I love hearing about other people’s journeys to veganism. From their first a-ha moment to details of their day-to-day experiences of better health and spiritual awakenings, living life free of animal meat and by-products.
If the media reports are right, veganism is on the rise, with new blogs, food products and clothing popping up every day. There’s definitely change in the air, and it feels good to know lives are being spared and that kindness and consciousness is taking over.
While we still have a long way to go, there are so many inspiring people out there spreading the message. David Rafter and Amanda Rootsey are two shining examples of veganism in action, having transitioned to the lifestyle about three years ago. Founders of VeganEra.com, the Australian couple are also spreading the message offline via roadside billboards and merchandise that spreads the vegan message.
“Time is starting to become very critical in terms of our environment and the world is showing us that the way we are leading our lives is definitely not in harmony. We have to do something to change,” David says.
I asked him to share their inspiring story…
When did you become vegan?
I began the loving journey about three years ago when I was around 26. For me, it was a transition, initially I went vegetarian then after a couple of months I dropped dairy and soon realised that I had become a vegan!
Why did you decide to become vegan?
Upon reflection, it was a process. When I was 25 I had lead a bit of a party lifestyle and enjoyed the night-lights. I got really sick of how bad I was feeling all the time. So I dropped everything, I remember the point in which I said to myself that I would no longer go out, I would no longer drink and that it was time to drop meat from my diet.
Honestly, at that exact moment I could feel a massive shift take place in my life. It was the conscious decision to stop killing and lean on the side of compassion that I felt a very big lift in my soul.
At this time I was living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland (Australia), and I had decided to start getting healthier. I was running and surfing, really enjoying being with nature. I had just finished a run through the national park, where I leant on a tree and I could feel the energy of the Earth coming through it. I couldn’t believe it. I was in total shock as I could feel the lungs of the Earth inhale and exhale. At that moment I knew that we were all connected. From the souls of the animals right through to the limbs of this tree. At that moment, I knew that this was my path.
My life has definitely changed; my soul feels so amazing and so light. It is like a massive weight has been lifted and I feel closer to Heaven. When you feel this feeling, there is no turning back – you just want to continue feeling it. I actually get covered in goose bumps talking about it.
Actually, coinciding with this, my father told me to go out and work on his dairy farm for the day. Believe me, I was kicking and screaming the whole way. When I did get there, my worst fears were realised. I could not believe how much pain and suffering existed. Dead calves in the middle of the paddock, their mothers standing over them, screaming in pain. If the calves were alive, they were locked in pens so small that they could barely stand. The pain and suffering in the cries of the mothers was terrifying. I couldn’t bare it any longer – I had to lock myself in the house, turn up the TV and try to block it all out. Clearly when I got back I said in no uncertain terms that I would never return to that place ever again.
Also, my brother had been vegetarian for about 10 years, and had been buggin’ me for ages to drop meat. At the time he was living in America, and I Skyped him and told him the change I had experienced. He was so excited for me. He then sent me a documentary that I watched via you tube in which it showed the whole process of how the meat gets on to your plate. At the end I was in tears, I felt so much sorrow that we could do this to our beautiful animal friends. If it wasn’t sealed in concrete before then, it was now.
How has your life changed since?
My life has definitely changed; my soul feels so amazing and so light. It is like a massive weight has been lifted and I feel closer to Heaven. When you feel this feeling, there is no turning back – you just want to continue feeling it. I actually get covered in goose bumps talking about it. The feeling is indescribable, you feel like you are floating on a cloud the whole day and you want to share that with the world.
Can you tell me about Vegan Era and why you decided to start it?
Vegan Era started in 2009 and has been going strong ever since. Along with my partner Amanda and of course our little staffy girl Trudi, we felt the need to spread this feeling to the world.
Initially we found a lot of information about how much damage the livestock industry has done to our planet. We just couldn’t believe that this information was not out there. We felt a very strong need to create a place where people could come and learn more about the choices they make and the impact their diet can have on reversing climate change.
Then in 2010, Amanda was diagnosed with cancer. In the beginning Amanda was determined not to go down the conventional path as we had done lots of research into the harsh impact chemo has on our bodies. So we did a lot of research on how diets can help heal the body. Again, we couldn’t believe how much information was hidden from us. We came across a great book called The China Study, and from that moment on we wanted to share the health benefits of a Vegan diet.
Read More Post a comment (8)“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the “Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest … a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.” ~ Albert Einstein
I feel different this New Year’s Eve. Last year I was busily putting together a vision board and my list of goals, all while willing a fabulous new year ahead.
As 2010 approaches tomorrow (or the day after for the Northern Hemisphere folks), I’m all about going with the flow. Letting go. Trusting in what lies ahead.
Sure, I know what I’d like to achieve, goals I want to reach and places I want to see. But this year, I’m going to recognise my dreams then simply turn up, kick back, relax and trust.
I’ve decided life is a journey we’re not always meant to be in full control of. An apple doesn’t force itself to grow on a tree. I just lets go and trusts that it will reach its full potential. Whether it does or doesn’t is really up to the flow, not to the apple.
So next year, starting right now, I’m going to take my lessons from that apple. Hang in there, soak up the sunshine, live as nature intended. That means seeing the blessings in everything, loving others as you want to be loved, not judging anyone or anything and being grateful for whatever comes, and goes.
With that said, sending you love and blessings for a magical 2010. Thanks for taking time to read this little blog. May the vegan love spread far and wide 
I overheard a mother telling her son yesterday to “eat that apple or you’re not going anywhere”. It made me think about the relationship with food that we develop from an early age.
Being told to sit at the table until there isn’t a pea left on the plate. Gagging as gluey strings of pumpkin tormented the back of your throat. Thinking defiantly how you’d rather sit there forever than eat those brussel sprouts.
It prompted me to turn to Dr Gabriel Cousens and one of my favourite books written by him, Conscious Eating. How, I wondered, is the body affected when you’re eating something you’re having a physical aversion to, regardless whether it’s nutritious or not?
Dr Cousens says avoid eating when you’re sad, angry or under stress, as those emotions are assimilated into your food. “Eating when you’re calm and able to focus on your food is a way to love yourself,” he says. “Remember, food is love and life is love.” I wish someone had mentioned that little golden nugget of information to my well-meaning mother.
I also wonder if being forced to eat certain foods as a child means you’re less likely to try those foods as an adult, or at least take longer to develop a liking for those peas. While I’ve mended my relationship with pumpkin, the prior is still a point of contention.
While I continue to ponder, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from Conscious Eating.
A primary, ongoing way that we all consciously or unconsciously relate to nature is through our food. Eating is an intimate way to extract life-sustaining energy from Mother Nature. In the process of digestive assimilation, the food, as part of Mother Nature, gives up its identity and takes on the identity of the one who has ingested it. We are actually assimilating the forces of nature—stored in our food—whenever we eat. Each bite we take brings us the experience of our loving connection with Mother Nature.
Food is a love note from God. Its letters are written by the rays of the sun. It says I love you and I shall take care of you and sustain you with the offerings of my earth. If we take time to read the love letter, by chewing carefully and feeling the messages that are stored in food by the sun, earth, wind, water, and even by those who have grown, harvested and prepared the food, its assimilation takes on a whole new meaning. This is a specific way of receiving God’s grace, a holy sacrament to be experienced slowly, carefully and consciously.
"The physical and energetic forces of food interact with us on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels."—Dr Gabriel Cousens
They say addiction is a bad thing, but what happens if what you’re addicted to is actually good for you? My case in point? Sage tea. I love the stuff. I’d bathe in it if I could (and probably will now I’m thinking of it).
While my introduction to sage was the dried version you burn to clear negative and stuck energies, just as the Native Americans have done for centuries, I’d never thought about drinking the stuff. Until my Reiki master handed me a cup one day. Since then it has been a sweet love affair between drinker and drink, between herb lover and said herb. But it’s also the health benefits of this powerful lil plant that keep me within its charms.
We Westerners have taken a while to understand the benefits Sage tea, which have been well-known in the Mediterranean and Asia for eons.
Sage is most commonly used as an infusion, extract, tincture (a medicine made by dissolving a plant/drug in alcohol so says the dictionary), poultice (made into a moist clump, basically) and spice. It can be used to calm or stimulate. The tea has traditionally been used for mouth, throat and tonsil inflammations. Made strong, with a dash or lemon and raw sugar, it can help heal ulcers and skin abrasions.
Because I love it so much, I had to share some of this enthusiasm. Here are some more great benefits of sage:
• It can be used to darken hair;
• If rubbed on your teeth it can strengthen the gums;
• It can reduce fevers and nervousness;
• It’s a great digestion booster, as it stimulates the nervous system;
• It’s considered a useful treatment for typhoid fever;
• It has been known to help liver and kidney troubles;
• Sage is used to combat sore throats, measles and the common cold;
• It’s used to treat pains in joints from lethargy and palsy;
• Sage tea can also help keep excessive perspiration from, well, being excessive.
So where to buy this gem of a tea? Most good health food stores carry it. Here’s a guide for brewing the perfect cup. Oh and according to experts, you shouldn’t use a concentrated concoction of the herb if you’re pregnant.
Like anything, it’s all good in moderation. So with that in mind, the bath idea may well be taking things a wee bit too far…
Heartbreaking. Informative. A reminder for vegans. A wake up call for meat eaters.
I just came across Veganvideo.org produced by alifeconnected.org. To-the-point, yet kind and easy-to-watch (no Meet Your Meat graphic scenes here), it drives home the fact there is still hope for humans, the animals and the planet — if we all adopt a vegan diet.
“Expand your circle of compassion and the love will come back to you a thousand times.” VeganVideo.org
Travelling around New Zealand’s beautiful south island these past few days, not only gave me the opportunity to see breathtaking landscapes, but also newborn animals being reared to become nothing more than a slab of meat on a diner’s plate, or a commodity to produce clothing.
Mother sheep with their lambs were ultra-protective of their young ones, wary of humans wanting to get a close up look at their babies — little ones who clung to and played by their mother’s side. Meanwhile, doe-eyed calves that had already been separated from their mothers, craved attention, clamouring at their fence enclosure for some love and company.
It was heartbreaking to meet these life-loving animals, knowing too well their fate.
The only positive to draw from seeing these beautiful creatures was the amount of room they had to move, the fresh air they got to breathe and knowing they had been spared from the all-too-common factory farming that is well hidden from the public eye.
Doe-eyed calves, already complete with slaughter tags, craved attention and radiated love
Protective mothers guard their newborn babies
