Hi ,
Exciting announcement today - but first, a short share of recent travels.
Lucky me, within a day of signing off on the final content edits of The Mindful Vegan, Greg and I left for a journey and wildlife advocacy adventure in Indonesia. There, we also fulfilled a longtime ambition to climb the hills overlooking the famous Golden
Passage (pic above) in the waters around Komodo Island.
Yes, the land of the famous Komodo dragons! Scary critters, a quick bite and you're doomed as their mouths contain a gazillion bacteria that animals (um, that means us
too!) don't have an ability to overcome, so it's a slow certain demise without some kind of emergency medical intervention...and even then it's iffy!
We did get a chance to be amongst them, under the watch of our skilled guide. We
also dove the waters of Indonesia, dancing with manta rays and sea turtles and more octopus and cuttlefish than a person has a right to within a couple of weeks. (links to two videos of our travels further down.)
I always
ask, how can people snag these reef critters and put them on their plates? If only they could see the fishes and the mollusks and reptiles and all the other critters of the ocean as we see them.
There is video Greg put up
on YouTube of our Komodo adventures so that I can share them with you, too. I am always grateful to Greg for making memorable films of our adventures.
And more often than not, he teaches within them an environmental message, such as this video he posted a few days earlier, also containing some footage of the dragons yet primarily about the plight of the sea turtles in Indonesia in a way that you may not have even known about -
their use for ritual in religious ceremonies, even amongst a people who claim to be peaceful and practicing ahimsa, or nonviolence toward all living beings.
These are the kinds of inconsistencies that stand out so glaringly to
those of us who aspire to vegan living. Our travels give us another chance to be witness to thinking different and to be a voice for the animals.
Now for the exciting news....
I'm still unpacking, but have been doing
so in spurts so that I can get everything ready for the upcoming launch of The Mindful Vegan pre-order and bonus gifts!
Launch is just a few days away, and I wanted to give you advance notice. As soon as she's ready, , I'll send you a Juice for the Journey news update with all the details: the pre-order page (if you've already pre-ordered, THANK you and have your vendor and order # handy to put in the submittance form) - including some bonus gifts that I am very juiced about and that I am certain you'll enjoy. I have come up with some unique plans for thank you gifts and I can't wait to share.
One other thing. Maybe it's the approaching summer, or maybe more response to my article posted late last year at the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies here. But there has been an increased flood in my
email of requests for help with navigating mind-body-diet issues. It dovetails beautifully with the message of The Mindful Vegan...which makes me even more eager to have her off the presses and into your hands sooner than ever!
What comes to mind most quickly is the awareness that as long as we keep trying to dissolve these dilemmas using the same tools that created them - shame, obsessions, perfection of body or diet, preoccupation with same - we are doomed to keep perpetuating them. It's like the bite of the Komodo. Without something very different from what we have been doing and are used to, we are not going
to get any different results. We all have innate, boundless capacity for compassion and kindness, and deep reserves of equanimity. The Mindful Vegan is written specifically to assist in uncovering these qualities and bring them to light.
Love and all best wishes for your health and
happiness,
Lani
P.S. Mindful Vegan preorder launch is slated for June 17 - and if we get her ready earlier, I'll let you know! You can expect something from me in your inbox around that time.
