As a certified Alternative Health Consultant, my focus is on helping people live an authentic organic & plant based diet, and watch what you put on your body in the way of skincare and cosmetics.To that end, I promote Miessence which is a certified organic line of products for the home, body and skin.
People ask me all the time about reducing Inflammation - Whether this is arthritis or from an injury or general internal discomfort and swelling, inflammation is the body's way of dealing with stress. Inflammation is a precursor to cancer. There are several ways to remove or reduce inflammation in the body which will result in better mobility, less pain. Less cancer risk. And when it comes to your organs and gut health, better comfort and assimilation of nutrients, less gas and bloating and weight loss. Miessence Super Foods
Eliminate sugar - This one is difficult I know. From pasta to wine, sugar is plentiful. Cancer loves sugar. Reduce inflammation with a daily intake of Blue Green algae, chia, hemp, flax seeds as well as primrose oil and fizner oil. Copper water aids in balancing the 3 doshas, Kapha, Vata and Pitta, reduces inflammation, respiratory disorders, spleen, and gynecological disorders, skin diseases and get rid of piles (Hemorrhoids). An easy way to add copper is by placing purified water into a copper pitcher and leaving it overnight. Copper also helps with premature graying of hair by drinking water treated this way. Turmeric reduces tumor cell growth, minimizes inflammation in the body. Let's talk about Superfoods. I sell this stuff. I'm a brand partner for two organic companies who are eco and animal-friendly. Before I sign on with anyone, I fully vet them, their ingredients, (are they organic or wildcrafted) how they process their product, (is there heat applied that would denature the product) and how often are batches made (has it been sitting on a shelf a decade already). Folks, if you are buying non-organic, you are ingesting pesticide and GMO plants. You are worth getting the best. And my slogan is 'If what you work at harms people, animals or the planet, it's not worth any efforts or any amount of money.' I came up with this in thinking about a friend I had turned onto my plant-based products to earn extra income and she immediately signed up with Mary Kay (toxic). I can only assume to make more money but while money is terrific, I LOVE shopping and feathering my MCM home and I also love fast cars too...it is not worth losing your soul over.
When we think about our genetics, do you realize that only 10% is you and the other 90% is all the microbiota that you are a host for? Yes, our gut is a living (or should be) world for good bugs, the microbiome. Good plant-based, cold processed, certified organic, supplements made with care are not going to be cheap but they are so worth it. If you're used to buying non-organic mass-produced synthetic crap this stuff is on an entirely different level of quality. 95% of supplements on the market are bad for you, contain fillers, are synthetic rather than plant-based. If you are taking fish oils for your omegas, know that fish get that from plants, from sea algae. And all fish is toxic these days, with mercury and plastics and pharmaceutical drugs. There was a recent report on pets getting sick as pet parents have gotten on the bandwagon of giving their dogs omegas. Skip the fish oil. Bad supplements do nothing but cause harm and are cheap to make. You're going to pay for quality. On the upside, there are volume discounts and free shipping with this great product! Look in your shopping cart as you add items and you will see when you hit certain levels the discount increases. Back to superfoods and why we all need this! If we still lived in the 40s, the soils would be plentiful with minerals, the plants organic and vine-ripened, bought only in season and filled with far more nutrition. A can of spinach then requires now about 15 cans to equal the iron and other minerals....to give you an idea. And, a head of lettuce loses 50% of its nutrition within the first 30 minutes of being cut. Imagine what the nutrition is once it travels on the trucks and finally makes it to the supermarket, then to your car and lastly into your fridge. Do you eat it right away or does it take you a week or longer to finally eat all the lettuce you bought...or other fruits and veggies?
What do superfoods do for you? PROBIOTIC- First, you need your gut bugs and to feed them properly too. The InLiven Superfood, based on more than 20 years of research, contains the complete Lactobacillus family of 13 strains combined with 26 certified organic whole foods naturally fermented for 3 weeks prior to bottling. A healthy intestinal tract should contain at least 85% 'friendly' bacteria to prevent over-colonization of disease-causing microorganisms which result in a large number of ailments from digestive disorders and painful joint inflammation to susceptibility to colds and flu.SUPER REDs - BerryRadical is a dark chocolate cacao delicious combination of nine of the world's most potent, antioxidant, superfoods. I use it as hot cocoa (with a bit of stevia or organic Xylitol) or put in a smoothie. What I love are no sugar type fillers. This tasty, high potency formulation gives you the antioxidant of equivalent eight servings of fruit and vegetables in every teaspoon. SUPER GREENS - Keeping the correct pH balance in our bodies is vital for ongoing good health. Failing to keep that balance can result in loss of minerals that results in reduced bone density associated with osteoporosis. A body which is too acidic has been linked to other conditions including atherosclerosis, kidney and gallbladder stones and arthritis. As with the Super Reds, there are no sugary fillers. Coming from my Hippocrates training, I also love that wheat grass and spirulina and chlorella are included. I like to add a scoop to my salad daily. You can save money by purchasing the Vitality tri-pack. No, not cheap but you will see/feel a difference. I also recommend slow yoga and massage and really like the Himalayan Botanique brand muscle & joint rub. Epsom salt or Mustard baths also help. And don't forget to be thankful to your body, for getting you through life thus far. Honor it by the best nutrition, eliminating (or reducing) processed foods, carbs/sugars. Dairy is a huge inflammation producer. So anyone doing dairy should eliminate or go organic and drastically reduce. Casein is in all dairy and is a carcinogen. The more stressed out the cow (factory farm, just lost her baby so we could drink her milk = one very upset mama) the more casein we ingest not to mention there's puss in it....because we are not taking care of the mama, she is just a milk machine to the farmer...it's a sick and cruel industry. And it isn't healthy for us either.
The superfoods discussed above are available through my Miessence shop Miessence Super Foods
Now, there are a few folks who cannot do algae. This is also great for folks who want a super green supplement but in quick capsule form. Let's take a look at certified organic and wildcrafted plant-based options through Essante PH Nutrition
From meal replacement shakes (like Salted Caramel and Chocolate Kiss) to probiotics (Ph Lora), Super Reds and Earths Greens. What I like about these products is the capsule for the Earths Greens, great on the go, a high ORAC value equivalent to 5 1/2 lbs of veggies that is a fantastic product sans the algae that some folks cannot do. The probiotic has a patent on it and the Super Reds is a fruity blend with a bit of stevia in it that doesn't have a nasty aftertaste...because in general, I am NOT a stevia fan...so this is great in a bit of water on ice as well as in a smoothie.
As we move into a new year, it's natural for folks to take a review of the last 12 months, look ahead and plan next steps toward positive changes. Take the next level in your personal health by feeding your body great detoxing anti-inflammatory nutrition. Feel free to comment or ask questions, I'm always happy to help! ♥
Trolls. They're everyplace. And while the term was coined from the internet and social media posts, you'll find trolls in your general daily life, from standing in line at the supermarket to the office cubicle nearest you. And on some days....yes, you could be the troll. Blowing out someone else's candle won't make yours glow any brighter. What’s your motivation today? I try hard to ask myself this whenever I feel less than balanced. I try to breathe and ask myself what I am trying to accomplish here as I type or speak. On the Vegan 101 Page (great page btw) I encountered a troll. It’s the holidays and bound to happen. While some folks are pleased with all the happenings of 2018, some aren’t. And rather than be an adult the unhappy, the less than settled, make the choice to share their turmoil and create drama and confusion. Someone posted about it being ‘time to detox.’ What’s the best juicer asked someone else and I posted my article on Juicers. This turned into idiocy from one individual who essentially told me I should be ashamed for selling my quackery. But while I DO market organic superfoods and Skincare, this post was not mine and was not anything I was selling. I was singled out somehow for commenting on the post. The individual had posted with a picture of green juices simply stating it was time to cleanse. Not sure if they were selling these juices or simply stating they were getting ready to juice themselves! So I took my leave after commenting that daily detoxing is very important.
In my corporate job, at my signature line, I asked ‘Is it kind? Is it helpful? Is it necessary? Faced daily with long hours, high heated emotions and hundreds of emails, I thought posing these questions helped temper everyone in stressful situations and mitigate unnecessary actions thus saving time and making work smoother. It was a reminder of what really matters at the end of the day. As we move into the new year how can we maintain focus on what really matters? Can we be mindful of times we all look for ways we ignite a fire when water is needed, stomp out someone’s fire when heat is needed, or otherwise produce chaos when we could be adding unity and check our motivation for doing this? Are we feeling insecure, alone, jealous or just enjoying schadenfreude? As an activist, I sign hundreds of petitions annually, injustices range from the Asian cat and dog meat trade to saving the whales, our oceans, eradicating the factory farm cruelties and sharing the important knowledge about what is really going on. And there is always someone that jumps on a dog and cat meat post demanding human rights or what about dairy cruelty and is it alright to save the Asian cats and dogs but not pigs and cows. These folks are trolls. They jump onto a topic, snuff out the candle of the posters original intent, muck things up, accuse the poster of eating animals, call into question the organization itself (are they a real organization or a sham) then leave feeling vindicated, as if they somehow really caused some good here. We’re human, we stumble. But who has the time for ongoing toxicity? Where’s the joy in creating slander and cruelty? Only the imbalanced feels joy causing discord. And you cannot reason with imbalance. Let it go. As we move into the new year, look at your relationships, even those in your FB friend groups and ask yourself if they belong in your life? Do you feel supported, uplifted by most of what they say or judged and deflated? In short is what they say kind, helpful or necessary? There’s always going to be the troll that wants to roll around and cover the facts with mud-uneducated to the truth of things, unwilling to learn with an egoist view of already knowing all. These are the folks who talk over you, don't read what you've actually said and think you're the one full of Bull hockey. When you already know everything learning ceases. These folks just want to get you muddy, they aren’t there to be helpful and they aren't there to be educated. They are not there to be helped or healed. Let it go. The teacher will arrive when the student is ready. Let go of those who waste your time and mood and seek out those who uplift. You teach others how you wish to be treated by what you allow. Let go of what no longer serves your highest good and embrace positive change. Life is short. Trolls need not apply. Happy New Year!🎈
Friends and family are so important, provided these relationships are healthy ones. These relationships help us feel bolstered, supported, less alone and enrich our lives in so many ways. As people couple up, they tend to spend far less time with friends. Add kids into the mix and you can feel even more estranged. While coupling and having life sort of take over and back-seat your friends is part of the nature of things, it is also something we must be mindful of by working to carve out time for our near and dear. Maintaining friendships and healthy relationships helps our self-esteem and keeps us balanced too. Whether that's a monthly friend lunch or beers after work or what have you, it is important to maintain your healthy friendships. Healthy friendships are a necessity. But what about codependent and abusive relationships? They can be subtle like a light breeze through a doorway or a full-on hurricane. We all need a shoulder from time to time or a shared belly laugh. We are driven to socialize and feel communion. But co-dependent abusive relationships are not worth time or effort. The best way to spot them is by asking yourself how you feel after an exchange with the individual. Are they so wrapped up in themselves they forget plans with you or never bother to ask how you are doing because it's all about them?
My mother came from an abusive background and it turns out we had a very codependent relationship. And this book by Melody Beattie, Codependent No More, set me free of that. It also ended a codependent relationship I was in with a man that exactly mirrored how my mother treated me. For the very first time, I could see how I had played the victim and been manipulated and I could read it in 5 minutes in somebody else. Healthy relationships always give and take and the relationships are not about getting something from you but looking out for your best interests. Do you look out for your own best interests? Some folks in your life, no matter how superficial or how deeply entrenched they appear to be, are just there for the beer. And Facebook has made this far worse. Yes, FB is great for those out of town friends and ex-colleagues to catch up with that you otherwise wouldn't or only do so very sporadically, but FB has also taken place of actually seeing people! If you have a car and live in the same city, you should connect physically periodically and talk live, do lunch, have a glass of wine together and catch up, have real conversations that you really cannot have on FB because on Facebook, it seems that most people get on there to hear happiness and flowers. There is only a very short attention span for any real dramas. Most aren’t on there for serious issues and private messaging is cumbersome and wordy at best. The same thing applies to Facebook that applies with emails. Much can be lost in the translation. The bottom line is that anyone that lives in your city that's also on FB should be able to see you a few times a year, and physically visit or it really isn't much of a real friendship, is it because much of FB is fake. Fake news! It's called gas and a car key if the friendship really means anything at all. With that, I want to talk about self-sabotage.
Most of us create some kind of self-sabotage from time to time, whether it’s losing it with a coworker, deliberately stretching your personal finances too tightly, dating a loser or listening too intently to the wrong people. The GREAT news is that each day provides us with abundance and opportunities to co-create change. As we end this year, think about ways of being that no longer serve your highest good. Are you trusting people that always let you down? Working at a job that perhaps pays well but drains your soul? Living someplace that depresses you rather than uplifts? Keeping what’s in your best interest at arm's length rather than embracing joy? Stuck in a rut? Feeling conflicted? My neighbor Dennis commented that he often feels misled because he assumes the way he cares for others means he gets that level of care back and that’s not always so. I’m generally an open book but one of my adult tastes of such was when I had two family members with an emotional breakdown and nobody to talk to. I reached out and was simply told ‘We don’t do well with mental illness topics.’ That couple immediately went to the balcony of our lives rather than a seat in the front row where I had thought they were well placed. I was wrong. Guard your heart and test friendships mettle. You can do this while still being open and compassionate but also judicious. Coupled with self-sabotage comes the blinders we also wear. What patterns happen for you? Are all your friendships on FB or do you have real ones? Are those relationships truly supporting or downers? Do you find yourself always giving, such as supporting a friends shop by buying stuff but not getting any ROI? Do you have a habit of overcommitting, promising and not delivering or is someone in your life doing this to you? Do you keep forgetting plans or have someone who consistently forgets you? I was laid off and had sold my car so that I would not have a car payment while being unemployed. A friend who is well off offered to give me a good working vehicle he wasn't using and, as he put it, didn't want to bother taking it to Carmax to sell. He said 'It's yours' and that he would bring it by that week. I followed up with him about the car, 4 times asking if he was serious and each time he said yes. I am still not over the fact that on FB he told everyone he had given me a car yet the reality is I am still on foot. I cannot tell you why anyone would promise something and not deliver but I can assure you that this behavior is absolutely toxic. I didn't ask him for anything, he just knew my situation and made a great and grand gesture. I actually cried tears of joy. I had bought cars for other people and never once have I had someone buy me a car in my 58 years. How karmically sweet to finally be gifted in this manner! And then it never materialized.
Surround yourself with people who mean what they say and follow through on promises. Honor the good people in your life by following suit. Don't wait for the car to show up! Or any other empty promise! Move on! And please respect yourself enough to never make empty offerings and end relations with those in your life who do. When you find yourself in repeated codependent relationships, know that while you can absolutely change this by removing those blinders, it also requires some diligence, particularly in the beginning as you are learning about the old patterns, how to spot and stop them while learning new and healthy ways of being. So in addition to the book above, I also highly recommend this daily meditation which has always seemed perfect for the day, whatever page I open it to. Melody Beattie The Language Of Letting Go Some people are just here for the beer. They are there because something better has not yet come up so they are hanging out with you temporarily. They may like your beer and may enjoy your company when it suits them but they are not filled with compassion and loyalty towards you personally when help and friendship is really needed.
Do the same stories keep coming up in your life? If so, and you don’t like the story, change it! Where you see repeated abusive relationships or financial constraints or any other negatory pattern, there’s a spot to start working on. Honor yourself by acknowledging the needed nudge. We all have our personal pet bitches and gripes and crap that happens. As long as you’re seeking ways to minimize drama in your life ( and also drama for those around you) and working to create goodness, you’re on the right path. When you begin to see things frazzle and fray, it’s time to pour a cup of tea and reassess. This life is short. This year nearly a wrap. Live your best life in 2019.
https://amzn.to/2R30at9This is my taco meat using hibiscus flowers. IF you had told me a few years ago that there was such thing as flower tacos, I would have smirked. Perhaps smirked with a raised eyebrow. I have drunk hibiscus tea for decades. And when I moved to Dallas, I learned Mexicans use the flower in frescas, added to water (I add to fizzy water) for a lovely refresher on a hot day because we get those here.
Healing Properties - From blood pressure reduction/balancing to kidney repair, like kidney stones, we know the tea is so healing. And all this time that I have made this deliciously tart tea, I have tossed the spent flowers after brewing...but not the last time, no, not the other day when I took this photo. What's great about this dish is that it creates both a meal and the drink! ♥ And, it's really easy.
Get the flowers - First you will want to have a lb or 2 of organic dried hibiscus flowers. Each meal will use up a cup or 2 of dried flowers, depending on whether you are feeding an entire family or just a couple etc and how freaking hungry you are or what leftovers you want. The link will take you to some yummy dried flowers to purchase via Amazon. It may also be worthwhile to check out any latino grocery spots near you if you have them. Again, I am in Dallas, we have them, Ariva!!! Yes, absolutely, here we are Mexi-CAN! :)
Recipe - I'm not really a cookbook writer so this is sort of free form. I think most of us know how to make a base taco meat. What you will be doing here is basically the same but instead of animal meat, you will use hibiscus flowers as your meat. A cup fed my husband and I with leftovers to do another meal. I won't embarrass myself here by telling you how many tacos I pumped down. They were really good. So, take 1 or 2 cups of hibiscus flowers and rinse just to reduce any dust, put in a pot and cover with purified water. Let it boil 10 minutes. Now just let it sit and soften for a few hours. (Later you can pour off the tea into a container, it will be stronger than what you are used to, so you will add water to that or ice for delicious and healthy tea. )
When you are ready to create your flower tacos, put a bit of olive oil in your saute pan, then add some cumin, some smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic, chopped onion, add in your flower meat, tomatoes (stewed etc) and any salsa etc and doesn't it look like shredded carne? You can also do this mole-style too...I mean, when you finally taste this, you will see how flexible it can be.
We are having tacos again for dinner....help...I can't stop....
http://www.EssanteOrganics.com/Puretemple Before I took my Hippocrates training, I did do a good probiotic (and other plant-based superior supplementation) but didn't understand the need for enzymes or what they did. Now I take both and also sell them because I want to assure I provide my clients with organic and wildcrafted and otherwise quality ingredients. 95% of supplements out there in the wild world are bad, containing carcinogenic fillers, petroleum byproducts, talcum powder and essentially junk that does no good and causes further harm to profit. You have to be very careful in your selections, read labels and trust your sources.
What I learned about Enzymes is that they help with premature aging because enzymatic exhaustion is aging. Enzymes keep the body clean the same way that microbes clean up the earth. Enzymes are the spark of life, our electric. Enzymes are found in raw foods where the life has not been cooked out of them. Anything cooked above 118 loses not only nutrition but the enzymes that help your body digest and absorb them. Cooked foods require the body to expend a lot of energy creating enzymes when the foods are deficient. Additionally, cooked foods require a cup or more of digestive enzymes to process, which is labor intensive for the body. Raw foods require perhaps a tablespoon in contrast. Digestion is the #1 thing. If you lack enzymes from your food, your body will borrow it from other places. Enzymes are so bloody important that Hippocrates coined a slogan MEDS; Meditation, Enzymes, Exercise, Diet, Sleep as the primary drivers to keep us resilient.
Most folks would also be interested in knowing that taking enzymes helps you digest your food and break down fats etc, helping you lose unnecessary weight. Enzymes benefit cardiovascular and degenerative diseases and also help you alkalize. This is important to ward off things such as Cancer which prefers an acid environment. Taken a couple of minutes before each meal, raw or cooked, will go a long way to minimize bloat and gas as it supports healthy blood and detoxing of the system.
To order or take a closer look at the details, just click on the link provided at the top and bottom of this page. Also, check out the probiotic, which is the ONLY probiotic formula out there to hold a patent proven to cultivate, multiply, grow & colonize inside the human body after consumption. This is vital for anyone who has been on antibiotics (anti-life) or has been eating a poor diet. We need the good bugs to keep the bad ones in check and ward off a variety of viruses and disease.
Feel free to reach out with any questions or helpful advice and comment are always welcome.
Most of us who work at something do so because we need the employment. Whether you're busy at something you view as temporary, longer term or fully engaged in what you feel is your life's purpose, you will occasionally find yourself dumbstruck by difficult people. My old co-worker Kristin Smith used to say 'They make it harder than it needs to be.' Whatever you're sorting through, below is great info and fab reads that will help you identify these challenging types and what you can do to deal with them by allying, accommodating, escaping, confronting or perhaps eliminating them.
I have been in the workforce since I was 12 years old, picking strawberries and later shearing trees for Christmas, in the Pacific Northwest. My first actual job, as opposed to temporary seasonal work, was Bob's Big Burgers where I wasn't fast enough on the line and politely let go. I worked at Moto Photo 3 times (back when folks with cameras needed film developed), Richland College Planetarium 3 times performing laser light shows (great gig!) and finally Sprint 3 times where I had planned to retire but was part of a massive lay off instead. Interspersed with Sprint, I worked as a radio announcer with a smattering of acting & photography work. Everybody would always hire me back when asked which made me feel I was a fairly adept employee to have around. At 58 things are different than they were in my 20's and 30's out job seeking. But the mentally unstable folks are still there and may sit in a cubicle near you.
My work philosophy has always been to do my best, have some fun, be easy going as possible and in general, endeavor to get along even with people I might not otherwise have ever had the opportunity to associate with. Being thrust into different walks of life and people is a great educational experience. It is great to mix with one's own, but also to diversify, just as you would any of your other assets.
It has always puzzled me when co-workers preferred to stir the pot, rather than try and get along. Each of us has our own crosses to bear and we don't really know what all is going on inside an individual so erring on the side of compassion, is the best option. Being of diverse backgrounds, personalities and predilections IS what makes all this great! The problems arise when we have imbalanced personalities, insecurities, judgments, ego, and stress thrown in the mixture as well as folks who plainly should be on meds.
I have learned exactly 3 things that are a job requirement with any company you work at. 1) Perform your job well. Fix what you break. Own your failures as well as your successes here. 2) Absorb and honor the culture, and just like people, every corporation is different. Learn it and abide. The dude abides. 3) Get along well with everybody else. Those you cannot tolerate, keep as far away from as possible without it looking obvious and conduct all business briefly as feasible and politely. Humor goes a very long way to making all of this happen. However well you do your work, you are replaceable. If you are tenured at some place, please enjoy that feeling because as soon as you start somewhere else, you will feel a culture shift that, unless you've been job hopping for years, will come as quite a shock. I don't understand this but sometimes when new folks come on board, the people who have been there a while, rather than welcome you with open arms, want to size you up and judge and get sometimes intensely combative and defensive, as if you are there to take something away from them. At least this is what I experienced and I am still scratching my head over it.
Agendas - What is your agenda for working where you do? What motivates you daily? For me, I have always come to work with only one agenda, to do the work well. After being fired at Bob's Big Burgers, I never wanted to ever be fired again so I aim to work well with others and do my job. I have never wanted the spotlight, to derail someone's career, to one-up anybody or cause needless harm and chaos. I have never felt the need to scream insults at someone or single anybody out and make them look bad to pump myself up. I have not once not ever, called someone up in the middle of their work day to shout threats at them as happened to me in my last corporate job. I am full of flaws so I tend toward helping people rather than be the stone that weighs them down or in any way be the reason they don't want to come to work. In short, my paycheck has always been based in part on my being a team player and I just instinctively knew that.
In my 4 decades of working, I have encountered some very challenging people. From sexual harassment to jealousies, and pettiness, a few very angry people and much ego. Many have been clients where I had to be exemplary in handling them while maintaining composure. For the last 20 years, I was a project manager over implementations (IPM) over voice and data networks for Strategic and Enterprise accounts. As much as I loved my role, it was mostly very imbalanced in the hours worked which brought out many personality quirks not to mention health issues. My superpower was taking an upset client and turning that relationship around. I usually got the worst cases to turn around and accomplished this, to the point of Sprint winning Vendor of the Year from Overhead Door, as just one example. While many people shy away from angry customers, the reality is that most upset folks just want a partner in the business that will hear and understand them and what they want, speak the truth so they aren't blindsided, while also putting all efforts into meeting all the goals if at all possible. The 12+ hour days took its toll on my health. I manage an ongoing swallowing disorder (achalasia) due to all these years full of long hours and stress. When I took early retirement there, my goal was to put calm and my health as a priority and not work more than an 8 hour day. 8 is enough already. Corporations get greedy.
Wherever you go, there will be the slackers and the over-achievers and those that do their job well, but never push the boundaries to go over and above. You are never going to change that or them. You can only control yourself.
Through networking, I ended up with several job offers through folks who knew me and my tenacity. One seemed perfect, similar pay to what I made prior, learning something new and upcoming (apps) and an 8 hour day. I called it 'Dream Job'. I managed APIs getting tested and deployed, and was hired as a contractor along with 2 other newbies who integrated into an existing team.
3 months later, 3 additional folks were hired and us new folks were asked to train them while we were all still learning. This was a HUGE corporation yet there were no M&Ps, no training documents, only a Client Handbook that, while filled with great info, was absolutely NOT a training tool. I did what I have always done in new work situations; I created a cheat sheet on all the steps to do my work and added to it as I learned more. I created this cheat sheet so I would not miss a step. I liked this job and intended on keeping it. The 2 folks training us in between their work, took offense that I would create a cheatsheet and refused to review it for accuracy. When we new folks began training the other 3 that had just walked in the door, with no corporate training tool to use, I was asked to share my cheatsheet. This turned into an ego blast where, rather than being happy the new folks were trained rapidly, in a matter of days by using this cheat sheet as a training tool, instead I got screamed at for several minutes in a phone call that was so unprofessional and crazy, threatening my job, calling me insubordinate and shutting my every syllable down. I decided the best course while I had my ass handed to me, was to just go quiet. Let it happen, let them scream, think about what I will do next for employment. For a minute I contemplated putting that individual on speaker. In hindsight, this is exactly what I should have done. Why allow someone to be that ugly and get their say in privacy? Why on earth did I extend courtesy in the face of all that hateful spew? Nobody ever in my life had spoken to me like this. Nobody ever again will! I sat in stunned silence. Was making six figures really worth all this drama? I had anticipated an adult, professional work environment, not bullies on the playground. I went home that day a puddle. My husband asked if I wanted a drink when he saw me walk through the door. I couldn't even speak. I nodded 'No' and went straight to the atrium, closed the door, curled up in a fetal ball and cried for hours. When I walked into the living room much later, I quietly explained what had happened. He asked me not to turn in my notice, it was great money and to see what could be worked out. In all my years at work, I had never encountered such a rough experience. And while this individual eventually calmed down and had the cajones to take me into a breakout room and discuss it, I realized that this person, who was the one training me, was someone I could not reliably go to for any kind of help. Their mood could go from zero to hellcat in 3 seconds. I just didn't have it in me to deal. I needed calm. And this perhaps wasn't the worst of it.
As we newbies began getting some work, one of the individuals began clashing with everyone else. We'll call him Howse. Howse wanted to spend an exorbitant amount of time deliberating on every little detail as if he were checking his own logic but the team gradually realized it was his way of trying to coach us, train us on what he somehow assumed he knew more and we needed training on. And yes, even folks who had been there a decade, he was trying to 'coach'. Classic micromanager, Howse spent every morning of an entire week standing in my cube demanding status as soon as I walked in the door for an API he should have been going to his own resources for. He created daily team reports and went through all of our work with a fine tooth comb. He would keep me late (and I did not get paid overtime) to show me 'my report' he created. He would go through each of my projects, their APIs and status and I had no idea why on earth he would keep me after work to go over my work as a peer that I of course already was well aware of since they were my projects. Then he proceeded to tell us, and the boss or our client, what we did wrong whenever he caught something. Be it a system glitch, a ticket really not in our shop to write or a simple mistake. There was a team intervention where, after he reported one of us, he was pulled into a breakout room where team-mates tried to get him to understand why that was wrong to do. He insisted they 'Needed to know she made an error.' Ironically, Howse made the same error first, but of course, management didn't hear about that. He would jump into business that wasn't his, join calls he was not invited to, cover up his own errors or justify them and create havoc and upset and distrust in the team. Always looking to argue a point and demanding things must be done his way, I believe he is the reason I was laid off and amazingly, he was retained. The last thing I tried to help him with was to warn him from tenaciously demanding documentation from tenured folks. My mistake entirely. I should have let him go on ahead! Instead, I was trying to have compassion for the root of his behavior issues and help him. His wife stayed at home with the kids and he'd lost his last job over this behaviour. Part of not going through things again is learning the signs of mental imbalance so to avoid getting sucked into it. It is never your role to fix a broken employee. Sometimes trying to help the mentally unstable comes back to bite you.
Above all else, always remain calm. Both with this phone call and when Howse was yelling at me in my cubicle, just coming completely unglued because I simply asked him to step out of my cubicle and allow me to get my work done my own way, I refused to get angry or shout back. My personal MO has been to always remain kind. In the end of it, the hothead screaming insults at you is going to look like the person they are if you remain quiet, calm and polite. When you jump into the fray, it then becomes 'he said, she said' and the truth of it muddies.
If your corporation keeps the asshat, well, they deserve it! Move onward and upward. Don't bother looking back and bemoaning fate. But, I do encourage you to see what part you took in it. You may not have known the morale or ethos going into the job but now that you have, think about what you did or did not do or say and make your own behavioral changes. For me, my change is to not be as patient with mentally imbalanced people. It can encourage their abuse and nobody deserves to be abused at work. Working for a living, whatever it is, is challenge enough. None of us needs to put up with rudeness and ego. There are ways to end a call, stop a person from jumping you in your cubicle every morning and to do this in a polite but firm way. And when that doesn't work, get up and walk away.
Life is too short for unnecessary conflict. One of the things I learned when my mother got dementia was that stress and shock can bring it on. This can be a bad accident, such as breaking a hip, losing a loved one, a bad car accident or anything that seriously jolts you. They don't know why but I think I do. I think the life most of us live is vastly removed from the life most of us were designed to live. The pace is fast, the work hours long and judging by what I see, the respect and compassion have dwindled. No work is worth affecting your mental or physical soundness because at the end of it, what you have left is you. You have to be in shape to take on whatever comes next. I have watched a lot of worker bees who are spent, not in great physical shape or emotional condition trying to find work. Always put yourself first. Because the corporation you work for will take what it can, the responsibility rests upon you to call it when it's time to stop.
As an ecopreneur, I’m an Affiliate for Jade Bloom.
It’s very important to use clean oils both in cooking and what is applied to the body. Synthetic fragrances, GMOs and plants who’ve been sprayed with pesticides (anything not certified organic or wildcrafted) can be very detrimental to your health.
I love the high quality, pharmaceutical or Therapeutic grade oils, that they are certified organic and wild-crafted and offer a good value at purchase.
Some of my favorite products, other than the oils, is the bamboo toothbrush which is recyclable and cuts down the plastic in the landfill. Its comfortable and feels good while brushing. The toothpaste comes in numerous flavors and also contains hydroxyapatite which helps re-mineralize your teeth and something I had been going overseas to purchase another very expensive and less clean brand prior.
As a plant-based lifestyle consultant, I act as your concierge, looking for ways to help us all daily detox. Think of me as your organic concierge!
As we do a mindful practice, we help to ring out and cleanse our organs…to detox.
At the bottom of this article is a great informative little video. Check it out.
I have had some fairly interesting conversations with regards to detoxing. I absolutely mean no offense by this statement, however, I have found that sometimes the higher education in the field of Western Medicine a person has, the more they have to hurdle over to get to truth. Those coming from a holistic, Asian, Ayurvedic, Homeopathic or an Energy worker mindset are typically on my same page. The body is an exceptional and amazing machine. I am always thankful for how long my body has carried me so far, for its strength, stamina and balance. The body is always in a state of protecting us against illness, killing off rogue cancer cells, processing our meals and running those nutrients where they are needed and detoxifying the system. I have been adamantly told that the body needs no help detoxing, it does so naturally. These people are not clued into the abundance of chemicals in our world, or the fact each of us comes into this world with what is known as a body burden that only increases as we live unless we are very mindful.
People have asked me ‘Is this or that FDA approved’ as if the government cared one jot about them. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is NOT in place to protect you and me, it is in place to protect big business. In fact, when this organization organized, it did so grandfather in 62,000 chemicals never testing any of them let alone testing how they operate together, how they react with each other, as they do in the wider world. We continue being told, as family members get cancer, that the industrial pollution, the agent orange that took my brother off this plane of existence, the chemicals in the skincare that caused cancer in my mother, the glyphosate in the cornfield that killed a camera operator filming Indian Runner in a matter of days and the spot treatment of RoundUp in your garden are all perfectly safe. Whatever cool-aide they’re drinking, this is a lie.
The issue is that while yes, the body does indeed work to cleanse itself, it was never designed to handle this level of an onslaught. When our body doesn’t know what to do with a substance or cannot process it right now, it stores that toxin in our fat cells to deal with later. This is why people feel like they may have the flu, get headaches, feel overall achy when they go on a cleanse. The body uses any time we are fasting, resting or taking in high nutrition and minerals to help rid itself of toxic substances such as heavy metals, plastics, nicotine. Your Body is Detoxing between 11Pm and 11am – This is the highest point the body is cleansing so provide water with lemon and cayenne pepper if you like. Parsley, Cilantro, Algaes, Chlorella, AFA algae, infrared sauna are great ways to assist in the cleansing processes. 3 weeks of detoxing can flush out 60% of our toxins and create a 1lb of weight per day loss.
The average person puts on 200 chemicals by 9am just in their morning routine. Cleansing our body of chemicals in this day and age, requires a daily mindful approach that involves eating organically, eating as close to an 80% raw diet as possible, low or no cooking as anything cooked above 118 loses its vitamins and enzymes, reducing or preferably eliminating meat and dairy where toxins are stored in the animals fat, purifying all water, the air and buying toxin-free skincare, body care, supplements, laundry detergents and other home care products.
95% of all supplements on the market are bad. Talc is often added as a filler and is carcinogenic. They use lubricants to get the pills through the machines, flavoring, coloring agents which can fuel viruses, cause indigestion, contain toxins. Coating materials are beetle wings and petrochemicals. At lunch with a client, they shared their beloved rose-scented facial spray turned out to have antifreeze in it. This is a high-end brand! I took my all organic Rose Hydrating spray out of my handbag and she enjoyed the refreshment and ordered a bottle. My neighbor has been using Mitchum deodorant when he suddenly realized it has aluminum in it. We were having tea this afternoon and I said, yes, that has been linked to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s. He purchased a deodorant I sell right on the spot. Laundry soap is one area that is our most earth polluting on the home front. I sell one that is 23% better than most soaps on the market, comes in an eco-friendly container and is price comparable, grown on the farm of the company I am Brand Partner for and is made entirely in-house. If you are interested in taking a look at the products I sell, check out the shop buttons at the top of my webpage.
As an ecopreneur, I help get this message out there along with products that really help mitigate the pollution in our bodies. I coach on juicing, growing sprouts and on supplements and superfoods to help the body in minimizing its burden. I promote potent and powerful skincare that is highly effective while being clean enough to eat. If you are sitting there eating a fast food burger and feeling like you’re on overwhelm, take heart. Do one thing at a time. Nothing must be done in a day, but by doing something, by cleaning up your skincare and diet and gradually incorporating clean and green products you minimize the cruelty in animal testing, help save the planet and reduce pesticide use all while feeling far better.
On a last note, folks will tell me they cannot afford to spend more on supplements or going organic with their food etc. I am always perplexed at this because we have one body and one planet. The answer is obvious. I want to live an abundant and resilient life and my deepest desire is that you do also. Life is too short to short change yourself. I have a friend, obese, funny and loves McRibs. I beg him to just cut down on the junk but he says he is still alive. I say yeah, but for how long and what’s the quality really like? I’m almost 60, look 40, I am not on any prescriptions, fully ambulatory and have not been to a doctor for anything in over 20 years. To me, this is what normal is, it is not taking something for blood pressure, another thing for arthritis, another drug to manage age onset diabetes, something else for leaky gut etc. Folks we have far more control over this stuff than we sometimes either realize or want to own. From the lady who spilled coffee in her lap at a McDonalds to folks blaming their dog rather than their own training methods, we have become a society that just wants to pass that buck. I am asking that you own the responsibility you have of managing your health. Food is fuel. Toxins are deadly. It absolutely is not your doctors’ job to make you healthy, it is your job. Your doctor should be a last resort. To live a resilient life, you simply must make a daily promise to do something kind to yourself and put a focus on things, from yoga to food, that are truly nourishing to you and do those things. Now, enjoy this video and if interested in taking a deeper dive, below that is a link to a free syllabus with Hippocrates Health Institute where I am an affiliate and took my training. ♥
One of the worst polluters on the home front is doing laundry. In your typical detergent, there are a plethora of chemicals, from optic whiteners to bleach, carcinogens and hormone disrupters, sulfates, parabens, Butyl Esthers, Phosphates, Zeolites, artificial colors, and fillers. Not only do these chemicals affect our drinking water, create algae blooms which kill off fish but also affect you and your children's health as they leach into your body through skin contact and breathing in the chemical fragrances.
As an ecopreneur, I'm a brand partner for 2 laundry liquids; Platypus Laundry Liquid featured photo at the top of the page and Essante Organics Unscented Laundry Liquid. I also want to talk about the Sanitizer Spray which uses stabilized oxygen!
Links to shop or do a deeper dive are in above in the product names. Platypus Laundry Liquid - Platypus is made using organic soap nuts on my companies farm coop. It is 100% biodegradable, even the packaging employs 85% less plastic. While we wait for a non-scented version, this one has a very pleasant eucalyptus essential oil added which is not overpowering but makes the washer and the clothes have a nice fresh aroma. This is super concentrated, you only need 2 tablespoons. 1 liter does 40 loads and there is a price break when you buy 3 or more. The soap comes out looking like dark honey or tea but don't be alarmed, it will not stain your clothes. Free of all the usual bad chemicals and completely organic, 5% of all sales is gifted to establishing community-owned Organic Farm Share projects. Market studies applause this product for being 23% better at cleaning clothes. Essante Organics Unscented Laundry Liquid - Essante is in a plastic container which is recyclable. Very concentrated, only 2 tiny capfuls are needed so 16 oz will last you through 32 loads with typical soil levels. Non-scented and works well while being safe for our home, our clothes, and fish. This product uses soy and coconut cleansing agents and is also suggested for furniture fabrics, carpets and pet areas.
Sanitizer Spray - The Essante Sanitizer Spray goes from laundry room to locker room, to countertops of your kitchen and even your makeup bag. Non-scented, it harnesses the power of stabilized oxygen and kills 99%-100% of bacteria, fungi, germs, pathogens and viruses. Great for cleaning and disinfecting cuts, abrasions, acne. I have one client who uses the spray, which comes in a purse/travel size, to cure her Tinea Versicolor. She stated nothing but a very expensive prescription knocked it out prior! I personally use it daily as our cats won't stay off the countertops and it provides me great peace of mind that our counters are sanitary.
Changing your laundry soap is one easy way to detox your home, the air that you breathe, and your clothing while making a huge impact on the environment and mother earth. ♥
This is my master bath. The contractor gutted, elevated the ceiling and did new sheetrock, ran electrical etc. The view from my zen soak tub shows me a gappy unfinished wall, gaps around the medicine cabinet, a crooked light fixture where the round hole which he created for a square base is mostly covered by a cheap plastic circle. The light fixture moves. Not in the photo are unfinished walls, one that curves and child-like tiling. This passes as quality work at Wilder & Wilder construction.
The photo absolutely will NOT load and I also blame this on the car manufacturer. They must be working some serious mojo so that my photos won't post. ;) But I bought an LS600HL and the dashboard leather peeled up so high it blocked vision out the front windshield. Lexus refused to resolve. I finally just sold off the car for pennies on the dollar. I believe hell will freeze before I cease talking about my bad Lexsucks. There were other issues too with the vehicle, it was just aging far too fast for what should have been a quality built machine with a 6 figure sticker price. Not 50k miles in, the water pump failed, as did the brakes and suspension among other things. This is my experience and I have read a few other sad Lexus stories too and while your Lexus may or may not be behaving itself, I come away forever off the brand due to how my situation was handled. It seemed nobody cared to change the outcome and I felt I was driving the most beautiful POS ever created that was a driving time bomb of when I might be left stranded and owing thousands to fix again.
Regardless of your personal beliefs, we are spiritual beings who bring intention and spirit behind that into everything we do, all that we touch and also with what we say. None of us are perfect so if this sounds scary, don't worry. This life is just a practice. But our practice is in perfection, in giving and doing our best in the service of others or whatever it is that we have, even if temporarily, chosen to do. This is the view I see every day I soak in my tub to relax. Namaste MF comes to mind. And I have not found anybody that wants to finish this wall for me. I have thought a lot about work and the spirituality of doing great work, of striving to create happiness with clients, of making it look easy in front of the customer which used to be my personal motto at Sprint as an Implementation Project Manager. Sure, you are not going to please everybody. Some folks come with their own tightly packed bag of luggage that you are never going to be enabled to sort through or resolve. All we can ever do is try. Try hard. If you are in a line of work that just isn't working out, you're failing or being too much of a burden on others, then it is time to either get mentorship and dig in or move on. And in situations where you left a mess that needs cleaning, go get the broom! Own your issues. Looking at this wall I ask you to take an honest look at yourself and ask yourself what lasting impression did you leave your last customer with? If you're retired or kept in the manner of which you've grown accustomed by way of inheritance or what have you, then look at your behaviour around those within your sphere of action. Perhaps a sibling, a parent, the checkout person or mailman. My mother, God rest her soul, could be very kind and also quite ugly. She would decide a checkout person was beneath her and just go pell-mell in an embarrassing and belittling attack. Powerless to stop her, I would just make the 'She's a bit batty' hand gesture and mouth 'I'm so sorry.' Check out people would try to switch whenever she was in line. It was awful. Finally, after much discussion, she ceased this unproductive and cruel behaviour. Sure, I would, given the chance, take 'highly paid author' over 'check out girl', but in reality, which is most important? Something to read is important but we need groceries, clothes, and I abhor those self-checkouts! Let's be a tad less greedy, corporations, and bring back people please!
Whether we are conscious of it or no, we all brand ourselves by how we typically think, feel and act and by our personal code of ethics. Are you a half-finished and poorly done wall? Do you yell at your dog every day? Do you belittle or praise those around you? Are you advertising yourself as a flagship when your output speaks otherwise? If so, there's time and need to go and do better.
We like to think in terms of hierarchy, of rank in importance, such as BMW might rank higher than Subaru or CEO higher than Project Manager. The reality is that the heart is not one iota more important than the foot, the lung no more important than the lymphatic system, the intestines no less important than the brain. I found it absolutely fascinating to learn the immune system is a completely separate entity that dwells within our bodies. We are all made up of bacteria and hopefully more good flora than bad (check your diet.) But all of the body, while bits, parts and pieces, all work harmoniously together for the good of all the entire organism called human, fish, dog etc or problems ensure.
When we observe the body, we understand that all the lifeforms, all the people, the other animals, the plants, all these bits, parts, and pieces, make up the wonderful and diverse and dependent world we live in with nothing being really more important than another.
Imagine nobody wanted the janitor job. Nobody took out the trash or recycle? How important would that job suddenly feel after a couple of weeks missed trash pickup? Or a month? Many of us do something we are not 100% sold on. This may be a stepping stone or foot inside a doorway, the only thing you felt you qualified for or just a temporary gig to earn some pay. Whatever it is to you, your hand is bringing spirit into the practice. Whether it is the practice of customer service, medicine, the practice of implementing APIs or circuits, the practice of acupuncture, you are adding something divine when it is done right. Whenever you are simply going through the motions or filled with anything less than thankfulness and a desire to do your best in the role you are filling, you are adulterating your power and providing a product whose end results will be less than stellar. And no matter what you do, however trivial you may think it is, somebody cares a whole heck of a lot about the end result.
When I first took up yoga nearly 20 years ago, I was transfixed upon the meaning behind a word I had never heard prior; Namaste. We are all spiritual beings, filled with the anima, the soul and breath of life that all animals are filled up with. In the scurry to get projects completed, the car serviced, the kids off to school, pets to the vet, the home cleaned, and figure out how to carve time out to work on our frayed nerves, work out, work in and work on ourselves this is a great word to meditate upon.
The meaning behind the word Namaste is that the divine in me acknowledges, sees, the divine in you. When I say Namaste, I am acknowledging your spiritually divine spark, your holiness. And amid all this chaos, you do have this spark! The Indian people I worked with used the word as a greeting and a departure. Hello sure pales in comparison.
I love yoga, and there are many forms, for it’s balancing and healing of the entire system. Regardless of where you plan to practice, I encourage you to get a Manduka yoga mat. They are the best, thickest for the knees and joints, easy to clean and last forever. And now they come in colours!
Types of yoga really run the gamut from Flow or power yoga where you get your heart rate up a bit and flow from one position to the next swiftly, to Iyengar and Anusara where the pace is slow and methodical with high importance placed upon the body structure, stacking the bones and keeping a watchful eye on alignment. My first teachers were Baron Baptiste, Iyengar and Vinyasa trained so form was taught.
At the Y, I have become more involved and aware of Iyengar. At first I felt it was too slow but now I get it. And the man’s story is fascinating, sickly as a child, he was sent to live with monks in hopes he would find healing. I highly recommend reading his book, Light On Yoga which is considered the bible of yoga. Here you learn to perfect your form and allow for the healing this brings to your practice. There is also rope yoga and I am thankful the YMCA offers this! I have never had such release in my lower back.
Yoga not only tonifies the body, tendons and internal organs but works on the mind. In yoga, we call it monkey mind, where our thoughts are all over the place. We learn calm, to live in the parasympathetic responses in our nervous system, the rest and digest. In our fast-paced world, many of us just stay on a sympathetic nervous system response and wear our systems out. Think Coronaries. So we need more calm in our lives. As we calm, we think clearer. Yoga helps us grow in compassion not only for others but also for ourselves as we see from day to day our body may be different, balance, stretch or move differently. I learned which was my stronger side through yoga as well as the myriad ways my life is imbalanced in the day to day life, such as what fingers I use to pull my pants up, or which is my pot scrubbing hand and which is my pot holding hand? Switch things up, create even strength and balance within yourself.
Anger – One time at work, where we had outsourced to India, I was very frustrated as things were not going well at all. These folks were put into place with very little learning on something very complicated and add to it the language barrier. After the run around and feeling my blood boil, I ended my chat session with this exceedingly unhelpful person with ‘Namste’. In the depth and bile of my anger over not getting something done which should have taken 1 afternoon before but now had required 35 days, I was just done talking. I had to stop myself and breath. It would do no good to spew hatred at the machine that put all this in place. Perhaps it wasn’t this individuals fault, who knows their personal story right? So I just took a slow breath, let it all go and said Namaste. I was heading my finger on the button to then end the chat session when a message came back to ‘hold on one moment more, I think I can fix this for you.’ And so it was done not in anger, not in pushing my agenda, but simply in letting it go as I acknowledged the holy, the seat of the divine in another very flawed individual as I am equally flawed too. I ended up after this getting a whole lot of work done faster. And I shared with my US team what Namaste means as I shared my personal story. Unfairness, laying off the wrong person, car accidents, loan interest rates going up happen. Life happens. The point of it all is to acknowledge the divine in everything which surrounds you. There you find peace and gain enlightenment. Namaste.
As a vegan, I have a few conflicting thoughts on a few things. I know veganism gets VERY political. Someone wished me, my pets, my entire family to die of cancer and my business to fail over a discussion about cashew cheese the individual (and later all her Facebook Friends) misunderstood as dairy. I will be 58 in November. I had never before encountered that much hate and by a fellow vegan and I was just starting this journey. To my knowledge, nobody on earth before had wished me and my entire clan dead by slow acting cancer. This was in late 2016 and I still carry all that hatred. I feel sorry for any vegetarian that crosses her path. I wonder about some person who decides to help animals and the planet and their own health by cutting out meat. And then they get an earful of hate from this ‘lady’. Boom, they are back to eating meat and whatever else, screw it! I want nothing to do with the crazy people, right? This is exactly how I was feeling at any rate. The person spewed so many insults I had to block FB and shut down. And then I just wanted to spite eat meat and cheese. This movement is never about one individual, but about the end goals. When we get so angry at a person we don’t even know because they had a bite of something, and we make the adult decision to act out that rage, then we become accountable for that ripple effect.
We must come to this table with logic not just ‘I love animals.’ I have clients who still eat meat, greatly reduced, but still, it is a part of their life. I must acknowledge it may always be so as I suggest healthier and kinder ways. In short, if my job is to help spread the reasons to go vegan (health, planet and animal kindness) then I must place myself in some trenches to do this work. My husband is an omnivore by choice and he loves his local honey. On this plane of existence, none of us are perfect and there will be a compromise at some juncture in everyone’s life. Thankfully I had great training at Hippocrates and this greatly helped when encountering the death threats, the unrelenting hate and refusal to acknowledge logic. I endeavor to read labels, do and know my research, think before speaking and act in compassion. This would be compassion for human animals as well as the rest of them we share the planet with. We are overrun as a species, so I made the choice not to bear children. This also saves the planet. Hippocrates Health Institute trained on the avoidance of all sugar. Eggs contain a protein our bodies do not process well. We were also instructed to avoid any processed foods, bread, alcohol, caffeine and do good food combining and aim for 80%+ raw food.
While many of us espouse an all or nothing approach, and that is absolutely fine, it is compassionate to realize not all of us will be 100% all in. I want also to reach these people. If I can get a daily meat eater to go all organic, to know the farm where the meat comes from, reduce his dependence upon fast food and consider some vegan or vegetarian meals with no meat at all, that is progress. When a client has a kindness meal, then more, then an entire day of kindness, then several, I consider this a win. This individual has grown in awareness, has developed a foothold on the logic that his current way of eating is not planet sustainable, isn’t healthy long-term and is cruel to the fellow souls he is ingesting and is incorporating change. I have not totally turned him off and alienated him with judgment. I share facts and options, with the compassion I was never offered when discussing cashew cheeses.
Veganism is a passionate endeavor but we all must realize that the individuals who come to this lifestyle do so for various reasons. Some are focused just on animals while others want to save the planet and still others are riddled with Chronic disease and want to reverse those ills, lower their blood pressure and risk of diabetes or more stints in their arteries and live resiliently. For me it’s about all 3. What the evil vegan wishing me and mine dead didn’t know is that I had already lost my entire family to cancer and yes, the slow way. Breast for my mother, bone for one brother, Prostate for another, colon for a cousin and breast for an aunt and kidney for my father. Two of these people died within 12 months of each other right on the heels of me losing my job of 26 years. It was after losing my employment that I took a year of studies with Hippocrates.
When working with a client, I follow the Hippocrates guidelines and then tweak that towards what my client is willing to do. I am there to help and education and coach. I make a lousy judge, I am imperfect myself.
Recently a company I rep for discussed a body butter that had beeswax in it. I was adoring this product and now realize it isn’t vegan. This term can mean many things but essentially espouses to act daily with the purpose and intention of causing no harm to animals, from what we eat, drink, sleep on, wear, use or ride. But veganism also delves into what can be considered exploitation. This issue can get very tricky.
Exploitation is wrong and all of us encounter it by our fellow humans, such as at work. Big corporations, such as those who sell honey to Costco, kill the bees in the process of stealing the honey. Below is a great article on honey bees. I have always espoused supporting local beekeepers because they truly care about the bees and as bees are in decline, somebody should be supporting these folks. Our neighbors are the Zip Code Honey people and run the Texas Honeybee Guild. They take very good care of their bees and while I don’t eat honey, my husband does and buys from them. BlendItUp Bee Free Honey makes a great substitute.
Exploitation can be so many things. One is eggs. I am actually happy to see more families raising hens in their backyard and I once had a harem of hens myself. I took great care of them and learned so much having them. I was told growing up that chickens were stupid. Nope, not at all true. So if you have hens, are feeding them organic feed, augmenting with calcium and allowing them to live out their days in enjoyment and love even when they stop producing eggs for you, I am not sure that I have a right to complain about that. One of my vegan friends will on very rare occasions, once a year perhaps, enjoy such an egg. I would far better prefer to see this than my neighbors buying eggs from hens that suffered at the hands of factory farming methods. I know from raising my own, the hens were happy and were not, as someone insisted they were, ‘forced’ to produce eggs. As a vegan, I no longer raise them but have compassion for those that make this choice.
What about horseback riding? Or vegetarianism? There’s so much backlash with the vegan society towards vegetarians when in reality, they are making a huge dent in the cruelty and planet sustainability. True, there is a big difference between being vegan and being vegetarian but can we not be a bit more kind? People change given the right support and motivation. I have known several vegetarians go vegan. And meat eaters go vegan on a weekly basis across the planet. Is the horse being exploited if he is well cared for and loves being ridden? My horse loving friend, Laura, told me the story of how her horse Dovey spawned Little Dove, who actually never went through any coaching or training to be ridden. No, she just lined up at the post and waited for her bit and saddle and off she trotted with her tribe, not one buck. Wherever human animals and the rest of them cross paths, animals are and should be a partnership with us; an acknowledgment of respect and kindness. We learn from them and they from us.
I use the term human animals because I believe so much of the time we humans forget we are just mammals. Sure, biblically we were called to watch over them and wow we are doing an abysmal job for the most part now, but this really doesn’t make us ‘better’. What it makes us is an animal having an assigned task directed by our maker that we are epically failing at, in spite of every advantage to do the job with aplomb. Am I exploiting my dog expecting him to guard my home? It’s his job and it goes with his natural instincts but would this be an exploitation? I also adore him, keep him company and we go for walks and play together. He is living a great life and eating homemade meals with every need catered to. What is exploitation?
Expand the mind – If our ways were that of the 50’s or 60’s, from the way we cared for our livestock and also the amounts ingested on an annual basis, I don’t believe our vegan movement would be so passionate or so large looming. There would be far less of us. This cause exists and is growing because our lives, as a species, are out of balance with nature. We have allowed cruelty, conceit, greed, and arrogance to rule us rather than compassion and wisdom. Wisdom sits at the seat of compassion. Nothing else matters without it. So when I hear someone say they cannot condone horseback riding that a fellow vegan does with their horse because that is exploitation or goes on the attack with local beekeepers, my heart aches. We have far larger tofu fish to fry, with the big corporations that are the cause of at least 95% of the pain rather than fight amongst ourselves or nitpick everything in a less than educational loving way. In a world where nothing will ever be 100% vegan, let’s focus on bringing awareness with kindness and celebrating the wins. I used to joke that where it says in the bible the meek shall inherit the earth, that we would end up overrun by cockroaches. Could it possibly be that the meek discussed would be us human animals becoming more like gentle lambs, not eating each other literally, emotionally or spiritually?
