To me it is just as silly to say that you will eat meat and absolutely no plant products as it is to say you will eat plant products but absolutely no meat. (I am not referring to arguments of conscience or religion, that is a whole seperate topic.)
Whether you believe that we were sculpted from clay to be exactly as we are or that we evolved over millions of years, recognition must be made that however we got to be how we are, we were designed to eat both plant and meat products.
Every one of us has a natural reaction to most types of food. The smell of beef being grilled is almost universally appealing, as is the scent of citrus fruit. Most people enjoy the flavor of bacon and even if they don't eat the real deal do sometimes have bacon "flavored" foods. I realize I am making generalizations here, but my point is that if our minds and bodies instinctively respond to a food, then we were meant (or evolved) to eat it... in some quantity.
For example, our teeth are a good clue. Sharks eat nothing but meat, and they have nothing but razor sharp teeth for shredding muscle tissue. Deer do not eat meat, and their teeth are flat for grinding plant matter into pulp. Humans (and other omnivores like dogs and cats) have a blend of these types of teeth. We have sharper teeth to cut through and shred meat but also flatter teeth to help us grind away at plant foods.
Another example is our ancestors. They hunted -and- they gathered. They ate what was available and what their bodies told them was proper... based on the natural order of things.
My last example is about how certain foods are simply not appealing alone yet we eat cubic tons of them. Vegetable oil is in most processed foods if there is a fat content, it comprises a good bit of what margarine and mayonnaise are, and then there is deep frying. But if you take a bottle of the stuff (vegetable oil is usually corn oil) and smell it or taste it, it's pretty nasty. The one exception in my book is olive oil... preferably extra virgin (cold pressed is the kind which is easiest to extract and doesn't require heating). I can dip a piece of bread in olive oil and eat it and that is just about as pleasing as putting butter on bread. I can't say that about the types of oils that are normally used in mass production foods. Butter - an animal product - is what oils were trying to replace in our eating habits. Butter makes better cookies and breads, fries things to a lovely golden brown, and it tastes amazing simply spread on toast. But because it is an animal product it's considered taboo. Though butter is extremely rich, and I wouldn't eat a quantity of it alone, it's not because it is unappealing only because it is too much fat with nothing to balance it. If I get some on my fingers, I happily lick it off. If I get some oil on my fingers, I look for a paper towel to wipe it off with.
And as for a side note...
Neither humans nor animals were intended to eat so much grain. Not only do we consume tons of wheat and corn, but we also only eat meat which has been fed tons of wheat and corn. Corn as we know it does not occur naturally. Natural foods are ones which do not require any advanced farming to grow - no cross breeding or selective breeding to get what you want, but rather eating what you find. Most completely natural maize is inedible... it was bred to be what we eat today.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Heaven, Hell and Time
Science has recently proven that an observer at sea level will view an event happening higher in the atmosphere as moving faster, and an event below sea level as moving slower. In other words, people who live in the mountains age faster than those who live lower on the surface.
Throughout history, man has developed the idea that heaven is above us - imagined as being in the clouds or even in space. At the same time hell has been pictured as being below us. We knew that below us was a fiery pit (the core of the earth) before we could actually see it.
The idea is that in the fiery pit below us we would suffer eternally with events seeming to repeat themselves and agonizing with a single thought "forever". Above us, in heaven, time is imagined to move so swiftly that in heaven (or for God) everything happens in an instant or simultaneously. These ideas are consistent with this recent scientific discovery.
Just as we knew the double helix-spiral was an incredibly important image and only later discovered it to be the structure of DNA, we know that above us time appears to move faster and below us it appears to move slower...
What other pieces of legend, lore and mythology will we ultimately come to know as fact... just in different context?
Throughout history, man has developed the idea that heaven is above us - imagined as being in the clouds or even in space. At the same time hell has been pictured as being below us. We knew that below us was a fiery pit (the core of the earth) before we could actually see it.
The idea is that in the fiery pit below us we would suffer eternally with events seeming to repeat themselves and agonizing with a single thought "forever". Above us, in heaven, time is imagined to move so swiftly that in heaven (or for God) everything happens in an instant or simultaneously. These ideas are consistent with this recent scientific discovery.
Just as we knew the double helix-spiral was an incredibly important image and only later discovered it to be the structure of DNA, we know that above us time appears to move faster and below us it appears to move slower...
What other pieces of legend, lore and mythology will we ultimately come to know as fact... just in different context?
Sunday, October 24, 2010
A Year of Self Discovery
Just a few weeks ago was the one year anniversary of the date I moved into my first solo apartment. Prior to then, I had never lived alone. What was initially scary ended up being one of the most blissfull, educational, and liberating times of my life.
I had so much time to myself, to literally do anything I pleased. A lot of my time was spent writing and journaling, but also playing video games, cooking for myself, and going out to spend time with friends and family. I also started to take naps, something I've never really done. I didn't have cable, so while I could watch movies I had no other use for my TV and sitting in front of it happened rarely. One of my favorite things to do was lay across my bed on a sunny afternoon, with my kitty curled up next to me as I wrote or read.
It was during this time that I began this blog, began journalling on paper, and took up shooting pool again. More importantly, I reexamined my life, where I came from and where I thought I was going. The biggest and best revelation was that nothing in the past mattered anymore, and I had no idea where the future was going to take me. My only option, every day of this past year, was to live for that day, and that day alone. I have ideas about the future and the past still enters my thoughts from time to time, but I feel like I'm finally beginning to live without limits.
Once I go through this change to minimalism, most of the few remaining limits will vanish. I'll no longer have the job requirements, living space requirements, and I won't have any excuses left to keep me from going anywhere I want.
More and more, every day, the future is wide open and I love it.
I had so much time to myself, to literally do anything I pleased. A lot of my time was spent writing and journaling, but also playing video games, cooking for myself, and going out to spend time with friends and family. I also started to take naps, something I've never really done. I didn't have cable, so while I could watch movies I had no other use for my TV and sitting in front of it happened rarely. One of my favorite things to do was lay across my bed on a sunny afternoon, with my kitty curled up next to me as I wrote or read.
It was during this time that I began this blog, began journalling on paper, and took up shooting pool again. More importantly, I reexamined my life, where I came from and where I thought I was going. The biggest and best revelation was that nothing in the past mattered anymore, and I had no idea where the future was going to take me. My only option, every day of this past year, was to live for that day, and that day alone. I have ideas about the future and the past still enters my thoughts from time to time, but I feel like I'm finally beginning to live without limits.
Once I go through this change to minimalism, most of the few remaining limits will vanish. I'll no longer have the job requirements, living space requirements, and I won't have any excuses left to keep me from going anywhere I want.
More and more, every day, the future is wide open and I love it.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Why Minimalism...
I've been talking an awful lot about my personal foray into minimalism. It may seem out of place on a blog that is primarily intended to deal with spirituality, but it really isn't.
Some of the greatest figures in our collective spiritual history followed a path of minimalism. Jesus. Buddha. Ghandi. and so many more...
When you give everything up, you enable yourself to truly trust in the world around you, to trust in God and Karma. You no longer have anything left that can be stolen from you or that you will fear being destroyed in a fire, or fear leaving behind. You learn that there is no posession that is worth strife or war. You learn that the true joys in life cannot be manufactured or bought.
It's about giving up the false security that having stuff gives us... having your home and posessions gives one the feeling that you are prepared for things that may come... whether it's a nice set of china you may use for a big family dinner or the instance that your coffee maker could break and you have that extra one tucked away, we take comfort in the things that we own.
Simultaneously, these things can give us pain that we don't even recognize. Knowing that those things are there can hold you back from moving... becuase you'd have to move them all. It may keep you tied to a job you don't like because you need the money to upkeep the home and maintain the stuff. It might even harm you in emotional ways - you have an item that was given by a family member, but you didn't want it and you can't part with it because of the guilt, and every time you see it you feel that guilt all over again because you don't want it and don't know what to do with it. It becomes a burden, and it is depressing.
That depression plagues many people who have no idea that it is the true source of their depression. It may not be the whole of it, but it is a contributing factor for a lot of people. The burden of owning things is tremendous, and it is a burden we lash to our own backs out of greed, fear and guilt.
Giving up that security blanket is an effort, but it is also a gesture of true faith. Trust that if you are in desperate need of something, the universe will provide it. Trust that you can survive on a lot less than you may think. Trust that God (or whatever you believe in) has your back.
That, my friends, is true faith. Letting go of all you hold on to, letting go of the physical things that you think you need to have in order to be safe. Letting go of your fear and your guilt, and allowing them to be replaced with joy and a lighter load to carry.
Some of the greatest figures in our collective spiritual history followed a path of minimalism. Jesus. Buddha. Ghandi. and so many more...
When you give everything up, you enable yourself to truly trust in the world around you, to trust in God and Karma. You no longer have anything left that can be stolen from you or that you will fear being destroyed in a fire, or fear leaving behind. You learn that there is no posession that is worth strife or war. You learn that the true joys in life cannot be manufactured or bought.
It's about giving up the false security that having stuff gives us... having your home and posessions gives one the feeling that you are prepared for things that may come... whether it's a nice set of china you may use for a big family dinner or the instance that your coffee maker could break and you have that extra one tucked away, we take comfort in the things that we own.
Simultaneously, these things can give us pain that we don't even recognize. Knowing that those things are there can hold you back from moving... becuase you'd have to move them all. It may keep you tied to a job you don't like because you need the money to upkeep the home and maintain the stuff. It might even harm you in emotional ways - you have an item that was given by a family member, but you didn't want it and you can't part with it because of the guilt, and every time you see it you feel that guilt all over again because you don't want it and don't know what to do with it. It becomes a burden, and it is depressing.
That depression plagues many people who have no idea that it is the true source of their depression. It may not be the whole of it, but it is a contributing factor for a lot of people. The burden of owning things is tremendous, and it is a burden we lash to our own backs out of greed, fear and guilt.
Giving up that security blanket is an effort, but it is also a gesture of true faith. Trust that if you are in desperate need of something, the universe will provide it. Trust that you can survive on a lot less than you may think. Trust that God (or whatever you believe in) has your back.
That, my friends, is true faith. Letting go of all you hold on to, letting go of the physical things that you think you need to have in order to be safe. Letting go of your fear and your guilt, and allowing them to be replaced with joy and a lighter load to carry.
The Minimalist I've Always Been
The most recent step on the Journey for me is discovering that deep down I have always been a minimalist... I just didn't know it.
Growing up I had a ton of stuff. I had a huge collection of cat figures, toys and dolls, art supplies, clothes, etc. My family was very big on Christmas and birthdays, so at both of these times I would get a ton of toys and new things. These things were most often quantity over quality, and naturally as a child my room was packed to the point of spilling over. This lead to my room always being a consumate MESS. I had so much stuff and my big struggle was that I didn't know where to put anything. Having many things makes it harder to find a place for each thing to call home, though my mom frequently spouted the adage "a place for each thing and a thing for each place" at me. As I progressed towards teenagedom, the situation did not improve. I still had most of the stuff I had when I was younger, but I still was getting more stuff all the time. Then I get a job and - you guessed it - more stuff. By adulthood I already had enough stuff to fill a small storage unit that I was lugging around with me. At present, I have enough to fill a large storage unit (or three small ones).
Learning and reading about minimalism and how others feel about it, I've come to realize that having all that stuff my entire life lead to several major "problems" in my life...
1. It has caused me to seem messy, when I just get overwhelmed by everything that is there.
2. It has caused me depression.
3. It takes me away from my art and the things I love, because I have a constant to-do list in my head that never gets done.
4. It causes me to live outside my means (need a bigger apartment to house it all)and thusly to be afraid of losing/leaving a job that I don't love.
5. Having stuff seemingly fuels buying more stuff... and it's sucking away all the hard earned & saved money I have.
I understand now that all along, deep down, I've needed to have less stuff. I acted the way I was raised to act:
To think that you collect the things that you love and you keep them on a shelf.
You gather as much as possible because once you have it then if you ever need it, it will be there.
Buying a bigger home enables you to have more space and then you can get more stuff.
Shopping is therapy and makes you feel better.
Getting the highest possible paying job (even if you hate it) is important so you can upkeep your lifestyle of having stuff.
But I was acting against my true nature - to have little, to only have the things I truly love, to live in a small comfortable space with no need for extra storage, and to focus on art. I feel better just thinking about it, and every night when I slowly work on going through stuff and sorting it into "sell" "trash" "donate" (almost nothing is going in "keep"), I feel awesome. I dream about having a tiny apartment with nothing but what we use every single day in it. A few special items that mean a lot to us, and nothing else.
I'm also excited to start sleeping on a futon to sleep on someday soon, as I've always hated beds.
I grew up being told that I couldn't function and was not a valuable person, as if there was something wrong with me. At 31, I've learned that there isn't a problem with me, I just wasn't given the tools I needed to keep my life in order.
Self Esteem: +5
.
Growing up I had a ton of stuff. I had a huge collection of cat figures, toys and dolls, art supplies, clothes, etc. My family was very big on Christmas and birthdays, so at both of these times I would get a ton of toys and new things. These things were most often quantity over quality, and naturally as a child my room was packed to the point of spilling over. This lead to my room always being a consumate MESS. I had so much stuff and my big struggle was that I didn't know where to put anything. Having many things makes it harder to find a place for each thing to call home, though my mom frequently spouted the adage "a place for each thing and a thing for each place" at me. As I progressed towards teenagedom, the situation did not improve. I still had most of the stuff I had when I was younger, but I still was getting more stuff all the time. Then I get a job and - you guessed it - more stuff. By adulthood I already had enough stuff to fill a small storage unit that I was lugging around with me. At present, I have enough to fill a large storage unit (or three small ones).
Learning and reading about minimalism and how others feel about it, I've come to realize that having all that stuff my entire life lead to several major "problems" in my life...
1. It has caused me to seem messy, when I just get overwhelmed by everything that is there.
2. It has caused me depression.
3. It takes me away from my art and the things I love, because I have a constant to-do list in my head that never gets done.
4. It causes me to live outside my means (need a bigger apartment to house it all)and thusly to be afraid of losing/leaving a job that I don't love.
5. Having stuff seemingly fuels buying more stuff... and it's sucking away all the hard earned & saved money I have.
I understand now that all along, deep down, I've needed to have less stuff. I acted the way I was raised to act:
To think that you collect the things that you love and you keep them on a shelf.
You gather as much as possible because once you have it then if you ever need it, it will be there.
Buying a bigger home enables you to have more space and then you can get more stuff.
Shopping is therapy and makes you feel better.
Getting the highest possible paying job (even if you hate it) is important so you can upkeep your lifestyle of having stuff.
But I was acting against my true nature - to have little, to only have the things I truly love, to live in a small comfortable space with no need for extra storage, and to focus on art. I feel better just thinking about it, and every night when I slowly work on going through stuff and sorting it into "sell" "trash" "donate" (almost nothing is going in "keep"), I feel awesome. I dream about having a tiny apartment with nothing but what we use every single day in it. A few special items that mean a lot to us, and nothing else.
I'm also excited to start sleeping on a futon to sleep on someday soon, as I've always hated beds.
I grew up being told that I couldn't function and was not a valuable person, as if there was something wrong with me. At 31, I've learned that there isn't a problem with me, I just wasn't given the tools I needed to keep my life in order.
Self Esteem: +5
.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Breaking It Down
I recently reached some what of a crisis level in my life. I was already considering that I could not save any money with the price of my apartment when my gall bladder had a fit. After lots of tests it was decided it needed to be removed, and that brought with it a flood of medical bills (even with insurance). These swiftly depleted my savings and forced me to move.
That move is what leads me to my point today - I have too much stuff.
As do most people. And why do we have it? Most of our things do not get handled or used, or even appreciated most of the time. And the few things that do are the only things we really need. I've come to the conclusion that hanging on to things is pointless for me, and the only things I really need are either information based (computer, books), entertainment based (movies, music, games), relate to daily life (clothes, dishes, cleaning supplies), or are used to create (art and jewelry supplies). Beyond these things, what else to I REALLY need? Do I need to have a comic book collection, or any of my other collections? I don't. But I have them because I feel like I need them...
I don't.
Life is about having experiences, not having posessions.
Even my art supplies are out of control. I have a ton of stuff that I think I might use someday... but I'm not using them today so why do I have them? I may never use them, so why do I have them? A good example is beads. I may only need 2, 4, or 6 of them, but they are sold in strands of 10-100 and so that is how many of them I have. Instead I should use what I need and then resell the rest... which is what I am going to begin doing. I'd like to reduce my jewelry supplies to no more than can fit in a small rolling suitcase. Anything beyond that is wastefull. I'd like to be able to fit all of my jewelry & art supplies under my desk... the ultimate in unwasted space.
The apartment I just left was a two bedroom...which should have been too big for a single person but I had used one bedroom as a "studio". It rarely got used because it was too full of stuff to actually use it. My two desks were constantly covered with new supplies I had purchased or projects that were in-between and I knew would probably never get finished. I hold on to supplies because I never know when I'll need them...
And don't even get me started on the number of shoes and handbags I own... or my jewelry and clothes. My goal is to have 7 pairs of shoes (and when they are worn I will discard and replace them), same with handbags. This is still a sizeable amount in the realm of minimalism, but it is an amount that makes sense for me. If I can fit all of my shoes, handbags, scarves, jewelry and other accessories into a single large plastic bin then I will be satisfied with that. As it is, I had eight pairs of shoes in their original boxes plus two trash bags full of shoes. I had a box full of handbags and a second box that has handbags, scarves, gloves, etc. Four plastic containers of jewelry (and then some), a makeup box and travel bag full of more, a box full of hair care products and a plastic bin full of hair accessories I rarely use.
A big part of this is because I buy things that look cool or I think I'll like, and they end up not working the way I wanted them to or being uncomfortable. Occasionally I even buy something and later decide that it's too flashy or just doesn't fit my style.
New proposition: no new things unless I'm replacing something old, damaged, or broken. It won't be easy as retail therapy has been quite a thing for me... I do that a lot and it needs to stop.
I'm going to purge as much as possible and then I am going to stop bringing new things in as well. I want to be able to live in a cheap one bedroom apartment if that is what my financial situation dictates, and never need to put my posessions in a storage shed again. Enough is enough.
If you want to take this challenge yourself, and reduce down to a minimalistic lifestyle and declutter your world, here are a few links that you may find helpful:
Zen Habits
mnmlist
Remember: You are who you are, not what you have.
That move is what leads me to my point today - I have too much stuff.
As do most people. And why do we have it? Most of our things do not get handled or used, or even appreciated most of the time. And the few things that do are the only things we really need. I've come to the conclusion that hanging on to things is pointless for me, and the only things I really need are either information based (computer, books), entertainment based (movies, music, games), relate to daily life (clothes, dishes, cleaning supplies), or are used to create (art and jewelry supplies). Beyond these things, what else to I REALLY need? Do I need to have a comic book collection, or any of my other collections? I don't. But I have them because I feel like I need them...
I don't.
Life is about having experiences, not having posessions.
Even my art supplies are out of control. I have a ton of stuff that I think I might use someday... but I'm not using them today so why do I have them? I may never use them, so why do I have them? A good example is beads. I may only need 2, 4, or 6 of them, but they are sold in strands of 10-100 and so that is how many of them I have. Instead I should use what I need and then resell the rest... which is what I am going to begin doing. I'd like to reduce my jewelry supplies to no more than can fit in a small rolling suitcase. Anything beyond that is wastefull. I'd like to be able to fit all of my jewelry & art supplies under my desk... the ultimate in unwasted space.
The apartment I just left was a two bedroom...which should have been too big for a single person but I had used one bedroom as a "studio". It rarely got used because it was too full of stuff to actually use it. My two desks were constantly covered with new supplies I had purchased or projects that were in-between and I knew would probably never get finished. I hold on to supplies because I never know when I'll need them...
And don't even get me started on the number of shoes and handbags I own... or my jewelry and clothes. My goal is to have 7 pairs of shoes (and when they are worn I will discard and replace them), same with handbags. This is still a sizeable amount in the realm of minimalism, but it is an amount that makes sense for me. If I can fit all of my shoes, handbags, scarves, jewelry and other accessories into a single large plastic bin then I will be satisfied with that. As it is, I had eight pairs of shoes in their original boxes plus two trash bags full of shoes. I had a box full of handbags and a second box that has handbags, scarves, gloves, etc. Four plastic containers of jewelry (and then some), a makeup box and travel bag full of more, a box full of hair care products and a plastic bin full of hair accessories I rarely use.
A big part of this is because I buy things that look cool or I think I'll like, and they end up not working the way I wanted them to or being uncomfortable. Occasionally I even buy something and later decide that it's too flashy or just doesn't fit my style.
New proposition: no new things unless I'm replacing something old, damaged, or broken. It won't be easy as retail therapy has been quite a thing for me... I do that a lot and it needs to stop.
I'm going to purge as much as possible and then I am going to stop bringing new things in as well. I want to be able to live in a cheap one bedroom apartment if that is what my financial situation dictates, and never need to put my posessions in a storage shed again. Enough is enough.
If you want to take this challenge yourself, and reduce down to a minimalistic lifestyle and declutter your world, here are a few links that you may find helpful:
Zen Habits
mnmlist
Remember: You are who you are, not what you have.
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