘better’ people.

Initially, the deceptions may seem minor and harmless; after all they don’t really do any harm to others. Yet over time, we may become so governed by a prurient need to make ourselves acceptable to those around us, that we develop a habituated obsession with them.

Although such fixations are by no means guaranteed in a lifetime, even old souls, in some aspect of their lives, are likely to experience the challenges presented by need to ‘fit in’. This may cause a fleeting flirtation with self-deception, or an on-going charade of persona projection.

The greater the pressure we impose upon ourselves to conform and be compatible with others, the greater the likelihood that we will find it necessary to distort multiple facets of our true selves.

Unfortunately, not so deeply embedded within our psyche, lurks the certainty that the ‘mask’ we have adopted is merely who we are pretending to be. The cognitive dissonance this can create [the mental stress or discomfort experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values] is subversive in its impact upon us. It is unbalancing and has the potential to undermine our relationships, cause us to become alienated from our sense of self, and derail our learning opportunities. Ultimately, it can consign us to further lifetimes in the third dimension.

The need to wear a mask is an ego product that never allows us to get past believing that we need to be who others want us to be. We have created a sophisticated and misleading self-image that we buy into, and expect others to as well; but we seldom recognise that they may see the truth of us, so caught up are we in our effort to convince others that our mask is who we are.

The misdirecting personal propaganda we surround ourselves with can lead to tangled webs of both outward and self-focused deceit. So attached may we become to our false persona, or so afraid that ‘the truth will out’, that we are unable to experience the truth of who we intended to be before we incarnated.

Yet from the etheric’s omniscient perspective, it is of no consequence to other people who and what we are. Our lives are ‘discreet’ and individual. They know that our preoccupation with being seen as valid in the eyes of others will, at best, cause us to limit our exploration of our true selves. At worst, it will cause us to experience psychological, emotional and spiritual trauma, or even dis-ease ourselves.  The latter is a very real consequence.

Wearing a ‘mask’ is not so much about managing the behaviours we think we should suppress, as an unhealthy manacling of our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Whilst we do not need to ‘reveal our all’ in order for our integrity to remain intact, if our innermost motivators are called upon or challenged, they should surface as signposts that enable others to understand who and what we really are.

More than this, as we go forward on our pathway, we should allow our honestly experienced imperatives to be our guiding principles and tenets, not a route map we choose to ignore. What is inside of us can never lead us to anywhere that is meaningful, or offer our soul’s development, if it is constantly hidden behind the falseness and pretence of a mask.
It is one of the greater truths we must discover in our lifetimes. It is vital for us to understand and accept ourselves for what we truly are. If we don’t spend enough time developing a relationship with that being, we will always fail in our ascension attempts. But if we can’t even recognise ourselves in the first place, because we’ve spent so long trying to pretend we’re somebody else, we may as well give up.

 
NB. It should be clarified that all of this is not an issue of the things we do in order to be sensitive, polite, respectful, accepting and tolerant in our dealings with others. Masking is about what we believe we must do to be seen as (for instance) pleasant, popular, worthy, adequate, tolerable, companionable, or generally, 'better'. It extends beyond behaviours that demonstrate courtesy and common civility, and it would be wrong to assume that ‘being genuine’ means being damaging, confrontational, offensive, tactless, or in any way unacceptable.

To understand more about the ego state, you may find it beneficial to the Enlightenment Teaching found here:

http://www.angelsincanada.com/store/p98/E10%3A_Understanding_the_Ego.html
​

​During the routine course of channelings, the etheric are frequently asked about matters pertaining to health. These vary from (untypically) “Is there anything wrong with me?” (bad question to ask!) to (typically) “What can I do about what’s wrong with me?” Of course, nobody ever asks for the sake of having flu; it’s usually something a lot more insidious.
​
For most of us, recourse to scientific medicine as a method of correcting any disease that which physically ails us, is the natural first port of call, and modern medicine should not be eschewed. It may help alleviate the burden disease places upon us and allow us time to deal with what ails us at a deeper soul level, which is dis-ease, an imbalance of our vibration.

Chemical input/surgical intervention may, by itself, cause a return to apparent health. But for old souls, the underlying imbalance is unlikely to have been corrected (and will most likely be carried over as a challenge, although not a learning point per se, to the next lifetime) and disease is seldom countered effectively without also addressing the cause of the dis-ease.

The pertinent question for old souls then becomes “Is the dis-ease they are experiencing elected or assumed”. In other words, did they decide to have it before they arrived here, or have they acquired the dis-ease en-route in this lifetime, because they have been living/approaching life in a manner that is out of balance with who they intended to be?

For old souls, elective dis-ease would be relatively rare. By the time we reach old-soul age, we have dealt with all of the learning that may be gleaned from illness, most often in mid-term lifetimes. We have experienced its rancor and its debilitations ad infinitum, and we’re probably pretty fed up with having dis-ease so that those around us can learn to deal with it. So if you arrive with serious dis-ease on the schedule for an old soul lifetime, it’s either because that’s the way you’ve elected to go out; or because you’re really serious about helping out another soul, above and beyond the course of duty (in all cases a soul family member).

Far more common are acquired dis-eases that ironically, old souls are quite prone to (particularly those on their earlier outings into old soul living). Their rising vibration makes them more susceptible to being knocked off balance. As old souls, we arrive with strong beliefs about what we should be capable of, and tall-orders about what we hope to achieve. We set our sights high, because ascension is within our grasp. So before incarnating, we define quite strict limits of expectation regarding every aspect of our living: attitudes, beliefs, values, thoughts, behaviours; and if we then fall short of these well-intended parameters for success, the easier we stumble. The more anxious we are to succeed, the more difficult it is to get to where we want to be, and the greater the likelihood of dis-easing ourselves.

That begs the question: if an old soul assumes a dis-ease, is there anything they can do about it. And this is what the question, when asked in a channeling session, comes down to.

The simple answer is “Yes, of course”; but that does not mean that delivery will be easy or without difficulty.

Acquiring dis-ease is a bit like accidentally hitting a golf ball into a tricky sand trap as you drive for the green. You didn’t do it on purpose and it may be embarrassing, but everybody does it, it doesn’t mean the game’s over, and at least you were aiming in the right direction. But trying to chip your way out can be frustrating and you may get into trouble if your technique’s wrong.

Getting beyond, or dealing with dis-ease MUST follow the etheric’s 3 stage process for healing. If you haven’t heard it enough by now, it’s:

• ACCEPT
• RELEASE
• MOVE ON

 
Typically, those who have an imbalance, and those around them, will experience fear. This makes matters a lot worse and is a surefire way to feed the imbalance. Fear must be replaced by an attitude that acknowledges: “It is what I make of it” Dis-ease is definitely challenging, but it shouldn’t be allowed to be scary, as you will see.

Many old souls who have acquired dis-ease need to overcome the fact that they feel bad about it. If it makes them feel guilty, or somehow less worthy (which is definitely not the case) this is a major mistake. Embarrassment, guilt and other negative, self-flagellating emotions are unnecessary and damaging. They compound the problem, and they certainly don’t constitute acceptance. If it’s happened, it’s happened. It cannot be retrospectively changed, but it may still be possible to alleviate, or even eradicate any long-term impact.

Another damaging mistake is to deny that there is anything wrong at all. Pretending that something is not happening is the very antithesis of acceptance. So ignoring physical symptoms or imagining that it will all go away if you give it no air time, is folly.

However, this is NOT the same as denying that the dis-ease will be allowed to affect you. This is determination to counter the imbalance of the dis-ease, and taking steps to correct it: a refusal to allow it to take hold. A positive attitude is key to healing, but it’s important to understand precisely what this means and how it must manifest itself.

Accepting dis-ease is almost an act of embracing it. It is important to own the responsibility for what has happened without any recrimination, regret or self-pity. Ask what the dis-ease can teach you? See it as a challenge; an opportunity that has come your way to prove your mastery. Regard it as presence that you can work with. Give it a personality. It is, in every way possible, an aspect of yourself. It’s not mean or spiteful, however it might manifest. It really is there to help you.

But now comes the hardest part, since it is imperative for your learning and your understanding to come to terms with how the dis-ease has come to imbalance you. This involves exploring all aspects of your life in the most open and receptive of ways. Failure to recognise the sand-trap causes that are lurking there will mean that you haven’t yet come to terms with mastery of certain aspects of your being, if only because you can’t spot the error of your ways.

Frankly, you may not be able to discover all of this by yourself. Self-diagnosis can be tricky if you are not naturally introspective. You may not be able to see yourself objectively, and therefore require feedback from others who know you well and understand these issues at the same level that you do. You have chosen those who are around you in a lifetime so that they may be sounding boards or mirrors for you to observe yourself. Even then, what you hear might be uncomfortable and difficult, and it is important to be careful that your responses are not in themselves merely another form of denial. This does not mean you have to automatically accept everything you hear; but looking for previously unknown truths is vital.

(In case you’re wondering, the etheric will not point the causes out to you, because to do so would be to prevent you from the learning that must be yours.)

Once you believe you have your root causes, it will be obvious that the past cannot be changed, only the present. So from this point onwards, you must regard yourself as being in a ‘hereafter’ with no attachment to those causes, other than to do things differently from now on. In other words, you need to totally release yourself, and let go of whatever it was that resulted in the dis-ease. Attitudes, beliefs, values, thoughts and behaviours may have to change (if corrective steps have not already been taken).

However, if you do nothing to make modifications in going forward, this is another form of knowledge without action, that old chestnut the etheric keep reminding us of. It’s potentially catastrophically damaging to get past ignorance, and then do nothing about our new-found wisdom. Not only is this an on-going potential liability for us, it’s also one of the most common root-causes of what dis-eases us in the first place!

But how will you know that you’re out of the sand trap, back on the fairway, and heading for the right green now?

Well, if the imbalance is corrected and the dis-ease recedes, you’re there. If it doesn’t, the chances are that you unearthed an erroneous cause, or (unknowingly?) denied the true root cause. The dis-ease will be as powerful and unbalancing a factor as it ever was.

If this seems cruel, bear in mind that it is only there in the first place because old soul lifetimes require us to face challenges from all sorts of perspectives. It is wholly appropriate that we should find ourselves tested in this way, or how else would we otherwise demonstrate mastery?

Whether we succeed in overcoming imbalances or not, we should always make attempts to move on. Letting go allows us a scope for freedom in the way we view our condition or predicament. If we are too attached to a particular outcome, we are failing to recognise the perfection of the way in which our lives play out. At no time are we not in control of our destinies, because we may always choose the way in which we regard the events of our lives. It may be the case that we realise too late what has impacted us; that the dis-ease has been allowed to take too great a hold of our physical form before we recognise its true nature. But the mere fact that we are finally able to come to terms with what it is, and how it has become, means that the learning is apparent and available to us. This, whilst not being an unmitigated triumph, is in itself a huge spur along the ascension pathway.