Quote Originally Posted by Arjuni View Post
Namaste Jai:

My feeling is that any prayer to Lord Śiva can only create benefit!

You wrote about your past veg diet being too carb-heavy, and yes, this will certainly make a vegetarian lifestyle harder, with too much quick energy from sugars and not enough grounding from good fats and proteins. Learning different preparations of vegetables and taking more vegetarian protein foods (like dals and nuts, and curd and paneer if you take dairy) will surely help you succeed. Vitamin B12 is also vital for keeping your spirits high and your mood stable, so it's worth taking a supplement for this important nutrient if you don't eat many B12 foods (e.g., tofu, soymilk, and cheese).

What pleases me most about being vegetarian is that I no longer feel guilty and hypocritical about my meals; I wasted so much energy on stress and worry and feeling bad about myself, but now taking food is simple and even joyful. Instead of focusing on what you are missing, it might help to think about how good you will feel when your deeds align with your wishes and beliefs. I wish you best of luck in your efforts (and am happy to provide recipes and advice if you'd like to PM me).
And one more bit of "food for thought": believing yourself "tongue-tied and stupid" in prayer is perhaps a thought originating with ego, no? We don't laugh at children who are learning to talk or call them fools when they misspeak, and Lord shows us even more compassion. Letting go of that feeling of silliness is a part of trusting surrender to the Divine, and one of the most wondrous aspects of performing pūjā.
Namaste Arjuni...

Thanks for the tips and support.

I've been doing fairly well in starting by eliminating anything with mammary glands from my diet. I had one slip up, for which I kicked myself since I had other options. Old bad habit. I still have chicken but I'll eventually eliminate that and fish. I'm not one that can do it cold turkey; though I really haven't tried, so maybe I am selling myself short. I am beginning to plan and make some meals around rice, pasta, legumes, adding some vegs. I am learning to make biryani. I made it with chicken, but why not just a rice and vegs, and paneer biryani? I had chanda masala the other day. I do have to watch the starch, because it is soooo easy to rely on. Oddly, for someone of my "huskiness" (5' 5", 217 lbs), a peanut butter sandwich (preferably on whole grain), and a glass of milk (whole please, none of that thin watery stuff lol) is really pretty filling for me. I do think I can do this.

And one more bit of "food for thought": believing yourself "tongue-tied and stupid" in prayer is perhaps a thought originating with ego, no? We don't laugh at children who are learning to talk or call them fools when they misspeak, and Lord shows us even more compassion.
So much win in that statement!

I haven't begun my prayer routine to Lord Shiva yet, having just finished a 40 day promise to Maa Lakshmi to do one 108 round of her gayatri every day for those 40 days. I didn't want to have too many irons in the fires, as it were. That is, have my attention divided (I am horribly superstitious... it comes from having Italian grandparents lol).