Reasons to Smile.

My breakfast this morning, courtesy of the Crazy Sexy Cleanse I'm doing this month. 

Have no freakin' idea what I'm talking about? Then get your tushy over to www.crazysexylife.com to learn about Kris Carr, the dis-ease, CanSer fighting wellness goddess, and her awe-inspiring book, Crazy Sexy Diet! She rocks my socks, and I know she'll do the same for you.   

A. Day. Off. 

Dining on vegan goodies with friends at Cafe Gratitude. I can never NOT smile at a place like that.   

Beans about to be soaked, then cooked in the crockpot, then transferred into my belly. 

Alicia Silverstone kicking off PCRM's 21-Day Vegan Kickstart. Check out the article about it here!  

This blog. Each week, I get to share with you guys the joy I experience in living vegan. It might be my biggest reason to smile right now.

Lucky - our new foster and rescued kitty extraordinaire. We found him under the highway in LA, and he has touched our hearts ever since. 

Lucky still needs a loving forever home, so if you're in or near Los Angeles, please spread the word and email me if interested in helping.

Time out in nature. Even if it means sitting out on my balcony and looking up at the sky.

Gardein's new "Cheat on Meat" ads and billboards around the city. Have you guys seen these? They are FABULOUS! 

Celebrating nine years of love tomorrow with my soul-mate, vegan partner in compassionate crime, and best friend, the outstanding (and handsome!) Steven Todd Smith of Ahimsa Life Coaching.  
 
Today's daily affirmation from my cleanse:

"My life is abundant now; rivers of joy and health flood my inner ashram and fill me with stamina, strength, and amen."

What are YOUR reasons to smile today?

2012 LogoQuestions - The Year Of Meaning

Below, enjoy a guest post by my hubby and health coach at large, Steven Todd Smith, AADP CHC. Steve is the founder of Ahimsa Life Coaching, an awe-some wellness coaching practice that works with the individual to find the food and lifestyle choices that best support you. Steve also help his clients make gradual, lifelong changes that enable them to reach their current and future health and happiness goals and sustain them on their own. Bottom line: if you're in need of a wellness boost, Steve's your man. To learn more about Steve's work, check him out at www.ahimsalifecoaching.com.

 Happy New Year! Happy 2012!

 

You did it!  You made it!....Now what are you going to do?
We face a whole new year, a leap year this year, which means 366 days this time around!  Still thinking about last year?  Glad or sad it's gone?  Are you excited for these next 12 months?  Everyone has their own take on time when the New Year swings around.  So often, you'll hear, "I'm sooo glad we're done with 2011.  It sucked." or "Ugh. Now we have to do it allll over again." Or you might hear "I'm gonna do everything I wanted to do last year, and didn't do, this year!" only to fast forward those 365 days and hear the exact same thing repeated.  

What makes a year different?  What makes what you get out of a year different?  There are many different answers to that question, but, ultimately, it all comes down to one facet of life: meaning.  What does/will this year mean to you?  What will be the meaning of your thoughts and decisions? What will your actions, your choices mean to you this year?  

Without meaning, can you truly have appreciation, experience fulfillment, revel in acheivement, etc?  Sometimes we go through our year with more focus on the "what to do" and the "how to do" than the "Why."  And without the Why, it's very easy to get lost.  Why do we so often go through the year and, upon reaching the end, feel: we've let ourselves down, left a calendar year unfulfilled, can't wait to escape the "hell" we consider the past 52 weeks?  It most likely is because we focused on the wrong questions primarily and didn't allow our fueling "Why?" lead us through the magical journey of our lives.  

In Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, a psychiatrist who labored in four different concentration camps during WWII, he quotes Nietzsche: "He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How."  While that statement, of course, can apply to one's state of extreme suffering, as in a prisoner of a concentration camp, it can apply to all levels of life: those who go through the year with "mild suffering;" those who waltz through life unconsciously and unnoticing; those who strive hard in their work and play but still feel unrequited in their efforts, feel lost, even just feel "fine."

So this year, 2012, shall be The Year of Meaning, the year we ask "Why?"  This shall be the year upon which we dig deeper into ourselves to gain a better understanding of who we are, what drives us, where do we want to go - and attached to each of those questions, a big, fat "WHY?"  Some of the questions we will be able to honestly and, without judgment, answer ourselves.  Others shall be left out in the open until that light bulb turns on.  If we put out the questions into the universe, though, then an answer will return to us...we just have to wait patiently and accept.  

To help you along your journey (as myself and ALC begin a 2012 Journey of our own), I've decided to ask 366 questions of meaning, one meaningful question a day, to jump start your search for Why and sustain you throughout the year on your exploration (inspired by Man's Search for Meaning, a book I definitely recommend reading).  How do you get involved?  Well, first you have to ask yourself, "Why do I want to get involved?  Why would I want to get involved?"  If you come up with an answer to that, or if an answer comes to you, then this is how you do it:   

Every day on my Ahimsa Life Coaching facebook page you will find a LogoQuestion and the day of the year to which it corresponds.  Please post your answer under the post.  Simple as that.  Or, check out my ALC Twitter page and answer there!  As you go, I will be tracking your answers and, of course, you should track your answers too - be it in a notebook or Word Doc, etc.  You can take down just the questions, just the answers, or both, as each may bring about a different meaning to and within you.  Come the end of 2012, you will have 366 questions and 366 answers that, by that point, will have brought about great discovery, insight, and meaning to your life. 

And that's not all!  If inspiring and uncovering and inheriting meaning in your life wasn't enough, I'm going to add some more spice and incentive for you to take the plunge in your own life journey this year: Each month, anyone who has answered each of the month's (30-31) LogoQuestions will be entered into a raffle to win prizes, including books, DVDs, free coaching sessions, and other valuable materials for your 2012.    

So jump into your life this year with ALC's LogoQuestions.  I hope you have the most meaningful journey this year. Enjoy.  

All the best and yummiest, 

Steve 
  

Love what you just read? Visit www.ahimsalifecoaching.com to learn more!  We're halfway through the first month of LogoQuestions, so you still have plenty of time to go back, dive into discovering your own meaning, and answer the first 17 LogoQuestions for a chance to win some of the excellent prizes Steve is offering (keep an eye out in the next few days for what this month's rewards are)! 

You can also follow Steve on Twitter @ahimsalifecoach.

Let's Get Vegucated: Part 2

And now for Part 2 of our Vegucated review extravaganza: our exclusive interview with Marisa Miller Wolfson, writer, director, and editor of Vegucated! 

As we wrote before in Part 1, you can learn more about this extraordinary film and purchase yourself a DVD copy at www.getvegucated.com. 

So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself (or someone you love) VEGUCATED!!!

Let's Get Vegucated: Part 1

We start off with nursery school, head into kindergarten, before we make our big jump to elementary school.  We move our way to middle school, graduate to high school, and take a leap into adulthood with college.  Grad school.  Doctorate program.  And then... what?  What's our next step on the education ladder?  We're technically always students of life, learning from our many experiences, searching for other sources of knowledge to soak in through "Certification in This" and a "Degree in That."  During all of this, there's been one form of education that has been present, through books and courses and lectures and films; however, it hasn't been until this moment that we can officially get the one degree we don't have yet.  Finally, we can say that we've been Vegucated.

Marisa with another hero of mine - Nathan Runkle!

 A true labor of love, as any documentary must be, our heroine, writer/director/narrator/dutchess of all trades, Marisa Miller Wolfson of Vegan at Heart, finally premiered her first documentary, Vegucated, in Los Angeles back in October.  Over six years in the making, Vegucated tells the tale of three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks, under watch and guidance from Marisa and wellness professionals. How did they come to agree to this challenge? They found out about it on an NYC Craigslist ad. An ad Wolfson put up herself.

We don't want to give too much away, just know this: Vegucated is a must-see. For anyone. Anywhere. Anytime. For the vegans looking to deepen their activism, it reminds us why we must continue our fight to protect the most vulnerable beings of our society. For the curious non-vegans, it gives three very different examples of people who embark on a cruelty-free path that will open their hearts to this beautiful, compassionate lifestyle, and, in doing so, will open the heart of anyone who views it. Bottom line - Vegucated is a film we will be sharing with anyone who will listen.

Vegucated trailer

We had the pleasure of capturing Marissa's big, kiss-worthy LA premiere with our lovely KMIV flipcam. In addition to checking out the film, we enjoyed seeing the likes of best selling author and THE Skinny Bitch Rory Freedman, as well as stars like former Price is Right host Bob Barker. I also happened to be seated next to a very handsome Mexican game show host. Magical stuff! 

Below, enjoy interviews with the cast, and a fun-filled wrap up of the evening. Also, keep those peepers open for our NEXT blog post, when we will be featuring an exclusive interview with Marisa!

And that's not all! Drum roll please... 

TODAY is the day when the Vegucated DVD is being released! That means you are one step closer to your own Vegucation. So - get those digits on the keyboard, type in http://www.getvegucated.com/store/, purchase a copy, and start yourself (or someone you love) on a journey I promise will change your life for the better!

We had so much fun making this video, so enjoy!

 For more info about Vegucated and Marisa Miller Wolfson, visit www.getvegucated.com.

How Do You Deal With This Stuff?

The old image above - so dear to my heart! (Photo © Joanna Wilson)

First of all, check out the new and improved design for the blog! From all of the beautiful transitioning I'm experiencing this month, I am really starting to live by the notion that change is good. Really, really, really good. I hope you like it! 

Alrighty - below is an interaction I had with a KMIV supporter, friend, and fellow blogger, Britt Losacco of Gluten-Free in the City. I want to share it on here because I've answered this question (or a versions of this question) many times before, but each time, it reminds me how important all of these words bear repeating. 

Enjoy! 

Britt wrote:

I just wanted to share that my plant-based x-mas dinner was a massive success. Everyone loved every bit of it and felt full and completely satisfied. They couldn't stop raving!

I also wanted to ask your advice, though...or maybe I just need to vent.... (Forewarning: this got long.)

I got into a conversation with my dad and brother on the day we left and it got into protein combining. I KNOW that you can get more than enough protein on a vegan diet...I just didn't have enough knowledge handy to argue the protein combining thing effectively at that point in time. A little research after the conversation told me that, as I thought, if you're eating a varied, whole-foods, plant-based diet, you're going to get enough protein and that complementary proteins don't need to be eaten at the same time (or even in the same day) to be synthesized properly. Not to mention how over-hyped our need for protein is, and that, with the rate at which my hair and nails have been growing since going plant-based, I'm clearly getting enough of the stuff!

My dad also said that he saw an episode of The Dr. Oz Show where Dr. Oz was sort of skeptical about veganism and had people on who were arguing whether it was good or not. It struck me as odd because he's always promoted veganism positively and has asked people to eat that way to reverse major health conditions. Now, the only episode on eating vegan I can find (aside from Rocco the cowboy -an obvious major success) is the episode he did with the guys from Forks Over Knives where he's saying repeatedly through the entire show that eating vegan can "save your life."

I'm extraordinarily frustrated. My instinct is to turn around and send an e-mail with links to everything I found and say "See?!" I know that's not the right thing to do, though, and it will ultimately be counterproductive. I don't want to beat my family over the head with this stuff and scare them away from it altogether. I know the best way to make them curious and help them learn is to show them how amazing this way of living is by being a positive example. My dad feels terrible and is eating 1-lb burgers and massive t-bone steaks... and I feel better than I have in my life.

It's just hard. I know I'm fighting against a regional culture where the main food groups are beef, cheese, & beer, where people drink "pop" with every meal, and think nothing of cruising through a drive-thru multiple times a day... and I also know that, even feeling somewhere inside like I've been a closet vegan my whole life and not wanting to admit it, it took me a couple years and starts and stops and trials before really owning that this is what makes me feel best. If it was hard for me, I can only imagine how impossible (and even wrong) that way of life would seem to them.

So, I guess my question, if there's a question in any of this, is how have you dealt with this stuff? How do you resist the temptation to INFORM EVERYONE!!!! because you know how good and right it feels, and the way it impacts one's health is just so amazing--reverse/prevent cancer and heart disease! (Maybe talking through it with someone who understands is enough? I already feel better after writing this....) And the animal rights/enivronmental/political aspects of everything haven't even been touched on with my family...so there's that can of worms as well. How do you let people know how incredible this is without scaring them away? Without arguing when you know that what you're saying is right?

I wrote back:

I totally hear you girl. When I first officially went vegan three years ago, I wanted to shout it to the hilltops! I was so excited by the discoveries I had made and so humbled by all of the information I'd learned about the horrors of what we do to animals that I felt every person needed to know what I had learned. And in the process of learning how to live vegan completely, I lost a few fans, ruffled some family feathers, and alienated my husband a bit. All par for the course, though. Because even though things started a bit rocky, many of those fans came back and told me that they're vegan now, nearly all of my family is vegan or vegetarian, and my hubby is vegan as well. So, with time and practice, living vegan has been a shining example to others of a life well lived.

In terms of your journey, here's what I think - the first thing I'd suggest you purchase is a beautiful book by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau called the Vegan's Daily Companion. It touches on so many points you made here in your email and gives beautiful suggestions of how to live in a world where others are often offended or just plain shut down by witnessing your compassionate, healthy choices.

The second thing I think you should do is visit a great website - www.pcrm.org - which stands for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. There you'll find everything you need about the benefits of a plant-based diet, and all sourced by doctors. 

Finally, I'm almost finished a phenomenal book that answers nearly every question about healthy plant-based living, and I highly recommend it - Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr. From reading CSD, I learned that if I'm eating a well-balanced, plant-based diet, I don't need to worry about protein combining or even how much protein I'm getting. Cool stuff!

If finances allow, a great gift to send the naysayers in your family would be the DVD of Forks Over Knives - you could wrap it in pretty paper with a card that says how much this documentary moved you and just keep the message as positive as possible.

Oftentimes, the people who ask you the questions and get defensive are those who are deep down the most curious. Again, Colleen's book is a lifesaver for learning how to handle them. 

At the very least (especially in finances are tight), do as much internet research as you can. Education is power, and by informing yourself of every answer you can think of, you won't be left stumped when someone asks you about living vegan. A lot of times, the questions are very similar - how do you get your protein? what about calcium? aren't we supposed to eat animals? if we stopped eating animals, what would we do with all of them? etc, etc, etc... 

For me, the longer I've been doing this, the more it has become my faith. I live my life by three pillars: love, kindness, and compassion. Since going vegan is all about compassion (towards ourselves and our fellow beings), it should definitely extend to the human beings in our lives. So patience, openness, and a positive outlook are key.

Just know that your light - your positive, vegan lifestyle burning bright for all to see - will be enough to create positive change in others. Just keep living in the way that pleases you, keep informing yourself of new information, find as many ways to celebrate living vegan as possible, and if you need to, use your beautiful blog as an outlet for all of this, if you haven't already. You already have a captive audience who love your journey. Keep educating them as you go, and you'll be happily surprised by how many will support your changes and growth.

And most importantly, connect with other vegans if you haven't already! You're in NYC, yes? If so, there is an amazing group of activists you should look into meeting - Farm Sanctuary's Activist Team. Just go to their website and look up info about it. They have monthly meetings, parties, volunteer sessions, all kinds of wonderful stuff. Meetup.org is also a FABULOUS place to find vegan-friendly social events like the famous Vegan Drinks in NYC.

I hope that you'll continue to celebrate your lifestyle choice and pay it forward by helping those who want to know more about living vegan. And of course, I am always here if you need anything. Just remember - you are doing something AMAZING with your life by living vegan every day - celebrate and honor that!

I hope you had a fabulous New Year! Here's to a compassionate, beautiful, growth-filled 2012!

Have a question for this vegan blogger? Feel free to email me at kissmyvegan@gmail.com.

An Ode to a Vegan New Year: From a Modern-Day Lorax

 Hello beautiful KMIV-ers!

As I'm sitting next to Steve, about to enjoy our New Year with a lovely vegan dinner and time at home with our kitties, I am also hoping you are all celebrating the beginning of a fabulous, delicious, compassionate, KISS-WORTHY 2012! 

Steve wrote this poem for an upcoming article in a vegan-friendly magazine, and I would love to share it with you all. I think it really encompasses our purpose and passion here at Kiss Me, I'm Vegan, especially at the dawn of a very special year!

Here's to a 2012 filled with yummy vegan food, cruelty-free choices, stepping it up a notch with our activism, and realizing how very blessed we all are to live in freedom. Let us allow change and transition to be a natural part of our everyday experience, so we can really begin living our best lives. Let us remember how important it is to be the voice of so many animals in need, and let us speak up for them at every turn. Most importantly, let us speak from a deep place of truth and love this year and allow each action to reflect that truth and love. Speaking of love, I love you all, and am so thankful to have YOUR love and support. Cheers!

An Ode to a Vegan New Year: 
From a Modern-Day Lorax

By Steven Todd Smith | Ahimsa Life Coaching

Steve and Lila at Animal Acres.

I am a vegan

I speak for all beings

I speak for all beings for all beings don’t have a voice

Yet each of us humans each day has a choice

Unfortunately, usually one choice is had

A choice that, inevitably, is horrid and sad

For when any choice leaves one without life

There’s suffering, pain, there’s cruelty and strife

And, in the end, when one’s gone, one’s gone

A choice leading to that cannot be withdrawn

Each year in our country 10 billion land animals perish

For food which we eat and say that we cherish

That’s still leaving out about 50 billion more

That come from the sea and are stolen to shore

There are so many ways to help make a change

And none of them involve an unfair exchange

The first change to make is right with your diet

Vegan? That’s restrictive. Oh, really? Just try it!

In fact, there’s quite the multitude of food

With all the best tastes to put you in the best mood

There’s all veggies, all fruits, all nuts, and all seeds

Legumes and whole grains for all nutritional needs

You still can have pizza and nuggets you can make

Indulge in your ice cream and cookies and cake!

Just from different sources, from sources more pure

And from these alternatives comes life, that’s for sure!

So without any worry, you can ditch the meat,

The eggs and the dairy, and still have everything you eat

There are plenty of cookbooks and resources where

You can stay master chef in a kitchen with flair

You have everything to gain and nothing to lose

You just have to think, commit, and then choose!

The second change comes with your inner compassion

Opening your heart in dramatic fashion

For a person who cares, why a person who cares

Provides so many benefits than someone unawares

For your health, sure; but to keep others alive

In one year, each person saves ninety-five

Now think even deeper, about all that you’ve ate

Did you intend to control some animal’s fate?

Or was it natural and normal, necessity too?

In this day and age, though, none of those three are true

Do you truly condone what happens to these innocent creatures?

Of different dispositions but with similar features

For they walk and they breathe, they eat and they sleep

They can’t quite speak English, but they can snort and can peep

Also moo, neigh, winny, baa, and cock-a-doodle-do

They communicate and have families, not unlike me and you

Sure, we can’t understand exactly what they say

Do you think they’d give permission to steal babies away?

Or to confine them, or beat them?

Or maim them, or eat them?

We wouldn’t condone these things toward any others

So while non-human, let’s think of them as our sisters and brothers

To co-exist peacefully, as we progress

Living life to the fullest and to never oppress

The third change involves looking out for our Earth

Creating a powerful, beneficial rebirth

The effect on our planet would be quite dramatic

Since our current eating and farming is problematic

What sort of world do we want to create

For our children and grandchildren, when we’re ninety-eight?

Looking back down the line, we’d hope to get that far

But nothing’s for certain, if we’ve dug too deep a scar

I am a vegan

That’s something you can say

You can speak for all beings starting today!

You can have your best health, watch others have it too

Make strides for our home, and save lives while you chew

Connect with the consciousness of all that exists

For that’s of which a true Green Planet consists!

You have everything to gain and nothing to lose

You just have to think, commit, and then choose!

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot

Nothing’s going to get better, it’s not.” ~ The Lorax 

Steven Todd Smith, AADP CHC, runs a holistic health coaching practice, Ahimsa Life Coaching, www.ahimsalifecoaching.com, and is ready to create happy, healthy, balanced, and green lives for those in search of their best self!