I am a Vegan

I am a vegan. Or, I should say I am a natural vegan and striving to live a vegan lifestyle.

What has this got to do with The Dreaming Café?

Because The Dreaming Café is about the creative journey to self-discovery and self-discovery includes the WHOLE self.

Why do I say I am a natural vegan?

I’ve never enjoyed eating meat, not even as a child and I am intolerant to dairy, an animal by-product.

I feel my best when I eat a diet of whole grains, vegetables and fruit. I have more energy, feel better about my body, I feel more positive, I feel lighter and physically healthier and I have less mood swings from high to low. When I combine a vegan diet with my meditation practice and reflective, focused exercise like Yoga, it feels right to me. And, I feel more centered spiritually.

My husband and I have always had an interest in nutrition and diet. I cook from scratch and we eat very few processed foods. But, even this healthy diet didn’t prevent him from having a near fatal heart attack in December 1998.

After he came home from the hospital we adopted a low fat, low sodium diet and began researching the link between diet and heart disease looking for a way to heal is heart and prevent any future heart attacks.

In August 1999 my husband discovered an article on the internet about the benefits of a vegan diet. He was focused on the health benefits in the article. When he gave it to me I realized it was about so much more. The factory farming details broke my heart and made me cry. I realized I had a choice and, from that day forth I never ate meat again.

But, striving to be vegan in a stressful, non-vegan world is not easy. Food advertisements come at us from all directions. Finding vegetarian and vegan entrée’s in restaurants can be challenging. Throw in unresolved emotional eating and some body-image issues and it is an even greater challenge to eat in a way that is nourishing for the body, the mind, and the soul.

I am a vegan, but I am also human. I know in my head what is best for me, and I have felt it deep within my soul, but knowing doesn’t always equate into action.

I don’t eat meat, but I do eat a lot of cereals, white bread products, snacks, etc. I am an emotional eater and I am overweight. Most of the time I don’t feel well physically.

Caring for ourselves by eating in a natural, healthy way means we have to care about ourselves deeply.

Self-love is self-discovery.

I am not an evangelist. I am not trying to persuade you adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet. I just wanted to share this part of my creative journey with you. And, maybe a part of me also wants to persuade you to look at your diet and your way of eating and view it as another pathway to self-discovery as it has been for me.

I have decided to face the things in my life that distract me from eating in a manner that is most healthful for me. I will treat myself with respect and follow my heart.

I am a vegan and each day I want to l honor and love myself by making food choices that are right for me.

This choice is just one more step on my creative journey to self-discovery.

To follow through on my ‘new‘ and ‘first‘ theme this week, and to renew my commitment to a healthy, plant based diet and to take care of my physical health, I have signed up for Feel Good Guru Moira Nordholt’s 21-Day Cleanse, starting September 14th.

I met Moira on Twitter months ago and have been following her adventures ever since. She is a vegan chef, friendly and authentic. When she announced the new fall cleanse I felt the call to follow through on my commitment.

And, like she say’s and I believe, “it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.”

PS…Would you like to do the 21-Day Cleanse with me? I can add a buddy for FREE. Be the first reader to email me and I’ll hook you up with Moira. Sandy@TheDreamingCafe.com

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Note: This is the third post in my unfolding creative journey to self-discovery – to a healthy and fit me.

In the first post, 5 reasons to go for your dreams TODAY, I committed to eliminating all flour and bread products from my diet.

Update: I did this for 12 days and felt lighter, healthier, and had fewer digestion problems. But I strayed from the path and have not felt well since.

In the second post, a book recommendation, “enLIGHTened: How I Lost 40 Pounds with a Yoga Mat, Fresh Pineapples, and a Beagle Pointer” by Jessica Berger Gross I dug a little deeper and shared a little more.

Update: This book inspired me to reach out to a yoga teacher I knew through a mediation class. I attended a a 30-minute relaxation/meditation class followed by a 90-minute, private Svaroopa Yoga class with this teacher. It was an incredible experience! But, I’ve yet to return or figure out how to incorporate this into my life. It has more to do with getting out of my head and into my body-a place that can be pretty scary for some of us.