Our favorite Podcasts/On-Line Sites:

Animal Voices

Raw Vegan Radio

Alternative Radio

Democracy Now

  
The Green Majority

The Vinyl Cafe

This American Life

ENJOY!

Dr. Alan Rabinowitz: Man Who Suffered with Severe Stuttering Could Talk to Animals:

This is a truly inspirational story about Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, who dealt beautifully with his severe stuttering from an early age. One thing that is remarkable is the fact that he could always talk fluently to animals, but became incapable of any speech in front of people. 

Dr. Alan Rabinowitz says he feels so blessed to have been on the path he was given because it brought him to where he is today, speaking as a voice for animals that are endangered. It's a great lesson for all of us - to not give up when things seem impossible. We can do anything :)


xoxo

The Shock Doctrine Documentary with Naomi Klein:

You may be asking what this documentary, The Shock Doctrine, has to do with Veganism... nothing directly, but indirectly it has everything to do with it. The Shock Doctrine is based on a book written by Naomi Klein, that explains, in detail, what is really going on with the world's financial / political / military systems, presenting remarkable footage of staged events used to bring about a desired end result- that being control of financial systems and, therefore, the people.

I truly recommend you to watch this film and send it to others. I will be posting more documentaries like this one, as there are many out there that need to be seen in order to open our eyes to a false reality that is being used to create fear. Knowledge is everything.

xoxo

Be the Queen of Your Thoughts and Actions:

                                                      (Photograph by James Toth. See more of his work here.)

I have been discovering the power of thought and action lately, more so than ever. We have thoughts going through our heads all the time- every second of the day, but how do we train those thoughts to be positive, and not get so caught up in the negativity all around us?

The media is filled with drama, and for some reason we love it. When we watch movies or television, our emotions are led around by a leash- we feel sadness, anger, fear, elation, surprised and arousal when we are supposed to, as we watch moving images on the screen.

But staring at a screen is not living. The average time spent in front of a screen, whether it is a computer, TV, video game or movies, has increased tremendously over the past several years. Kids are becoming fat and acquiring lovely things like diabetes and heart issues because they don't go out and play anymore- they are not living real lives.

It seems like our real lives are made boring by the drama on the screen. It's much more exciting to live through fictional characters. We used to get this from books, but now it's even easier- No thought involved. Entertain me.

But it feels so good when we go out for a walk, a bike ride, to a concert, to the park to read or meditate. We can control our actions and our thoughts if we just make a little effort. The rewards are profound. It gives us that feeling of accomplishment and the richness of life that only comes with actually going out and living it. 

Our thoughts, words and actions don't rule us if we don't allow it. Engaging in the drama of gossip around the office and in our personal lives is a waste of time and energy, but we seem to love that too. But do we really? It tends to make us feel horrible inside after, if we examine the essence of it. I always use this test: If I repeated this gossip to the person I am gossiping about, how would they feel? How would I feel saying it? What does it say about me that I said that negative thing? It says that I am insecure and just wanted to create a drama so I would find excitement and fit in. 

So let's see what would happen if we stopped the gossip and said something positive about the person we are trashing... If someone really bugs us, we can look deeper into it and realize that they are holding up a mirror for us. There is something about them that is pointing out things about ourselves that we don't like. So if we try harder and find something positive to say about them, it reflects back on us, and can change the direction of the conversation entirely. We can effectively change the energy of the interaction.

Let's make a promise to ourselves that we will transform every situation into a positive experience. Sometimes crappy things happen, but it's how we react to those things that will decide what we learn in the end. Become the Queen or King of your thoughts, words and action :) 

For More detailed ways to control our minds easily, go to our Meditation Room!

xoxo

73 Year Old Vegan, Mimi Kirk, Looks Awesome!

Mimi Kirk was voted Sexiest Vegetarian over 5o a couple of years ago... She's looking better than ever, and she credits her vegan lifestyle. She will soon turn 74, but she says she doesn't feel her age at all. She's in perfect health and has what seems like a charmed life.

You hear this all the time- Vegans look younger and are healthier in general. People just don't know because they haven't tried it in order to feel the difference it makes. I have never heard anyone say there is no profound effect, after trying Veganism for a while, especially if they are eating a lot of raw, whole foods.

Here is another incredible example of youthfulness at the age of 70:

I love it when I tell people I have a son who is 21 (Josh of the beautiful-vegan crew), and their jaw drops because I don't look 42.  I swear it's because:

1. I have been living a Vegan lifestyle for more than 13 years now, and Vegetarian for most of my life before that.

2. I completely stopped drinking alcohol about five years ago.

3. I have never smoked a day in my life.

4. I don't take prescription drugs of any kind.

5. I eat lots of raw, whole foods (...you can be Vegan and just eat french fries, chips, pasta and bread all the time, but it won't make you feel good).

6. I try my best to stay in a positive light, and be as close to my true nature as I can manage (I try to put aside my ego when I see it peeking out). I'm not perfect, and that's okay too :)

We can all have a vibrant life and be inspired by health instead of threatened by it.

Here is another wonderful man who is a 72 year old Raw Vegan named Jim Morris: 

It's absolutely incredible to see vibrant, healthy, beautiful people at this age! I love it. Let's all get inspired to eat more Raw, Vegan food, and love ourselves enough to do only what our bodies tell us feels good!!

xoxo

Lyn and everyone here at Beautiful-Vegan.com

Vegucated Movie Trailer! Opening soon:

My friends and I are going to see Vegucated when it come out in theatres in Toronto September 12th, 2011, (9:30pm show). So check your listings and come out to support the film. Maybe we will see you there if you are in Toronto. More and more Vegan documentaries are coming out- I think we're having a hundredth-monkey sort of thing happen now. Life on Earth will change- people are waking up.

The film starts out looking like some kind of reality show where people make fun of the Vegan lifestyle, but then turns crazy when the participant's lives get flipped upside down when they actually witness first-hand what goes on inside a factory farm...

I am hoping this will be a good film that opens up just a few more eyes. I really have a hard time watching horrifying images (so hopefully there are not too many), and I've been Vegan for so long, but I want to always support efforts like this.

All right my lovelies! You are beautiful beyond belief, and you all play an important role. xoxo

Conscious Evolution:

Conscious Evolution: what are we talking
about here?

It is believed that with natural selection, traits that aid survival flourish, while traits that hinder survival eventually die off. Since consciousness is something we are said to have evolved, for the very purpose of aiding us in our survival, then we can say that some of us are now consciously choosing to evolve by changing a behaviour that is damaging to us.

Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity and depression are directly related to our growing
consumption of over-processed, chemically doused food and animal products (read Plant Based Nutrition and Health, by Stephen Walsh, PhD.), so we can see that our standard western diet is clearly affecting our chances of survival. These diseases are skyrocketing and there is no sign of slowing down.

Because of this, and for many other reasons, a growing number of people are moving in the direction of plant-based diets. If I consciously choose to increase my chances of survival and productivity by giving myself an advantage that helps me thrive, then this is what I term ‘consciously evolving’. If I raise my son this way I am passing this advantage down to him, (in this case, consciously, not genetically).

But if, on the other hand, I am doing something over and over again that decreases my chances for maintaining good health and a thriving living environment then I am harming myself, and not consciously evolving.

The Earth is dwindling as we pollute our environment recklessly. One of the top causes of this pollution is factory farming, which is where almost all of our meat, dairy, eggs and animal by-products come from. The excrement of billions of animals, bred for us to eat, leaches into our water systems and causes more harmful greenhouse gas emissions than all industry combined (now believed to be more than 51% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions). Our precious topsoil is depleted as forests are cleared for grazing, and more than 70% of grains in the U.S. are fed to livestock, instead of people. It’s illogical, at best. (Stats taken from Livestock and Climate Change Report, World Watch, Nov. Dec. 2009, www.worldwatch.org).

Animals in the wild know not to soil their nest because it’s bad for them. We humans behave more like parasites, consuming and destroying our host as we grow in numbers. Because of our careless actions, our environment has become toxic, and survival of the fittest, or survival of the most cooperative with nature, will be the result. 

Evolutionary impulse is a term used to describe a change in the environment that triggers a change within an organism in order to increase its chances of survival. And Adaptation is a term that describes the process whereby an organism becomes better suited to its habitat. We are connected to the Earth in ways we can’t fully understand, and we have to work together to co-exist.

So should we continue in the direction we are headed, or take the path of sustaining ourselves on plant-based diets? No doctor who is properly educated in nutrition (and yes, there are uneducated doctors, especially in nutrition) will advise us to increase our intake of meat and cheese to become healthier; so the answer seems clear.

We don’t want to start a war between vegans and non-vegans. We simply want to open up a dialogue about the problems we are all facing together, and use logic instead of fanaticism to create change.  
If something is truly better for us, and our environment, then we should pursue it with the same enthusiasm that brought us to this tipping point in the first place. No one likes change, but it’s unavoidable and, right now, mandatory.

"Vegetarian food leaves a deep impression on our nature. If the whole world adopts vegetarianism, it can change the destiny of humankind."
-Albert Einstein.

This above is an excerpt from our book:   

Conscious Evolution: Vegan Recipes, Life and Consciousness

Please help us spread the word about this book so we can help create positive change in the world :)

xoxo