Last year, I was able to realize how connected our food is with the performance of our body. I noticed that when I was feeling sad or angry or frustrated, I would eat junk food. Buckets of homemade popcorn, french fries and chips. I actually wanted sodas too. I wanted anything and everything that was not good for me. At the time, I thought, "Oh some McDonald's french fries with honey and a coke will make me feel better right now." Or I would rationalize, "well if my body is craving it then it must be what it needs."
Did it? No.
Although there is some truth to your body needing what it craves, it's not necessarily the food itself but rather an ingredient or substance in the food that the body needs. So instead of eating the chips and french fries, maybe a vegetable medley that had potatoes in it would suffice.
I also noticed that as I would give in and eat, the more angry I got. At times I would spiral into full blown rage. The food wasn't helping, in fact it was making it worse. Not only would I get angrier, the anger would just chill instead of walking passed me. That spicy, sweet and salty popcorn didn't make anything better, especially not how I felt. Instead, it was kidnapping me and my captors were my emotions using the food as bait. Can you believe that? Food trapping you in this dark, gloomy tomb....Well it was for me.
For a while, I couldn't make that strong connection. I had glimpses that I needed to take better care of myself, but it didn't truly set in until I read Awaken by my spiritual master. He stated that the body had to be cleansed first before I could really begin peeling off the layers of the mind. He stated that although the body is not who we truly are, it is what houses the soul, what houses us. That's when I knew that if I truly wanted to begin working on myself, I had to begin with the body.
On the spiritual path, getting to the soul is like cleaning a house after a flood in the swamps of Alabama that has been abandoned for centuries (I hope that created a vivid picture). Before you can even think about placing a foot on the steps, you have to take care of all the debris around it. How can I even fathom getting to my soul, if I have this huge wall of debris blocking me.
No wonder my meditations have been more of a struggle, my mind unfocused. Instead of working on cleaning the outside of the house, I've been feeding the inside even more dirt to keep me away. I have to start with my body. So in many ways, all the gym ads you see urging you to get to the gym are both true for your physical and spiritual wellbeing.
So with that I'm taking some advice from my spiritual master and the Bally's ads I see on tv. I'm not necessarily going to the gym, but I'm increasing my physical activity through yoga and breathing exercises. But most importantly, I'm watching what I eat.
No more junk food for me. No more popcorn, french fries and chips every week and definitely no more sodas. Instead I'm replacing them with water and juice, fruits, hummus and celery or pretzels. Light foods that will help me to feel better and start my body on this road of spiritual cleansing.
Did it? No.
Although there is some truth to your body needing what it craves, it's not necessarily the food itself but rather an ingredient or substance in the food that the body needs. So instead of eating the chips and french fries, maybe a vegetable medley that had potatoes in it would suffice.
On the spiritual path, getting to the soul is like cleaning a house after a flood in the swamps of Alabama that has been abandoned for centuries (I hope that created a vivid picture). Before you can even think about placing a foot on the steps, you have to take care of all the debris around it. How can I even fathom getting to my soul, if I have this huge wall of debris blocking me.
No wonder my meditations have been more of a struggle, my mind unfocused. Instead of working on cleaning the outside of the house, I've been feeding the inside even more dirt to keep me away. I have to start with my body. So in many ways, all the gym ads you see urging you to get to the gym are both true for your physical and spiritual wellbeing.
So with that I'm taking some advice from my spiritual master and the Bally's ads I see on tv. I'm not necessarily going to the gym, but I'm increasing my physical activity through yoga and breathing exercises. But most importantly, I'm watching what I eat.
