Meditation Rookie

One of my previous posts explains my experiences with religion. I haven't really made a post yet about how I came to terms with what I actually currently believe in yet because I've noticed that it's changed a lot from when I first became agnostic to what my beliefs are now and it continues to change even to this day. I hate saying that I would never believe in certain things but for now this is what I believe in. 

As I started learning about the difference between spirituality and religion I began opening my mind to many other theories. During this time that I began doubting the existence of a God more heavily than I did before, I read a book called Synchrodestiny by Deepak Chopra. It really opened up my mind about theories on coincidences and made me realise just how much there is out there that I believe in. Suddenly the fear of consequences of not believing in a God disappeared. I gradually came to the conclusion that there must be some sort of energy which I now describe as a universal energy that we choose to let in to our spirit which then enriches our soul and everyday lives. (In his book he describes something similar as the 'nonlocal universal energy'.) 

As stress and anxiety continued to build up within me I slowly began to practicing yoga. A lot of people assume it's just for health and fitness benefits but for me, just doing the sun salutation every morning relieves a LOT of stress and anxiety from my every day life and it started making me enthusiastic in my hobbies once again. Inevitably, I started learning about meditation later on as well. When I first did it properly I must admit, it freaked me out a lot once I started opening up my '3rd eye'. I was beginning to go into a state of paralysis which I forced myself out of before going further. I pushed the idea of practicing such a thing away for a while due to fear.

I started taking meditation more seriously lately because of family issues that reappeared from the first few months since I started university. It has been a lot more effective combined with sun salutations, particularly during sunrise- probably because of the extra release of hormones. So far, I've been practicing it based on Jainism as some of the meaning of the mantras have really drawn me in and it has been a good follow up from Synchrodestiny. At first I practiced it rigorously,  doing meditation after every sun salutation in the morning and then every night. I find now that it's not necessary that I do it this much as my problems have finally eased out and I'm ok to even do neither for a day or two. Now when I open my 3rd eye, I see images and colours. It's now a really fascinating experience now that I've gotten into it.

I still pay attention to my spirit and if it's tainted badly e.g. when I sense my ego is growing too big. Chopra explains in his book that every emotion comes from either pain or pleasure so I explore my state of mind this way. I feel so at peace after because I am then able to explain why I feel such a way and am able to rationalise things whereas before, this was never possible for me. (This is probably the biggest thing that being part of an organised religion never taught me and it's easier to believe that I'm in control of my outcomes rather than relying entirely on an external force.) Although I now find that I'm more intuitive and sensitive, my other chakras seem to be growing weaker so it will be something that I will be working on later...maybe something I will update on my blog in the future.

What Vegans Eat

Since I'm visiting my friends and family in Bristol again later on this year, I keep getting asked about what I actually eat now that I'm a herbivore. A lot of people aren't really sure or confident when it comes to feeding their vegan friends so I've composed a list of simple things to encourage and motivate you guys. A vegan diet consists of food that is free of ANY animal products. This includes egg, dairy and things such as honey and bees wax that may linger in some products. Some of these products are also labelled as E numbers. Some vegans also only buy from brands that are environmentally friendly. This information can be overwhelming but keep in mind that no one is 100% vegan. This is really hard to achieve so if you mess up don't beat yourself up over it. It's best to talk to them beforehand to find out how strict a vegan they are and what reasons they are for it but I'm sure your friend will really appreciate the effort and the consideration.

A tip for looking through the ingredients list is to skip straight to the allergy list or skim for ingredients shown in bold. This is where milk and egg is often listed and will save you lots of time. I will list some food examples based on what you can find at the local supermarket. (In this case Tesco.)

For breakfast, get some vegan butter (sunflower/soya) or jam (most are free from gelatine) and you can put these with any of the following:

• Toast (if getting fresh bread make sure it isn't glazed) 
• Crumpets
• Baked beans (Preferably with toast...)
• Bagels

For other meals and snacks:

• Lots of people make the wrong assumption of Quorn being vegan. For meat replacement go for something like from the Linda McCartney range instead e.g. sausages. Serve with chips and vegetables and you have a meal! 
• Vegetable samosas
• Most pasta
• Rice/soba noodles (have to be free of egg and milk)
• Some crisp flavours e.g. heat chilli wave Doritos, salt and vinegar. (This is where you have to look out for milk powder in the ingredients list.)
• Any fruit or vegetable! 

For dessert ideas I recommend Swedish Glace ice cream. (If you buy this for someone it will instantly make them fall in love with you, regardless of gender.) It tastes even better with Oreos or strawberries or mixed with sugar free peanut butter. Alpro also do a very good range of substitutes for dairy products.

As you can see, there is a lot of food that is vegan that you would not even have guessed to be so it's not that bad! If you want to be precise and extra sure there are some apps available that can help you identify common ingredients and E numbers to be aware of. To go the extra mile, health stores have many vegan alternatives that aren't sold at most supermarkets such as cheese and chocolate. Holland & Barrett for instance do a lot of vegan stuff but there is the most variety for this in their bigger chain stores.

Being vegan is actually very easy as long as you transition nicely. Have the right amount of motivation for this kind of lifestyle and it isn't a 'torture' or 'sacrifice'. A lot of people say that I'm missing out on all this 'amazing' food but really they're only looking at it as if the 'glass is half empty'. There's still a lot of amazing vegan food out there and it's all down to the mind and how we perceive things.

Happy shopping :) xoxox