The earliest records of vegetarianism come from ancient India and ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE. In the Asian instance the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence towards animals (called ahimsa in India) and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers. Among the Hellenes, Egyptians and others, it had medical or Ritual purification purposes.
Vegetarians tend to have lower body mass index, lower levels of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less incidence of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, renal disease, metabolic syndrome, dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders. Non-lean red meat, in particular, has been found to be directly associated with increased risk of cancers of the esophagus, liver, colon, and the lungs. Other studies have shown no significant differences between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in mortality from cerebrovascular disease, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, or prostate cancer. (Wikipedia.org)
Most human beings are human beings because they are prejudiced toward the human race. But, the fact is that the human race, collectively, has impounded, destroyed and enslaved millions of species of life who inhabited this planet for millions of years before our species was injected into the ecosystem of Earth from the stars. If I inhabited the body of another species — or none at all — my opinion would be the same as the pigs in Animal Farm: “…all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings”. — Lawrence R. Spencer. 2012
Animal Farm (1945) is a satirical novella (which can also be understood as a modern fable or allegory) by George Orwell, ostensibly about a group of animals who oust the humans from the farm on which they live. They run the farm themselves, only to have it degenerate into a brutal tyranny of its own. Here is a quote from the book:
“Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word–Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever. Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin.
Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race!”
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” ~ Nikola Tesla
The following video by Nigel Stanford is proof that Tesla’s observation is true. It is not difficult to understand that the frequency of vibration of every wave or particle of Energy in this universe permeates and interacts with all others. When you listen to music, or watch TV or sit in the silence of meditation you are creating and/or being impacted by the frequency of vibration of energy. In turn, you cause and are effected by these energy vibrations. Here is a simple test: If you “feel bad”, take a look at the energy vibrations of your thoughts and your environment. Identify the thoughts, people, locations, activities, sounds and energy sources make you “feel bad”. Change them until you “feel good”.
I’m not getting old any more. I AMold. I’m 66. Jesus F*cking Krist! Who woulda’ thunk? Back when I was “young” — (between 18 and 45) I never imaged that I could get to be 66 years old! I thought that’s something that grandparents did. Well, guess what? I’m a grandparent too! F*ck! When you’re young, you think you’re going to live forever! Young people think anyone 5 years older than they are are “old”. For sure they don’t think they are personally ever going to be “old”. You’re going to live forever, right? You’re always going to be able to stay up all night and party, have sex whenever you want to, drink and smoke and work and run, play sports and do whatever the hell you want to do, like there’s no tomorrow. Well, guess what? It ain’t gonna happen! When your body gets old you slow down. Aches, pains, arthritis, hip replacements, knee surgery, no sex drive, no hard-on, no wetness where it’s supposed to be wet.
OK, it’s a fact of life…and death. So, I’m beginning to realize that I’m gonna die sooner than later. I know that reincarnation is a real thing. I can remember living many, many times before. Other bodies, other places, other times. Being able to remember that I’m an immortal spiritual being doesn’t make the prospect of being born again, in a new body, any easier to confront. For me, the idea of getting a new body and starting all over again on planet Earth doesn’t sound like much fun. It’s a Tom Waits moment…. “I don’t wanna grow up”…. This song is an anthem of protest against being “born again”:
I DON’T WANNA GROW UP (LYRICS by Tom Waits)
“When I’m lyin’ in my bed at night
I don’t wanna grow up
Nothin’ ever seems to turn out right
I don’t wanna grow up
How do you move in a world of fog
That’s always changing things
Makes me wish that I could be a dog
When I see the price that you pay
I don’t wanna grow up
I don’t ever wanna be that way
I don’t wanna grow up
Seems like folks turn into things
That they’d never want
The only thing to live for
Is today
I’m gonna put a hole in my TV set
I don’t wanna grow up
Open up the medicine chest
And I don’t wanna grow up
I don’t wnna have to shout it out
I don’t want my hair to fall out
I don’t wanna be filled with doubt
I don’t wanna be a good boy scout
I don’t wanna have to learn to count
I don’t wanna have the biggest amount
I don’t wanna grow up
Well when I see my parents fight
I don’t wanna grow up
They all go out and drinking all night
And I don’t wanna grow up
I’d rather stay here in my room
Nothin’ out there but sad and gloom
I don’t wanna live in a big old Tomb
On Grand Street
When I see the 5 o’clock news
I don’t wanna grow up
Comb their hair and shine their shoes
I don’t wanna grow up
Stay around in my old hometown
I don’t wanna put no money down
I don’t wanna get me a big old loan
Work them fingers to the bone
I don’t wanna float a broom
Fall in and get married then boom
How the hell did I get here so soon
I don’t wanna grow up”
