raw food, killing sentient beings

No, I agree with you actually.

Self-medicating with low amounts fits in well with the
quote I gave in the post below.

The same goes with tobacco–an old Native American saying
is that “tobacco is a healing herb, but if you abuse the
herb it will abuse you”.

Ironic also that you referenced tobacco, as I’ve been trying
some things . . .

As an aside with reference to me, I’m currently *not* smoking
(having quit in January)–as I’m trying different alternatives
to see if I can come up with a self-medicating approach that
doesn’t have the societal stigma–PLUS I’m planning on being at
the HT retreats this summer for two whole months and know it won’t
go over with the HT crew 🙂

At any rate, currently I’m trying fiber, plus probiotic bacteria
supplements, plus qigong, plus going to a massage
therapist/energy balancer once per week . . . I’m trying as many
modalities as I can come up with.

To be perfectly honest, I’ve only been having limited successes.
I still need to take 4 Pepto-Bismol caplets every morning, and
the stomach/intestinal pain, cramping, gas and discomfort is
only slightly less problematic than usual. Nothing so far,
separately or in combination, seems to be nearly as effective
as smoking a few cigarettes a day, but who knows, maybe I’ll
get lucky and stumble on to something . . . provided my
patience doesn’t run out at some point.

Smiles,
Steven

In my opinion, Taoists should look at everything from the energetic point of view (yin/yang). The food is no difference. I am eating and learning macrobiotic system daily. It is based on the taoist theory. The macrobiotic is very deep and covers the topic of foods according to yin/yang and chi elements.

Some sample of the energetic view of the cooking – http://www.natural-cancer-cures.com/cooked-versus-raw.html

Macrobiotic Blog