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I’ve been eating vegan foods for over five years, and began my blog about three and a half years ago. My blog began as an online journal for a cleanse I was doing, and continued afterwards as an avenue for me to share my life, my learning, and my experiences. Working with renowned vegan author Gabriel Cousens, M.D., and living in a vegan community at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona, nutritional and holistic lifestyle information is abundant and cutting-edge, and the benefit of community is a profound platform for learning, growth and experience. I write on many different subjects in my blog: vegan nutrition trips, vegan recipes, interviews, and personal blogs about what I’m up to, such as the vegan restaurant tour I took in LA, the 5-hour scenic hike I took one weekend, or a recap of the vegan potluck party I hosted. My blog also incorporates personal stories and ideas about the subjects of spiritual life and meditation as well as the healing of compulsive eating and eating disorders.
When blogging about such a range of subjects, how does one keep the message of the blog relatively unified? Or for that matter, what is the message of my blog? My message, which unifies the various topics I write about, is that a healthy life is holistic. The message is that no part of a truly healthy life – diet, exercise, lifestyle, spiritual inspiration, community, etc. – can be omitted. All components are required to be in balance so that we have ample and overflowing energy to live our life’s true purpose.
The other aspect that ties the various subjects of my blogs together are personal stories and sharing. My blog is personal, open and honest, where I share intimately the processes I am going through – whether that be the challenges and successes of living on a plant-based only diet, the evolvement of my spiritual path, or general thoughts and musings about living a conscious life. I find that people appreciate connecting to these subjects in a personal way, as if through a dear friend who is honest and open, and relatable. The example of what someone’s day-to-day, year-to-year life looks and feels like who eats vegan foods and lives a conscious, spiritually oriented lifestyle helps the possibilities hit home for readers.
I plan to expand the audience I reach with my blog with more kinds of media, including videos, interviews, and collaborations with other people doing work I appreciate and admire. As I continue to reach out in the form of speaking and teaching classes and lectures in person, I plan to share my work in those areas on the blog as well. I plan to continue to use it as an outlet to share the blessings I’ve received in my life of knowledge, access to information, and immersion in community. As Gabriel Cousens says, “we receive in order to share.”
Courtney Pool writes her blog at http://www.courtneypool.com/ and works at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center with Gabriel Cousens, M.D. She is a freelance writer and she has traveled to speak about raw food and healing disease, including at the grand opening of 105degrees in Oklahoma City, the world’s first live food chef school, and at the New Life Expo in New York City. She coaches juice feasts and healing emotional eating and eating disorders, incorporating raw food and spiritual practices as supports.
