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So Many Lemons and January Challenge

So many lemons

November 2025

So Many Lemons

When asking for spiritual guidance, we may receive an answer that’s confusing at first. While it usually does make sense in hindsight (e.g. “Oh that’s why I was guided to buy coffee at that random café even though I hate caffeine – I met my now-best friend there…”), sometimes certain guidance will remain a mystery for months or even years afterwards. This has happened to me on at least a few occasions.

Once, I tuned in after meditating and received an image of spirit guides sitting under a lemon tree. “What does that mean?” I wondered. There was no answer, just the feeling that I needed to figure it out for myself.

I guessed that perhaps it was a metaphor for taking a current challenge and looking at the bright side, or growing from it somehow – that is, by turning a lemon into a lemonade. The next time I tuned in, the vision of lemons came back, with the understanding that I hadn’t properly deciphered the message yet.

The lemons kept returning until eventually I saw the guides point above them, while saying emphatically, “So many lemons.” I had no idea what that meant.

Not long afterwards, while going for a walk I came across a bag of lemons on a chair. That seemed odd, but I kept going. When I looped back, more lemons had been piled up on the same chair. As I wondered if they were there for the taking, a man walked around the corner and said, “Please take some. We have a lemon tree out the back and we’re trying to get rid of them. There are just so many lemons.”

At that point, I decided to do an internet search for any metaphysical meaning of lemons. It turns out that lemons symbolise a lot of things, some of which conflict with one another (for example, lemons are thought to be symbols of both optimism and bitterness). Lemons are also associated with cleansing, happiness, prosperity, clarity, purification, renewal, and a host of other things. I didn’t know how to make sense of it, so the significance of the lemons remained cryptic and the vision of them disappeared for a while, until just recently. More on that later.

You Crazy Vegan

Around the same time I was grappling with the lemons puzzle, I was trying to understand why I’d felt guided to order and give away a large number of copies of You Crazy Vegan: Coming Out as a Vegan Intuitive. Despite my confusion about it, the ordered books were taken to various libraries, second hand stores, as well as donated to a bookstall run by a charity.*

Then, about half a year ago, someone who found my book at a local library reached out to see me. While I wouldn’t normally agree to it, I felt an immediate 100% yes to the invitation so I broke my own rule and met up with a complete stranger. I discovered that she was passionate about veganism and had done some photography work for animal charities. By the time we parted ways, I felt a sense of wanting to do more for animal protection, but I wasn’t sure what that might involve.

A couple of months afterwards, I saw a book by the entrance door of my accountant’s office. It was called The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer, the same author who wrote Animal Liberation in the 1970s (my uncle sent me a copy more than 20 years ago). While my tax return was being prepared, the accountant commented on my donations made over the past year, and we ended up chatting about the book I’d seen in the waiting room. He said it was thought-provoking and contained interesting information about how to give effectively. The book has never been available for sale, but anyone can access it in print, digital, or audio format at no cost.

Hearing about all the free copies that had been given away made me feel a little less strange about having donated so many You Crazy Vegan books. It also sparked my curiosity. I planned to get my own copy of The Life You Can Save but somehow forgot about it once I left the accountant’s office. It wasn’t until earlier this month that I remembered it again.

World Vegan Day

On the 1st of November, which coincided with World Vegan Day, I caught up with a friend who was keen to have lunch at a particular vegan café around the corner from our meeting place. She asked if I’d be okay with that, and I shared that it happened to be my favourite eatery, so I was more than okay with that! We went to the venue but found it to be dark and empty. My hope was that it had temporarily shut down for a short break or for renovations.

Later, I was told that the café was permanently closed. The owner had announced that after several years of running the business, he wished to follow his heart and move on to a new adventure. Although the reason for its closure was a positive one, my body reacted unexpectedly. Right then and there, in a public place in broad daylight, I began to cry.   

“This is weird,” I said to the person who delivered the news. “Why am I having such a strong reaction?” This was simply one vegan business out of several others that had closed in recent years. None of the other closures had made me weepy.

Then again, maybe it was because so many others had gone out of business in the lead up to this event that it seemed more depressing. Plus, this wasn’t just any vegan business, it was my favourite one. And it wasn’t just any day to find out it had closed, it was World Vegan Day. And it wasn’t just any World Vegan Day, but the first in many years for which there was no big celebration in Sydney in honour of it.

There had been other small vegan-friendly events scheduled for that weekend, but I hadn’t arranged to attend any. Even if a large event had been held, what would I have done? Probably the same as always – I would have enjoyed the lively atmosphere, overeaten, bought some goodies, and then gone straight home. I wondered if that pattern would satisfy me in the long run, to simply gorge on vegan food and not contribute beyond that? I got the same niggling feeling as when I’d met the photographer earlier in the year. I wanted to do more.

One week later, the vision of lemons returned.

The Life You Can Save

When those lemons appeared again in my mind’s eye, I felt a clear understanding that the meaning behind them – for me at least – was all about abundance, giving, and clearing out what’s no longer needed. It might have been nice to have had that clarity straight away, but I doubt it would have had the same impact if the message had been more straightforward and not so bizarre. In any case, I felt empowered to look at the issues of abundance, giving, and clearing more deeply.

As far as the theme of clearing goes, I’ve decided to give away anything in my home that I no longer love or find useful by the end of January. If it’s not in a good enough condition to donate or recycle, then I’ll throw it away. This prospect feels both daunting and exciting.

Also, the memory of my previous intention to read The Life You Can Save popped up. After downloading and listening to it, I felt inspired by the idea of giving more to charity than usual. Since my teenage years, I’ve donated roughly 10 percent of my income, even when it was difficult. It always felt like a meaningful investment rather than a financial sacrifice, bringing about a sense of abundance (after all, giving something away sends a strong message to our brains that we have more than enough). Plus, the knowledge that those dollars were contributed towards worthwhile causes has given me long-lasting warm fuzzies, which is a nice bonus.

And so, for the month of January, I’ve committed to donating 90 percent of anything earned through my intuitive work – including consultations, books, and Clear Channel Course signups – instead of limiting donations to 10 percent.

While I’ve regularly given to both human charities and animal charities in the past, I intend to give the entire 90 percent to Animals Australia. This charity is considered a “standout charity” for their work on behalf of animals in Australia as well as abroad (based on outcomes for each dollar donated), as acknowledged by the Animal Charity Evaluators based in the United States.

Effectiveness aside, I’m happy to donate to this charity because it feels right. If you’ve read You Crazy Vegan or listened to my summary of it, you’ll know that animal protection is the “why that makes me cry” – that is, it’s the purpose that moves me to tears, whether in response to heart-warming stories about saving animals or distressing news about animal cruelty. I also read several years ago (from a source I unfortunately can’t remember!) that less than 2 percent of all donations globally go towards helping animals. Considering their vulnerability and that they are unable to advocate or speak for themselves, I figure they need all the help they can get.

Veganuary

Another action I felt motivated to take was to sign up for Veganuary. Veganuary is a non-profit organisation that encourages people around the world to try going vegan in January. I’d heard of this before but thought there wouldn’t be much point in getting involved. But a few weeks ago, I read the following words on a webpage about Veganuary, arguing that even those who are already vegan can sign up to support the cause:

“Already fill your plate with plants? Signing up to support the campaign can be more impactful than you think! By coming together as a community and showing support for Veganuary, you’ll be sending a message to brands and retailers that there is a growing demand for offerings that are kinder to animals … the initiative has played a huge part in shaping the market for animal-friendly food options”.

Doing a time-limited challenge like this one is easier than committing to a lifestyle change indefinitely. I had wanted to try veganism for years without success until I was invited to sign up for a 30 Day VeganEasy Challenge. My challenge started on 1 November 2009, and I’ve never looked back. I’ve known many other people who explored veganism as part of a one-month challenge. Some stuck with a vegan lifestyle while others returned to being non-vegan afterwards, but all of them shared that they were glad to have given it a go.

I’ll be running my own little Veganuary competition for email subscribers just for fun. The first three people who enter will be offered a free 30-minute intuitive consultation. All other entrants will be placed into a prize draw to win a consultation in January.

It's okay if you don’t intend to continue the vegan experiment beyond January, or if you’re already vegan, or expect that you might have a lapse or two. As long as you're a subscriber and have a genuine willingness to give it your best, then you are eligible to enter the competition. You’ve got to be in it to win it!

If Veganuary doesn’t sound like your type of thing, you might want to check out The Life You Can Save. I’m sure you have your own “why that makes you cry” that you might want to support, and this book offers food for thought on how to give effectively, how to choose what charities to donate to, and covers several common objections and misgivings that can prevent people from making the impact they want through giving. 

I think the bottom line is to give in a way that feels good, rather than do it from a place of obligation, resentment, or unnecessary suffering. Think of Whoopi Goldberg’s character Oda Mae Brown in the movie Ghost, who reluctantly hands over a 4-million-dollar cheque to a nun (as instructed by a ghost played by Patrick Swayze). It’s one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

Jokes aside, if you’ve been wanting to contribute or give to someone in need for a while and feel stuck on how to do it, try asking your intuition what to give, how much to give, and who to give to. Allow yourself ample time and space to receive answers, then act on any clear messages when they come through.

Lemonade

On the Veganuary website, it mentions that millions of people have tried going vegan since 2014 thanks to the 31-day challenge. It also suggests that the vegan population has grown over time. I tried to reconcile this possibility with the fact that so many vegan businesses have fallen in recent years like dominoes, which I’d presumed was due to less demand for plant-based products.

I looked more closely at a News.com article I’d been shown (by the same person who told me that my favourite café had permanently closed) about the decline of vegan eateries in recent years. It gave details of multiple restaurants and shops that had gone out of business, attributing this to the cost of living. Nonetheless, contained within the same article was a paragraph about the proportion of Australians who identify as vegan. Despite being a very small percentage now, the figure has apparently quintupled since 2021. This equates to more than a million more vegans in one country alone, over a relatively short period of time. So perhaps the demand for vegan cuisine isn’t plummeting after all – perhaps people are just cooking more plant-based meals at home.

I know the “so many lemons” message wasn’t really about turning bitter experiences into positive ones. Yet when I consider everything that’s followed World Vegan Day this year – remembering The Life You Can Save, supporting the Veganuary campaign, renewing my commitment to give, and clearing my physical space by donating what I no longer love – it appears that discovering the closure of my favourite vegan eatery on World Vegan Day was a gift in disguise, a lemon turned to lemonade.

You can sign up to Veganuary here.


* How this came about is a funny story. While pondering how I’d give away so many books, I was called by the CEO of a charity called Vegan NSW. “Jess!” a friendly voice greeted me on the phone. “Are you still coming to the market today?” I asked what market she was referring to. The Sydney Vegan Market, was the answer, and would I still be coming to help at one of the stalls? “I think you might have the wrong Jess,” I explained. She had organised a social lunch I attended many years prior, which is why my number must have been stored in her phone. After apologising for the mix up, the call ended and I thought for a moment. The timing and nature of the call seemed too much of a coincidence, so I rang back and asked if her charity might benefit from a donation of vegan-related books. The answer was an enthusiastic yes, and the rest is history :)


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