In Word Journey - Insights Into Human Existence

ON EATING MEAT NOW

The man walks slowly through the supermarket, pushing a cart in front of him. He is engrossed in his choices, deep purposes draw him to the items he wants. He looks at many, but chooses a few. The labels have quaint and amusing messages such as “the Food and Drug Administration has determined that this product may be dangerous to your health”. He laughs at these, and thinks to himself, “I am the only food and drug administration that matters”. He is attended by an attractive woman. From one shelf the man takes a jar labeled “Fear Energy”. At home he has a special recipe that uses this seasoning to tenderize and savor huge portions of tough, gristly meat. From another shelf, he takes a box called “Crisis Critters” (he knows this to be a popular snack). In the pet food section he selects “Grave Train” - “a high protein food guaranteed to give new vigor and vitality to your pet anxieties”. He recognizes all these items from advertising he has seen on television. From the beverage shelf he picks a can of “Hills Bothers” and says to the woman, “On a hill far away, stood . . .” She squeezes his arm to signal the end of the tour. They approach the check-out stand and pay for the items. Then, with bags in arms, they walk out into the sunlit morning.

In today’s world many people are really into the nutritional scene. You hear people talking about natural foods, organic gardening, those pestiferous pesticides, and about the unquestionable superiority of what occurs in the “natural state” (vegetables, etc.) over that which humanity has made or modified. Folk suggest that (1) humanity screws everything up, and that (2) we humans are helpless against sinister forces such as chemical contamination (as sinister as the new world order conspiracy). The only solution they see is to make sure to eat only foods which are grown and harvested “naturally”, and in general to diet thoughtfully, with a proper respect for the “natural” processes, and a proper fear for the “unnatural” processes. They suggest these things in a manner and tone which are religions, and sound for all the world like a fundamentalist talking about how screwed up humanity is in sin, and how we can’t quite sinning. Well, let’s assume that it is all true and on from there.

When you hear anyone (professional or not) speaking fearfully you may be sure that you will hear rationalizations which are expressive of a selective blindness, and that they will be plausible rationalizations, if not compelling ones. The smarter and more informed the rationalizer, the more convincing (or “truthful”) will be the rationalization; so don’t be fooled by a truthful rationalization. Repression is the most popular defense against fear, mainly because it takes away the threat instantly: the best pain reliever ever discovered. Repression and a terrific, truthful rationalization are an unbeatable combination - almost.

We learn things intellectually and then internalize them. We acknowledge that it is when truth is internalized that it really becomes ours and changes our lives. Well, we have learned also that one sign that internalization has taken place is that we stop forgetting what we know at all the crucial times - or start remembering what we really know to be the case. Perhaps it is time to internalize some things we know, then there will be nothing left to fear, and we can be done with rationalizing.

As spirit beings, we all know more than we are revealing in our talk about physical cause and effect in true substance. We know that the functions of the human body are subject to the mind, and especially to beliefs and expectations (even “skin science” has more than half proved this already, with studies on biofeedback, hypnosis and placebos). We know - at least intellectually - that “we create our own reality”. Yet we seem to forget these facts. We seem to be unable to extend these facts into such matters as food. We affirm that our bodies are “just naturally going to react in certain undesirable ways to certain foods or other ingested substances, and that we have no power to alter or countermand these natural processes.”

Such an affirmation is not wrong, but it seems unnecessarily limiting for a people who are really into learning how to free themselves from and transcend self-imposed limitations. A small change in perspective can change one’s total view, without suggesting that there was anything wrong with the previous view. One is not obligated to abandon permanently an old view in order to see a new one. A view once vital to one’s level of growth may be simply be set aside when one’s growth requires a new view. With these facts in mind, I would like to share a little different perspective on appropriate diet (or meat) for spiritual beings.

Feedback. Your questions and comments are welcome.

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