I went to a gathering of vegan friends last evening and a discussion began about juicing. The facilitator suggested drawing a line and separating what she saw as two camps (juicers and non juicers). That immediately ended the discussion. This made me sad because we need to build bridges, not create boundaries. Also a learning opportunity was missed.
By now, you may be asking what has this got to do with Shamanism?
Frequently I see people who are investigating plant medicines such as peyote and ayahuasca or who are learning to work with essential oils, yet they give little thought to how they eat. Shamanism, and most spirituality, is about living in harmony in the world. The physical body in the instrument we have with which to do this. In modern Western society living at home in nature is challenging. Eating raw, vegan, and organic food is one of the keystones of my journey to oneness with all things. If you want to hear nature’s voice, I recommend it. Thoughtful eating is the easiest way I know of to begin to live in harmony with plants. If possible cultivate food, even if it is just a few herb plants. Don’t be surprised how soon you begin to realize, with the first bite, the difference between organic and non-organic food. When you increase the amount of raw food you eat, you sense what is lost in cooking.
Beyond that, why juice? Healthy eating and juicing have different intents. Healthy eating such as veganism, eating raw, and eating organic have the purpose of maintaining a healthy body (in addition to political, religious, and spiritual intentions). The intention of juicing is to restore health by allowing the intake of a larger quantity of vital food nutrients and enzymes than one would ordinarily be able to eat. Among healthy individuals this difference may not be important, but, for people fighting healthy issues directly or who are attempting to restore health after years of eating a typical modern American diet, this is extremely important.
There are many wonderful blogs on-line and I encourage you to look at them if you have an interest in raw, vegan, vegetarian, and/or organic eating.
Santa Cruz Shaman 