I've been a vegetarian since 2000.

I avoid intentionally eating anything that ever had a heart beat or a nervous system. I'm not sure if shelfish do but I don't eat them either. I personally do eat eggs (non-fertilized). I eat cheese but try not to buy it to have in my fridge and I do eat honey.

My diet is karmically oriented for a way that benefits me, all animals, nature, and those in the food processing industry that process the food I eat.

If there was chicken on a salad and that was my only option for ordering a salad and I felt I needed to eat, I buy the salad and remove the chicken. I offer it to someone around me who eats chicken. Figure that out. It's about intentions as much as actions.

From 1998 to 2000 I spent two years experimenting with food prior to going vegetarian.

I used a daily meditation practice to gauge the affects of my diet on my mental and physical well being during a time when I had very little other inputs changing. Thus isolating cause-affect was easier to do.

When I ate healthy vegetarian food my thoughts about myself were more positive, my negative and judgmental thoughts about myself and others diminished significantly. I had clearer thoughts. My intuitive skills were sharper. I didn't experience the emotional ups and downs that an intuitive empath can suffer from (and we're all intuitive empaths).

When I was eating a healthy vegetarian diet it was easier for me to be critical of my self in a positive way and it was easier for me to use self-talk and meditation to modify less than desirable behaviors and beliefs one item at a time. I constantly try to replace lesser habits with better habits. One habit at a time.

Why would eating this way enable that?

The only conclusion I could come to was Karmic Energy as it relates to Compassion for Self, Animals and Others. It is an active form of expressive prayer through behavior that I participate in consciously every day without uttering a word. I have studied the body. I understand how it was intended to work and I express my appreciation for the opportunity to explore the Earth School by treating my body and that of others in ways that seem very simple for me to see.

I respect that others don't see things the same way and they may never see things the same way. That's what diversity is about.

The lie detector test detects slight changes in the body when you say something that isn't factual. (yes, it can be tricked)

I'm going to guess the underlying mechanism in that setup is in fact a tiny blast of cortisol but it may be fully energetic instead of chemical. That small jolt is a tiny shock that most can't consciously feel but is detectable when monitored and it can accumulate in some form. Is a lie detector test actually measuring Karmic Energy, some type of potential energy? Yes, IMO.

Just like a dog collar to a dog, that shock fires even if you don't realize it.

For me, it became clear the same kind of negative feedback loop seemed to be firing when I consumed animals.

And that made sense to me given the human body was not designed to consume animals primarily. It can definitely adapt as that is one great characteristic of the human body. It can adapt to help the driver explore what the driver would like to explore. But just because it can doesn't mean it should and make sure the proper driver is sitting the driver's seat of your body. The mind isn't it yet it drives many. Emotions aren't it either, yet they to drive many.

It is my belief that those who kill and clean their own meat in a conscious fashion earn significantly less karmic energy as compared to those buying it in a store with no first hand experience with the process. Those buying it earn a portion for creating the demand for those slaughtering it, who earn another portion for each kill.

All beings here are sentient as are the plants even. Some folks even talk to rocks. Ask anyone who communicates with them. The Native Americans lived in harmony with the Bison and did a lot of worship to offset the gifts of food and protection the bison provided. A case of harmony at it's best given those conditions, it would seem to me.

A Karmic Footnote.

Many people see Karma in action and know it exists. Others believe in the thought. Others question it because peopled like Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and/or millions in our government have gotten away with what appear to be scams or murder galore. Just because you haven't seen their Karmic Scorecards doesn't mean it wasn't hell on the inside for them nor that there's not a balance due. If you don't feel they owe a balance would you like to have their score card? If you winced at that, know that Karma exists, because that was an attempt to slide a tiny portion of their balance to you. Hopefully you felt that and now you have experience with it too.

Vegans - Vegans eat no animal products AND no animal by products like butter, milk, honey, etc. What's with things like milk and honey you might ask? Some of it is biological beliefs and/or embraced realities, and some of it is due to the idea that any type of control systems around animals for food products simply isn't a required part of being human. And many have lived it well and shown it's not.

Vegetarians - There is no single standard definition for vegetarian and there never will be given the global community. The best place to see an outline of the diversity for various vegetarian categories is in the food ordering system when booking an airline flight. There are something like 10-15 different vegetarian categories. Check that out. I've heard someone who didn't eat read meat call himself a Vegetarian (!?) No beef, chicken, pork, or goat with only fish is about the broadest term of Vegetarian I've seen and even then I feel the term Pescatarian is more appropriate. Words are just words but try to use them for transparency.