Hinduism and Vegetarianism.

HINDUISM is ONE OF THE RELIGIONS that has maintained its vegetarian perspective, perhaps from the beginning of written history. There are about 550 million Hindu vegetarians. It is clearly part of the spiritual path as described in the Vedas, ancient spiritual scriptures somewhere between six and eight thousand years old. The wisdom of the Vedas underlies a wide variety of spiritual paths related to the practice of Hinduism. Also involved in the practice of a vegetarian diet is the science of Yoga and the science of Ayurvedic medicine that itself originates from the Vedas. As pointed out earlier, Ayurveda describes three diet types. One of them, called the sattvic diet, enhances inner peace and spiritual development; it is a simple vegetarian diet. Ahimsa is another primary force behind vegetarianism in India. Ahimsa may be broadly defined as nonviolence or a dynamic compa.s.sion for all of life. Mahatma Gandhi, a vegetarian, taught that the two pillars of ahimsa are truth and compa.s.sion.

The following quotes represent the Vedic teachings on vegetarianism. They emphasize compa.s.sion, respect, and nonviolence for all of G.o.d"s creation: Having well considered the origin of flesh foods,

And the cruelty of fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let man

entirely abstain from eating flesh. (Ma.n.u.smriti 5.49)

You must not use your G.o.d-given body for killing G.o.d"s creatures,

whether they are human, animal, or whatever. (Yajur Veda 12.32)

By not killing any living being, one becomes fit for salvation.

(Ma.n.u.smriti 6.60).

Ahimsa.

THE PRINCIPLE OF AHIMSA can also be found in the Buddhist Eightfold Path, which has been a guide to living a harmless, compa.s.sionate life for thousands of years. In Ahimsa, by Nathaniel Altman, Buddha is quoted as saying: Him I call a Brahmin who is free from anger, who gladly endures reproach, and even stripes and bonds inflicted upon him without cause. Him I call a Brahmin who slays no living creatures, who does not kill, or cause to be killed, any living thing Often translated as "nonviolence" in the West, the principle of ahimsa has a broader meaning in the East. Ahimsa incorporates an active stance in the world with a dynamic compa.s.sion for all of life. Nonviolence, without the dynamic aspect, has more of a pa.s.sive, restraining-from-violence connotation. Ahimsa is acting from a compa.s.sionate awareness and empathic identification born of a reverence for life that affects every facet of daily existence. It involves a personal responsibility to respect, and work for, the well-being of all sentient creatures. Although often thought of as compa.s.sion between humans, ahimsa is compa.s.sion for all of the Earth and its life forms.

One consideration that arises in the discussion of ahimsa and vegetarianism is the killing of plants. Ever since the publishing of The Secret Life of Plants, which scientifically doc.u.ments the pain plants experience in being harvested and cut up, I have been aware that plants do experience some pain. For most of us, it is necessary for our survival to eat plants. Our very existence causes some sort of pain on the planet, but there is a relativity to it. For those who want to equate all pain as equal in order to justify their flesh-centered diet, I find it hard to compare the blood slaughter and eating of a sentient being, such as a cow, with the simple harvesting and eating of a carrot. To even the most callous observer, the experiences are magnitudes different in pain and violence.

A vegetarian also creates less pain than a nonvegetarian because he or she is not partic.i.p.ating in the systematic slaughter and pain of billions of animals every year. The US Department of Agriculture reports that 4.5 billion cattle, calves, sheep, lambs, hogs, chickens, ducks, and turkeys are slaughtered yearly in the US. A vegetarian also causes less overall death to plants than a meat-eater because the animals the flesh-eater raised for consumption have eaten thousands of plants before they themselves are slaughtered. There is a significant difference between the gross exploitation of animal life because of greed and a flesh-centered diet, and living simply and relatively harmlessly on a vegetarian diet so that others, including the planetary organism Gaia, or Mother Earth, will simply live and survive.

It is possible that there may be no perfect state of nonviolence while we are in a physical body. Although vegetarians cause significantly less pain and global ecological destruction than flesh-eaters, fruitarians cause even less pain than vegetarians because they do not destroy the life of the plant when they pick fruit off trees. Those rare few who live on just water and air cause even less pain than fruitarians.

Ahimsa is a practice that strives to create less and less disorder and pain in the world as we do our best to live our lives with ever-increasing harmony, compa.s.sion, and love. Theoretically, since there is no cut-off point where we stop causing pain by our very existence, the guilt about causing pain could be endless. Perhaps we were given the grace of Genesis 1:29, G.o.d"s command to be vegetarian, as a way to establish a relatively peaceful, guilt-free way of living on the planet.

Because our planet offers herself for our survival, I feel humble and grateful for the pain she endures. We would do well to take the minimum from Mother Earth and cause the least amount of pain and destruction so that the mutual survival of all life on the planet will be harmoniously ensured.

Transition to Vegetarianism.

AT THIS POINT YOU HAVE BEEN EMPOWERED by the knowledge of how to individualize your diet, learned about acid/base balance, const.i.tutional type, psychology of eating, and process of a.s.similation, and addressed doubts and fears about becoming vegetarian. You understand the impact of diet on the ecology of the planet, cruelty or compa.s.sion for animals, individual health, feeding the hungry, and peace in the world. You understand the connection between diet and spiritual life. You have had a chance to contemplate food as a love note from G.o.d and may have even tried taking the time to read some of these daily notes. If you are already vegetarian and have done all these, you might have already become a-sensitive, aware, alert, and compa.s.sionate-conscious eater. For others for whom this book is a bridge into this new world of health and spirit, there is one more major step in the process: learning how to make the transition to a vegetarian diet.

There are many ways to become a vegetarian. This section outlines the changes and steps one often takes. Questions about the transition are explored. The reader is given guidance regarding how to move from the present diet to lactovegetarian to vegan to a live-food, vegetarian diet. Enjoy the walk, take your time, and be gentle with yourself. Vegetarianism is about peace, and the first place to start is to be peaceful with yourself during the transition. Once you have made the major change to vegetarian, the individual diet that suits your own lifestyle and health needs will gradually emerge. Those who move too fast do not always last.

Before moving further, it is important to condition your body, mind, and spirit. Perhaps part of you has even wanted to give up reading the rest of the book because you do not feel ready to become a conscious eater. That may just be your flesh-eating and culturally ingrained old habits fighting back as your intuition, intellect, and spirit are working to guide you to the highest level of conscious eating you can attain. Don"t let your resistances control you.

Before moving forward in this section, I suggest you focus on yourself for a few moments. See yourself as strong and healthy, free of pain or sickness, with a pure spirit and G.o.d-like mind. Now close your eyes and breathe in radiant health and exhale all negativity and sickness. Do this seven times. Now, see the new you as a-conscious eater. Take as long as you need to pray or meditate until such a vision of your Divine potential appears. Feel the experience of this vision in your body as you are filled with health, spiritual power, and sensitivity. Experience the emotions and thoughts a.s.sociated with the new you as a conscious eater. How does it feel to align yourself with the Divine intention of thousands of years? How does it feel to prepare yourself for the promised Golden Age? Write down your experience and date it. As this vision grows with your experience, continue to record your goals. Enjoy!

Preview of Chapter 20.

FOR MANY PEOPLE, CONVERTING TO A VEGETARIAN DIET is a major lifestyle change. Without an understanding of the subtleties of the process it is easy to become confused and discouraged. This chapter speaks to those physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual issues. I also put vegetarianism in perspective spiritually by making the point that although a vegetarian diet helps the spiritual process, one cannot eat one"s way to G.o.d. As you read this chapter, try to see where you experience your own resistances. Are you ready to let go of these resistances? Are you ready to adopt a diet that will most likely make you more sensitive to the presence of G.o.d in your life?

I. The change to vegetarianism A. Reasons for the transition B. Outstanding people who are vegetarians II. Physical detoxification A. Physical symptoms of detoxification B. Healing crises C. One becomes cleaner and more vital III. Psychophysiology of dietary change.

A. How we look, how we feel.

B. Anti-aging research.

C. Releasing old thoughts in the process of healing.

IV. Perspectives on dietary change.

V. Four transition stages.

The Change to Vegetarianism.

WHEN ASKED ABOUT SWITCHING TO VEGETARIANISM, some people respond, "Why bother? I like my charbroiled steak. All this stuff about becoming vegetarian makes me feel guilty Why not just ignore it?" Unfortunately, in this case, ignorance is not bliss. To ignore the harmful effects of diet is nothing less than an accelerated path to physical degeneration, pain, misery, and disharmony with self and nature. This is especially true with the present state of the world. A vegetarian diet helps one attune to the worldwide evolutionary change that is occurring in the direction of peace and harmony for all of creation. The information and ideas that have been shared about vegetarianism are not meant to make anyone guilty, but to educate so that one can begin to make intelligent, informed choices for one"s life, health, and happiness. Guilt comes from knowing what is most appropriate for one"s well-being and choosing not to follow the dictates of one"s conscience. Guilt is one"s own creation stemming from resistance to change. It comes from not being able to let go of old habits and addictions that one intuitively knows do not serve one"s ultimate well-being and that of the planet.

There is an intuitive "yesness" that many people have found works for them as they apply these concepts in their transition to vegetarianism. The information I have presented is best used as guidelines, concepts, and tools to empower and enhance well-being. There is no single answer for everyone, but there are compelling reasons to make such a change in one"s life. The following is a review of some of those reasons.

Reasons for Transitioning to a Vegetarian Diet.

A vegetarian diet, developed in a conscious, gradual, and scientific way, is an overwhelmingly superior diet for health, vitality, endurance, and general well-being.

Vegetarian food tends to create a calmer, more centered, and clearer emotional and mental state.

A vegetarian diet is a distinct aid for enhancing spiritual life and awareness. Throughout history, almost all major spiritual paths have acknowledged this awareness, including Genesis 1:29, the first dietary commandment and the first direct teaching to be vegetarian in the Bible.

A vegetarian diet enhances the flow of the spiritualizing force in the body. A flesh-centered diet acts as a sludge to the purifying movement of this holy force in all the basic elements of the body, mind, and spirit.

A vegetarian diet brings one into ecological harmony with all of creation. In comparison with a flesh-centered diet, it is vastly superior in its ability to conserve land, water, and energy, and to enhance the quality of both human and animal life. It brings us into harmony with the biological cycles of the biosphere, such as the natural oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle of our breath and that of the plant kingdom.

A vegetarian diet connects one with the solar, lunar, and stellar forces of the universe. It allows one to extract energy from Mother Nature through the balancing principle of the rainbow diet.

A vegetarian diet minimizes the violence and exploitation of our animal friends on the planet. In this nonviolent s.p.a.ce, it allows compa.s.sion for all life to blossom. A vegetarian diet would help bring planetary peace on every level.

A vegetarian diet minimizes the h.o.a.rding, wasting, and inefficient use of natural resources and energy for producing food. It minimizes the wasting of the food itself, particularly in the form of grain fed to livestock. Because of this, a vegetarian way of life would make it possible (if the social and political aspects of our society were ready) to curtail the 60 million deaths per year due to starvation. It would also help end the disease and misery of millions more suffering from malnutrition. The abundance of food created by the worldwide adoption of a vegetarian diet would prove that starvation on the planet is caused more by a scarcity of justice than of food.

A vegetarian diet is considerably less expensive than a flesh-centered diet, and would be even more so if the meat industry in the US were not significantly subsidized by the government.

A shift to a vegetarian way of life is part of a major planetary shift in consciousness. It is the dietary blueprint for the Golden Age we are entering.

A number of outstanding individuals throughout history have undoubtedly understood these principles in their choice of being a vegetarian. The following individuals chose to be vegetarian for many of the above reasons: Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Rama, Zarathustra, John the Baptist, John the Divine, Matthew, Pythagoras, Plato, Virgil, Horace, Rabia Basra, Henry David Th.o.r.eau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Wagner, Voltaire, Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Charles Darwin, H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, Albert Schweitzer, and Albert Einstein, among others.

The process of becoming a vegetarian is one of self-discovery and self-transformation. Because food is more primary than s.e.x, whatever changes we do make have a deep impact on an emotional, mental, and spiritual level. With each change of habit, a little more consciousness is liberated. Part of the self-discovery process is that as we change, old thoughtforms must be brought up, examined, and ultimately discarded.

A rapid shift to a vegetarian diet may precipitate a physical detoxification. For this and the reasons above, the number-one rule for making the transition to vegetarianism is to move slowly and gently. If we are to be at peace with ourselves, each step in the process must be one that feels harmonious. Most people can deal with change if it is gradual. If the change comes too quickly, it then becomes a shock to the system. Usually, the complete transition takes several years. I"ve seen it happen in a few weeks or in as much as ten years. In the overall picture, how long the process takes doesn"t matter. What matters is that one has chosen to move along the evolutionary continuum toward health, harmony, and peace. At each step of the way one creates more peace and does less damage to others and oneself. Even taking the life of plants for food involves some violence, so it is important to humbly remember that whatever one does on the physical plane will never be perfectly in harmony, but it will be increasingly harmonious. By moving slowly, one avoids the pitfall of overreacting on a physical, emotional, and psychological level to the att.i.tudinal changes that are made in the transition to vegetarianism. In this way, one avoids becoming discouraged. In order to work with these changes in a beneficial way, it is important for one to develop some understanding of how they unfold.

Physical Detoxification.

BECAUSE OF THE TOXICITY OF THE INNER ENVIRONMENT of our bodies and the outer environments we live in, it is safe to say that all of us have some stored toxins in our system. As one shifts to a healthier diet and away from a flesh-centered one, the stored toxins begin to come out of the tissues. The process of detoxification can be understood by the physical phenomenon known as diffusion. The chemistry of the diffusion process says that elements move from areas of higher concentration to those of lower concentration. With a more toxic diet, such as a flesh-centered one, nutrients as well as accompanying toxins found in these foods flow into the blood and lymph from the intestinal tract. If their concentration is higher than the toxins in the cells, as is often the case with a flesh-centered diet, these toxins diffuse their way into the cells, where they are then stored.

When the toxicity level of our diet is decreased by switching to vegetarian foods, the difference between the concentration of toxins in the intra-cellular fluid and extracellular fluid changes. The cells become more concentrated with toxins than the extracellular fluid because less toxins are put into the latter by a vegetarian diet. Because of the law of diffusion, the toxins that are now more concentrated in the cells begin to flow back into the extracellular fluid. Toxins are diffused into the bloodstream and then go to the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and skin systems, where they are eliminated. If the organs of elimination become overworked, then they may go into malfunction. This is called a healing crisis. Typical detox and healing crisis symptoms are bad breath, pimples on the body, nausea, headache, liver pain, odoriferous stool and urine, and general malaise. Sometimes the blood, organs, and glands become so overloaded with toxins that one actually gets sick. Sometimes the toxins come out in the form of a past disease that our organism is releasing from the system. The health pioneer J. H. Tilden, M.D., actually defines disease as a toxemia crisis. Although there may be other primary causes for disease, such as deficiency and genetic causes, the root of many diseases is the toxins produced by the excesses so prevalent in Western society.

Healing crises usually occur when the body vitality reaches a point where it is healthy enough to throw off the toxins. A crisis may last for a few days or even weeks. In my clinical experience, one is unlikely to have a major healing crisis if one detoxifies slowly over a few years rather than going onto a diet that is so clean and pure that the detoxification process is greatly accelerated. Speeding up the recovery from a healing crisis is facilitated by daily enemas, plenty of rest, taking in alkalinizing fluids such as fruit and vegetable juices (which neutralize acid toxins), and maintaining a positive att.i.tude. Seven- to ten-day "relative" fasts can also speed up this overall detoxification process. I define a "relative fast" as follows: if one is on a flesh-food diet, one would undertake several "meat" fasts by eating an ovo-lactovegetarian diet. If one is a lactovegetarian, eating a dairy-free diet for a while or doing several juice fasts may help one shift to a cleaner diet.

In my clinical experience with juice fasting, although people may get transitory healing crises for several days, the fasts provide a controlled and safe situation where one can "reset one"s dietary dial" to a healthier diet. After a few positive experiences of fasting on a purer diet, one has enough positive feedback that the transition to the next step goes much more smoothly. After each stage of the transition, people seem to rise to a new level of well-being, energy, love, and light. More energy becomes available to experience one"s aliveness in service of the spiritual awareness that is so important for our sensitivity and openness.

Although the discussion thus far has focused on the acc.u.mulation of toxins from dietary origin, any habit of body or mind which decreases our vital energy results in the acc.u.mulation of toxins in the body. Along with a healthy diet, one needs to develop a new lifestyle that further enhances one"s total well-being. The better one feels, the easier it is to find time to exercise, meditate, rest, drink good water, sun oneself, deep breathe, spend time with significant others, and experience the joy of communion with the Divine. All these factors increase the vital force, which then helps one detoxify more easily and at progressively deeper levels.

It is also useful to understand that acid toxin production is a normal part of our metabolism. Exercise produces lactic acid build-up. Protein digestion produces sulfuric and phosphoric acid. Cell metabolism produces carbonic acid. A vital body can easily discharge these toxins, as well as many environmental toxins to which one might be exposed. The idea is not to obsessively spend time running from toxins, but to develop such a vital body force and such good health habits that one is able to handle the different environmental toxic stresses to which one is exposed. This does not mean one ignores common-sense avoidance of toxic environmental situations.

In this detoxification process, one becomes cleaner and more vital over time. If people move too fast, however, they may become so pure that they actually become too sensitive to the environment or so filled with vital energy that they become ungrounded in their lives. This is where the art of spiritual nutrition becomes important. It guides one beyond rigid concepts based on the mythical ideal. The core idea of the art of spiritual nutrition is to find a diet that best establishes balance, function, and harmony in ones life. This artful, intelligent, appropriate diet choice both supports one"s daily function in the world and enhances one"s communion with the Divine.

The Psychophysiology of Dietary Change.

DIETARY CHANGE OF ANY SORT forces us to face patterns, habits, conscious and unconscious psychological attachments, our own ego defense systems, and an acceptance of our new body image. It is an opportunity through the self-knowledge that comes from dietary change, to expand our awareness and clarity about who we are. It is a healing step that can potentially be a catalyst bringing us into a new level of personal health. Along with psychological changes usually comes a change in our body image, sensitivity, and physical body structure.

Not all of this comes effortlessly or is necessarily easy to accept. Once when I was interviewed by a Canadian national TV network, the quite portly TV interviewer looked at a photograph of me twenty-five years ago when I was a 188-pound, bull-necked, all-New England, football middle linebacker and guard, one of eight National Scholar athletes picked by the National College Football Hall of Fame, and the co-captain of an undefeated college team. He then said to me, "You looked so strong and healthy then and now you look so "thin and puny compared to your football days." Well, I can"t say I enjoyed being called puny on a national TV interview. It was a direct challenge to my new body image, but he went straight to the point of controversy: real health as compared to "looking healthy." "Looking healthy" is a subjective cultural concept that is not grounded in the science of health and longevity. Not too many years ago there were many young, steroid-raised athletes who looked very strong and buff on the outside, but who were tragically pointed toward serious health problems such as cancer and liver disease. Nevertheless, creating a new body image that does not fit with cultural stereotypes of health is not easy.

When I returned from India after a one-year stretch of studying and working in a medical clinic, the contrast between the "normal" Indian body and the "normal" American was quite dramatic in the reverse. Almost everyone in America looked overweight to me. Is there an objective standard that can help us get some clarity?

As one observes various cultures around the world, those with the best quality of health and longevity are those who eat one-third to one-half the protein and total calories that Americans do. These people would be judged "thin" and "puny" by our subjective cultural standards. Even by our objective, generally accepted standards-i.e., according to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Ideal Weight tables-there are many people who are overweight in the United States. Most of the cultures known for health and longevity, whose members may appear thin to us, are actually the appropriate weight a.s.sociated with health and longevity Stuart M. Berger, M.D., in his book Forever Young, has a weight scale for optimal longevity that shows I am at the optimal weight for a youthful longevity I pointed out to the Canadian interviewer that my weight as a football player was thirty-two pounds greater than the maximum for my weight-to-height range according to the Metropolitan Life Ideal Weight scales. I also pointed out that my flesh-eating, extra thirty-two pounds was all muscle, designed to tackle or block opposing players. Since I was no longer playing football, this extra thirty-two pounds of muscle was no longer needed. In fact, I explained that with my new body, I felt considerably more healthy than I did in my football-player body. This new body that is built primarily on living food is considerably more flexible, pain-free, physiologically more balanced, more vital, and more full of light than in my college years.

Although during high school and college my health would have been considered "good," I still got the average amount of colds and flus, had energy fluctuations, and had less mental endurance than I do now. My health and vitality back then wasn"t close to the quality of my almost disease-free health now. Since beginning a 95% live-food diet in 1983, I"ve experienced an ever-increasing vitality and digestive power, strong immune and endocrine systems, and increased life force.

Being at one"s ideal weight does not mean one loses relative strength or endurance, even if it doesn"t fit with the stuffed body image of "healthy." In my fifty-sixth year, I did 400 push-ups on the fifth day of a juice fast. Seventy push-ups was my maximum when I was a twenty-one-year-old football player. Each year I feel stronger and distinctly more flexible.

In addition to observing the lifestyle patterns of cultures which enjoy greater health and longevity, some of the research by Roy Walford, M.D., one of America"s leading anti-aging researchers, is highly noteworthy. Dr. Walford, in his book How to Double Your Vital Years, shows with hard scientific data from animal studies that by eating a high-nutrient, low-calorie diet (what he calls a high/low diet), animals are found to increase their longevity by 50%. This is equivalent to humans living to be 150 to 160 years of age. This high/low diet is designed to find the point of maximum metabolic efficiency, maximum health, and maximum life span. His recommended calorie intake for maximum health and longevity is approximately 1500 calories per day He cites research that he feels is beyond any reasonable doubt showing that a high/low diet significantly extends life span, r.e.t.a.r.ds the rate of aging, and r.e.t.a.r.ds the onset of the major chronic degenerative diseases. He reports that the maximum life span in some mice in his minimal eating experiments was three to four times greater. Dietary restrictions, imposed even at late stages in the animal"s life, greatly extended life span. Walford says that he is: ... convinced with a high order of probability that the same kind of diet will produce the same sort of results in humans.

Walford believes his approach cuts disease susceptibility in half. Humans, like the research animals, would reap health and longevity benefits by starting this low-calorie, high-nutrient diet even in middle age or later. Walford himself is following the principles he expounds upon in his research. Dr. Walford points out that 25% of women and 12% of men in the United States are obese. Obesity is defined as weighing more than 20% above the body weight ascribed by experts to a person"s height and relative bone structure. It is indeed time we begin to reconsider a new cultural definition of health, along with a corresponding change in what a healthy body is supposed to look like.

What happens almost universally when one stops eating flesh foods is that one drops excess weight. The loss of superfluous, unneeded weight continues when one stops eating dairy products. One"s true, ideal weight is often easily discovered after one adopts a live-food diet. A body built on high-quality, whole, organic, nature-developed foods is also of higher quality than body weight built on poor-quality commercial foods, or the new, "improved" fast foods the industry is coming out with.

Walford suggests that most of us would do well to eat less. By cutting down to 1500 calories, over a few years one soon learns that whatever is eaten at 1500 calories per day better be especially good and healthy. A vegetarian, live-food diet allows one to eat the least amount of food and receive the most nutritional and energetic impact. As in my case, without counting calories, a live-food diet naturally has the ability to bring one to one"s optimum weight.

It also takes time to get used to one"s new body. The process is easier without people around who are infecting one with irrational fears born of cultural biases about the "dangers of vegetarianism." To balance this widespread view, which is primarily based on ignorance, it is good to have objective, supportive data from cross-cultural studies, modern actuarial and scientific research, and convincing animal research.

Another part of this transition in the process of healing is the release of old, contracting thoughtforms. In my work with patients, students, and myself involving meditation, the Zero Point Process, prayer, spiritual awakenings, energetic healing, hands-on healing, and dietary change, I have noticed there seems to be a common pathway by which what I call "mental toxins" are released. All of these processes enhance the spiritual energy that comes into the system and the amount of energy the system is able to handle. The more our bodies move toward health, the higher our vibration and vital force become. Many people believe that even though the mechanism is too difficult to scientifically establish at the present level of research technology, negative thoughtforms are stored in the subtle system of the body at lower vibrational rates. When the body begins to operate at a higher vibrational rate, these lower-vibrational thoughtforms are forced out. They may come out in dreams, meditations, contemplations, or just during the day. Dietary changes seem to be the mildest form of releasing negativities. Of all the forms of diet, the live-food diet brings out the most rapid release of old, limiting thoughtforms.

Although relatively mild, for people who are not expecting it, this release of previously suppressed materials is one of the reasons a live-food diet may initially be difficult to sustain. This is why I recommend live foods as part of a continuum rather than having people jump right into it. By gently pa.s.sing through the various stages of a vegetarian diet, our minds and psyches are able to become more peacefully accustomed to the increased life force and accelerated release of negative thoughts that are a.s.sociated with the healing and purification process. The body needs time to readjust on both the physical metabolic and mental levels of experience.

Perspectives on Dietary Change.