FeathersandPennies

@sgn Death is a part of life. I accept that. I am thankful to the plants, animals and microbes that I eat. My body will also be eaten one day. Just because you aren't eating meat, doesn't mean that there is no murder involved with what you are choosing to eat. Plants are alive and intelligent. I'll say it again, I choose to eat the way I do because I it feels good to me. I'm not saying that anyone else should eat the way I do. Do what feels good to you.

@InfinitePotential I agree, since this is what I also experience. My dietary choices are based on my food being humanely and sustainably grown. This includes meat and non meat foods. And how the foods feel to my body/mind/spirit. I'm a fan of eating a variety of colors, textures and flavors. I love to support my local economy and ecosystem first and foremost. I do like to splurge on avocados and coconut oil since these are nutrient dense foods but they don't grow in my area. I don't think the intelligence and life of a plant is less valuable than that of an animal. I'm thankful for the nourishment they give me. I make these choices because it feels good to me. ( I was vegetarian for 5 years before I knew about humanely raised animals and my body was not happy with a vegetarian diet). Do what feels good to you!

Ultimately, how you eat is a personal decision. In my experience, part of self actualization is paying attention to your body. How do you feel after everything you ingest? It helps to keep a journal of what you're consuming and how you feel afterwards. Get to know yourself. I was vegetarian for about 5 years because I don't agree with factory farming of animals. Then I discovered that there are small farmers raising happy and humanely raised animals for food. I personally like to support that. I feel more connected to the web of life when I consume animals. I don't require a whole lot of meat to feel nourished, maybe about 1/4 lb or so once a day. I've also experienced a connection with plants (I grow a a lot of my own veggies and have ornamental plants). I don't agree with factory farmed plants. I don't think a plants life is any less sacred than an animal's life. I like to support local small veggie farmers too. I make these choices because it feels good to me. I'm sure I'll continue to fluctuate as I grow and change.

So many treasures in this thread already! Here's one of my all time favorites. I first saw this several years ago and I like to watch it again and again. Enjoy! <3

@zunnyman ((hugs)) I'm happy to hear that you are getting through it.

@pluto Well said! It's funny how quickly it can happen too. One moment, complete clarity and oneness with ALL THAT IS. Next moment back on the path of following my breadcrumb trail back to that ISNESS (not even realizing that I was the one who left the breadcrumbs). I like to think of it as a spiral because it feels like going in circles except that the different viewpoint makes it more of a spiral than a circle.

@Primentex There was a time when I thought the secret to life was suicide. I'm not sure why, but everything around me was pointing to it. I wasn't depressed or anything. It just seemed to come to me like an insight or something. Suicide seemed to make sense on so many levels. At the time I had been really diving into teachings of enlightenment and was expanding my mind at a really fast rate. Back then there was no internet, no forums, no one to discuss my experience with that understood. So it was a very lonely journey. Instead of ending my search for understanding and allowing suicide to be the answer, I kept going deeper. Until I found myself in a place of a gratitude and wonder. Reflecting back on it, I think I was misunderstanding most of what I was reading and experiencing. I was taking everything too literal. I think suicide is a very self centered trap on the road of self development. I think it's healthy to contemplate death and to practice accepting death. Life is a paradox. So considering life to be an illusion or dream, doesn't make it any less real. I don't know if you play video games but you can think of it this way... you know the game isn't real but it's fun to play! If you kill your video game character, he really dies in the game. But the point of the game being created is to play it through until it's end not to just kill your character and stop playing. You're here now in this beautiful/ugly illusion, why not use the opportunity to explore and play!

Hello zunnyman. I've experienced what you're describing. I think people underestimate the power of the psychedelic aspects of cannabis. Remember that the plant is a teacher and psychedelics are powerful teachers. Not all teachers and students are compatible. There are many different paths to the same destination. There are different ways of letting go and coming into expanded states of consciousness. Don't give up. Try different practices and methods. Study many different teachings and you will start to find your own unique path. Try to stop giving meaning to the feeling of meaningless. <3

I watched an interesting talk about a women's experience with depression being a door to a spiritual awakening. It's a beautiful story. I've definitely experienced these kinds of coincidences in life, many times. Those moments when life gets so absurd and dark that you just have to laugh at what a joke it all is. So you decide to let go and flow with it.

Unschooling, I think, is a great example of stage yellow. So is John Holt, the originator of unschooling and Sandra Dodd, one of the pioneers of unschooling. Leo, I don't know if you are familiar with the principles of unschooling. I hadn't heard of it before I had my son (he's 15 and has been unshcooled since age 7). https://www.johnholtgws.com/