Here is my view of the evolution of the human diet. For the purposes of this article, meat is defined as animal flesh and yes, fish is an animal. So is shrimp! There are 12 stages as follows:
1. Excessive Heavy Meat-Eating (Typical American Diet)
2. Moderate Meat Eating (Typical Indian non-vegetarian diet)
3. Light Meat-Eating ( Typical for those who are cutting down on meat and trying to become vegetarians)
4. Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian (One who consumes dairy and eggs whether by themselves or in cakes and other foodstuffs that are made with eggs, but no meat)
5. Ovo-vegetarian (One who consumes eggs but no meat or dairy)
6. Lacto-Vegetarian (One who consumes dairy but no meat or eggs)
7. Vegan (One who abstains from all animal products including dairy, honey, leather, fur, wool, silk etc.)
8. Raw Vegan (One who consumes only living foods that are uncooked, eg. raw vegetables, fruits etc.)
9. Fruitarian (One who consumes only the 'fruit' of a plant. This includes nuts, rice, etc. any fruit whereby the plant itself is not killed in the process. For example, spinach and onions would not fall into this category.)
10. Liquidarian (One who consumes only fresh fruit juices and water)
11. Waterian (One who sustains himself or herself by only consuming water, nothing else, and yes there are many waterians all around the world)
12. Breatharian/Pranarian/Solarian (One who sustains himself by breath alone, by the universal energy or love that is all around us that they have been able to tap into, or by the Sun energy which also is all around us. Such people maintain confidentiality for fear of public ridicule. Some Himalayan Yogis are breatharians but ordinary people can be breatharians too. I know of some! It would be wonderful if we can tap into this energy too as it would put an end to world hunger.)
As we move up this chain of evolution, the resulting effect is the opening up of the compassion in our hearts.
For example, a breatharian cannot be a serial killer. There is no way he can have malice in his heart and still be able to tap into the universal love. No way!
With each stage, our heart opens up a little more. Personally going from stage 6 to stage 7, I have already felt the difference. I have become closer to that universal power. As we move up, more and more, we are more in tune with nature, more in tune with others, more sensitive, more in touch with the inate vibration that is inherent in all of us.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Job Search and Interviews! Yikes!
Looking for a job can be an extremely frustrating process.First you need a good resume and there is a lot of information out there on the web that can assist you. My resume looks good now but took a year to evolve. I had to get out of the mode of writing my accomplishments and the work I did versus showing how that work actually helped the company.
Employers don't really care about your accomplishments. What they care about is how you can help the bottomline. What can you do for the business? This is the question on their minds when they read your resume or interview you. For example, you may be proud of a months long project you worked on, procuring and setting up a state-of-the-art tester. If you put that on your resume, it is not going to make an impression. You should really state why procuring the equipment was good for the business. Did it reduce cycle time? Did it reduce test time? Did it save money? That is what needs to go on your resume. For each bullet point on the resume, rephrase it so it shows you in the best light.
At last you have a really excellent resume and you start using that to apply for jobs and you apply, you wait. You apply to another job, you wait. You call the company only to have them tell you: Don't call us, we'll call you. Meanwhile time passes by and you are worried your skills are becoming ancient. So, you take courses, pick up new skills etc. to keep up with the employers requirements. You network, join a professional organization, do some volunteer work. Each passing day symbolizes a growing time gap in your resume and employers don't like to see gaps. You start wondering if you can pass yourself off as a free-lance consultant to fill that gap.
Finally, you land an interview. You start preparing days before, How do I answer that dreaded question: What are your weaknesses?.......You go back and revise all the information and text books that are relevant for the job. You watch you-tube videos of gurus giving advice on how to handle interviews. Finally, you are done, you just can't read another book. The time has come.
Now for the interview. Interviews are extreme stress-inducers, especially those that last half a day or more. First, you are going to a strange, new place. You are meeting strangers for the first time whose main purpose is to take you into a room and fire questions at you. Once exhausted of questions, they pass you on to the next person on the agenda who will fire yet another barrage of "rounds". It never occurs to any of them to ask if you need to use the restroom or need some water etc. Actually, some interviewers are pretty considerate and actually spend more time talking than asking questions but that also makes me uncomfortable. If they don't ask questions, how do they know I'm right for the job? You think you did alright. There is always a nagging thought or two on how you could have better answered a couple of the questions but you did your best and you're done.
Then you wait. Again. They say they will call you back and never do and you go into this "standstill" time period where nothing is moving and you are getting anxious. Finally you call only to be told that, Oh we've been so busy. We will call you next week. And it drags on........and on.................
Meanwhile you start looking for more jobs and the process starts yet again.
Employers don't really care about your accomplishments. What they care about is how you can help the bottomline. What can you do for the business? This is the question on their minds when they read your resume or interview you. For example, you may be proud of a months long project you worked on, procuring and setting up a state-of-the-art tester. If you put that on your resume, it is not going to make an impression. You should really state why procuring the equipment was good for the business. Did it reduce cycle time? Did it reduce test time? Did it save money? That is what needs to go on your resume. For each bullet point on the resume, rephrase it so it shows you in the best light.
At last you have a really excellent resume and you start using that to apply for jobs and you apply, you wait. You apply to another job, you wait. You call the company only to have them tell you: Don't call us, we'll call you. Meanwhile time passes by and you are worried your skills are becoming ancient. So, you take courses, pick up new skills etc. to keep up with the employers requirements. You network, join a professional organization, do some volunteer work. Each passing day symbolizes a growing time gap in your resume and employers don't like to see gaps. You start wondering if you can pass yourself off as a free-lance consultant to fill that gap.
Finally, you land an interview. You start preparing days before, How do I answer that dreaded question: What are your weaknesses?.......You go back and revise all the information and text books that are relevant for the job. You watch you-tube videos of gurus giving advice on how to handle interviews. Finally, you are done, you just can't read another book. The time has come.
Now for the interview. Interviews are extreme stress-inducers, especially those that last half a day or more. First, you are going to a strange, new place. You are meeting strangers for the first time whose main purpose is to take you into a room and fire questions at you. Once exhausted of questions, they pass you on to the next person on the agenda who will fire yet another barrage of "rounds". It never occurs to any of them to ask if you need to use the restroom or need some water etc. Actually, some interviewers are pretty considerate and actually spend more time talking than asking questions but that also makes me uncomfortable. If they don't ask questions, how do they know I'm right for the job? You think you did alright. There is always a nagging thought or two on how you could have better answered a couple of the questions but you did your best and you're done.
Then you wait. Again. They say they will call you back and never do and you go into this "standstill" time period where nothing is moving and you are getting anxious. Finally you call only to be told that, Oh we've been so busy. We will call you next week. And it drags on........and on.................
Meanwhile you start looking for more jobs and the process starts yet again.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tooth Pain
Wow! I know what tooth pain means and how horrible it can be. I also know how important it is to choose a good dentist. Don't pick a young dentist, they are inexperienced. They do not know the ins and outs. I'll tell you my story:
Sep 2010: I went to the dentist with minor tooth pain. She takes a look at finds 2 cavities on the lower side on either side. She does a white composite filling on the lower left tooth. The pain gets worse. Meanwhile I am thinking: oh just give it time. It has just been worked on and it will take time to heal. A week later, the pain is still there. Still there 2 weeks later.
Oct 2010: Meanwhile, I am still giving it time to heal and go back to the same dentist to get other tooth on the right lower jaw fixed. It heals fine.
Nov 2010 I go back to the same dentist and tell her that my tooth still hurts. She takes a look and says, :Oh, its just root sensitivity. Use prevident, the fluoride toothpaste and it should go away in a few weeks. So, I do as she says. But the pain still stays the same.
Dec 2010 I have had this pain for 3 months now. I go back to the dentist and she does a redo of the filling and puts in a big filling covering up all the root. Pain actually gets worse. I am desperate now. The idea is dawning on me that the dentist is not doing something right.
Dec 2010 Last week of December, I go back to her and she refers me to an endodontist. The endodontist was not covered by my insurance so I had to find one by myself that was covered and I made an appontment that same day to see him.
Dec 26 2010 The endodontist recommends a root canal and performs it. But he does not close up as he says the root is very inflamed. He leaves my tooth with a big hole and a temporary lid. However the pain STILL doesn't go away. Unfortunately, the dentist is away for the next 2 weeks due to Christmas vacation. So I suffer with terrible root canal pain on top of the pain I already have, BTW, root canal pain is excruciating. Those of you who have had it and have had a hole left in your tooth for 2 weeks, know what I am talking about.
Jan 5 2010 I go back to the endodontist. He finishes up the root canal. And he re-dos the filling for the 3rd time and makes a discovery: He finds a sharp edge of the filling pressing into the gum, irritating it and causing bleeding. He takes it out and puts in fluoride cement which doesn't leave a sharp edge. Now, my question is: Was the root canal necessary? I think the answer is no as the pain was not caused by the root in the first place. It was the filling poking into my gum and it took 2 dentists and 3 redos to get it right. I am hoping for the best and I am sure that the endodontist found the root of the problem and my tooth is fixed, albeit with a hole in it. BTW, the endodontist has many years of experience.
In conclusion, after all this and enduring a lot of tooth pain over many months, I sympathize and understand all my fellow human beings suffering the same fate. My words of advice are: Always get a recommendation from a friend or co-worker etc. before you select a dentist. Select a practice that has several dentists working there, not a one man or woman operation and select someone with lots of experience. Tooth pain consumes you. You can't think of anything but it. It takes over your head, your life, your thoughts and your energy. It can be worse than pain from surgery. I consumed so many pain killers! Anyway, I am glad its behind me. Today being Jan 5th, we will see how it goes. I am confident of complete recovery!
Sep 2010: I went to the dentist with minor tooth pain. She takes a look at finds 2 cavities on the lower side on either side. She does a white composite filling on the lower left tooth. The pain gets worse. Meanwhile I am thinking: oh just give it time. It has just been worked on and it will take time to heal. A week later, the pain is still there. Still there 2 weeks later.
Oct 2010: Meanwhile, I am still giving it time to heal and go back to the same dentist to get other tooth on the right lower jaw fixed. It heals fine.
Nov 2010 I go back to the same dentist and tell her that my tooth still hurts. She takes a look and says, :Oh, its just root sensitivity. Use prevident, the fluoride toothpaste and it should go away in a few weeks. So, I do as she says. But the pain still stays the same.
Dec 2010 I have had this pain for 3 months now. I go back to the dentist and she does a redo of the filling and puts in a big filling covering up all the root. Pain actually gets worse. I am desperate now. The idea is dawning on me that the dentist is not doing something right.
Dec 2010 Last week of December, I go back to her and she refers me to an endodontist. The endodontist was not covered by my insurance so I had to find one by myself that was covered and I made an appontment that same day to see him.
Dec 26 2010 The endodontist recommends a root canal and performs it. But he does not close up as he says the root is very inflamed. He leaves my tooth with a big hole and a temporary lid. However the pain STILL doesn't go away. Unfortunately, the dentist is away for the next 2 weeks due to Christmas vacation. So I suffer with terrible root canal pain on top of the pain I already have, BTW, root canal pain is excruciating. Those of you who have had it and have had a hole left in your tooth for 2 weeks, know what I am talking about.
Jan 5 2010 I go back to the endodontist. He finishes up the root canal. And he re-dos the filling for the 3rd time and makes a discovery: He finds a sharp edge of the filling pressing into the gum, irritating it and causing bleeding. He takes it out and puts in fluoride cement which doesn't leave a sharp edge. Now, my question is: Was the root canal necessary? I think the answer is no as the pain was not caused by the root in the first place. It was the filling poking into my gum and it took 2 dentists and 3 redos to get it right. I am hoping for the best and I am sure that the endodontist found the root of the problem and my tooth is fixed, albeit with a hole in it. BTW, the endodontist has many years of experience.
In conclusion, after all this and enduring a lot of tooth pain over many months, I sympathize and understand all my fellow human beings suffering the same fate. My words of advice are: Always get a recommendation from a friend or co-worker etc. before you select a dentist. Select a practice that has several dentists working there, not a one man or woman operation and select someone with lots of experience. Tooth pain consumes you. You can't think of anything but it. It takes over your head, your life, your thoughts and your energy. It can be worse than pain from surgery. I consumed so many pain killers! Anyway, I am glad its behind me. Today being Jan 5th, we will see how it goes. I am confident of complete recovery!
What does being a vegan mean to me?
To be a vegan is not just to eat vegan. It also means to wear vegan, that is no leather, no fur, no wool etc. To be a vegan is to follow the 5 precepts. What are these? Ahimsa or practicing non-violence towards all beings, no talking untruths, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no intoxicants. There are different levels of abiding by this guidance for moral conduct. To be a vegan is to follow the highest level. For example, ahimsa means not to harm others, including animals. This logically points to a vegan diet. You can't eat meat and still claim to practice ahimsa. Countless animals suffer in the livestock industry. They are abused, raped, tortured, confined and finally slaughtered and packaged off to supermarkets. This is not vegan. To drink cow's milk is not ahimsa, it is himsa.
The cow is raped, tortured by squeezing her teats till the last drop often squeezing blood out as well from her raw, injured teats. She is forcibly impregnated, the farmer does not have the time, patience or the money to let reproduction occur naturally. It is naive to think that cows or any animals in the livestock or dairy industry reproduce naturally. No, they are raped. To drink cow's milk means you are partly responsible for the suffering of the innocent cows.
To me being a vegan is the symbol of an intelligent, compassionate and advanced civilization. Really, can we be anything else? Can we afford to? More on this later.
The cow is raped, tortured by squeezing her teats till the last drop often squeezing blood out as well from her raw, injured teats. She is forcibly impregnated, the farmer does not have the time, patience or the money to let reproduction occur naturally. It is naive to think that cows or any animals in the livestock or dairy industry reproduce naturally. No, they are raped. To drink cow's milk means you are partly responsible for the suffering of the innocent cows.
To me being a vegan is the symbol of an intelligent, compassionate and advanced civilization. Really, can we be anything else? Can we afford to? More on this later.
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