- The principle behind a Vegan diet
- Enzymes & The Raw food diet
- My own personal history and experience throughout my transition from a meat diet at birth to a vegetarian, vegan and raw food diet.
- Vegan Action Chapter in Toronto
- Why Vegan?
- Anorexia Versus Raw Vegan Dietary Choices
- Overcoming Migraines the Natural Way
- Grow sprouts and greens at home!
- Picture of a raw meal
- Living Natural Diet vs. Tradional Diets
- Grow your own sprouts & greens and enjoy their fresh enzymes!
- Tell me more about Verónica's books: contents, reviews, how to buy them...
1. The Principle behind a vegan diet
"Veganism is nothing but a way of life that reflects our inner and personal commitment to make a difference. It is a lifestyle that regards all species as sacred and respects all forms of life: the animals, the waters, the environment , people and all our planet. It brings the peace of knowing that one is recognizing the spirit in it all. From that fountain of unconditional tender love, springs an unreasonable bliss as one thinks, feels, speaks and acts towards the well-being of our beloved planet and all that is in it"
This is a philosophy of life, a way of silent expression through who we choose to be in our active role as humans beings. It reflects our compassion and love for all that contains life and exists on this planet. It embraces all that there is at an equal level. It is a journey that starts with a heavy coating of social, family and cultural conditioning and evolves from there through our constant questioning about all theses rules that we have accepted as "right", just because they've been taught to us.
By this hard but worthwhile questioning, we start to reflect and hear more and more our souls in connection to all that lives and breaths and we are drawn to take the necessary actions to change the status quo. We realize that we do have a choice and every person's responsibility is to make use of it, as we express ourselves through: the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the cosmetics we use, the industries and companies we support. We make these choices based on the principle that all of life is sacred and deserves to be treated and respected us such. We acknowledge that these animals that most people eat, use for entertainment, cruelly hunt and so proudly wear; do indeed have feelings, as much as we do. We sympathize with their strong instinct to live and their struggle to survive and we are drawn to make choices that allow us to make a small, but big individual difference, on their behalf.
We stand out in the middle of a dead flesh eating society to defend these animal's right to live and to enjoy their lives, as fully as we wish to enjoy ours. We are considerate of the effect that this can have on the whole planet. By stopping using these animals, we are not only allowing them to recover their full right to live, but we are also helping humanity to embrace a new way of living. A life that would allow all the land, which has been so far used for raising animals, to be used to grow crops which could feed twice or three times more people, without any of the high costs inferred on the environment by the meat, egg and dairy producing industries. We are helping the world embrace a healthier way of living which at the same time respects all the animals and living things on earth and could put an end to starvation.
We believe in living in love, peace and harmony by silently walking our chosen path of action. We embrace all life, make environmentally friendly choices and make choices that protect all of Nature and the Animal Kingdom. They are part of this planet as much as we are. Our mission is to give these citizens of the world a voice through our way of living, so that one day, we can all look at one another in the eye and hold no hard feelings, no grief about causing any deaths, any harm on each other or on any of the living life and matter on this planet. The day we can all be connected in such a pure way, recognizing the spirit living in ALL..., that day there shall be "peace". For anytime we are participating in hurting an animal, the environment, nature or our brothers; we are truly hurting ourselves and in consequence humankind and our planet. We cannot have a clear conscience, and embody our moral and ethical responsibilities, as rational human beings, if we do not allow ourselves to fully feel compassion and put a stop to the cruelty and grief we enforce on those who also share our planet.
Let's acknowledge the intrinsic legitimacy of all life. It is outright unacceptable to kill non rational creatures because of their animal nature. The value of life to its possessor is the same, whether it is the life of an insect, the life of a cow or that one of a child. The only difference is that we can choose, they can't. We've chosen for them and they are forced to live and die with the cruelty, torture and pain that we've consciously chosen to impose on them. In the end, it is up to each individual to tune in with all of life and make the change that makes all the difference.~Love & Peace~
Verónica Muñoz
2. Enzymes & The Raw food diet
The most important requisite and belief for being or becoming a raw-foodist is a powerful, belief that raw nutrition is indeed the only normal and natural way to live. This belief must be the end product of one's own conclusions. One should not accept anything to be true until personally experimenting with this true and coming to one's own conclusions.
This philosophy is based on the way that things naturally came to be and how they were meant to be naturally sustained. The principle behind this diet is that there are living enzymes contained in all vegetables when they are eaten raw. However the moment these same vegetables or grains or any food is exposed to fire and extreme heat, those living enzymes are killed.
If you don't believe this and you need convincing try if for yourself. Place your finger under boiling hot water and you won't be able to stand it without causing major damage to your tissue and basically killing your skin. This is exactly what happens to all the food which comes in contact with such intense heat. The problem with this is that our body is designed to rely on those enzymes and the nutrients derived from living foods to function at its best. When foods are consumed cooked those enzymes which would naturally be available to ease the digestion of those foods, are dead. This means that the enzymes necessary to digest that food have to be provided by the body. This causes over the years huge burden on the human body, gradually draining it of its life and natural vitality and causing so many of the so popular diseases which affect our present society.
Today society consumes highly processed foods as a main source of nutrition without realizing that there is little or no nutrients in that food. Most of society is addicted to meat and milk products which clog the body and cause considerable health problems throughout the years. Most of the time the basic requirements of the organism are not properly provided. A bag of chips and a hamburger are far from what the body needs to function at its best. Our society is addicted to pre-packaged food and fancy presentations to please the eye, the palate but not the body. When you see any of the so called "processed foods" can you immediately tell all that is in it? Instead if you look at a salad or a fruit, it is obvious that it is in its natural state. That is the way food is meant to be eaten and it is the only way one can have the certainty of supplying one's body its complete requirements. When cooked foods are ingested people are not aware that the cells immediately start to struggle for nutrients and they usually cannot find all they need and remain quite hungry in spite of having just finished a whole meal.
People are not aware that all diseases are caused by the need of the normal cells for proper living enzymes and nourishment which is not fulfilled. They are also due to the pernicious chemicals and unnatural food extracts and additives present in most foods. The only way to abstain from these is to consume organic produce in its raw form to make the best use of all the nutrients and in so doing replenish one's body with unlimited energy and life. If you do not believe this to be true, think of how your feel after you are done eating a full cooked meal and then compare how you feel after you are done eating a nutritious salad. Most likely in the first case you will feel depleted of your energy and somewhat tired because your body is using up valuable reserves to digest the food. While in the second case you will feel full of energy and vitality.
All these self-caused diseases make most people following traditional medicine resort to taking drugs to deal with them. This usually far form solving the problem, causes further burden on the body. Instead if one consumed natural raw foods the body would most likely work towards healing itself. All medicine needed to cure oneself is found in nature. As the saying goes part of the problem is that people live to eat instead of eating to live. If one would just take food as one's natural and precious medicine there wouldn't be so many health problems affecting so many people.
The other benefits of the raw diet are not just personal but extend to all the earth and the planet. By choosing to eat this way you can reconnect with the natural cycles of life. When buying food that is in season and connecting to what nature makes available for us to eat, we can reestablish our long lost connection to all living things. Also animals benefit because they get to live their full lives as it is their full right. In turn, all the land that is necessary to feed one single meat-eater would feed 20 or more people. On top of that there would not be any further environmental burden due to the aggro-business pollution, waste and over-use of water. In addition, the fact that foods are eaten in their natural form can reduce the amount of all the cans and packaging that go into presenting processed food.
Raw food diets can be nutritious and fully balanced. The stomach gladly welcomes all raw food making digestion easier. There are other advantages to choosing this kind of diet. One of them is your sustained health for a longer period of time but also a well-balanced body. You can maintain your ideal weight and not have all the weight problems caused by inadequate processed-food diets. Also people report to feel more in tune with nature, and their bodies, more relaxed, loving, full of strength, health, vigor and happiness. There is a connection between this diet and an overall sense of well-being. Raw food nourishes both the body and the spirit leaving one fully charged with an incredible amount of positive energy and love for all people, beings and all the planet.
Like in anything else in life, the best guide is not what one is told to believe or do but what feels right and in tune with one's body, spirit and soul. If one listens closely it is quite obvious that one's pure instincts will naturally lead anyone towards a diet which comes directly from nature prior to it being manipulated or processed in any way by our human hands. Creation is perfect. Nature reveals perfect order and balance. If one believes this principle, then a raw diet can be regarded as the most ideal way of natural nutrition. Eating naturally as nature has intended should be the aim of all those searching their path back to their natural roots. If you do not think this is true how come trees do not give potato-chips instead of fruits?The following is my own personal experience and my transition and evolution towards a low-impact diet on the environment and planet and a high impact diet on my health. When i am narrating this, it is not my intention to hurt or judge others but simply to share how I personally lived this transition.
I would like to briefly share with you how I ended up making all the changes I have in the past years of my life towards a eating a cruelty -free diet and following a cruelty free lifestyle.
I grew up in Argentina which happens to be a huge meat eating country. This culture is quite oppressive when it comes to any other alternative diets. The idea being that the only way to stay well fed and keep your body at its optimal functioning level is by eating as much meat as one can in one meal and giving second or third place to vegetables and fruits.
For someone who felt compassionate towards animals and had an inner calling to which answer , it was very hard to overcome all the cultural, family and social pressures which attack any lifestyle that would not be the one followed by the crowds and established by the status quo of a society which has always taken pride in eating dead flesh food at the cost of the suffering and killing of animals.
As a result of this and many other family and social circumstances at the time, I ended up becoming anorexic for a few years and I was forced to follow a treatment which was very similar to following the rules of a concentration camp. I had no control for 4 years of what I wanted to eat. I was forced to eat what it was given to me which most of the time happened to be quite heavy meals served in what felt to me as rather large servings consisting mainly of meat. These meals left me tired, full and depleted of energy and vitality. I recall every time after finishing a meal going into my room and promising myself that the minute I would be an independent adult I would do exactly what I wanted. In the meantime, if I did not want more punishment, I had to follow their imposing and disgusting rules. I was never to choose what I wanted to eat. If going to a restaurant or at home a third person had to decide for me. I was given always exactly the same serving which was established by the governing body of this compulsory treatment. I also had to keep a strict diary of everything eaten and I was only allowed to eat during the 6 times preset throughout the day. I always had to eat in front of other people who had to sign on this diary what I had listed as eaten so that the doctors could always keep track. Basically, I had no freedom at all to eat what I wanted. To me, it was a coercive and imposing treatment extremely humiliating and radical that left no room for self-expression or recovering a healthy relationship to food and people. I also had to go for check-ups to the hospital and if I would lose even one gram they would put one on a even heavier diet or punish one by placing one in a disobedient group. Internally I detested and resented everything about this treatment. I knew that my parents thought that it was the only way for me to recover and they did all this out of love. However, those were the worst years of my life. I guess with a very strong spirit I was able to survive relying on my inner peace and my dreaming for freedom.
I knew that the only way to achieve final freedom to be who I needed to become and was called to be was to fool them all into believing that I was embracing this treatment and its rules. There was no other option. Time and time again I saw how those girls who were also following the treatment and openly resisted it were punished by heavier meals and stricter rules. I realized that in my case I was only going to win by losing. So I did. In all the reports I always wrote exactly what they all wanted to hear. As it was expected and forced on me I always ate every single particle of what it was given to me showing no sign of complaint for 4 full years. In the solitude of my room or sitting by the lake, I would cry or internally incentive my inner soul to keep going and to be patient until those days would be over and I would be handed back my freedom. Sometimes, I would cry on my own and I had to work hard not to build extreme resentment towards those who loving me so much thought that this was the way to heal me. I felt abused, poisoned and hurt. I felt extremely humiliated and a slave. Yet I coped. Yet I tried to hold on to the strength of my ever growing faith and soul. I cherished my own thoughts and lived internally they way I believed and externally the way I was expected to live. Let's say I played their game as my plan towards my escapade to obtain some of my freedom.
Now, after almost 15 years of that situation, I can pat myself on the back for having overcome those years. I do not know how I did it but I succeeded. The next step was getting out of my home as soon as possible so that I could start redefining who I was called to be and getting rid of all the imposing rules and values set by society and family. I had no money so I had to hang on for a few more years at home while I still had to fool them all into believing that I was playing by their rules. I had slightly more freedom but they kept following the same rules even once the treatment was over. I knew that my spirit could not shine under an oppressive environment. So I was once more patient and waited to finish my career and worked for a few years to save money to leave.
And one fateful day I did get my opportunity to leave. I was fortunate enough to apply for a scholarship and be chosen and invited into the program. In six more months I was on my way to the United States. This was a great liberating experience. I felt like the heavy weight of years of rules and oppressive mandates where gradually being left behind as I was getting farther from Argentina and closer to the furthest land North of my country. I knew that my cherished and longed hope for freedom was waiting to materialize and I was ready to embrace it and dedicate my whole life towards using it constructively and loyally according to the mandates of my heart and soul. And I did! When the meal arrived during my flight. I rejected the dish with the heavy meat on it and asked for a vegetarian one instead. After that moment I never ate meat again. It felt so good to be doing what I believed in. It felt so good to be acting upon the mandates of my soul instead of those from a dead-flesh eating society.
I still had a long struggling fight ahead of me towards my freedom. When I arrived at my home stay they served me hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner and I refused to eat them and asked for the vegetables instead. I did this every meal until they reported me to the coordinator on the grounds that I was sick because I ate all their fruits and vegetables but not their meals. They tried to institutionalize me again at the Eating Disorder Psychiatric Department in a hospital in MN. However this time, society could do very little to force me to be somebody who I was not. First of all in the United States, differently from Argentina nobody can forced one after a certain age to follow a treatment. You are free to choose. Secondly, on the intensive interview carried out by a team of 6 psychiatrists where they heard my side of the story and the side coming from the program coordinator and this family, they immediately honored mine. Right away they told me that I was not anorexic anymore, I was just trying to be myself and that in North America it was not only all right to follow a vegetarian diet but it was also considered to be more beneficial that any meat-based diet. They issued an official report stating that I was totally healthy, physically, mentally and spiritually and basically this was to me my passport to freedom. This was to me my legal permission to be who I was called to be. No more manipulations, no more oppressive controlling. Why can it be so hard to be allowed to be oneself when one is going in the opposite direction of main stream society? But then again, looking more closely at history we can clearly see that this kind of persecussion followed all those who dared question the status quo in the history of humankind. How many of the now acclaimed and renowned revolutionary inventors and pioneers were initially mocked and unwelcome by society?
At this point, there was nothing that could stop me from following my heart, I had conquered my freedom! I could now dedicate the next years of my life towards polishing and perfecting my ability to listen carefully to my soul and to walk proudly the path of my heart, in spite of what my family had to say about it, in spite of what my friends had to say about it in spite of what society had to say about it; in spite of all that, I could now follow my heart and fly through life with the freedom of a dove conquering the sky.
My change towards a vegetarian diet brought about only further changes in my spiritual connection to the world and all the living species inhabiting this planet. Gradually meat started to gain the form of what it really was, a piece of dead flesh sitting on somebody's plate. I started to empathize with the suffering of these animals and my level of compassion started to climb upon the ladder of my open soul. I stopped resisting and started receiving. I was now free, and the only thing I was to defeat were the ego's evil commands long accumulated in the past. Little by little my love towards all of nature became stronger and stronger and I started feeling the equality with all the beings on this earth. I then began to feel the need to speak for them, to protect them, to stop their on-going and cruel abuse and to stop ridiculing them by exhibiting their furs and dead skin on my body. At this time the call towards veganism was clear and strong. This time, it was easier than before. I felt strong and powerful. My heart was totally under the domain of my compassionate soul and nobody could bring me down. So, I embraced this call and the very moment I did, I felt as if another huge heavy burden had been taken off my back and now I felt even lighter and more connected to all the living. I also started feeling a call for taking open participation and action to speak up for these animals and for the forests manipulated and killed by a society which seems to have long forgotten all about love.
Recently, I have started to feel more and more gravitating towards products and foods which are as close to their natural form as possible. This means eating vegetables, fruits and grains in their natural and fresh form. I can feel the vitality and energy received form these foods and how my body thanks me and welcomes them inviting them with pleasure to travel towards a very easy-going and vitalizing digestion. I feel even more vibrant than before and for the first time since I can remember I am proud of what I eat. I feel that this is the way we all were meant to eat. I can now celebrate all the process of putting together a meal. I enjoy buying the seeds, rinsing them in water, sprouting them and making them part of beautiful and colorful nourishing salads. I know that with each of my choices comes a natural succession of resistence from family members and society directly proportionate to those choices. However, I am strong now and there is nobody that can take away from me my freedom to be and live according to the beat of my heart. This is the most precious treasure any human being has. It is the innate right to choose the way we want to live. Some people choose to gradually kill themselves by abusing their bodies through heavy smoking, drinking or doing drugs. Others choose to wear their bodies off by extreme forms of exercise. I choose a lifestyle that my soul craves to live. I choose to follow the cravings of my soul and to faithfully respond to those calls springing from deep inside my heart. They lead me to follow a healthy lifestyle where the first source of nourishment is a way of life that is based on the inner awareness of our interconnectedness to it all and of the intense vibrations of the flow of this all encompassing love. It is a lifestyle that as much as possible cherishes the life in all living beings: humans, animals and plants. It is a life of heart-felt compassion. I can now lead a life from my heart and as much as the rest of society has the right to live lives based on the endless acquisitions of possessions and consumerism, I choose to live the less traveled road of a simple, light and compassionate life. I hope to meet you sometime along this same path. I the meantime I will respect you and send my love to you as we cross our paths and walk in different directions while trying our best to live light on this land and always smile, love and laugh.
Anorexia Versus other Vegan & Raw Dietary Choices
I have been vegetarian for many years and in the past few years I moved to a completely vegan diet.By writing this I would like to share a little bit about my opinions and feelings regarding the difference between anorexia and other dietary choices. I do know that in some cases anorexics could use vegan diets or raw diets as a means to eat less, I am sure that happens a lot. However, I am writing more to give information about the cases where somebody's lifestyle and dietary choices are not the result of an anorexic relationship with food.
I am writing this in all honesty and eagerness to share and help others by means of this form of communication. I think that it is very important to learn to make choices from within. Choices which can make us genuinely happy. I am convinced that the only way we can give away our love to others and splash the world with our shining spirit and joy is by being loyal to that little voice that speaks to us inside and guides us each step of the way as we do our best to travel through this veil of illusion we call reality. If we can tune into that inner voice and trust it enough to start following it we will be guided towards a place that will only benefit us, others and the whole planet.
I was anorexic when I was 14 years old. I am 30 now and well recovered after receiving family and group support through an intensive treatment I did back then in Argentina where I was living at the time.Personally for over 8 years now I have been vegetarian and in the last two years vegan. Now, in the past few months I have been moving towards a 90% to 99% and finally made the shift to a 100% raw vegan diet. This last choice was inspired from a call from within. I had no idea previous to that of the raw movement and all that. So I am trusting it. You can read more about my overall dietary transition under this same section in my websitewww.artisticliving.com in point #3.
In regards to the relationship between anorexia and raw- foodism, from the experience of having been there, I can only say that in my case my life is now mainly guided by spirit. I let my spirit or inner guidance (whatever one wishes to call it) be the pilot of my soul and take me towards whatever destination it considers appropriate. In this way, I keep having to redefine my choices in life and I am driven from one place to another to make certain choices at a certain time in my life, to meet certain people and be in certain places where I am supposed to be at any given time. Seeing this miracle of all the intertwined connections evolve through my life gives me faith and fills me with love and passion for living my life trying my best to be honest, loving and compassionate.
Going back to being anorexic and those days in comparison to my present state. In my personal case, I can clearly see the difference and distinguish my present diet as a lifestyle choice based on spiritual inner guidance (not dictated by external sources) rather than by a sick relationship with food or a resistance to feed myself.
When I was anorexic I hated myself. I was a perfectionist always looking for approval and recognition. Nothing of what I would accomplish was ever good enough. What I ate, the medals I would win, my best grades and my graduations with honors were never enough to satisfy my empty soul and my self-centered self. I was starving for opening my heart for letting love to come in and for allowing myself to embrace life and everything which made me unique. I hated to feed myself, I hated food. All foods! To me the act of having to eat was something I hated. This was because I did not want to continue living under my present conditions. Unconsciously, by not feeding myself I was choosing not to live. It took me years of hard spiritual inner search and an honest look and detective work into my heart and soul to gradually learn to love myself. I did Social Psychology in Argentina at the same time I was doing my translating career. This helped me to stop projecting my inner anger and hatred to my loved ones and to find that the source of such hatred was in an inner inability to love myself. I worked hard in facing myself for what I was. Writing always helped me. It guided me towards my soul. I have always written since I was a little kid and the act of writing definitely played an important role in helping me face my eating disorder at the face and in learning to overcome my condition.Now, over 15 years later, I can say that I am a recovered anorexic. I do not fool myself though. I recognize that if I go through any tragic circumstance in my life which is upsetting my first instinct reaction would be to stop eating. However, since those years I have developed what I call "an inner yellow light technique" which warns me of this pattern and never lets me act on it. I just observe the reasons why I would choose not to feed myself and the causes of me trying to deny and scape my from my upsetting present circumstances. I breathe deeply and look at the pain or whatever feelings are hurting me. I don't run. I do not stop eating. I stop, put things in perspective and I always keep choosing to live and to continue to nurture myself properly. I had to go through hard tests which I successfully past. The hardest one was when I learned that my dad had throat cancer a few years back. My first thought was that I should stop eating. If life was being so mean to me and my beloved father, I was going to teach life a lesson by not feeding myself. However, I never acted on it. I observed those thoughts and feelings and chose to give tender love to my heart and tried to find how spirit and love fitted into that tragedy. I gave my soul what it needed at the moment: acceptance of my present reality and tender love. I was able to remain healthy and embrace life in spite of this terrible tragedy that ended with my dad's voice for ever.
Because of my anorexic experience which almost put an end to my life, because of all the various characteristics that any anorexic suffers from and because of having been in a very close to death experience due to my anorexia, I can now distinguish clearly the difference between those days of sickness and my present lifestyle and dietary choices. When I was sick I did not want to feed myself any food at all. I would do anything not to put a bite in my mouth. I would spit it out when people were not looking. I would feed it to the dog under the table. I would hide it in my napkin. I would lie. I would do incredible creative things to avoid all eating!
The big difference with the way that I choose to feed myself now and my present life is that I love to prepare my food. Now I love the process of eating my food. I love what I eat and why I eat it. I do not hate myself anymore. On the contrary, I want the food I eat to make me healthier and healthier so that I can continue to spread my happiness and joy to others. I embrace the energy in the foods that call me. I respect others for what they want to eat. However, I allow myself to be honest with myself in making choices according to my spiritual reasons that guide me to make decisions that are compassionate, integrating and loving; in spite of the fact that those choices are often not the norm in mainstream society.
Having said all that, I also can see where the connection between anorexia and veganism or raw eating comes in. I am very often attacked by people that love me because when they see my choices and my slim body, they immediately tend to go back to my anorexic history and are afraid I won't be well. This is understandable. They love me and they are afraid because of all the suffering I incurred on myself and them when I was sick 15 years ago. As a result, they do not trust my choices. They are afraid my body will not be able deal with any mistakes coming from trial and error. They think that being "thin" equals to I being "anorexic" overlooking that the physical appearance of an anorexic is just one single aspect of this sickness resulting from a very sick mind, body and spirit internal relationship. They do not know about all the sick patterns or thinking that overwhelms the mind and heart of an anorexic. They know nothing about trying to hide one's thinness under huge clothes. They know nothing about all the inner hatred and the sick behavior patterns an anorexic develops to keep this sickness. People make these comments on seeing a slim body many times, without truly knowing the huge difference in one's spiritual well-being and in one's heart between an anorexic and a person who has as a result of having chosen healthily a lifestyle and diet which nurtures one yet keeps one fit. In my case, I do sometimes feel somewhat attacked if somebody suggests anorexia because only I know the huge difference! I only know all the struggle I went through to be healthy in my mind, spirit and body. I feel if they could only live for one minute inside an anorexic's mind and my mind and heart now, they would instantly know that I am now healthy.
The huge difference I am talking about is that now I choose to live and not to die. Now I love to live. Now I do not try to hide what I write in drawers or burn it so that nobody will know what is invading my mind and spirit or discover my sick feelings. Instead, I want to share my stories with others. I am presently trying to publish my book which is now self-published called "Tales from a Dream Before it Happened." In there I narrate much of all this spiritual journey which guided me to health and a powerful eagerness to embrace all forms of life in a loving and compassionate way. Now I live my life with joy and I believe that my loved ones gradually start to accept me for who I am. My loved ones start to relax after years of seeing me make choices which even though are contrary to the norm, still keep me healthy and joyful.
In addition, since becoming vegan I have overcome severe migraine headaches the natural way. And also, for the first time in my life I have a regular 28-cycle period. Having gone most of my life without one or hardly ever getting an inconsistent one, this for me is and incredible sign of health. It means that I am embracing internally my feminine side and womanhood.In terms of my physical health I know very well from first-hand experience how the body deteriorates when one is anorexic. It is terrible how it gradually decays and all the organs start to shut off. Nails break, the hair falls, you develop this monkey kind of hair that covers your entire body to keep you warm. You only see terrible signs of a body going down hill towards death.
Now, my eyes shine and my hair and nails are strong. I haven't had a cold or any other sickness for 4 years. And I can step on all this health and on my inner happiness (which I believe I radiate most of the time) to claim that I am not anorexic. I am just someone following my heart and choosing a path guided by my inner spirit which happens to encompass all species in a compassionate and loving way for the well-being of my own health, those around me and the planet.
We all make choices. Life is an eternal paradox and the only absolute is change. Let those changes be guided by the true internal voice coming from within. Let's tune into our own hearts and put aside the conditioning from the past, from society, from the crowds and from fashion and style. Let's be honest and act according to our inner souls. I believe that deep within we all are guided. That is the only thing I hold tight to and believe unconditionally. I know it is right because the choices guiding me from that source always pull me towards a direction of love. Food is important to feed our bodies. We need food: cooked or raw. It doesn't matter. Our bodies will adapt and will always fight until the last minute to live. However, we cannot survive and be fully functional, happy, nurturing human-beings if the cannot love ourselves and others.
To conclude, I believe that in the long run it doesn't really matter which path one takes, which diet one follows, which company or circumstances surround one as long as one devotes 100% of one's love into each of one's actions and choices. Life is a continual path that opens right in front of us as we walk it. Sometimes our choices are made out of fear, others out of ignorance, yet others out of blindly and without previous critical thinking following the masses. I try to make mine following my inner guidance. But even when I don't, I count my losses and I try to do my best to embrace my present state of life with unconditional love. Love is the only force that can keep us together, peaceful, joyful, happy and united. It is the only one thing we can all share in common.
I am not perfect. I am far from perfect and I do not believe anymore in terms of there being something per se perfect. I still act on my angry instincts sometimes and I can become self-centered. However, in spite of all this, I always do my best to keep an awareness of the underlying force of love. The ever-present force that can give light to the darkest moment and can give meaning to keep us living when we are doomed by the saddest tragedies. If we can embrace ourselves and others, respecting each human being for where they happen to be at and embracing our present circumstances for what they are with forgiving love and kindness; only then, we can be joyful and happy. This means that we have to develop a skill to stop being extremists. We have to find alternative ways to deal with our differences. Ways which are all inclusive. Only in this way, we will be able to hold with tender love the paradoxes and differences that fill our lives with compassion, forgiveness and willing acceptance.
Love and peace.
Veronica
vmunoz@artisticliving.com
Seven years ago, I moved from Argentina to North America and a year later to Canada. I also got married and started taking birth control pills. Ever since that moment, very gradually I started developing migraine headaches at the age of 24.
These migraine attacks started to happen more and more often for longer and longer periods of time and with more intense and sharp symptoms each time around. At the beginning my sight would start becoming slightly out of focus and the pain behind my left temple and eye was very sharp. The whole thing felt like nothing that I can possibly describe with words. I felt like if I had air being pumped within my head. I felt dizzy and all noises and lights bothered me. Later on, I also started getting very sick in my stomach and I ended up throwing up during my migraine attacks from how upset my stomach got. At that point, the migraine attacks started getting worse and worse and more and more frequent to the point that they would interfere with my daily life activities and my overall enjoyment of my life.
At that moment, I decided to take action and I went to a traditional doctor who told me I had migraines. He told me that I should see a neurologist who was a specialist in this kind of headaches. So I did. Usually I never resort to traditional medicine, but I was desperate and I thought that it was worth finding out what they had to say. The neurologist after a brief check up and an interview told me that because my dad had also suffered these same headaches, I was going to have them for the rest of my life. He told me that there wasn't probably much I could do about it. My only way to deal with them was to numb the pain. He gave me a prescription to take these suppositories which supposedly deal with the problem immediately. Apparently, the medicine goes right into your system within a few minutes. I tried these out once and it did work. However, I experienced even more terrible side effects. Right then and there, I decided that I was not going to devote my entire life to taking this silly things and putting strange things in my system to make my condition even worse still.
Since then, I never took any other medication and I never went to another doctor. I just decided to start bringing awareness of all the factors occurring prior to a migraine attack to see if I could come up with a few common links. Gradually, I started experimenting the natural way. I started having certain foods more available in my diet and removing others which I thought could be triggering my attacks. I started also practicing yoga everyday. I believe all these things helped me because very gradually but surely my migraines started diminishing. I also gave up on taking any more birth control pills and detoxified my organism from them for almost two years until I felt that I was back to my normal self before I had ever started taking the pills.
At that point, I was not taking anything at all. I had never taken any medication but the birth control pills for 4 years. Although my migraines decreased somewhat, they were still there. So, I took yet another step and I moved from a vegetarian diet to a vegan one. This caused my migraines to spread out more and more apart until they completely disappeared!!!
Right now, I am on a raw vegan diet and I am migraine free!!! It feels great not to suffer from those terrible symptoms! I recall praying when I had a migraine for those headaches to go away some day. Now it is not a dream or a wish anymore. I have paved my own way to health! Obviously, the changes I brought to my lifestyle and diet worked for the better because now I enjoy my well-being: I am migraine free and I never take any medicine at all. I just listen to what my body needs and give it what it needs the natural way. In this way, the body becomes one's best friend because it doesn't have to fight all the foreign toxins and strange medicines.
I hope that this helps others who suffer from this kind of headaches to observe themselves and try to find a natural cure for their migraines. I think different approaches work for different people. But most certainly, it is worthwhile not to just surrender to traditional medicine and take the easiest way out which is to take a miraculous pill. It pays off in the long run to do your homework and try to find a natural way to deal with the symptoms and signals that our bodies send us. I encourage you all to do this. It is most definitely worth it!
Love, health and peace,
Verónica