Anatomy of Pain….Food, Animals & Us

Anatomy of Pain….. You know, it’s all in the body

So yesterday I finally relented and listened to my body – I had a feeling I needed some of my Rebel Remedy for a couple of days to help me shift this whateveritwas that was coming up for me….so I took some and then went about my day….

Of course it worked, I felt better and life goes on. What came up was really interesting though, and gave me a few more insights into why I feel so strongly about the way we go about living our lives and growing our own food as much as possible.

I have been on about food, nutrition, eating, diet, cooking and all things to do with the stuff we put into our bodies for such a long time. I have spent years as a vegetarian, a vegan (healing from cancer) and now – well I don’t have an exact name for the way we eat, except we….

Eat Like Pagans! LOL

So what came up for me from my body was ‘pain’, hurt and discomfort. Yet somehow I knew it wasn’t all mine, it was something that was rising up from my bones….for days (weeks?) I hurt physically, not a huge amount, just enough to be uncomfortable.

But I had been putting it down to the workouts I have been doing. You know the kind of aches that come along with moving muscles, joints and bones and pushing yourself a little harder then usual? It sort of feels good for awhile, but it also should settle down as your body adjusts to the new movements.

Well, by Sunday morning I was just aching. My ankles, knees, shoulders, and back all sort of hurt and I had to get to the bottom of it once and for all. So I poured up some of my Rebel Remedy tincture (I make this for trauma, inner pain, shock and acute stress) and sipped this in water…

Of course then I went on with my day and kind of forgot about things because I was feeling more like myself! But this morning once I got up and went to start my workout I remembered what I was feeling yesterday, because I was feeling so much better.

I realized some of this ‘pain’ I had taken on was from meat…animal flesh I had eaten over a lifetime until a few years ago when I decided to do something quite different. At the time my only option was to stop eating meat altogether in order to clean out my body and to detox.

To be honest I never fully realized until this past week that some of the stuff I have been releasing and detoxing are emotional trauma suffered by the animals (food, meat, milk, cheese) during their lives and certainly on their way to their deaths. 

I just assumed it was more of my own stuff from when I was bullied….it was so familiar to me. Which then led me to wonder if the animals themselves perceive being pushed, poked, dragged and proded to their deaths as being bullied? Or maybe it’s also how they might ‘feel’ being kept in an enclosed confined space with hundreds (thousands?) of other animals in a battery farm operation…..

How can I be so very certain about some of these facts on how food animals are raised and treated? I worked for many years as a Food Hygiene Inspector – I was the one who carried out ante and post mortem inspection of food animals. In cold barns, abattoirs, meat lockers and kill floors – I saw it all.

I was also the one who threatened to pull licenses and shut down the plant for any notion of cruelty or bullying. And I was the one who could calmly walk an injured, old or frightened animal down the chute to the kill floor without the need for an electric prod or any harm done. 

After all these animals were giving up their lives to be our food….Just from an understanding of what was to come, a little gentleness - this animal was not going to be ill handled on my watch.

Needless to say over the years I have spent quite a large portion of my life meat free. But, once I was in a position to raise, grow and manage my own food animals, this is what we do for our own needs.

And our own consciousness.  

The only meat I eat now is what I can raise myself, it’s only a limited amount, so when the meat runs out we are vegetarians for the rest of the year! However, I know each animal is treated (loved!) well, fed organically, interacted with, has space to roam and enjoy their time with us just being animals.

All animals which are destined for food on our tables, should be treated with respect through every stage of their existence and not bullied or mishandled in any way. This improves the quality of the meat and the quality of our lives equally. 

Do unto others…..

So….all of this has been coming up for me because I took my remedy for trauma and shock. Perhaps now I will expand its’ uses and benefits to cover bullying as well. 

April

Feed the Animals....Feeding Our Pets is Not Science, It's Common Sense

If you are still buying commercial animal food for your beloved pets, please stop.

How’s that for an opening statement? But, it truly is how I feel and is based on some very interesting personal history I might add. I do not feed any of my pets anything from a factory (even when I ate it myself) and prefer to make their food at home.

Years ago, back when I worked as a Food Hygiene Inspector I saw exactly what was sent to the rendering plant for dog and cat food in particular. I was also quite aware of all the short cuts the rest of the condemned material might take to cross paths with it too.

That’s not saying all pet food is condemned food, however, what bothers me far more is the fact that we have come to believe our pets need to eat food that is made on an assembly line.

Even when we ourselves are, or should be, more aware, concerned, taking steps (hopefully) to remove this type of rubbish from our own food chain. Right now you might be thinking – so what, we don’t eat the pets?

No, but we do pay their bills! And we do care for them, so why not take steps to make their food a little better quality as well as our own and keep them healthy longer. It’s so easy to feed a dog or a cat.

I always think in terms of protein. A cat has a short digestive tract – food goes through fairly quickly – they can often eat more protein and particularly thrive on fish. But, when their favourite fish is mixed with cooked vegetables, rice, beans and so forth – they love it.

Dogs will eat what you give them (or at least mine will) so I make extra when cooking our own meals to feed to them. I just pay attention throughout the week to their needs as well.

For instance, everyone gets an egg or two a week (the cat loves eggs!). Alternate fish, beans, meat etc. as a protein source, balance it out with vegetables (both raw and cooked) and some grains. I also throw in seaweeds, oils and any other goodies they might need.

You must also look at their activity levels, age and development stages – for instance a young puppy (we have a 6 month old) has different energy requirements then an older less/more active dog (we also have a hyper Whippet).

Feeding a pet early in the day is also wise as they seem to be more settled at night when you do (and so do we). However, getting the right amount of food is important too. Perhaps two smaller meals are better then one larger dinner for some pets.

What I like about making my own pet food is that I get to stay in touch with my animals, monitor them, see what their needs are and not just throw food at them and not think about it.

I am actively involved in their health and well-being, through their diet as well as their care. Personally, I think it makes for far healthier animals, better interaction and happier, better adjusted households when we are all connected by something as fundamental as our food.

Feeding our pets is not science – it’s common sense.

April

Healthy pup!