People's psychological development relates
with how they act. The focus of this article is on mental
growth and inner liberation, and when possible a link is made
with man's actions and it's consequences for animals.
Historically
there is a strong relationship between religion, animals
and food. Man observed a certain respect and modesty
towards animals as a source of food. Up to 30 years ago, it
was general practice to give thanks (to God or to the animal
that served as food) before a meal.
In nature, animals live free. Many people find spiritual experiences
in nature. There must be something in nature that evokes these
experiences. It is striking that very few people searching
for spirituality take into account the fate of animals. The
animals living in isolation in the stables of factory farms
are ignored. We think this is unjust.
Direct contact between man and farm animals has diminished
over time, while meat consumption and the lack of freedom
for animals has increased. People are increasingly finding
themselves ways of becoming freer. We call this progress.
As a consequence of self-realization and
inner liberation, people are inclined to act in a way that
advances the well being of man and animal. We would like to
support that people voluntarily have consideration for animals,
and no longer buy meat from industrial farming. This will
bring closer the political turning point at which industrial
farming may be abolished.
What keeps us from inner liberation and
mental growth?
We "grow" when we are stimulated and ingest
the right nutrients. Just as with plants, overfertilization
leads to a loss of vitality and an increased sensitivity to
stress. Inner liberation is worth the trouble, but following
your own path is not sufficient guarantee for happiness. We
can experience moments of pure happiness, but in the end we
have to do it ourselves, often by omitting something.
A number of (un)natural circumstances in our modern society
can block inner growth:
- Availability and popularity of stimulants
- No time for others
- Focusing on career and making money
- Competition instead of co-operation
- Embellishment and distortion of reality
by the media and their unquestioning acceptance as for real.
What all these circumstances have in common is
that it appears as if people are inwardly free. Freedom of one
person has become the loss of freedom of another. Freedom is
about setting limits to yourself and others. Out of a false
sense of freedom people ignore or approach each other aggressively.
Besides ignorance, indifference and feeling mutually uncomfortable,
freedom can sometimes incite fear, which makes people long back
to lesser freedom. It's becoming increasingly hard for people
to remain in contact with themselves and to feel for themselves
how far they want to go along in the temptations offered to
them. Should we work harder and make more money before fortune
smiles upon us, or work less (hard)? Alcohol and drugs are at
hand to help happiness along, or to numb misfortune. In view
of the apparent success of others the fear grows of missing
out and of being denied a portion of prosperity. Wisdom and
insight will come if you create space. Everyone knows what he
basically needs. Unfortunately, the outside world is often trying
to complicate this and to lure you along in the maelstrom of
excessiveness. Your inner liberation can be blocked if you constantly
and covertly let people tell you that you're not happy. Their
message is: "It is possible to live in permanent bliss if you
buy our product".
Inner liberation means a balanced life, in which (un)pleasant
feelings have their own place. Setting limitations to ourselves
and to others, and being limited by others, is not always
easy. Besides, we are constantly getting the message to expand
our boundaries and to consume more. The balance is
tipped under the weight of overconsumption.
Click here
for further reading
GoArticles
Motivational Popular Articles (RSS-feeds):
|
