“Listen to your heart, and know what your heart tells you, and when you find in your heart that you are whole, your body will be whole as well.” — Bashar
As I went downstairs to get a bowl of veggie chips I suddenly started thinking about how it’s totally fine to listen to music you love, watch movies you love, read books you love, but eating food you love? That’s a big no-no.
And why? Well I guess it’s because we’re so identified with our bodies. We truly believe that who we are is our physical body, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve been conditioned into believing that eating healthy is so important and the only path to health. (How about happiness and love as a path to health, anyone?) And no one ever really feels guilty about their favorite books or movies or music, but the moment you stuff a donut into your mouth? Suddenly all this guilt and fear arises and I’m pretty sure that’s where all the health problems and weight gain stems from. From the guilt and fear, and not just from what we’re actually eating. (For me it’s constant eczema and yeast breakouts.)
And I know—believe me I know because I’ve read so much shit about nutrition—I know about all the crap that’s in our food. I know about how a lot of our food is processed and devoid of nutrition. But my god, the stress that comes with trying to eat healthy all the time, and the feelings of deprivation that come with it, and the guilt when you cheat, probably cause just as much, if not more, disease than the actual food itself.
Now why do some of us eat certain foods? Because it tastes good and it uplifts us. But isn’t reading books we love, watching our favorite movie, and listening to our favorite musician (hi Joanna Newsom) also things we do because it makes us feel happy? And yet there are no negative side effects from doing those things. Because those are things we believe touch our souls, not our physical body. Nobody, okay maybe your English teacher does it with books, goes around advocating for healthy reading and movie watching and music listening. Yeah, some people are snobs about those things but it’s not the same as with food. They’re just being snobs. And I know there’s the whole argument about how violent video games and movies are bad but if you’re engaging with these things from a place of love and passion it’s not going to turn you into an ax murderer.
So what if we could just let the delicious taste of food touch our souls and uplift us without feeling so fucking guilty and paranoid and anxious about everything we’re putting into our mouths. Yeah, you can eat healthy and organic if you want and can afford it, but if you’re doing it from a place of fear like I’ve been for the past almost two years, you’re going to wear yourself down. You’re going to get really fucking sick of this bullshit and you’re going to fall off the wagon again and again and again. And the truth is, albeit unfortunate, we just cannot control what the food industry is putting into our foods. As disgusting as it is you just cannot fight an entire industry and if you try the stress alone will probably cause just as much disease in you as any toxins or preservatives in our food can. I mean yeah, you can be an advocate for organic food and all that. Honestly, if that’s what you’re truly passionate about, go for it. Seriously, someone needs to be passionate about that shit so things can change. But it’s not what I’m TRULY passionate about. I just got brainwashed by the beliefs of others that I absolutely must eat healthy or I will always be sick. And I believed it, and so eventually it got to the point where I could no longer eat dairy, wheat or sugar without breaking out all over the place.
And I know people like to say, well everyone’s just different. Our bodies are all just different. Well, I’d like to challenge that. How about we’re all the same. How about we’re all capable of eating whatever we want and not gaining weight, and not getting allergic reaction. How about we all come from the same source, spirit, whatever you want to call it, and it’s all just about being happy and more loving—not about depriving yourself or spending miserable hours at the gym. What if it really is just about beliefs? My dad, for instance, can eat a lot of things I can’t and he has no reaction to it. Some would say that’s just how HIS body is, but I would say it’s because he doesn’t have all these negative beliefs about food and doesn’t stress about what he eats. I mean, yeah he has issues with cholesterol but let’s also remember that he is in no way trying to question his beliefs or change them either. So whatever beliefs he has is what he has. My point is that he just doesn’t have as much negative resistance surrounding food as I do, so he doesn’t experience as much as I do. And in my case, I can eat anything and not gain any weight, but I do break out in rashes.
So what’s my point here? Well, what if we stopped identifying so much with our physical bodies and just started identifying with our spirit? With what we truly love and want? What if we just stopped believing that for some reason we’re good and great and wonderful for having the best taste in music and movies and books, but we’re horrible and awful and guilty and fat pigs for wanting to eat the pizza instead of the vegetables? I know, this is kind of a crazy concept, but again I definitely think it stems from being way too identified with our bodies and worrying way too much about looks and health. I think if we could all, in our own ways, just find some way to realize that we are in no way bad because we crave pizza, it would cut weight gain and disease in half.
I mean seriously, why do you think you’re a bad person for eating pizza? EVERYBODY loves pizza. So either we’re all bad or we’re all good. And I’d really like to think that we’re all good and we’ve all forgotten just how good and worthy we are.
(Worthy enough of both delicious food and perfect health, because reality is only a reflection of your beliefs and emotions so why the fuck not?)