Hello, beautiful spirits!
After my latest articles on the physical as well as mental health benefits of a plant-based nutrition, I want to continue with the rather spiritual, energetic aspect of this topic. Foods in their whole, natural, living state do have an incredible impact on us. Yes, they are nutritious and healthy for the body – no question about that. But we are not only our body. We do consist of energetic layers which become influenced by everything around us, especially by what we put into our bodies. Eventually, this food will become one with us on a cellular as well as an energetic level.
Today, I want to dive deeper into the more subtle power of fruits and veggies and answer the following questions:
- Is there research on the energetic aspects of food?
- What are certain types of foods doing with our consciousness?
- Why may a plant-based lifestyle be so powerful for your spiritual evolvement? And why are most dedicated yogis following a vegetarian diet?
“To keep the body in good health is a duty,
for otherwise we shall not be able to light the lamp of wisdom,
and keep our mind strong and clear.”
(Buddha)
As you’ve probably realized: I don’t want to focus on the term “vegan diet”, but would rather speak about the conscious choice of whole, plant-based foods. This kind of nutrition does not (only) derive from external motivation, such as opinions from medical practitioners, scientific facts or other stimuli. I’m speaking especially about a choice which comes from within as we experience a bunch of benefits by eating plant-based, and we start to see “the whole picture” puzzling itself together. I believe that humanity is transforming on so many levels. Conscious food choices may have an incredible impact on this process: We’re not only valuing plant foods for curing physical health issues, but their use can be expanded for alleviating suffering on a mental, emotional and spiritual level.
~ Science and energy ~
Research from F.A. Popp, a German physicist, and Dr. Niggli show that so-called bio-photons (light energy) are an important factor when it comes to food quality. Bio-photons are the smallest physical units of light and their original source is sunlight. They are able to order, regulate and further elevate the organism to a higher order, which is then manifested as well-being, sensing vitality and life force. The bio-electric energy of our cells depends on how many bio-photons our body is able to absorb externally (sunlight and plant foods).
The more light a food stores, the more nutritious it is and the more life energy it provides us. Dr. Popp showed in his studies that the healthiest people had the highest amount of bio-photon emission and the sickest people the lowest amount. This means, the weaker, the sicker and the closer we come to death, the fewer bio-photons we emit. When we have a look at the foods that provide the most amounts of bio-photons, it comes back to organic, whole, “living” foods. The amount of bio-photons are reduced during the process of storing, transportation, chemical or heat treatment.
Popp says that cells act as resonators for sunlight. Electromagnetic wave patterns in the cells act as a guiding force for the physiological reactions in the cell. All living systems do emit bio-photons and the amount changes constantly because the field patterns are being influenced all the time. As we go further, it can be said that consciousness is a high order of coherence of field patterns in the body. If this order happens within our body, we remain healthy. If the field patterns are imbalanced, disease occurs.
Science proves that foods do not only contain nutrients, phytochemicals, fiber and enzymes, but also electrical energies. Our tissues or rather cells do also have an electrical potential, which directly represents the liveliness of our cells. By eating living foods (unprocessed plants), this electrical potential becomes enhanced, which results in a better capability or even power to destroy toxins and other unwanted substances as well as keep the DNA repair mechanisms up. Thus, these natural, whole plant foods rejuvenate life force and health of an organism (Cousens, 2005).
~ Foods and energies ~
From a spiritual perspective, you do not only consume the material foods but at the same time you take in all the energetic information that everything on your plate carries within.
Lets look at a comparison:
- Dead animal flesh contains residues of the animal’s energy. And what kind of energy might that be? Eating this piece of flesh means you automatically consume the energy of the suffering, fear and pain which the animal experienced before getting killed. This type of energy won’t enhance your own vibrational level to be opened and ready for your spiritual path. It rather lowers your own vibration. It also takes more energy from you to digest the meat. In spiritual terms: A lot of your own life-force energy (prana) will be taken while at the same time, you consume a very low vibrational energy. Your body is very busy processing the meat in your body, all the blood and energy is brought down to the digestive tract which reduces your psychic sensitivity.
- On the other hand, we have plant foods which are directly grown in or on (mother) earth, fully loaded with sunlight which provides the highest amount of life-force energy (prana). What do you think these types of foods do with our physical and energetic body? – Right. We’ll absorb more living energy, our digestive tract does not get as challenged as by eating meat, we’ll feel more vibrant, energized, clear and peaceful.
~ Nutrition and spiritual evolvement ~
A plant-based lifestyle may support you in becoming more open and sensitive to the spiritual world.
“The key for spiritual life is to create a diet that turns you inward
to yourself. This diet is the live food, vegan diet.”
(Dr. Gabriel Cousens)
It is said that people following a plant-based diet vibrate on a much higher frequency than people who consume animal-based
proteins. The higher energy level you have in food, the more aliveness there is, obviously, the more vital force energy (prana) you’re literally absorbing into your body. So, as we can tell from research: “Living” food vibrates on a much higher frequency than the food we consider to be dead, which is animal flesh and highly processed food. So, the higher energetic frequency we are vibrating on, the more likely and ready we are for our spiritual evolvement; which directly depicts what most people tell from their own meditation experience. Eliminating animal flesh or even all animal products from their diet enhanced their ability to connect with the base of consciousness, the Divine. At some point of consciousness, it will come so natural to you making conscious food choices. Choosing plants over animal products. Choosing life over death. Choosing compassion over harm.
“Our food choices reflect the ongoing harmony with ourselves,
the world, all of creation and the Divine.”
(Gabriel Cousens)
I believe that health and spirituality are a vibrational match. They go hand in hand. Health really is the basic state of need we have to fulfil. Otherwise, if you’re in a state of pain or suffering from certain health issues, you won’t be able to open your mind and your energies for a higher purpose. How can you dive into deep, spiritual topics and think about a mission you want to accomplish on earth if you have to deal with pain, depression, anxiety or tiredness? It is almost impossible!
~ Plant-based nutrition and yoga ~
You’ll have noticed that many yoga practitioners, especially Indian yogis, stick to a vegetarian/vegan diet. Many might intend to improve their health – and we already learnt that vegetarians and vegans, on average, do have better health conditions. So, it’s not a bad idea. However, at some point, when you dive deeper into the rather energetic work within you’ll face the benefits from plant foods compared with dead, violent-based, environment-destroying animal products.
The spiritual practice of yoga goes hand in hand with a natural, plant-based nutrition with a great amount of living (raw) foods. This goes back to ancient wisdom, more precisely to the Vedic periods back to 4000 B.C. when vegetarianism began. Ancient texts from Indian sages outline that a plant-based nutrition is in-line with the spiritual path. It allows practitioners to experience oneness. Plus, a non-meat-diet goes hand in hand with the yogic principle of Ahimsa (non-violence), written down in the yoga sutras by sage Patanjali. Ahimsa means to create no harm through thought and action on any living being, any creature and this principle focuses on eating foods which did not create any violence. Vegetarianism has always been promoted particularly for monks, Sadhus and spiritual practices according to the Hindu and Buddhist tradition. When we harm other beings, we cannot progress on our own yogic path (Frawley, 2002).
“Food affects the mind. For the practice of any kind of yoga,
vegetarianism is absolutely necessary
since it makes the mind more pure and harmonious.”
(Ramana Maharshi)
Furthermore, sages and practitioners say that a still mind, a state of peace during meditation will only be disturbed by consuming dead foods which carry negative energy within. It won’t enable you to enhance your vibration in order to experience a closer connection to the Divine. Thus, yogis naturally follow a sattvic (clean, pure, plant-based) diet which matches with their energy and enhances their spiritual experience.
Along my journey, I experienced that following the spiritual path of yoga naturally matches you with what feels aligned and what does not. Everything that doesn’t belong to your body, to your emotions and to your values will eventually fall away by itself. A very good example from my life is alcohol: at some point on my journey, I chose to not drink alcohol anymore as it does my body, my mind, emotions and spirit NO good at all. Alcohol and myself, we are no vibrational match (anymore). And I can comparably transfer this explanation to animal flesh. Eating plant-based makes me feel vibrant, deeper connected, focused, calm and peaceful. These benefits have been allowing me to trust in life and to surrender. To let go of things that do not serve me anymore. To let go of too much control. To connect with my intuition and to come closer to who I want to be and what I want to do in this life.
~ Conclusion: Nutrition and Spirituality ~
Most of us have lost our spiritual connection to food. It has been reduced to operate as fuel and to provide us nutritional value. However, the human body is not a machine. Many of the food-related issues can be traced back to a lack of awareness between body and spirit. Our food contributes to how we think, how we feel and how much we’re connected to our spiritual body; how conscious we are.
To sum it up: What are the spiritual benefits we may experience from a whole-food, plant-based nutrition?
- It provides us with high vibrational energy (bio photons).
- It may enhance our awareness, our consciousness.
- It may support our spiritual path: the mind may get calmer which allows the practitioner to experience deep states of meditation.
Foods interact with us in a physical as well as an energetic way. You are what you eat. We feel attracted to those types of foods we’re matching with vibrationally. Making conscious nutritional choices based on foods from mother earth is a way to tune into your body and build a deeper connection and to enhance your awareness. A spiritual practice, such as yoga, will support you on that journey. You’ll notice much more easily what your body really needs and what doesn’t serve it.
Your eating habits do have the potential to support your personal transformation. I believe that it may also contribute to a collective transformation and therefore revolute the global human evolution.
Take care of yourself! Sent with love and gratitude!
Namasté,
yours Isabel!
Literature
Cousens G. Spiritual Nutrition. Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini. North Atlantic Books (2005).
Frawley D. Yoga and Ayurveda. Motilal Banarsidass (2002).
Pictures
Unsplash (www.unsplash.com)
