On Grains and green vegetables..

It's been a while since I last post something. I have just not really felt the urge to do so, although at times I have thoughts that filter toward the front of my mind and urge me to put them to paper, I have been neglecting to do so. I don't know, maybe it is some kind of writers block that prevents me from even beginning. Whatever it is, I am not totally happy with it myself, as I enjoy writing, and feel I still have lots that needs to be said.

So where to start now? Well.. I've recently received a fair few emails that have thus far gone unanswered. I'm afraid if you do email me via my website, I may not always find the time to reply, and don't particularly feel that I should be obliged to do so. I prefer if people ask me questions here on my blog, as that way the answers get to be shared with everyone. That's why I try to keep my FAQs page updated, so that people can refer to that first. Like someone recently asked me once more why I don't eat greens.. For sure, I'm likely to go into more detail on that again in a later post, but for the meantime, I suggest you check out the FAQ page, and look at the answer I give there.. anything more specific, you might ask directly on a post that talks specifically about greens..

OK.. Another email question I've received lately I'm going to attempt to answer here:

I am an 18 year old male from London who has had Anorexia Nervosa for 4 years but I'm recovering by myself, and am still struggling to find the right path.

I am a vegan (not raw) transitioning to Fruitarianism as I believe it's the only way to be fully at peace and I'm tired of being dependent on man and not the Earth.

You have really inspired me and I am fascinated by you... Even you're view that it's only 'you who can decide what and when to eat' makes so much sense as opposed to these other RV sites which promote gluttony even on a healthy/natural die. - The 30BaD website helped me, but deep down I knew that forcing myself to eat such large quantities was unnecessary, I really need a balance and not one of over indulging without any true reason that makes sense, if you know what I mean.

Surely this is not at all spiritually different from a Omnivorous diet as it is still calculating etc and is artificial.. You on the other hand go with natural cues, which is why you're so amazing...

I am living off grains and green vegetables currently and seem very calm and comfortable. However, is this ok? I really want to find peace, and you seem to have done that....

I'm not a bad person for consuming grains am I? And I was glad to see your comment that 'noone knows better than yourself' as this really woke me up from my daydream of relying on other peoples routine!

OK.. Firstly I wish to make it abundantly clear that I don't give dietary advice. I basically blatantly state my opinion, which human as we ALL are, I'm aware could ultimately be wrong. This world has too many people in it that are unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions and choices, and I know that cosmically speaking, I am ultimately only really responsible for my own thoughts, choices and actions. And I know the same goes for everyone else, much as when things go wrong they are only too eager to point the finger elsewhere.

But having said that, I shall now state my opinion. Yes, I believe that force feeding oneself, more than the body desires, makes little sense to me, and therefore I cannot accept that a decision to do so is based on any real wisdom. (sure, people will think the same about my choice to eat purely fruit, but well, let them, I say!). I cannot claim to have any in depth experience and knowledge of anorexia specifically, but I do believe that it is just one of a multitude of disorders that prevail throughout the world. The vast majority of people out there have never been truly educated to what constitutes real food, eating all manner of highly addictive foodstuffs which can lead to countless nutritional problems. So I try to maintain a simplistic approach to it all, and view all problems as fundamentally the same, with the same principle underlying causes, and basically the same solution. Sure, you could come up with rare examples that apparently don't fit this pattern, but go back far enough and be observant enough, and I believe that even those cases can be seen to have the basic same origins. IE, not everything can be fixed through the duration of one single lifetime. But certainly improved though!

You question of whether the overindulging of even comparatively good foods can be spiritually any different to that of the standard omnivorous diet. I personally wonder why such a question arises.. I see the 2 as very different, for the basic Low Fat Raw Vegan diet to which you refer, has already made great spiritual progress through avoiding the consumption of animal products and cooked foods, sure they may be still stuck in their rut of classifying foods as carbohydrates, fats and omegas, and bent on counting calories, but for them, they feel a need to be comforted by such, it is not a bad thing, although I do believe fear-based - like they may feel that if they don't do so, they can get their balances wrong, and end up suffering from it. They just do not trust their own bodies yet, and have been mesmerized by the hypnotic numbers quoted by nutritional pseudo-scientists. Hence the overeating too, they feel they need to do that. Depriving them of that will help noone.. Some of them will eventually evolve beyond such a need, but that'll be an individual thing. I hold no attachment to any of it, and wish them all well.

You ask if you are a bad person for consuming grains.. Well, no, that wouldn't be nice of me! I mean, who would I be to judge anyone as bad. That's not for any of us to do. Now I can judge actions as bad, and/or misguided, and I do believe that eating grains is misguided. And my judgements may or may not be correct. That's the way the world is, we have to all make up our own minds about what we truly think is right or not. If you want to perhaps get more of an insight into why I believe grain eating is folly, then imagine yourself growing and harvesting your own grain. Seriously, you don't have to actually go out and do that, just use your imagination. No machinery.. Just picture the work and effort that would be required.. How will you stop weeds growing between the grain? you can't weed without trampling all over it.. How much land do you think you will need to produce grain enough for one loaf of bread? How will you harvest it? Now picture yourself with an apple tree.. sure you may have to wait 8 years for one to grow and give fruit, but meanwhile there are an abundance of other ones around. There is tremendous work effort put into growing rice and every other grain, a good deal of which originates from hardworking underpaid manual workers in underdeveloped countries that have trouble feeding themselves. Their land is very often highly suitable for fruit tree growing which is far more profitable.. Grain is for the birds, out in nature, you could never gather enough to have a serious feed.

Green vegetables are a different story, and can be easily grown in ones own backyard, but the longer you are on a raw vegan diet, I believe you will naturally veer toward increasingly higher percentages of fruit. Especially when available. - Remember demand increases supply!

So, is it OK to be living on greens and grains? well.. it's all relative really.. You could be doing far far worse.. But there's always room for improvement too. That's the beauty of life, perfection may be an unattainable goal but that shouldn't stop you enjoying trying to reach it.

I wish you success on your path, and wisdom in your decision making.

Peace to you all!