CLICK HERE TO JOIN ONLINE ARKAYA COMMUNITY CLASS VIA ZOOM
Every Saturday from 11 AM – 1 PM PST
Disconnection From Our Food
One of my nutritionist friends told me that children in the USA, when asked where milk comes from, mentioned that it comes from the supermarket. I was not surprised as I was seeing the disconnection to one's food as well as body, emotions, thoughts, energy and nature.
I remember as a child I was not a picky eater but very connected to my food where I would smell it and feel it before I ate it. My mom, for a while, thought I was her dog who reincarnated. Lido was a white Pomeranian. Lido had died just before she conceived me and that was her explanation for me being so dialled in. I also found that I could smell people's emotions and aberrant energies. It was interesting that one of the men in the teacher training, Juan, also mentioned he could smell if a person was going to get sick.
When I moved from my grandmother's home back to living with my parents I could not drink milk. I either had to force it down, or it was forced down my throat by my mom when I was seven or eight. But later I was old enough to avoid it and I did.
Feeling The Quality Of What Goes In
When I was ten, we moved to my granny’s home and I somehow did not react to the milk, especially curds, there. We lived with my grandparents till I was seventeen. I remember the milk man bringing the cow, and sometimes buffalo, to my granny's home and milking her in front of my granny. She delegated to me the job of checking if the milk man had any water in the pail he was milking in. She would then pay the milkman and feed the cow. She insisted on that and now looking back I see why that milk was a lot more palatable to me. I did not feel overwhelmed or restless drinking that milk.
When I lived with my parents they got the milk that most Indians are aware of in cities - the packet milk which was pasteurized and homogenized and in plastic packets. And once again looking back, I saw why I just could not stomach it.
Ayurveda And Milk
I always get asked, “Does ayurveda not advocate ghee? Then how come you don't drink milk?”
A lot of the herbal preparations are said to get better absorbed into the body through ghee. However one must understand that, traditionally, in India cows are treated as the divine mother herself. Imagine receiving such love, adoration and attention and being treated like a family member. Energetically that is what we are receiving through the milk, the love of a mother. The culture was sensitive enough to recognise that if we received the milk from an animal, she becomes our mother and we have to honour her as such.
Mindful Milk
In class I do not advocate, not drinking milk, though I ask that everyone is more mindful of how their food is procured. The retreat, in the Arkaya 300 hour self-awareness program, has vegan food and milk alternatives so that those participating can experience that food can be tasty and healthy without meat and milk.
Ross' body type needed more kapha and strengthening and he sourced milk from a small dairy recently. When he stayed with me during pitru paksha to do clearing practices, for a week in September, he brought with him this milk. I was having milk after decades and though we boiled a bunch of spices and turmeric in it I could feel its kapha increasing properties. However it was not as sattvic as I wanted it to be. I did encourage him to have milk as his energy would benefit from it but also kept sending him links to the difference between A1 and A2 proteins in milk, so that a better quality of milk would manifest for him, through the process of becoming more aware.
A1 And A2 Milk
The Indian cow breeds have the highest A2 proteins. A1 proteins are toxic and not easily digestible. There is a higher incidence of lactose intolerance and digestive tract issues with those having A1 milk.
The farm that Ross was getting milk from had breeds that produced 60% A2 milk. I could not help intending for a cow breed with the most A2 milk
Synchronous Meeting With Cow Family
Ross excitedly told me two weeks ago that he crossed paths with a lady who not even five minutes walk from his home had just one cow family on her farm. So Ross got to go and pet the mom, dad and child who were snacking on apples. Not only were they close to him but the breed she had, had the highest A2 milk quality amongst western breeds. And Ross being of Scottish descent was getting his nourishment from cows that were genetically close to him in Ireland. They were Irish cows. I was happy. He was happy and the cows were happy. Happy cow, happy person.
Milk Fluids Transfer Emotions
Milk is derived from the blood of the animal and transfers not just nutrients but also emotions. Imagine raping a woman, killing her child and then taking her milk. What sort of emotions or thoughts would be there in that being for your well being. This is what the dairy industry does and do not expect anything but to be cursed by cows.
Native Traditions Ate Meat
Native cultures did eat meat. However there was a sensitivity to the spirit of the animal that was killed that helped sustain them in the wild and they gave gratitude to the great spirit and the animal. We are no longer hunting just for our needs and have alternatives, so it is worth looking into the energetic and environmental impact.
Are We Conditioned By The Habits Of Our Ancestors?
My grandfather used to tell me that men and ants are the only creatures that milk another animal. Yes, ants farm aphids. It made me ponder if drinking milk as grownups was natural or was this another conditioned parasitic behaviour I can let go off.
Milk Alternatives To Get The Same Comfort
Whenever I work on shifting conditioned behaviour, what works for me is to find healthy substitutions. That way the emotional attachment and comfort derived from that experience does not feel cut off. We have so many substitutes that we can enjoy here in the west. We have rice, almond, soy, cashew, walnut, coconut, oat, hemp, macadamia and barley milk in stores. In India we can make peanut, millet or coconut milk easily at home apart from the other nut milks listed. You can also look up the environmental impact of each of them.
Organic Brands I Like In Vancouver
Earth's Own Oat Milk NAKED - do not get the other version of Earth's Own as it has thickeners and gums.
Eden brand - Blend of barley, soy milk and wheat. I know soy gets a bad rap so limit it.
Iso Biola - also has some good almond-rice and coconut-rice blends.
My favourite mango lassi - Plant Veda organic lassi has vegan ingredients without fillers and tastes great.
There are a few others which are not organic with no additives, but the pricing was not as competitive as the above for an organic product
Saving The Cows
One of my friends commented that I was saving the cows when I shared that I prefer not to drink milk. I think I was just saving or rather honouring my sensitivity and of course that of the cow's as well. When we are connected to things, we are sensitised to what it brings to the plate energetically. We think about how it is procured and if it is in harmony with life. It is a choiceless choice where we cannot ignore this beautiful divine matrix anymore.
I had stopped drinking milk in my late teens, though I did have ghee when it was added to dishes at home. When I went out to eat, I did not fuss too much about paneer or yogurt. Else I would have to hear long lectures. So to spare myself the earache I was not too strict with it.
In my twenties I wrote an article for a magazine on why milk is over rated and why we should be more mindful of our choices:
1. Many commercial dairy farms keep the cows in closed, confined areas. They are repeatedly artificially inseminated, milked dry through their life and then when they are struggling to produce more they are tormented and sent to the slaughter house. The quantity of pus and poo in such milk is very high. Also, to put it crudely, imagine being raped by a steel rod, so you can keep giving birth and producing milk. In most cases the calves, if male are ground up for veal.
2. Consider the environmental impact
3. Emotional and mental health impact
4. Digestive impact
5. Cows are pumped with hormones, so hormonal impact on us
6. Health impact - Increased cholesterol, weight gain, prostate cancer, leeches calcium leading to broken bones, etc.
This is not to make us feel bad or judge ourselves for having milk, but stay more connected to our food and make more aware choices. Let us save our sensitivity and not get desensitised to our feelings, to empathy and to life.