Dear Soul of the Other Side of the Screen,
It’s the time of year when many of us take stock of where we’ve been and where we want to go.
I struggled a bit to find the best words to say as we come to the end of the past year and decade, as I do not want to focus on the negative.
But mindfulness can be described as a clear seeing and deep acceptance of what is- the opposite of a spiritual bypass.
When we look clearly at where we’ve been, there is a fair amount of suffering that we are experiencing.
It is important to see clearly and face the causes of this suffering if we want to transcend and ascend into a healthier and more peaceful way of life.
So many people are sick and suffering: physically, emotionally and spiritually. We have epidemics that are getting worse and not better.
Many of our systems are in crisis, we are at an environmental tipping point.
Here is the good news:
We woke up this morning and were being breathed in and out. If we are alive, anything and everything can change.
I’ve been reading about and meditating on all of this over the past year and I have a few thoughts I’d like to share with you. I consider these the crucial underpinnings of the solutions we need to access.
1. Make time to get quiet.
The answers you seek are inside of you, not elsewhere. If you’ve gotten away from your contemplative practice, please give yourself the gift of recommitting.
2. Learn to connect with the heart
In order to solve our most pressing problems, we need to come from love and not fear. A dry, detached intellectual understanding is very different from an emotional connection and a visceral understanding. A fierce, engaged love is what is required right now. Actions will flow clearly from that place.
3. Question everything
We are past the point where we can have blind faith in our systems. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
I am not talking about a ‘blame everyone else’ conspiracy theory of questioning, but a deep inner inquiry about your own actions and beliefs and how they are impacting you and the collective. Your actions are the only ones you can change.
Where can you make shifts to make a create a more positive impact?
4. Offer solutions
We cannot just complain about that which we don’t want. We need to offer up our highest version of what we do want to see in the world. This starts internally. We need to start dreaming bigger than we ever thought possible. And let those dreams inform our actions.
The next decade will be a critical one. The decisions we make, or don’t make, will have ripples far into the future. Every species on the planet will be affected. The effects of the Anthropocene are undeniable and unprecedented.
It’s time to use the incredible creativity and power of humans to come together to create the necessary course correction.
It will take effort, attention and strength. We each have our unique part to play and we are blessed to be alive during this critical time.
Our ancestors are watching and cheering us on. Our descendants are depending on each of us to bring our best selves to the table.
Together we can right this ship but we need to be fully engaged and fully awake.
In that spirit, I encourage you to join me for a ‘Mindful, Magical Veganuary’.
Veganuary is a growing movement to encourage people to embrace a plant-based diet for the month of January.
I’ve started a Facebook group to support those interested in exploring. This is not about perfection, but about coming together to inspire, educate and support each other in deploying all the principles I mentioned above and in bringing our best, most altruistic selves to the table.
There is an abundance of data showing that eating animals is one of the leading causes (if not THE leading cause) of much of the climate crisis we are facing.
As author Jonathan Safran Foer says so eloquently in his brilliant book ‘We are the Weather’ (which I highly recommend):
“Climate change is the greatest crisis humankind has ever faced, and it is a crisis that will simultaneously be addressed together and faced alone.
We cannot keep the kinds of meals we have known and also keep the planet we have known. We must either let some eating habits go or let the planet go.
It’s that simple.”
So please come join me, and other experts in this area, here. If you’re not on Facebook, please join either the 21 Day Vegan Jumpstart (sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) or The Veganuary Challenge and they will send you regular email support and tips.
We are talking about practical tips like:
What kind of vegan chese melts the best?
What Podcasts can I listen to?
We will also delve into the health and spiritual benefits of moving towards a plant-based diet.
This is a judgment-free zone which is not about perfection or absolutism, it’s about showing up with our eyes and hearts wide open, and asking:
What can I do today to be of service?
It’s empowering and inspiring to realize you can be part of the solution each time you sit down to have a meal.
If you aren’t going to join us in the Facebook group but want me to send you my list of suggested resources, please let me know.
I know I was shocked when I learned how big a role the animal agriculture industry plays in so many problems we’re facing.
Go Vegan, Change the World
What did you do once you knew?
Every great transformation throughout human history has begun at the grassroots level.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. You can bring light into the darkness.
May 2020 bring peace and liberation to all beings.
May we all remember our divine nature and that we’re all intimately interconnected.
Thank you for your unique divine presence in the world.
much love,
Erin
