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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Religions & Faiths > North American Indigenous Spirituality

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Old 03-07-2017, 03:49 PM
keokutah keokutah is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 562
 
hunting and fishing

First of all, I'm not vegan but I do have strong views on harming and killing animals, and I need to discuss this before I take up fishing.

I remember my first nations mentor told me that he felt strongly that he didn't have to hunt or fish in this day of age because he believed the sport of fishing and hunting was abused by white man and especially first nations people and in this time he was well off with money and could just buy meat to sustain himself, so he actually looked down upon those that were hunting and fishing.

But he told me stories about how this man he knew in these modern times would go into a forest and pray to find food, and then a wounded deer would walk up to him and just die, and apparently, this happened regularly, the hunter never had to kill anything because nature provided for him in that way. Apparently this was one hunter that was still connected to the old ways, and apparently miraculous things like an eagle dropping a fish into his boat would always happen to him.

My mentor always said that if he was forced to have to hunt or fish, he would do it that way, but he felt that Spirit was directing him not to hunt or fish.

I grew up in that culture, knowing to respect all life, even the plant kingdom. It's like, even before you pick a flower or take berries from a plant, you ask it permission first, and then you offer it something in return and celebrate its life, especially if you have to kill a plant in order to harvest it. And some plants don't want to be harvested and some are eager to be. The good thing is that I can hear the plants and animals, I've always had that gift.

I have never hunted, but I have heard the same goes for animals, you must ask them permission first and then if you are allowed to kill them, then you give an offering and have a ceremony to respect their life and be grateful for their sacrifice.

Of course I respected his opinion and adopted it as my own, plus ever since I was a boy, I would get really upset when my uncles would teach me how to fish. The fishing part was fine, and eating seafood is great (I love eating seafood more than anything else), but it upsets me to kill anything living. I could never look when they would clobber the fish over the head. I would catch fish and just want to release them because I fell in love with them instantly lol. I never understand the kinds of people who like to kill things as a sport. I love fish and view them as having feelings and their own lives, and deeply respect all marine life.
I mean, I feel connected to marine life more than animals and people on shore. I always have had a deep connection to the sea.

The reason I am bringing all of this up is because I recently felt called to start fishing, because the cost of seafood is just too expensive here and I am not working for the summer and right now my diet is very restricted to low carb high protien/fat due to some severe digestive issues so I have to live on mostly seafood and meat.

I hope that it was not an impulse or my own egotistical decision to take up fishing. Honestly, I can't help but feel like a terrible man and I even cried when I thought of having to kill a fish, just because I want to eat it.
I realize I'm on a tight budget, and it's impossible for a man my size to buy the amount of seafood I need to eat on my budget, but I still tell myself that the only time I should fish and hunt is if I was homeless, or stranded on some island somewhere and forced to.

All my life, I got by just not thinking about where the meat I eat comes from.

There is no way I could physically survive as a vegan, it would make me very ill, and besides I am equally upset when plants have to die, because in my belief plants have spirits too.

My spirit guide tells me that life and death is a natural part of life, we have to eat things that were once alive in order to live.

He says it would be good for me to learn and respect where my food actually comes from, and so he thinks fishing would be an invaluable experience for me. He says I would be the best fisherman because I do have compassion towards sea life.

In this regards I can understand why my ancient anestors used to eat and use EVERY part of an animal that they would hunt.

He says it's actually less moral to just eat the meat from animals and fish that other people have killed, because usually those people have not killed the animals in a good way, and the animals souls were never given proper respect and offerings upon their death.

His argument is that if I was to do it myself, I would be able to do it properly, in a moral way.

And of course my argument is that there is NO moral way, because I even get upset even when a wounded animal needs to be put down.

But my spirit guide says that he can teach me how to fish in a proper moral way so that I can still continue to respect all life and also grow to appreciate where the food I eat comes from, but also getting healthy wild nutrients, knowing where my food comes from. And to me I don't really care where my food comes from, I bet salmon from the store is just as healthy, but he says its not. Apparently even the way they die effects what you put into your body.

I still feel upset by this issue though. Why can't humans create some type of food substance from things that aren't alive? I'm guessing if we did it would never give us the proper nutrients. It just seems cruel to me though. Oh I need to eat, so I must destroy the life of something else.

And yes, I remember the stories of how my elders would tell me that some animals apparently live for that - to be sacrificed for human consumption, they actually want to be. And I can see that because if I were on the food chain I would much rather be eaten and provide life for someone else, rather than have to take a life.
Like, if a wild animal attacked me and devoured me, I would be content with that in my soul, knowing that my body served that good purpose of keeping it alive, in fact I would rather something eat me when I die, because I find it disrespectful to just go to waste in the ground. I wish I could leave my body laying somewhere in nature to give back to nature.

My spirit guide says there are many, many beings who feel the same way as I and that is what makes the world go around. Either you eat or you are eaten.

I just don't like these earthly rules. I wish I could just not eat, but of course I have to.

What do you guys think? Should I get into fishing or not?

Usually I would go by how I emotionally feel, so in this case I would respect my feelings about this issue and I just would not kill anything, but on the flipside my spirit guide might be right about learning how to do it in a proper way. I still feel like it would make me a murderer.

Honestly I'm the type of guy that gets upset when insects die. I would never intentionally hurt a fly, literally.

I met only 1 man in my entire life who was as sensitive as I was, but he commit suicide years back, he used to work on my dad's farm. It was a very ironic place for both of us to be, because there is so much killing on a farm! You'd think that being brought up in that atmosphere would have hardened me emotionally but it did not.

By the way, I already bought the fishing supplies, but I could always return it or sell it.
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