Have you pledged to Go Vegan?

If you've taken the 3 day pledge to go vegan for the Global Mala event, or if you are already a practicing vegan, we'd love to hear your stories; how it's affecting your mental, physical and spiritual health, as well as the day to day adjustments you've made to your routine - not to mention how it may be affecting those around you!

Submitting to the blog is easy. All you have to do is click the comments text in blue at the bottom right of this post. Then just fill in your story in the comments box and post it!

Comments

[nicole]

i have been a vegan for 9 months and i feel incredible. when i was first transitioning, reading from many different sources, i started to feel judgmental of those who weren't thinking about becoming vegan. that lasted for about 2 days and since then i've been putting a lot of effort into spreading the word. i created a website to expose my loved ones to veganism, asking them to pledge one day a week. feel free to check it out! any feedback welcome. www.pledgetoahimsa.com

[a.c.]

I am of predominate african origin, aka black, and a vegan/vegetarian/raw foodist in constant training. With my history of growing up with a southern mother/father thus experiencing the privilage/curse of "soul" food- I know at once the up side of rich flavorful food and the downside of energy sapping, nutrient deficient and the near ubiquitous cooking of meat in every meal. In 2005, actually new years day I decided to forgo all meat in my diet.
This decision I recall as directly/indirectly a way to rid myself of an incident which happened new years eve (a mugging where the mugger held me up for money). The incident made me pause physically. mentally, and spritually...as far as I lead myself to believe...to rethink who I involve myself with, where I place myself in society, what I do with my life and as well as what/why I eat what I do...and how was that directed to the attack. To some this might seem odd/farfetched..I thought that this decision was just a breaking point I had with society and the ill's which make it so plasticly-illustrious, but also I reasoned in that particular time of my life I felt more than compeled to give up something, which was meat, to change something... first my life, being as vulnerable as it was/is to any and everything the human body must battle against to stay in harmony with it's natural environment. I had to take control of my life and what I was eating was the one of the most powerful steps I could take make things better for me as well as those around me.
An adage I have heard many a times, and one I stick to this day is, "Health is Wealth" and with this wealth I am more than gracious to seek higher plateus of conciousness...now, without the weight of literal and energetic bagage of meat and it's additives. I thank a particular doctor (Dr. Prem Deben) for showing me the ropes and assisting me in taking back to reigns of my life, my self, my health, thus my wealth. I furthermore encourage everyone able to read this, and those who read this to share with others the will and love for themselves to think past the status quo and take your, and your loved ones, health into your own hands...this is a privilage and a gift to do this...a privilage because others might be locked into a meat eating/addictive lifestyle which makes or will make life very painful/fearful...and a gift because now u have heard, if anywhere, here, that it can and will be done...that those that care regardless of how small an impact it might make, that those like me and maybe you, who are seeing this gift for what it is: life giving/life sparing/energy radient-abundent...a gift that just keeps on giving, namaste.

[RaDical awareness]

All for Vegan Diet & a healthy planet -but
DON'T BUY THE GLOBAL WARMING HYPE!!!!
It is all part of the Global elites'
"Green Cover" to take away freedoms in the name of "saving mother Gaia"
watch "Esoteric Agenda" on you-tube for details...

[Nick]

I went vegan 5 years ago when my wife went vegan when she found out about the environmental impact of animal eating. For awhile she was cooking 2 separate dinners at night, meat-based for me and vegan for her. I was impressed with her determination to be vegan no matter the difficulty, and decided to make things easier for her. Plus I was impressed with the health benefits. Her cholesterol was going down and mine was going up as a meat-eater. Now I wish I'd been vegan all along. We both care a lot about animals and were being hypocritical - caring about some species while eating other ones. Things feel right now, regarding how I treat all animals and my concern about environmental destruction. My wife's a great cook and I'm learning some vegan recipes too. There's a lot of good food out there that doesn't hurt animals and is a whole lot easier on the planet.

[mary russell]

I am a seventeen year old girl who has been vegan for four months and I will be for the rest of my life. Not only is my body more fit, but my mind is transormed. I am now conscious of the negeative influences on my body. I quit drinking and smoking and I respect my body more. I feel like a leader for my generation and I want to meet a vegan guy because it is a large part of my life. I encourage everyone to help themselves by becoming vegan!

[Correne]

I have pledged to go on a 30 day vegan diet in order to help the planet and my own inner planet. This for me only really means excluding fish and the moderate amounts of dairy I was eating before, but it feels good to do it in a time when I know I am a part of something larger... it is true that we are all just a small part of an unendig whole... going vegan with others brings me back to my place within the one body that we all share-- our planet.

[Cory - FoodSciYogi]

I grew up on a farm in Indiana, so meat eating was without question. To give you an idea of just how much so, when I told my Mom that I'd gone vegetarian she replied "Oh honey! What will you eat?!". Well, Mom there's a lot to choose from and it tastes much better now! ;-)

Going meatless has been a fantastic experience - in some ways difficult to describe, but after a few months I was sitting on the bed reading when I suddenly looked up and exclaimed to my partner that I felt like the top of my head was open. And it's true, I feel so much more open to life's experiences and to God. Carrying around guilt is a way of life in the Midwest, so I guess I grew accustomed to it. I definitely feel as though a weight has been lifted and my mind functions with a little more clarity!

AND, just the other day my Mom expressed interest in learning more about vegetarianism and even said "I think I might like it". Stranger things have happened...