VegWeb Ashram? What?
Okay.
I'm not long home from a wonderful day of Yoga Teacher Training. I have the most beautiful teacher in the world and I feel as light as cloud whenever I leave her place. I sincerely wish you could all experience her (or at least someone like her!).
Anyway!
As such, I'm feeling a tad whimsical and have been meditating on the idea of what a real life VegWeb community would be like. Glorious (of course) is the first word that comes to my mind... but I'm interested in your thoughts. How would the island of VegWeb look? How would it run? What would we cook? How would we generate electricity? Would there be a school of some sort? University? What types of farming practices would be best? What types of environmental practices would we adhere to? Would there be religion? What kind? What type of government, if any, would be in place? Laws? How could we be a self-sufficient, self-sustaining community?
Think on it!
And then report back.
Off you go!
I loved your post! You would have revelled in the 1960s and 70s. A time of real idealism and passion that seems to be absent these days. There were countless others out there just like you. Living the dream or wishing they could live the dream. It is an era I identify very strongly with, although life has taught me to be a realist, so there's a degree of cognitive dissonance present for me. On one hand the dream, on the other knowledge of the complexities of human nature and the problems we have living happily with others regardless of commonalities. Still, I like your questions and I hope others will respond. And who knows, a new wave of idealism may have begun.........
adagio
P.S. given the chance, I would love to have been there when the haight and ashboury wave rolled in.
with
It's nice to think about. But the reality is that we come from all backgrounds and all ages, religions and diets on this forum. It's been a while since there's been a heated discussion, but I imagine some of the discussions about how things should be run, what could be eaten, etc. would be interesting. :)
adagio
P.S. given the chance, I would love to have been there when the haight and ashboury wave rolled in
Don't romanticize that time. Those guys were very stoned, poverty stricken, and if it was so great those times would have lasted longer beyond the few years it took them to grow up.
Oh come now, Tweety!
I'm completely aware that we come from all backgrounds and all ages, religions and diets on this forum---that is the interesting part, and exactly why I asked all of you to tell me your thoughts and not my own. The beauty of being human is that we are all different, and that it's nowhere near impossible for a community of different people to live together peacefully. I'm a philosophy student, and I would be shot for being so idealistic were I writing this in a paper--but I'm not, so this is your chance to be creative and leave this hectic world we live in if only for a moment. People have forgotten to dream! Enjoy it, you are lucky to have such a faculty.
PS. I can offer a solution to the religion bit. I'm not sure if anyone has heard of it before but there is a program offered out of New York City in which you train to become an "all-faith minister," it is a two year program and the prerequisites include a master's degree and experience in practicing and teaching a concept of oneness (ie. you must have been promoting this for a number of years in whatever religious practice or faith you represent). My yoga teacher is currently completing the program and tells me how wonderful it is all the time. So! There is a possible way to satisfy the religious appetite within the community... any other suggestions?
Sorry, I didn't mean to be a cynic. Many of us do appreciate diversity. I'll probably get flamed to a royal crisp. But I can take it. Will the vegans really tolerate the fish eating "vegetarian", or the one who eats cheese and eggs without judgement in the name of diversity? Will we be able to do away with the "I'm veggier than thou" attitudes for the sake of getting along peacefully.
Always at first the things that are different about us we embrace, then on down the line we try to change.
I'm not saying it wouldn't work. But it certainly wouldn't be a peaceful utopia without stress and strife and problems. Perhaps I'm too much of a realist, but it's best to approach this island realistically. And on topic of the veg*n bliss, there's going to be some power struggles and whatnot. But wherever there are humans this will be the case I suppose.
I like your ideas about an "all faith ministry".
Ever heard of Dancing Rabbits? It might be something like what you have in mind. I imagine a vegweb island would be like that.
http://www.dancingrabbit.org/index.php
We would all have to share in the chores, and it wouldn't be all glamorous! Especially the people that are in charge of waste removal. Labor would probably end up divided by the sexes, although it might not start out that way. Women would generally cook, clean and garden and men would usually farm, repair equipment, construct buildings etc..
If there are children in the community they could have something like a homeschool co-op. With the internet, the education possibilities are endless!
We could incorporate the best of both eastern and western medicines. There would be mid-wives to help with pregnant mothers and small children. Both traditional and non-traditional doctors working together to help deal with serious injuries and diseases. The cost of healthcare would be drastically lower and people could barter for services. With the internet, modern medical advances, and a better understanding of eastern medicine we would have something on the communities of the 60s and 70s!
There are communities in the world where people of different religions co-exist without too many problems; hopefully this would be one of them. People in the community would have to have an understanding from the start that part of living here would might mean living with others who don’t believe exactly the same although they have a common goal of making the world safer, healthly, and just plain better overall!
When I watched a show about Dancing Rabbits one thing that stuck out is they are both open to visitors and afraid of them at the same time. It was hard for the people visiting to adapt to only being able to shower once every 5 days and not wear chemical perfumes and deodorants. The community had problems with visitors not being able to live by their rules.
Overall, a vegweb community would be chalk full of problems but overall good and much better than the outside world, mostly because of the type of people it would attract. Everyone might not agree but there would be a common goal and much less selfishness.
Ugh..sorry for the typos... I try to proof read but something always gets overlooked.
Who says that being stoned and poverty stricken (true impoverishment? I think not, more a 'badge' of the times I reckon) wasn't fun? That's what made it so romantic! I'm glad to have had those sort of experiences in my own history. I don't see it as something negative. Makes me feel quite nostalgic actually. Granted, I don't live like that now, and perhaps you might describe that as 'growing up' but I just see it as moving through one phrase of my life and into another. It has provided some of the essential building blocks in the creation that is me. :)
i probably wouldn't wear any clothes because it would be very warm on this island. plenty of coconuts, bananas and mangos for me to enjoy in excess
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Who says that being stoned and poverty stricken (true impoverishment? I think not, more a 'badge' of the times I reckon) wasn't fun? That's what made it so romantic! I'm glad to have had those sort of experiences in my own history. I don't see it as something negative. Makes me feel quite nostalgic actually. Granted, I don't live like that now, and perhaps you might describe that as 'growing up' but I just see it as moving through one phrase of my life and into another. It has provided some of the essential building blocks in the creation that is me. :)
I'm totall butting in and have never actually written anything on this website ever (other than recipes) but thats the beauty of these things right?
I agree about the poverty being something you should truly value, thats what it was like for me at university. I didn't have money because I refused to ask my parents for help so lived on my waitressing on the weekends so I miss out on the football games salary. But now its only two years later and I have gone from imediadtly getting a job (rare for a singer)becoming self sufficient to now I have moved across the world to South Africa for my man. He now is having to support me while I try to start my career again (funny enough its much harder here than old NYC). And my idea of poverty has changed completly. I had the option to be poor or not. People here are seriously seriously poor. Oh and btw our vegan paradise would not be here, its worse than texas with the meat.
ShanVeg, your comment about the vegan paradise not being in Africa is spot on. Years ago, on this site, I made a disparaging comment about how awfully people in Asia treat animals. Someone pointed out that my comment was based on total ignorance of the absolutely crushing poverty so many people in Asia experience. They were so right & I am so grateful for that comment as it increased my level of compassion toward the human animal. Well, a little, at least. ;)
I realized how being even a little affluent makes such a difference in eating vegan. I so took for granted the variety & selection I have. I live in a very progressive area & there are at least 4 major health food grocery stores in my area, not to mention the tens of vitamin/health stores of other types. Also, money is rarely a consideration for my choices. If I want expensive faux meats, I get them. If I want to make Dragonfly's cashew cheese sauce every day, I do.
Veganism sounds like it would be easy regardless of income, but the truth is, there are many people who cannot afford to make their family Dragonfly's mac-n-cashew-cheeze sauce on a regular basis. I can afford to pay almost $3 for a half gallon of Silk when milk is about the same price for one gallon. (We'll save the artificial price for meat & dairy for another thread.)
Poverty is something I have never experienced & knock on wood, never do. I think many Americans are like me in their complete ignorance of how pervasive the effect of poverty is on a person's life. There is not one aspect of living it doesn't touch. I wish the world would focus on ridding itself of poverty. I think we would alleviate so much more we would be stunned at the results!