If you’ve ever been preached to by a vegan, you know the many reasons why there has been a 600% increase in veganism in the U.S alone in the past three years. You’ve been told about its health benefits as meat and diary products have now been proven to cause cancer and diabetes among other serious illnesses and diseases. More documentaries than I can mention here like Cowspiracy, Earthlings, and Speciesism have shown you the inhuman treatment of animals in factory farms and its environmental effects. Friends may have even asked, “why you don’t eat your dog, but you eat animals like pigs who possess the same level of intelligence and emotional response.” And you might have seen the variety of plant-based food and grocery options or tried some at a restaurant and enjoyed it.
Obviously, there are many great reasons to go vegan to save your body, the planet, and animals’ lives. But, what if we go beyond the body? What does veganism do to your soul and your path to enlightenment?
How does veganism affect your soul?
When you think about all the reasons above for being vegan, it all comes down to choosing compassion or violence. This is the choice of the soul. We, as humans, the most conscious beings on this planet, have more choices than any other living creature. We feel, we change, we choose to adopt, and we decide to be compassionate or violent in our actions. And we know that our actions either scar or lift our souls; this is the law of karma.
The important factor to remember is choice. No one can tell another person how to act; this defeats the natural process of awakening. You must see something on your own to believe that it exists. That is why the first paragraph of this article is meaningless unless you have already made your choice and have just not made the action quite yet.
How does veganism guide your spiritual awakening?
For me, my choice of food and my inner peace went hand-in-hand. It all seemed to happen simultaneously. Yoga, meditation, and reflection led me to see the larger connection between what I put in my stomach, and how it affected me spiritually.
The food I ate, just like the thoughts I had, became part of my being. Each bite had a story, a past that when entering my space became a piece of me. So, eating flesh carried the life that it once was; a life that went through torture and death was very unpleasant. I realized that was eating death. Vegetables and fruits, on the other hand, sprang with life; they gave me energy and increased my vibration. For it is all about raising your awareness through noticing the vibrations within yourself and around you.
My last blog, Kundalini Awakening, speaks of this process of awareness. It is both gradual and overwhelming at the same time. An immense love shoots through you when you can feel the vibrations of others. But, like I said, it is overwhelming and can cause isolation and misunderstanding from others. I think that is why there is a stigma of vegans being arrogant. It is a difficult situation to want to express your love in a world that defines meat as the main course and cheese as a god.
But, what I have learned over the last several years is that what you can control is what matters. I can control me, that is all, and that is enough. Raising my own vibration raises the vibration around me, and my soul is content with that.
View my original blog post at YogiSoul.net.