Process of Becoming a Vegetarian

[Guest guest]

My process of becoming a vegetarian has been almost a lifetime

project. According to my family, I absolutely refused to eat meat

from the time I began eating solid food--I also refused to nurse my

mother from birth. [Also, my father was a meatcutter at your local

grocery store.] I can recall giving all of my meat to the family

dog when I was ages six thru 9. As I went into adolescence, I began

eating meat in moderation without much resistance. When I got

married, I began eating less meat because now I was more able to

control what I cooked and ate. I recall beginning to make a lot of

casseroles with very little meat.

 

Then I got a divorce in 1973 and began meditating. I recall meeting

people who did not eat meat, but becoming a vegetarian was not in my

concept of reality. The amount of meat that I cooked and ate

continued to decrease. I always hated beef, especially steaks so I

soon quit eating those. In 1976, in graduate school, I met a man

who was a devotee of Parmahansa Yogananda and I began taking those

yoga lessons. One day I could not get beef into my body--it was

suddenly disgusting to me. Then about six months later, I could no

longer eat pork or lamb. I continued to eat poultry for another

year--then one day, I ate some chicken and was still hungry. I

never ate poultry again.

 

I continued to eat fish about 2-3 times a year for a long time and

then, about ten years ago, I was preparing a whole salmon that a

friend of my new husband had caught. I had recalled the local

native Americans asking an animal if they should kill & eat it. I

asked that question of the soul of the fish. I never ate fish again.

 

I continue to eat dairy products in moderation, mostly organic,

because I know how badly cows are treated by our local conventional

dairy farmers.

 

I guess I could be called a reluctant vegetarian and yet I never

miss eating meat or seafood. This slow process has worked for me.

So my answer to the requestion about how people become vegetarian,

my answer is that each of us is unique and we must walk down our

individual paths finding our right place in the world.

 

Peace

Kathleen