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Matthew A. Sera Dr. W. Bauman REL 3492 4/17/2014 From Awareness, Compassion. From Compassion, Evolution.

The reintroduction of vegetarianism and higher spiritual values and a renewed, deeper ecological interest has given me an entirely new perspective this semester. I gained these qualities from my total experience in the class and I intend to maintain the lifestyle changes that this class has helped me forge for myself. This essay will reflect on these changes and will strive to explain and justify them with factual information as well as my personal, human affirmation. In the process of writing the ecological foot print essay I became much more aware of the harm that I was causing as well as the potential harm that others would cause by the continuation of anthropocentric, egotistical and ignorant lifestyle habits. The focused attention, in this essay, ranged from the food stuffs I ate, to the way I traveled, to how long I showered. This comprehensive look at the suburban, American life I live really jolted me and brought me to a time of reflection. It honestly, humbled me, as it made me aware of the semi-lavish lifestyle I enjoy and that many dont have and that I am blessed to have. After this essay, I earnestly tried to recycle more, eat less meat, and bike more as I became convinced my participation in practicing these responsibilities played a larger social and influential role when others would see my behaviors. It was this element of passive activism and

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personal well-feeling that pushed my energy confidently forward. Also, coming to class every Tuesday and Thursday to join peers that were receptive to this ethical information was most reifying. This exchange between my classmates sometimes manifested itself in student/teacher relationships, those who had experience and something to share, did, and the result was the betterment of all who listened. Sometimes, I taught others when I spoke about my changes and at other times I was the student when they spoke of their experiences. The flux of positive and productive energy was so reinforcing that for the first time in a while, I actually looked forward to a class and its content. I think that this was partly because people were affecting changes in their lives and that was inspiring and intellectually and spiritually stimulating. Proudly, and not gracefully stated, I am in a better state of health because I am a conscious vegetarian/vegan, key word conscious. How this relates to my ecological footprint and my food journal is in no way a small correlation, it is actually quite large. My footprint is diminished by all the carbon emissions caused by the transportation and factory processing of meats. I do not participate in any aspect of demand in this particular food market. I can honestly know that no cow or chicken will lose its life because of my oral desire for dead, seasoned flesh. I am very proud of the ethical and ecological ramifications of my conscious behavior. Along with the psychological benefits and the obvious environmental benefits, there are direct physiological benefits from not eating meat or consuming dairy or eggs. Eating meat and consuming dairy is directly tied to the American legacy of chronic diseases which include, cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and many others. Though I know there are many factors as to why a person might come to suffer from these conditions, like heredity or other environmental factors like water fluoridation or exposure to other intoxicants, air pollutants being a great example, I know my chances have been considerably lowered. This is

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because factory processed meats have in them; chemicals, preservatives, synthetic/organic growth hormones and excessive amounts of sodium and fat. When eaten over a lifetime they come to negatively contribute a great deal of damage to the body. To add to the total knowledge of the conditions of these factory animals, they live terribly stressed lives in which they develop diseases themselves. This is probably one of the least considered yet most influential pieces of information it is our consumption of these biologically diseased meats that causes the acidic environment in us which is the perfect breeding ground for cancers and other biological problems. The term used by professionals studying this phenomenon is hypertension (PCRM). This very valuable step in my life has helped me to hone in my attention to everything I eat, I really do consider my diet a lot more than I ever have before and its benefitted me greatly. I dont want to consume the same crap that I was consuming before therefore, I eat less sugar, less fat etc. and I have determined from my own biofeedback that the reason for this is that my body is much more sensitive to everything let us just consider biological functions and nothing else. If I eat a high sugar food, I feel it, if I drink coffee or tea, I feel it and if I have a couple of drinks I feel them more so than when I participated in eating dead flesh. Spiritually and metaphorically, that dead flesh, when ingested, numbs and deadens the body and the minds capacity. This along with my personal, biological experience is enough reasoning to justify my new conscious habits but, for those who need more convincing, here is a forum filled with the testimonies of vegans and vegetarians claiming a similar sensitivity to consumable substances (veggieboards). Essentially, I have come to the conclusion that my body has become a more efficient indicator of change in my system and so it tells me what I need quicker and better than when I was eating meat and this is profound to me.

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We have come to a very interesting point in this paper. My move to vegetarianism is very special because it is a personal choice that I have made based on scientific evidence and personal experience. In addition to these justifications, its very cool to know that I have challenged a cultural norm and that takes a lot of hutzpah. Most people rarely leave their comfort zones or their cultural constructs and come to erect their own in their lives, they just dont reach that point in their psychological evolution where they are confident enough to stand alone. There came many points where I had to find answers on my own in order to proliferate my new way of being, in order for this idea to grow and establish deeper roots in my life and so a whole plethora of questions resulted from these adversities and my research led to so many amazing finds! In my research, I came upon a doctor who wanted to study the longest living cultures of the world and figure out why they lived so long so, he looked at their habits and diets. It was in Okinawa, Japan that he found the village of Ogimi barely a dirt road with a few houses and shops but home to over a dozen centenarians (Booth). This place has the highest concentration of people living well over a hundred years and their diet is a huge factor in it. This region was also home to Jiroemon Kimura, who holds the record for being the longest living person in modern times, he reached the age of 116 years and there is a great picture of him on the site Im referencing. He looks happy and healthy and he got to his great age, a sage age, by humbly eating rice, tubers, and native vegetables with crazy antioxidant properties, high in vitamins and regenerative substances like hyaluronic acid and minimal amounts of fish meat. This diet accompanied with his active mountain lifestyle, and the support of a closely knit community brought him there. It was only through my change that I discovered these facts and now I can reap the rewards as I apply some of these dietary changes to my lifestyle. It also inspires one to actualize holistic

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health, concerning; the benefits from community, a great attitude, a healthy diet, an active lifestyle and leading a purposeful life. This is also a way in which globalization functions to bring health customs from all around the world into your home. Our communications technologies are phenomenal in educating our lifestyles. Youtube.com is a powerful resource where all types of humans share all types of knowledge and everyone benefits, its the largest classroom ever built. So, theres no reason, if you have access to the internet, which most Americans do, why you shouldnt educate yourself on your eating habits and on medical advancements. This knowledge will always benefit you. Being a lover of life inspires me to educate myself on how to treat my body correctly and pushes me in a way that will promote optimal health for myself and those around me. I always share knowledge when I can see it will be welcomed. Wouldnt you want to live such a long and healthy life, a quality life? This is my solution to this particular ecological concern which is also an anthropological concern. It involves education and a radical change in eating habits and the effects are awesome. Advocating this type of change in people is advocating a change in society which effects the industries that cause so much suffering in the animal kingdom and in our hearts. One of the biggest drives pushing me to continue this, sometimes challenging lifestyle, is my spiritual perspective which has been exponentially multiplied in power and taken to a whole new level by vegetarianism. It has come to the point that whatever I do be it; graffiti, rapping, jogging, playing guitar, studying or whatever, at the center of it and me, is my spirituality. Honoring animal life was the next step on my ascending spiritual path. Extending my consideration, my metaphorical helping hand to a paw or claw in need was a big step for me. Imagine that, seeing God in an animal and contemplate how I see God in my fellow human brothers and sisters. A theology of oneness with

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an ethic of giving and a path of synchronistic understanding are being forged in my life, by my actions and thoughts. So, for me, it goes much deeper than the health benefits but, that aspect can be a great motivator for many and perhaps even a key to unlocking spiritual potential. When people begin to question their cultural norms and begin to forge their very own perception of life with a capital L their life, animal life, conscious life they begin to understand the inherent value of all existence, all life. Be it an explainable function of biological evolution or a divine animator that makes it all tick, whatever your take is on all this, you can always psychologically benefit from discovering your capacity to care and appreciate that the same thing that is in you lies behind the eyes of that animal, the one you just conjured in your mind. Human beings are universes to themselves - filled with wonder and beauty. Inherent in their nature is the desire for a sense of progress but, at this point, we need to go within to achieve our deepest goals, our highest ethic and so redefine our sense of going forward. No longer should we look to the exterior world for our internal fulfillment. It really makes little to no sense at all when the highest truth is within. We have already understood as a global society and as a species what is in the world, let us now focus on what is in us because it is obvious we have not come to an agreement on this fundamental part of our being. We must meditate on it and dig deep to aspire to do a thousand-fold better than what we have achieved thus far and looking to The Most High should not be scoffed at because, it is this incommunicable spark of life, when recognized, that will forge our solidarity with and our compassion for the animals. The following is not an anthropocentric claim it is the acknowledgment of a hierarchical truth. We are the superior form of consciousness on this planet. We are not survival driven brutes and so we have to be magnanimous and treat the other forms of consciousness with respect no

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matter how great or small they may be. I say this because we are so talented, so gifted with language, sophisticated minds, technology and culture that we are as the angels and demons of this planet. And so we are endowed with the responsibility of our actions acknowledge all that we do on this world, understand that our position here is pretty flimsy if we dont choose to act right and choose to love and preserve this world. To conclude, I would like for the reader to contemplate upon the following. What are the limits of our ethics? How much cooperation can we achieve as a species and what would it mean for humanity to clearly reach a new level of spirituality together? What forms of technology would come from such realizations? What kinds of lives would we be living at that point and who would we consider ourselves to be? How would our image of humanity and the entire Earth change? These profound hypothetical questions have equally profound answers and it is in my deepest estimation and conviction that getting past eating animals is necessary for our evolution as a planet and the realization of a great future.

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References Cited: Booth, Michael. "The Okinawa Diet Could It Help You Live to 100?" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 20 June 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/19/japanese-diet-live-to-100>. Editor. "PCRM | Organic Meats Are Not Health Foods." PCRM.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/organic-meats-are-not-health-foods>. "Hangovers and Veganism..." VeggieBoards. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. <http://www.veggieboards.com/t/89154/hangovers-and-veganism>.