2010.10.16 The responsibility of participation?

[kycahi]

To me, it's less about particular actions such as eating meat and more about having a better awareness and appreciation for how you fit in with your surroundings and your world.

This same idea has been expressed by many others, and I still struggle to understand it. I honestly, sincerely, genuinely do not understand how knowingly contributing to the suffering of our younger brethren can be reconciled with the STO path.

I'm not judging anyone. I am simply expressing something that troubles and confuses me.

Here is something from Ra that might help.

18.6 Questioner: Basically I would say that to infringe upon the free will of another entity would be the basic thing never to do under the Law of One. Can you state any other breaking of the Law of One than this basic rule?

Ra: I am Ra. As one proceeds from the primal distortion of free will, one proceeds to the understanding of the focal points of intelligent energy which have created the intelligences or the ways of a particular mind/body/spirit complex in its environment, both what you would call natural and what you would call man-made. Thus, the distortions to be avoided are those which do not take into consideration the distortions of the focus of energy of love/light, or shall we say, the Logos of this particular sphere or density. These include the lack of understanding of the needs of the natural environment, the needs of other-selves’ mind/body/spirit complexes. These are many due to the various distortions of man-made complexes in which the intelligence and awareness of entities themselves have chosen a way of using the energies available.

Thus, what would be an improper distortion with one entity is proper with another. We can suggest an attempt to become aware of the other-self as self and thus do that action which is needed by other-self, understanding from the other-self’s intelligence and awareness. In many cases this does not involve the breaking of the distortion of free will into a distortion or fragmentation called infringement. However, it is a delicate matter to be of service, and compassion, sensitivity, and an ability to empathize are helpful in avoiding the distortions of man-made intelligence and awareness.

The area or arena called the societal complex is an arena in which there are no particular needs for care for it is the prerogative/honor/duty of those in the particular planetary sphere to act according to their free will for the attempted aid of the social complex.

Thus, you have two simple directives: awareness of the intelligent energy expressed in nature, awareness of the intelligent energy expressed in self to be shared when it seems appropriate by the entity with the social complex, and you have one infinitely subtle and various set of distortions of which you may be aware; that is, distortions with respect to self and other-selves not concerning free will but concerning harmonious relationships and service to others as other-selves would most benefit.

I added the emphasis as a pointer to the part of this long answer that I think applies to whether to enjoy meat as food. Now I will attempt an interpretation.

Human need and human digestion require/allow the eating of meat. That is, IMHO, okay in 3D because we are here for experience, and so are 2D entities that provide the meat. They experience a life either as a free animal that a human catches for food or as a penned animal living with less stress and more indulgence (contemplative?), perhaps, at least until slaughter.

Ra says, to me, that some peoples' eating prepared meat is incidental to a life of experiencing a multitude of things for growth. Over time/lifetimes, people acquire discernment with more awareness of the One that eating other selves can be a hindrance of compassion toward the 2D creatures. So, believing that eating other selves is not good and doing it anyway would generate self-judgment, aka guilt, which is IMO, always counterproductive.

Animals eat other animals and, I interpret, serve the One in so doing. People eat other animals likewise, but along their 3D way can choose to stop that practice from noble reasoning or heightened awareness.

Serving the Law of Confusion, if all humans were to cease eating meat, the drastic reduction of demand will drastically reduce the 2D population and thus the opportunities for 2D experiencing. A bit of irony there. :-/