by rupareiki@yahoo.com | Feb 11, 2017 | Vegan
“Freedom is Knowing that I am not Guilty of Causing Suffering to satisfy my Daily Needs and Desires”
My first Veganniversary. My first year being a vegan. A year where I can say I have felt free from guilt. Free from Guilt of making other beings suffer for my daily needs and desires. I am FREE. I am happy to be celebrating that freedom with you today.
Feb 8th 2015- I declared I am a Vegan. I just could not do it anymore. I had been a vegetarian all my life so all I had to give up was DAIRY products. The butter, milk, yogurt, ghee, ice-creams, cookies, cakes, cheese, paneer, whip cream and everything that is made out of dairy products. There is just so much that has milk in it. Knowing how much suffering was going on in the dairy industry I just could not participate in consuming any more of it. The guilt of eating something for my pleasure while a baby, mother or any other living being suffered just killed a part in me daily. I had just finished publishing the “Vegan Way of Living – Live and Let Live Summit 2015” and I knew it all too well. It was time I completely stopped consuming even the tiniest bits of dairy. I could not stomach it anymore! And that’s it. It wasn’t easy. But we all know that “where there is a will there is a way.”
I will say that it wasn’t easy for a lot of people around me to accept that I had turned into a vegan. People had gotten used to be me being a vegetarian and it was fine. But vegan was not very well known and my well wishers were worried and there are some who are still worried even after a year. All I had to say to them is “if you knew what goes on in the industry you would not have the heart to consume any of it either”.
So the year began. The more I declared and made it loud and clear that I am a vegan people, started to become accommodating and I was able to help everyone think beyond their recipes. It was a good creative exercise. Things slowly and steadily changed within my house. While my family is still not vegan there are a ton of recipes that are now vegan and they cannot tell the difference.
Going out was another ordeal. Places where I used to normally eat now started disclosing the butters that they used in their soups, the cheese that they marinated with, the milk that was hidden in the breads. It was disheartening for my family to watch me eat just a little bit when we went out. However, I noticed that people were listening better, they were making changes in recipes upon request, and they even stopped me if I placed an order and they found that it wasn’t vegan! There was a shift and the shift came everywhere I looked.
We traveled a lot last year. Our travels took us to San Francisco, New York and even South Africa. And one thing was common, everywhere I went I was able to find food to eat or request to make me something special. So if you are worried about how can you be vegan and travel, all I have to say for that is be proud of being different and get talking, ask others to give it a thought, give your ideas, suggest how things could be made and enroll people to get creative! It will work wonders.
Now you might think why am I so focused on food while veganism needs to be a part of daily life. Yes I agree.
Veganism is directly linked to consumerism. It could be anything. You name it and you will need to ask if any animal was killed, abused, tested, tortured in making of the product. As you get into the details of being Vegan you will learn that you not only want to get away from eating foods that cause suffering, you don’t want to consume ANYTHING at all that somehow violates a sentient being’s value.
For e.g. Shampoos that are cruelly tested on animals. Jackets that are made from down that comes from force feeding ducks/geese. Wool that abuses sheep. Leather where the animals are skinned. Purses where crocodiles are kept in dark just so they do not scratch each other. Cigarettes that are tested on dogs. Palm oil where vast number of animals lose their homes to our needs of cheap food. Circuses with animals performing tricks for our entertainment. Zoos where they are captured and kept for our viewing. Riding on horses who are also beaten.
I can go on forever and the list won’t stop. As a human race we have stooped down to such a level where we think we own every living being. We forget that every living being wish to live a happy and a life of freedom.
For once just put yourself in their place and think about how would you FEEL if you were put through any of it? Let me help you phrase some of these questions.
- Would you like being tortured?
- Would you like being skinned alive?
- Would you like to know that you were born just so every part of you could be consumed by someone else?
- Would you like to give up your baby just so someone else can have your milk?
- Would you be ok if the baby was separated from you as soon as the baby was born?
- Would you like to be displayed in museums while you were kept in a prison like space just so others could come and see you and learn how endangered you are or how unique you might be?
- Would you like to be running races where someone sits on your back, whips you so you may run faster just so you can make some money for them?
- Would you like to be hooked to a machine that force feeds you just so you can be plucked alive?
- Would you like anything where it would HURT you mentally, emotionally, physically at any time?
What do you want for yourself and your family and your children? Would you not like to be FREE? Would you not want to be LIVING a happy life with your family?Now why do you think any of these animals want it otherwise?
I know I have asked a lot of questions and there are lot more to ask. But what I want to get across is that we all need to start somewhere. Start with asking. Start with putting yourself in their situation. Wonder a little and think if you’d be ok in their position. And if I know you, I know that you do not want any of it for yourself or your loved one. And if you don’t want it for yourself DON’T DO it to ANYONE else!
“Do to others (all sentient beings) as you would want them to do to you.”
This is the beginning of me sharing my journey of becoming Vegan and staying Vegan. I wish to help you take that step to becoming vegan and I hope you join in to spread love and compassion for all. For now I hope your heart opens up to the screams and the cries of the animals who cannot speak for themselves. I pray you become able to listen with your heart and wish for freedom of all !
by rupareiki@yahoo.com | Mar 17, 2016 | Recipes, Vegan
Vegan- Cruelty Free- Animal Loving- Easy- Breakfast- Recipe
Do you wake up and wish for a healthy quick nutritious breakfast to set you up for a wonderful day full of energy?
Do you go “YUM” when you think of Steelcut Oats for breakfast?
Do you dread the amount of time it takes to cook the Steelcut oats?
Do you enjoy the old traditional ways of eating oatmeal?
Do you wish all the goodness of eating the fibrous, low in sugar, low in glycemic index, whole grain oatmeal was ready to eat every morning before work without it being a hassle?
Do you wish it was just quick and easy to make vegan breakfasts especially on work days?
Well if you said yes to the above questions you have it answered!
Check out this amazingly easy, quick, recipe of cooking steel cut oats. Its like you make it once and you are set for your entire work week.
The best part is its VEGAN too.
Do You need some other recipes veganized? Leave me a comment below and I’ll make them Cruelty free for you. Enjoy spreading LOVE.
by rupareiki@yahoo.com | Mar 3, 2016 | Recipes, Vegan
A smoothie with almond milk has been something I have enjoyed making for myself and my family mainly because my kids have approved of it. Any healthy food that my kids approve of is something I jump on just cause who knows when their taste buds will change again and things will need to change again in the kitchen. While I totally love the taste of homemade almond milk which is easy and quick to make, I struggle the most with the leftover pulp. One cup of almonds when turned into almond milk always left me with at least 1 cup of pulp. With a busy schedule to deal with, I have been unsuccessful in converting the pulp into something that can be loved by everyone at home. If you are like me you know how bad/guilty it feels to throw out good healthy food.
Sometimes these same not so good feelings help us find some really good alternatives and that is exactly what came about from the guilt of throwing out pulp! All I had to do was to make the smoothies with the almond milk without doubling the effort of making the milk and then adding it to smoothies. I also didn’t want to be throwing out any pulp but at the same time make sure my children continue to enjoy drinking smoothies.
So after a few trials and approval from my kids here I am sharing a tried, tested and a fool proof recipe of my Very Berry smoothie. And yes there will be no PULP left over and once again approved by kids.
VERY BERRY SMOOTHIE
Ingredients
(Serves 4)
Soak ½ Cup Almonds overnight
Soak 3 spoons of chia seeds overnight
8-10 Strawberries
8-10 Raspberries
10-12 Blue Berries
3- Pitted Dates
2- Bananas
Handful of Spinach
2 cups of water
Recipe
Rinse and drain the soaked almonds.
Clean the fresh produce under water
Mix all of the ingredients listed above and blend them in a high speed blender 2-3 minutes.
Serve yourself a wonderful guilt free smoothie and ENJOY! YUM!
by rupareiki@yahoo.com | Feb 11, 2016 | Valentine, Vegan
It’s the Month of LOVE!
The month where you and I celebrate people we love. It’s the month where we acknowledge that we have people in our lives that we care about. The month that reminds us how important it is to have the ones we love to be with us. With the Valentine’s Day coming up soon I am sure you are thinking of getting something for your loved ones. Showing how much you care about them. Sharing some beautiful moments together. Spreading this wonderful message of love.
As you share this love with people you care about, let’s make this special month more loving by sharing, showing, spreading this message of love towards all living beings, even the ones who cannot speak or share their feelings.
Here are some tips on how you can make your Valentine’s Day CRUELTY FREE and VEGAN FRIENDLY.
- CHOCOLATES: Make the right choice when you go buy chocolates for your loved ones. Make sure the chocolate is vegan and also is free of child labor. Check out a list of recommended Food Empowerment Project’s Chocolate List at Food Empowerment Project- Chocolate List.
- COSMETICS: If you wish to buy cosmetics please make sure they are vegan products. Make sure there are no animal products in your cosmetics and they are not tested on animals. Here is a complete cruelty free, bunny friendly Vegan Beauty Guide.
- CANDLES: I know some of you may opt for buying candles at this time as well. Did you know most of the candles use animal products? But it is still easy to find Vegan Candles here.
- DESSERTS: If you love desserts like I do look out for plenty of VEGAN baking options. Here is a Vegan Baking Cheat Sheet which will help you replace all your regular ingredients with vegan friendly ingredients and viola you will have a VEGAN CAKE!
- CREATIVE: It would be better if you could just make something yourself. There is no better gift than making something yourself! Check out this Heart Healthy Menu for the Valentine’s Day.
- EAT OUT: If you plan to eat out with your loved ones on Valentine’s Day keep the animal products off your plate. Try to look up places where you can find Vegan food. You can find all your vegan friendly restaurants here.
- MORE GIFTS: Flowers did cross your mind when you thought of your love. Right? Well how about this year you bring in a small plant that you can nourish and watch it grow with you and your loved one. You can buy a small plant that can be kept indoors and may be moved out during spring/summer times. When you go buy a plant be mindful and don’t buy the ones that use the pesticides that kill bees.
- TIME: I put it last here in my list but it is one of the most precious gift you can give anyone. You can visit a sanctuary and spend some time with another living being. You can also volunteer and rescue animals. TIME is the most priceless gift of all.
When it comes to spreading love, there is nothing in this world that is SMALL or LITTLE. Every little thing you do counts. It may look small to you but to the person/animal receiving that love and compassion may mean an experience of a lifetime. I have captured very few examples of what you can do this Valentine’s Day to make it vegan friendly and there are so many more ways to say “I Love You” to the one you love. So go right ahead and while you share your love with the one you know, also take the time to share it with the living beings that deserve to be free and happy and are waiting for you to touch their lives.
TOUCH ANOTHER LIFE WITH LOVE
The essence of all knowledge consists in not committing violence. The doctrine of Ahimsa is nothing but the observance of equality i.e. the realization that just as I do not like misery, others also do not like it. Knowing this, one should not kill anybody.” – Bhagwan Mahavir
by rupareiki@yahoo.com | Mar 7, 2015 | Health Tips, Love, Self Esteem, Self Love
I love you.
I adore you.
I really enjoy your company.
I love just being by your side.
I love the way you love me and take care of me.
I love to see your smile.
I am so proud of you for getting through the challenges life throws at you.
Being with you brings out the best in me.
You are always ready to learn.
You are so motivated.
You are such a charming personality.
You are so gentle and soft.
You are strong, brave, vibrant, loving, and deserve the best.
I want to always make sure you are safe and secure.
I love you unconditionally.
I love you with all your flaws and faults.
I love you beyond your mistakes.
You are always so peaceful and calm.
You are such a warm person to be around.
You are beautiful.
I love the way you take care of yourself, your health, your body, your spirit.
You are like a shining star.
You brighten my day.
You inspire me.
You are the most amazing person I know in life.
You flow with life.
You show everyone how love can make you FREE.
Sounds like a wonderful love letter!! Doesn’t it?
Well it is definitely a love letter. Just not a letter to someone else but to myself. I wake up every morning waiting to see myself in the mirror and say some beautiful and wonderful things to this soul that is wearing this body. And every single day I love this person in me more and more. I have been enjoying this exercise for over 100 days today (27Jan). Yes 100 days of loving myself and what a journey it has been.
It all started with taking on a meditation challenge of 21 days with Deepak Chopra and Oprah. Just before I was about to begin I reflected upon something that I had been putting off for a long time.
I have followed Louise Hay and her wonderful work with Affirmations since 1994 (my freshman year of college). I have enjoyed doing Reiki, Karuna Reiki ®, Art of living, Yoga, various breathing exercises, meditations, Emotional Freedom Technique (a more recent exploration), tapped into my intuition (through my dreams) etc. During this spiritual journey that I began with a simple book “The Celestine Prophecy – by James Redfield.” I have been on this journey since and I feel I am always striving to be happy in the PRESENT moment. Among lots of various philosophical, self-improvement authors, books, seminars, online courses, simple and cute movies like “Kung-Fu Panda” have come across as lessons that I have enjoyed applying in life. I have done positive affirmations myself, with my kids, with my friends, at work and have been with them as and when I have felt the need for them.
Mirror work as Louise mentions in her book “Heal Your Life” is where you look into the mirror and look in your eyes, breathe and say: “I LOVE YOU. I approve of you.”
Do this for 30 days and see what comes up. Such a simple exercise and see how profoundly your life changes. See what you unleash and how you free yourself from your old limiting beliefs and patterns. Loving self as she mentions it is not about vanity or arrogance. It is about claiming our power and identifying who we are. I have done this exercise before but I have never followed it through for 30 days to experience the real results. I have always wanted to do it but never felt so driven to continue. As soon as I would have some wonderful results in a week or two, I would be satisfied and stop doing the exercise. But this time around I was determined to stick to it. I wanted to see what can this person, who I call “Rupa”, really do with such simple exercise? What does loving myself really mean? What power does such a simple exercise hold?
The journey from 19 Oct 2013 onwards…
The first week I woke up and did the exercise very casually. It was easy. I looked in the mirror and just said the stuff that I was supposed to, to myself. I looked closely and added a lot of affirmations as days went by. I also added some affirmations like “I approve of you”. Whatever that meant. I thought it was easy. And truly it was easy just doing the exercise. Giving myself 2-3 min in front of the mirror. Well yeah I looked good, I liked my smile and overall my days were just going wonderfully well. Nothing was really different.
It was not until end of week 2 when I started feeling something in me that was looking deeply into those eyes. It was then when I saw how much disapproval was really there. How much I was just superficially showing love to myself. Whereas my fears totally controlled me. I had my own patterns to remain safe. How I always ignored confrontation not only with others but with self. How lonely I felt inside and how much I was holding onto old past experiences that I could not do anything about. How many memories of hurt lingered around and there was so much anger for allowing such things to happen to me. It was at that moment when saying those simple sentences “I love you dearly. Or I approve of you” were the most difficult things I could do.
What is love I thought? How much I was wronged? How many mistakes I had made? And yet everything I had done was the best I could have done given the understanding, circumstances and awareness (as Louise Hay would say it). It was difficult but I could hear me saying “Rupa, I understand this is difficult and it is difficult to let go of old patterns, I understand what you tried to do all these years, but you are safe now. You can let it all go and you will be fine. You can forgive not only people and circumstances but yourself. Yes you can forgive yourself for everything that you allowed to happen with you. Forgive yourself for all your mistakes. Today is the day when I will love you more and I will be even more gentler with you.” The power of self-love unleashed . It was as if there was this person in me who was holding the other part of me with care and understanding. WITH LOVE. I processed my patterns, I tapped on them (EFT), I cried out loud while I was cared for by this loving individual in me. The love that was present was beyond imagination. Where was it all coming from? I had no idea. And yet it was so real and pure and only for me! It was only at that moment I understood the real meaning of loving self.
In the next few weeks, there were days when lots of patterns, my limiting beliefs surfaced and as I learned to be more patient, gentle and loving with myself they all slowly and steadily disappeared. And all of this with just “LOVING MYSELF” every day!! The energy, the enthusiasm, the spirit, the will to live every moment was incredible and just JOYFUL.
This commitment only became stronger because I had never felt the way I did and the way I feel today. There is gratitude for EVERY SINGLE thing I have in life. Even how miraculously this body never skips a beat or a breath. How calm and peaceful I became, I was able to look beyond patterns, able to just be in the moment and Breathe. The ability to very gently take care of myself in the midst of a difficult situation feels like a reward. The gift to handle the patterns and release doubts about my abilities, about my deservability or worthiness in the most unknown manner. Being with self and sitting in stillness and breathing have been the most divine feeling knowing the process of life is trustworthy. How every day feels like a miracle waiting to happen. How there is no effort required to manifest. How things started happening at their own pace and were just flowing and unfolding.
Every day is a beautiful new day where all I want to do is look ahead for all the opportunities to make it fun and joyous and enjoy it to the fullest. The more I loved myself and took care of myself the more I felt I had so much to give. There was unlimited source of love to give to others beyond their faults beyond their limitations. Things didn’t bother me anymore because I was already taken care of and loving others just came naturally since I was not looking for any love, approval or appreciation outside of me.
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. And the mirror exercise has only become so ingrained in me now. It’s an adventure I look forward to every time I do it and I wait to see what it will unravel today and what will come forth for me to learn. Things have only become easier and SIMPLER. Gratitude is very easy to flow and patterns and challenges that come up just has become easier to handle and very easy to learn from. There is more trust in the flow of life and the way things unfold!
Thoughts are much more clearer, being in solitude with self during meditation is something I look forward to. It’s an amazing feeling wanting to wake up and just embrace the silence. I feel awesome. I continue to journal and I feel I get more done in much less time because I am able to give complete attention /focus to the job that needs to be done. I feel less pulled in different directions and understand the meaning of “things will unfold in divine order”. There is just so much to say and yet no need to say it.
Today I can say I truly understand what Louise Hay means by loving self. SIMPLEST thing one can do for oneself which can bring some PROFOUND results. I wonder what this world would be like if every one of us learned just to LOVE OURSELVES!!
So before I go I would like to leave you with a few questions
“Do you love yourself? Would you be willing to step into this amazing world of LOVE and find your real self?”
A simple way I see Love as!
Where there is love there is no space for fear, guilt, doubt and negativity
But where there is Fear, guilt, doubt and negativity
Love always finds space
Love creates that space
Imagine a glass jar which is filled with big rocks of fears, doubts, guilt and all negativities that is always ready to weigh you down.
Love is like the grains of sand which will find space around over under those big rocks and fill up that glass jar
Do you think your glass jar is full? Is there any more space left?
But add water to this jar and Love is like the water that will find space within the grains of sand.
Not only will love find that space, love just like water will soak every single grain of sand.
Now you would think the jar is full and there is no more love that can fit in it.
But love is like AIR. It is present everywhere even in this glass jar that seems to have no space!!
And where does it all come from?
In your heart.
Find it within and you will find an infinite unlimited source.
Look for it outside of you and you will be lost.
Love yourself!
EMBRACE YOURSELF!
Your dear friend
Rupa.
