AO, you are an inspiration!!! Congratulations!!! I cannot imagine how great you are feeling. I only managed 6 weeks raw vegan before breaking off (several attempts). Those several 6 weeks were unlike any others. Energy levels through the roof, need for sleep cut by 25%, and started glowing. I am not surprised you have increased your swimming miles with ease.
I once calculated that if I stayed raw for one year, because of the reduced need for sleep, I would have added an additional three (3) whole months of waking hours to my life! How valuable is that?
For those who think this is a crazy diet, until you try it, you have no idea how great you’ll feel. I need a re-boot. Thanks AO, for a serious reminder.
As for the spiritual side, completely agree with AO and completely disagree with Ision. What moves matter? Does matter move matter? No. Spirit moves matter. You cannot have the energy without the energetic. How is it possible that this perfectly working universe has no Creator? Is it all a coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidences.
Vedic philosophy teaches that every living entity (not just human) in the material world is an embodied soul, and all souls are absolute - it is not that there are cat souls or dog souls. The Creator or Paramatma sits side by side with the soul as a witness, thus this is how God/Krnsa/Creator knows everything we do and suffer through and carries the weight of the worlds.
I agree with Royce, you have to have something to believe in because the alternative is nihilism - where nothing matters and anything goes (quoting Kunstler). Yes, there has been massive cruelty perpetrated by religious fanatics, but that’s not spirituality, that’s fanaticism. His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada taught that faith without philosophy is fanaticism and philosophy without faith is dry, mental speculation. He also taught, you can never force. Free will is essential.
I don’t have any links handy, but there are studies that show meditation reduces stress and anxiety. Personally, I can vouch for that. However, meditation is not for the purpose of making life easier for us in the material world. The real purpose of meditation/spirituality is connecting with the Creator/God. As a practicing Bhakti Yoga Sadhika, I can vouch for that too. In fact “yoga” means to connect with the Supreme. If the meditation is done correctly, our forgotten relationship with the Lord is re-awakened. Ergo, I chant the MahaMantra, The Great Prayer of Deliverance, Hare Krnsa Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
The degradation and wide spread ignorance of our society, the antipathy of our youth, and the debauchery of our leaders are all symptoms of a God-less society. It is abundantly clear that unity in purpose is more desirable than fractures and divisions in purpose, yes? What concept, other than God, could possibly unite the entire world? Like everything else, for this we need a Teacher. The most difficult task is to escape the cycle of birth and death. We cannot speculate our way out of the material world. This is a treacherous place where one living entity is food for another and where we are easily exploited or easily exploit others due to our four built-in defects: subject to illusion, prone to commit mistakes, propensity to cheat, and imperfect senses - which means the data we are perceiving is imperfect. After Covid, we could write several treatises on the defect of being subject to illusion! And talk about the cheaters and the cheated! And how about all the mistaken pubic policies being implemented? Good grief!
When the student is ready, the Teacher appears.
Kudos to you AO! I wish you all success in your endeavors!
There are so many valuable insights and truths in what you have so eloquently and beautifully written that I am actually cutting and pasting and printing out your reply for future reference and to illuminate others. Thank you for taking the time to express those thoughts.
AO, try to source a 1972 Bhagavad Gita by A.C. Bhaktivedanta. Everything I’ve learned (and wrote) is from this greatest of spiritual Teachers. If you’re interested and can’t find one, let me know via private message. The original BG is hard to find, his followers have changed his scriptures after his departure! and without notice to the reader!
The 11-member committee voted nearly unanimously in November that Biogen’s drug should not be approved, citing inconclusive evidence that the drug was effective.
The FDA on Monday gave the drug "accelerated approval,”
FYI it costs $56,000 per year
This approach has been used in training soldiers to become more emotionally resilient before engaging in combat operations.