The Oneness Foundation believes in the “Garden of Eden” as our model for living, known by the Eastern religions as Shambhala or Shangri-La. There, our connection to God, animals, mother earth and one another is restored and in balance. We have used this model in our cat rescue, Eva’s Eden as well as in our personal lives. A world in balance does not sacrifice the environment or people’s health for more profits. It does not torture animals and waste resources for the sake of convenient and cheap living, and it does not attack people who have differences of opinion though harming no one. These imbalances lie in the hands of the people and are not a set of circumstances beyond our control. Changing it requires people to wake up from the insanity and raise the standard. It requires a people like the Essenes to be spiritually and intellectually aware, creating an environment for change …
There are some bible scriptures that clearly indicate that one day the world, including animals, would not eat each other. These prophecies speak of the lion eating straw and the wolf lying down with the lamb, and humans and animals no longer doing harm to one another. Religions from around the world speak of such a paradise. They refer to an era of time where there is peace, love and unity on the earth. If paradise is a place where all of creation is in harmony with both God and one another, then the opposite is also true. We see this fully manifested in the Book of Enoch, where carnality and lust for the flesh lead to gluttony so extreme, that after the animals were consumed, they consumed one another.

The Essenes took these examples to heart, and formed a community to foster their spiritual growth and enlightenment over 2000 years ago. They made an oath to never eat the flesh of anything dead, for they believed that if they did, they would become spiritually dead and full of disease. They knew that the consumption of flesh lowered their frequency and made them earthly minded, while raw foods contained a life force that raised their frequency allowing them to be more spiritually in tune. (This has now been proven to be true – raw foods contain bio-photons, a biological light force that dead, cooked or processed foods lack.)

As a result of the Essenes’ practices, this small community impacted the world in such a way that every western nation has been touched by it. They prophesied a coming Christ, and created an environment through which He could enter the world through the womb of Mary. They raised up a man known as John the Baptist who declared the Messiah and repentance until his death, and they copied and preserved holy manuscripts, known today as the Dead Sea Scrolls. They wanted a better world, and they did everything to foster this, both in their physical lifestyle and in the mastery of their character. They knew they had the ability to create change, and they used it to bring hope into the world.

Like the Essenes, the Oneness Foundation practices raising our frequency through vegetarianism and by increasing our raw food intake as one of our many disciplines. Many of our members noticed a significant change in their mindset and sensitivity once becoming vegetarian, even becoming less angry and more patient. They also saw a decline in their carnal mindset with improved clarity of thought and an increased ability to uphold their vision. Their care and concern for animals began to grow, and with that came an awareness that animals are more intelligent and feel more than what we had previously given them credit for (for more in depth detail read “Diet for a New America” by John Robbins.) Even the people surrounding them began to put more thought into what they were eating and began to question the methods by which their meat products were produced. Still others’ initial response was “I would rather die than stop eating meat.” Whether the response is out of feeling threatened by change or in support of it, in each case people became more aware, and in time, more accepting. When you change your own life, you affect others, and in time, this can change the world. When you foster your relationships with God, mankind and animals, a whole new world perspective opens up to you – one that ultimately contributes to your awakening and creates a Shambhala here on earth.

By Rochelle Madrid