Hi Open and everyone,

Although I gave up meat and eggs 10 years ago, my 'vegan Kryptonite' has always been cheese. I've gone long periods being purely vegan and then somehow come back to eating cheese - especially when others around me are eating it. Right now I'm eating vegan and have been eating one meal a day for the last 2 months, which feels great after the initial challenges. I imagine I won't be going back to cheese due to an increased sense of committment reflecting from your recent articles and correspondence.

I think one of the main challenges of cutting things from the diet is the conflict between what the body craves and the knowledge and compassionate level. For me, my mouth still waters when I smell meat roasting on a barbeque - There's a brief physical reaction which is quickly worked through when I imagine what it would be like to eat and feel the resulting disgust and 'wrongness'. This now also becomes the case with cheese.

One question that's related to your article but not so much to diet - could you elaborate more on what a collective entity is? Is it many souls who are connected by a hive consciousness? If so, what's the level of individuality/sovereignty in such a construction and what's the purpose of a collectivised soul exploration?

Thanks again!

Rich