Raw food vegan provided me a life changing experience!
Quite often I receive the question, what changed, explain?
Well, everything changed!
I’ll try to evaporate them all on this blog, now if you wonder how it influence some subjects that you might wonder and that I didn’t cover yet, please ask and reach out, more than welcome!
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During my first contacts with Tantra (which can be read here) quite a few exercises were inspired by Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain, also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as 'Osho'.
Until that Tantra discovery, I had seen photographs of Osho in the past, now I was completely unfamiliar with who he was as a person or with his work. From what I could conclude during the Tantra massage modulo, it sounded to be a controversial person.
When I only hear positive things about living beings, I often take them fast as my truth. When I hear the contradictory things about living beings, I take nothing as my truth. I have understood for myself that when negative feelings are expressed, they are often a personal perception, with personal influences in them and so not to take them as they are.
Personally, I believe that every living being is kind, compassionate, and full of love. I think we don't always go deep enough within ourselves to find it, we are sometimes very distracted and it can give a completely different perception.
After these 2 tantra massage modules I did with Aïon Brussels, I did a small research on Osho, I found that he was an Indian spiritual guru, philosopher and the leader of the Rajneesh movement. He stressed the importance of meditation, mindfulness, love, celebration, courage, creativity and humour. He was also very active in advocating a more open attitude towards human sexuality and caused controversy in India during the late 1960s and became known as "the sex Guru".
With what I had experienced, especially in connection with his mediation techniques, I had to conclude that whatever he had done in his life, based on these experiences, he was a wise man. And I am very grateful that he shared his wisdom and made it available to other living beings.
Especially his various meditation techniques have been very mind-expanding. Just type 'Osho meditations' in google or youtube and you will discover a lot about it. More info can also be found at https://www.osho.com/.
To practice them in Belgium, I can also follow Aïon Brussels.
My next Tantra discovery, 'Chakra 2 - Osho's "From Sex To Superconsciousness" in Belgium', was organised in the Koningsteen Center in Kapelle-op-den-Bos. On the spot, the event was called "From Sex to Supreme Consciousness". During my time at this location several events took place. So while walking around on the domain, I also discussed with people from the other events and they looked to me like "From Sex To Superconscious" event, that is heavy. I didn't understand what they meant. They said the name is explicit.
I said that it depends of course on the definition of "Sex". When we talked a little further, we had to conclude that both events were quite similar and generally not very different. That made me wonder a little more about the meaning behind that title: "From sex to superconsciousness".
Osho had written a book entitled: "From Sex To Superconscious" and I thought that was a good starting point. I really enjoyed the book and it certainly gave me an excellent alternative view of the world I lived in.
After experiencing these tantra modules and reading his books "From Sex To Superconsciousness" and "Chapter 4: Osho's Philosophy of Tantra", I think there is a lot of wisdom in Osho's work. However, it is exactly the opposite of what I experience every day in the predefined normal life.
I concluded that there is much more to be found inside me, than outside me.
To understand this, just being still in times of my life, gives a good explanation.
Being still is unfortunately the most complicated part of my life today.
I'm always busy with something and if I feel bored, my smartphone is there to fill that gap.
Imagine that I am in the middle of nowhere with a few friends with nothing but nature around us. Of course I will start to experience with my different natural senses. Experience with silence, with breath, conscious breathing, feeling, seeing, smelling......
All kinds of activities that are almost completely excluded from our society and from which I am completely disconnected.
I am very grateful that wonderful initiatives by Aïon Brussels and Tantra Garden draw our attention to this, bring the change we want to see in the world and make it for everyone at least an opportunity to experience it.
After these experiences and knowledge, I personally agree that "sex" gets the wrong attention and that the "superconscious", is just a normal contemporary conscious life from which the present life is unfortunately so disconnected.
“In conclusion, from my heart of hearts, I desire that the lust inside each of us may become a ladder with which to reach to the temple of love, that the sex inside each of us may become a vehicle to reach to superconsciousness.” - Osho
I have quite often heard people praise and say that at least to finish the shower with cold water instead of hot, was good for my health. Over the years I have tried this several times, now I found that it always brought me too hard out of my comfort (comfort that hot water provides). I think it gives a kind of motherly love warmth where we all come from and where we feel so comfortable and safe.
At a certain point in June 2016, I heard on the Rich Roll podcast RRP231 also Wim Hof talking about cold therapy. At the same time a beautiful colleague told me about it, now for some reason, Wim Hof's conversation during the podcast was inspiring, I thought it didn't apply to me and it didn't sound with me. I mainly exposed myself to the cold, tried it several times, now I found the discomfort too hard.
In November 2018, a friend who, like me, followed Rich Roll's podcasts also called the Rich Roll podcast RRP406 as a must and it was one that I had personally skipped. I made a point of listening to it and this time it all collapsed. Probably the "anyone can do this" Wim Hof mentioned, got my full attention. Of course it also has a lot to do with yoga, breathing, feeling, connection with nature.....also all kinds of subjects that I have experienced in the past 5 years.
One of the things that have really attracted me on this journey since changing my eating habits, is to get back in contact with on the top of five traditional senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste) like the animals also with what is called the "sixth sense". When Wim then talks in the podcast about getting back in touch with the immune system and the endocrine system (hormones), I was completely sold. As Wim said, I began to see cold as a brave, patient teacher for my body.
Early December 2018 I registered for free on the website of Wim Hof for the follow-up of the Free mini lesson and immediately applied the breathing technique and the cold showers. Instead of washing me with hot water, I made the water tepid and the shower ended up completely cold (at first it's just less tepid, not quite cold yet). It is true that I felt good afterwards, now I had the feeling that there could be more in it.
At the end of December 2018 I decided to only take cold showers (completely and not to start with hot showers anymore). The only exception I made then was washing my long hair, I used hot water for it because the cold water felt very hard on the head. It took me just a big week to only take cold showers from then on. It felt great and after a while I really started to like it and looking forward to it.
It gave me during the 3 months that I do it now:
Huge boost and feeling of life all over my body. I live!
Amazing self-confidence shot from feeling what my body can do.
My skin feels softer, doesn't dry out anymore and so I don't use skin oil anymore.
My body is generally much better at dealing with cold.
It gives me a kind of freedom to no longer need hot water.
I hardly need any heating in the house or bedroom, everything feels warm.
And probably a lot indirectly things that I don't realize yet.
During my retreat at Irène Grosjean's premises a few years ago, I was very attracted by her story that she would wash herself under a waterfall in the back garden. It sounded great to me, now of course related to the temperature at that time, I imagined that, that was impossible. Today with this experience so far, I have very different eyes on this and I really look forward to it.
In order to fine tune all these experiences, I have kept an eye on the WHM fundamentals workshops. First I followed them via Bart Biermans because I am often in Amsterdam. Now they never fitted in so far and so I came into contact with an even more local instructor for Leuven, namely Dirk Janssen.
On March 17, 2019 I had the WHM fundamental workshop with Dirk Janssen, aka Boempatatman (https://www.instagram.com/boempatatman/ / https://www.facebook.com/boempatatman/) in Leuven, it was great and I really do recommend it for anyone who likes yoga, breathing, focus, nature..... and of course some cold exposure!
Thanks to all of you who opened my eyes to such a wonderful discovery, now is the time for an ice bath!
When writing the title, I find it strange that as a human being I am so attracted by drama. Recognisable? The 'gone' really reminds me of the worst things, which they don't have to be necessarily. Don't worry, I will keep things positive. When I changed my eating habits in 2014, I really started to feel that my life is mine to live the way I want to live it.
Bob Moawad's quote really sounded with me, and summarized it perfectly; “The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.”
I realised that there were many things, for which I no longer listened to myself due to external factors. What could others think? What will they say about me? I won't be taken seriously…
One of these things, was my haircut, I loved the long hair I had when I was a teenager. Since I started working, I've never really had the balls to overcome the prejudgments and get them back. Instead, I kept imagining, how I imagined people wanted me to be.
In May 2016, I decided I wanted to be all myself, feel that long hair again, so I decided to let it grow again. I like it, I love it, it's really me. In 2019, I realised that it was also beginning to complicate my life, and long hair is quite a job. Washing, drying, bonding... are daily obstacles that didn't bother me very much at first. As can be read on this blog, I live a lot of experiences and in there, the long hair was not really annoying, now it was definitely uncomfortable. The longer it got, the more discomfort it offered.
Especially during daily activities such as sleeping, meditation, yoga, sports, sitting in the car..... and recently also for the helmet while snowboarding or cycling. Indirectly it started to influence my activities, which gave me the feeling that the balance was no longer the same for me. For me it can't be that my hair determines my experiences. So I decided to cut the almost 3 years and offer them for a good cause: https://www.coupedeclat.be/offrez-vos-cheveux.
Another new time ahead with short hair!
What does it look like now, look closely at my LinkedIn profile, it has not even made the 3 year long hair period.
Life is full of changes, I go with the flow, try to do my best in every situation of my life, I love it and I am very grateful for it!
We often go to friends' homes and eat together, always wonderful moments.
Very easy to organize if I eat everything.
If I go to a diet other than the regular diet, such as currently a vegan diet, these dinners can become a little more challenging for the one who invites.
If the vegan plays a home game, it is probably still easy, the guests will miss their animal products once, now most of the time get an abundance of fruits and vegetables back.
For once not so bad.
If it is the other way around, if the vegan is invited, it can be very challenging for the one who plays a home game and is not used to making vegan food. What do these vegans eat? Almost everything has animal products in it...... maybe we shouldn't invite them anymore?
It's true, almost everything has animal products in it, this is how our culture has evolved today and how large industries can make big business, so please don't change, is what they are trying to tell me.
So what should be done for the guests?
There is a shortcut, I can go to www.happycow.com to find a local vegan or vegetarian restaurant, order the food there and serve it in my home. The guests will be very happy, now life doesn't have to be that complicated, I just wanted to mention it as an option if I 'believe' that I don't have any cooking skills at all (which I really believe everyone has, we just lose the connection with it).
It can be very easy, I just take what I usually eat, remove the meat, use veggie milk instead of animal milk, use olive oil or vegetable margarine instead of butter and increase the share of vegetables.
I'll explain here, using a concrete example, what the first easy way is, to make a dinner for vegans I've invited. Let us be inspired by the North African cuisine and make a Couscous for 6 people.
I buy most of my ingredients from a local organic farmer or shop. Find one near your home!
Clean (wash) all vegetables and cut them into large squares, I use a mandolin.
Brown the onion in a little olive oil (attention olive oil is to my knowledge the only oil that I can safely heat up).
Add the carrots, courgettes, peppers, eggplant and chickpeas (which we first rinsed off or even cook if they were not cooked yet, these in the pot on the picture are already cooked).
Add the can of peeled tomatoes and the 2 tablespoons of vegetable stock.
Add the couscous spices, the quantity of your choice
Let it boil for at least 2 hours.
After 2 hours the sauce is ready.
For the couscous, see the description on the packaging.
If I like to buy them in bulk in the organic shop, then I provide 100gr to 150gr per person.
Pour a volume of couscous into a container and pour the same volume of boiling salted water over it (in this case for 6 persons +-750gr, only one teaspoon of sea salt should be good for the salted water).
Allow to swell for about 10 minutes until the water is fully absorbed.
Add 50gr (for 500gr couscous) of vegetable margarine to the couscous and stir continuously until the margarine has completely melted in the couscous.
Just serve and bon appetit!
And? Come on? Let me know, it's quite easy, isn’t it?
Take things easy, listen to each other, be compassionate with each other, stay together, enjoy the delicious food and remember that it is the people with whom I am that is more important than eating. Be there for and with them!
Yes, Steven, help, there is no meat in that dish, we die!
Believe me, you have some margin, personally it's been 5 years since I left out animal products and if you read this blog, it's rather the opposite of dying that happened to me!
