In regards to eating meat

[Pablísimo]

You guys need to chill and not take it personally when I call your opinions extreme. You can be very loving, compassionate and still have extreme views about a topic.

Passionate views, yes I would accept, but I take exception to calling the vegetarian choice an extreme position. For me, these words at worst imply negativity and at best indicate a judgemental view.

I don't like the taste of mushrooms. Not Shitake, not Portabello, none of them. Therefore, I will not eat them. I ask them to be left off anything I order, I do not buy them, and I do not like them, Sam I am. Is that an extreme position because the majority of my species, including other vegetarians, like mushrooms?

We all can find something extreme in our lives. Someone is extreme fitness enthusiast, someone is extreme workaholic. In my book extreme just indicate out of the norm.

I see. Hmm, well perhaps then we just have a difference of opinion on the definition of extreme. If what you mean is just something out of the norm, then by the same logic, trying to guide your life by the Law of One as opposed to a mainstream religion is also extreme. If the only misunderstanding we have is one of semantics, then we are doing better than I thought.

I did not take any of the Rape, Slavery, Illegal Crime, Human Flesh eating comparison personally. I don't see myself as one of those things. So why does calling those thoughts extreme strike a nerve.

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Those are extreme examples, which, as I tried to explain earlier, were ultimately poor choices to use to explain the vegetarian perspective. I did the best I could to illustrate why the examples seem relevant and reasonable from our side of the fence, but admit that I now realize they are almost universally offensive to meat eaters. I will try my best not to use such comparisons in the light of how they have been received, but I do not fundamentally deny their applicability, from my perspective.

But there is a fundamental difference between an extreme analogy and an extreme overall position. If I asked you to imagine that for me, mushrooms tasted like human excrement, you could rightly call that an extreme example. However, simply choosing not to eat mushrooms is not an extreme position to take.

I think there have been numerous presentations of those ideas in this thread by many many people.

Perhaps I missed them. You know, this is a long thread, and it would probably be a good idea for me to go back and re-read everything. I will try to see if I can find this perspective, written by non-vegetarians, that I missed on how meat eating can be at least intellectually reconciled with the STO path. The very definition of STS is using other beings for your own benefit without regard to their rights, lives, or well-being and that is where the mystery lies. I"m interested not in the idea that it is not necessary for STO graduation or an attack on vegetarianism or defense of meat eating, but a thoughtful explanation of how, in your heart of hearts, you reconcile the two. If I could understand that better, even if I don't agree, I believe it would help me grow in compassion and acceptance.

There is no doubt that Monica has been really loving and very courageous. It is not about her or you Pablisimo personally. I have great respect for both of you for believing in something and standing up for it. Very few people can do that.

Thank you for the kind words. For the record, I do recognize that the overall tone of all of your posts has been loving. It's true that there have been a few bits that I felt were a bit harsh and unfair, but I can tell that you are clearly trying to disagree harmoniously. I want you to know that I recognize that loving effort and do value your insight on a challenging topic. It just seemed to me that calling Monica extreme or her position an extreme one was terribly unfair, considering the nuanced and respectful way she'd been trying to have this discussion.

A similar thing happened to me on a thread started by Kristy about the meaning of Oneness. In that case, she asked EXACTLY what I wanted to hear discussed. Her soul gave a call for understanding that my own echoed loudly. That call was answered and there were many enthusiastic posts exploring the topic. I was filled with knowledge as I mined the treasure trove of other-selves' understanding

In this topic, I heard yet another call for understanding that resonated with my own soul. But this time...the answer did not come.

Love to all.