Talking with Melissa Keath: How Veganism, Meditation and Inner Guidance Shaped a Life of Purpose

Melissa Keath’s story is not your typical journey into veganism. From mystical out-of-body experiences to nine-hour daily meditations, and from photographing raw meals for her kids to publishing nine books, Melissa has turned conscious living into a full-spectrum lifestyle rooted in love, simplicity, and spiritual connection.

A raw vegan since 2001, her philosophy goes far beyond food. In this exclusive interview, she opens up about the real reasons behind her dietary choices, how creativity and meditation shaped her path as an author and illustrator, and why raw food is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.

If you’ve ever wondered how to align your lifestyle with your higher self—or how to raise a family on raw food without losing your joy—this conversation will leave you both inspired and intrigued.

1) Hi Melissa! Can you share your journey into veganism since 1996, and what led you to adopt a raw vegan lifestyle in 2001?

My name is Melissa Keath. I was born in 1967 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany, and studied art history and sports at the University of Heidelberg.

Aside from daily sports, I found my studies boring—dry and overly intellectual. They didn’t satisfy my thirst or burning quest for something higher in life. My mother had a large collection of esoteric and spiritual books, and I much preferred reading those to going to university.

I discovered the Seth series, which led me to become a vegetarian. Through those books, I also realized my purpose in life was to expand my consciousness. I began practicing daily Hatha yoga, but I was still searching.

One day, I was lying in bed, completely relaxed, somewhere between waking and sleeping, when a voice said, “Now, I can go out of my body!” Suddenly, I was floating above my bed, looking down at my body. It scared me, and I said, “Back into the body now, please!”

My soul returned, but it took a moment before I could move again. After that, I had several more out-of-body experiences, unintentional and unsettling, since I didn’t understand what was happening. My mother didn’t help—she warned, “When you’re out of your body, watch out—another disembodied soul could enter!” I find that quite funny now.

I kept searching, and in 1995, I was spiritually drawn to go to a meditation event in Stuttgart. That’s where I was initiated into the meditation practice of Surat Shabd Yoga by Sant Rajinder Singh. I soon realized my spiritual teacher had shown me, through those out-of-body experiences, that I was not the physical body.

After initiation, those experiences stopped, and instead, inner spiritual experiences began. I took a break from university and began meditating nine hours a day. Almost immediately, I had profound inner experiences. I saw my spiritual teacher on the inner planes, and he revealed many beautiful and insightful things to me, helping me gain deeper self-knowledge.

I began to hear my inner voice more clearly and, in 1996, flew to India to attend a Human Unity conference—where I met my husband. We started a friendship that continued for several years through letters.

In 1998, I moved to the U.S. and worked as a trainer for Visa International.

My daily meditation continued, but although I was vegan, I often lacked the energy I needed and would fall asleep during meditation. That was frustrating. So, I asked my teacher during meditation how to increase my energy.

He answered with a vision and a book recommendation about cleansing the body. I found the book by Dr. Richard Anderson, Cleanse & Purify Thyself. From it, I learned about alkaline nutrition and the benefits of raw food.

Immediately after going fully raw in 2001, I experienced a dramatic increase in energy and focus during meditation.

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that the why behind our actions is more important than the what. My goal in adopting a raw food lifestyle was to deepen and focus my meditation—that’s why I’ve sustained it for so long. My goal wasn’t physical beauty, staying slim, or curing an illness. It was to get closer to my higher self and to God.

That same year, I moved to Australia and married my husband.

2) As an author and illustrator, how do you integrate your creative talents into promoting raw veganism and conscious living?

Becoming an author was a result of my daily meditation. My inner voice told me to photograph and record the recipes my children enjoyed most.

During meditation, I also often received insights for beautiful animal stories designed to help children understand and practice empathy. I initially asked my daughter to illustrate the stories, but after creating just one illustration, she had enough—so I decided to do it myself. That’s how I became an illustrator.

I simply post photos of our daily meals on social media—that’s how I promote my books.

Through 30 years of daily meditation—2.5 hours each day—I’ve gained a deep understanding of life and how to build loving, lasting relationships. That’s how I began coaching others who are interested in achieving the same.

I never planned to do these things professionally; it all happened organically while I was homeschooling my children. When we meditate daily, we connect with our true self—the source of all creativity.

3) Your platform, Joy With Raw Food, emphasizes balanced and simple raw vegan recipes. What principles guide your recipe development to ensure both nutrition and simplicity?

I’m guided by my inner voice to create balanced and simple raw recipes, all tested and approved by my family. My children are now healthy, active adults—and that’s how I know these recipes work: from years of experience and consistent success.

4) With over 1,000 raw vegan recipes shared in your Rawfood Fight Club group, how do you keep your culinary creations fresh and innovative?

I don’t really have to do anything other than listen to my inner voice. We are all children of God, and if we surrender our ego—stop trying to control everything or cling to certain ideas—we can hear that inner guidance. It leads us to create loving, successful, long-lasting relationships, and to be an example to others.

Each morning, I go into the kitchen and listen to my higher self. That voice directs me in creating the day’s recipes. Our higher self is infinitely fresh and innovative. It requires no effort—it’s a joy to listen and co-create with it.

5) What inspired you to compile your recipes into books, and how do these publications support individuals transitioning to or maintaining a raw vegan diet?

My children inspired me to compile all my raw recipes and insights into nine printed books. I wanted them to have everything documented, in case they chose to continue the raw vegan lifestyle or feed their future children raw food.

The Joy With Raw Food books are made to be used in the kitchen—they’re not just coffee table books. The recipes are divided into eight volumes: breakfast & smoothies, main dishes, appetizers & snacks, desserts, holidays and birthday parties, breads and spreads, and lunchboxes. I also created a ninth book, How to Stay Fully Raw, with my personal tips.

Each book has a different colored back cover so children can easily pick one—like the orange one for breakfast recipes. That’s what my kids did. They’d flip through and say, “I’d like this for breakfast, please!” The books made it easier for me to keep my family on a raw diet.

They removed the pressure of having to come up with something in the moment. My kids were even able to prepare recipes themselves because they’re so simple a child can follow them.

6) As a conscious living coach, what common challenges do individuals face when adopting a raw vegan lifestyle, and how do you guide them through these obstacles?

The biggest obstacle in the raw food lifestyle is the wrong motive. If you’re going raw just to look beautiful, cure an illness, or stay young—yes, it might work, but it may not be sustainable. Once the goal is achieved, you may return to cooked food.

To stay fully raw, you need to develop a genuine passion for fresh raw food. You must enjoy what you eat. It’s essential to create a variety of exciting, satisfying recipes. Living on fruit alone might work short-term, but for families, it’s not sustainable. If your children meet others eating spaghetti and pizza, they may resent being limited to just fruit.

If you’re doing it alone, that’s one thing—but with a family, you must consider what’s best for your children. I kept my children raw for 10 years while homeschooling, but when they entered high school, they began swapping their raw lunchboxes for their friends’ peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Ironically, many of their friends loved the fresh food! I was happy that others benefited too. But we cannot control our children—we can only guide them lovingly.

I’ve met surprisingly angry and dogmatic fruitarians. Why? Perhaps because they’re suppressing their inner child, who craves more than just fruit.

Some breatharians and fruitarians believe they can live forever if they eat nothing or only fruit. But they forget that everything depends on karma. If your destiny is to die at 35, you will—no matter how “pure” your diet is.

The question is not how to live forever—our soul already does. The question is whether we want to return to this world or ascend to higher realms. If we’re attached to this world—through food or other material things—we’ll return. To transcend, we must love our soul more than anything from this illusory world.

The raw food lifestyle cannot be sustained through suppression. It thrives only when pursued with love, variety, creativity, and passion—and when paired with daily meditation to heal and purify our emotional and mental bodies.

A person who is emotionally unwell cannot happily sustain a raw food lifestyle.

7) How has your Australian background influenced your approach to raw vegan cuisine and conscious living practices?

It hasn’t. I identify as a soul—not as a citizen of any country.

8) Beyond nutrition, what other aspects of conscious living do you emphasize in your coaching, and how do they complement a raw vegan diet?

Meditation and raw food go hand-in-hand. Without meditation, we won’t become aware of who we truly are. Without healing our wounds and learning to love ourselves, we cannot sustain a raw food lifestyle gracefully.

Anger is the most acidic thing we can hold in our bodies. Meditation, on the other hand, is the most alkaline thing we can do. It nourishes the soul and helps raise our frequency. Raw food is the highest-frequency food we can consume. The two complement each other: raw food gives us the energy and clarity needed to meditate deeply and discover our true selves.

A person who doesn’t meditate daily doesn’t truly know themselves. They’re unconscious and ruled by egoic habits. They can’t heal from past conditioning. Food is only a tool—not the end goal. The goal is to live from the frequency of the soul, to become one with it, and view life from its all-conscious perspective. That requires diving deep within and training the ego.

9) Could you share a success story from someone who has benefited from your guidance and resources in their raw vegan journey?

One of my clients healed her lifelong, severe eczema. Through ego mastery training and daily meditation, she also discovered the root cause—because illness doesn’t just come from unhealthy habits; it begins in the mind. She has since become more confident and successful in both her personal and professional life.

10) Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for Joy With Raw Food and your role in advocating for raw veganism and conscious living?

My aspiration is always to follow my inner voice—wherever it leads. We are not our physical bodies; we live in a hologram. This world, and its food, is entirely illusory. My goal is to be a doorway to higher consciousness for those who are ready and willing to move beyond the physical and discover who they truly are.

Thank You, Melissa!

A heartfelt thank you to Melissa Keath for sharing her incredible journey, insights, and the wisdom that comes from a life deeply rooted in intention, creativity, and conscious choices. Her words remind us that food is more than nourishment—it’s a path to inner transformation, especially when paired with daily meditation and self-awareness.

If her story has inspired you even a little, we invite you to keep following her journey and explore her world of simple, soulful living.
🌿 Discover daily raw vegan inspiration on @joywithrawfood
📚 And don’t miss her beautiful children’s books filled with empathy and meaning: @empathybookseries

Let yourself be guided by joy, presence, and the quiet power of listening to your inner voice.