The Role of your Diet

[Carly]

Just curious, do you find that what you eat plays a roll (and if so, how much?) in your mood, motivation, mental clarity, meditation, and general spiritual life? I feel myself being drawn towards the Raw Food Diet. I've experimented with it before, and not being on it hasn't limited my ability (to this point anyway) have amazing spiritual insights and experiences, but I wonder if it might take me to a new level spirtually (and physically, emotionally...). I've decided to commit to a 100 day experiment of 100% Raw or as close as possible (the longest I've ever done before was about 75 days 6 years ago and I felt great).

Especially when it comes to heavily processed foods, or those with refined sugar, common allergens (dairy, gluten), or those with excitotoxins (aspartame, MSG and all its pseudonyms), it would be hard to imagine that these wouldn't negatively impact you spiritually. Most of the ashrams I've ever looked into all serve a vegetarian, often vegan, usually organic, primarily whole foods diet.

What do you think?

[headshaker]

I agree entirely that food affects mood and the ability of mind body and spirit to maintain balance. Sadly there is no universal diet that fits everyoe's unique circumstances and genetic composition. It is the responsibility of the individual to do their own research, consult wise ones and finally by trial and error come up with the right regime for them.

[CaterpillarWoman]

Well, I have to maintain a low-GI, moderately low-fat diet or I become physically unwell. I'm also lacking the enzyme needed to digest milk solids, so I have to be very careful about dairy foods (at home I always have lactose free skim milk on my museli or in my coffee, for example). I can't eat green capsicum (green bell pepper) at all, unless I want sharp pain in the abdomen and intestines for a few hours as it moves through my system. Oh, and I can't consume aspartame in any way, shape, or form (it triggers an episode of joint pain, headache, and fatigue, generally speaking).

None of this is really "spiritual" as people commonly think of it, but when your body is very loudly demanding your attention due to pain or bloating or other disturbances, it really has a way of making it difficult to focus on anything else, or so I find.

Our family aren't vegetarian, though I occasionally toy with the idea. We do eat vegetarian meals fairly regularly, and the emphasis of our diet is whole grain breads, whole grain pasta, fresh (or frozen) vegetables, fresh fruit, eggs, and dairy in moderation (cheese, yoghurt, milk, etc., though the milk is mostly for the kids or for cooking, aside from my morning museli, which is, in fact, organic). I like to make simple, straightforward meals that are balanced and not too high in fat (soup, pilaf, lentils and rice, that sort of thing), using meat mostly as just one of the ingredients rather than the main attraction (I admit we do sometimes have steak or a roast, but that's the exception rather than the rule). I wouldn't say our diet is especially organic, but we don't buy a lot of processed foods, certainly. Simple, basic, tasty food, with or without meat, that's what suits us best (and me, in particular, since I'm usually the one who cooks!).

[Carly]

Thanks for your input everyone! :-) CaterpillarWoman, my mom always says the same thing, that it is hard for her to focus on positive thinking when she is in pain. I notice personally, when I eat too much sugar the day before, when I wake up my thinking is muddled and my mood is way down, and it's much more of a struggle to get it back up.

[jeffusu]

I think it can help, although is it 100% necessary? I dunno.

Did Jesus and Buddha eat meat? I think they did, I can't really remember for sure

And didn't that guy in India, Nisgardatta Maharaj (I don't know how to spell his name, haha) didn't he smoke cigars like a mofo?

And I'm pretty sure I remember Adyashanti saying he loves KFC.

Sure there's benefits to it, but is it absolutely necessary for spiritual growth... probably not. Just some food for thought

[Odd-Arne]

It relates to spirituality in the simple way that if you don't care about a diet that's obviously is making you unwell you can't really be all that wise. Unless a consicous suicide mission and geral self abuse is somehow important to your spiritual growth and wellbeing offcourse.

It's also quite arrogant to have a conclusion on how diet affects us with actually having tried everything possible. This going outside general beliefs in a big way and it takes a long time to even get a few steps further than the general population because the information is no readily available and generally frowned upon.

I don't think anyone has reached the limit of what's possible with optimum nutrition or how far one's spiritual understanding can go, or any other means of growth. They all influence eachother as well.

[Carly]

I think a problem that can occur (for me anyway) is when I focus too much on diet, or substitute a 'clean' diet for true spirituality. There are certain diets that some promote as 'miracle cures' to everything and anything, and promise enhanced spirituality. Many people (okay, maybe not many, but I ) will eventually come to believe that by going off this restricted diet will impede their spiritual progress. So they stay on these diets that limit their social relationships, restrict them in many ways, and make them unhappy and constantly focusing on this diet and remaining 'pure', thinking they have to 'earn' their way to spirituality, as if it isn't already here for all.

[Odd-Arne]

When people talk about diets they sort make them into religions that you have to follow. You follow this and can't follow that or whatever.

What I'm talking about is being informed and using your own common sense in regard to your consciousness level of a certain subject. One that affects us all no matter what we think. It's quite obvious to people that don't use substances that stimulate them in an undesireable fashion when people that do are influenced. I'd say we can almost forget anything else if people got enough sleep, water and got some daily greens in their diet. That's just my opinion though, which I'm saying just to be nice. I consider it to be irrefutable truth myself.

Now I'm able to do my thing without having to bother anyone else, but some will make issues of things just because they're different. In those cases I accept no responibility and don't consider any social things lost a true loss at all.

[Cassie]

I was really hung up on the whole diet thing for a long time...I was a vegan at one point.

Now I just try to listen to what my body is telling me. If I see a piece of cake and my body says, "Yes, please, I think I'd like that" then I will eat it. I think when you love the food you give your body, no matter what it is, and you love your body, you find a natural balance. ALL food comes from the earth, from God...but the human mind wants to latch on to the idea of "better" foods and "better" nutrition, which ends up being a means for the ego to feel superior and to control life. That being said, I generally feel that when I give myself permission to eat ANYTHING, I am guided to what is generally closer to the earth (unprocessed) and raised humanely.

I try not to worry about it as much...focusing too intensely on your diet creates a very small, restricted reality as Carly said.

My new motto:
Food is good. You should eat it.

[Joel]

I eat whatever I can find, and I'm awesome!