A Way Of Eating For Super-Consciousness: Part One
We
readers of FATE Magazine share at least one thing in common: our interest
in unusual phenomena, such as ESP, PK, life beyond death, etc. My own
interest in these "metaphysical" phenomena covers nearly two
thirds of my life; and my first hand experiences have convinced me beyond
a doubt that such phenomena are indeed very real.
In his best-selling AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI, the late Paramahansa Yogananda
relates incident after incident of rishis or siddhis (yogic "miracles")
he witnessed being performed by saints he encountered during his life.
These phenomena included: bi-location (being in two places at once);
living under water for several days at a time; manifesting objects of
great worth from "other realms"; and even raising the dead.
These are actually no miracles at all, he says (except in the larger
sense of all life being a miracle). They are perfectly normal feats
which anyone with instruction plus a dedication to the yogic way of
life can perform. (Note: yoga, which means "union," is a science
based on the vedanta tradition, not a religion. And yogis are those
who follow any of the 16 pathways of yoga described by the early Indian
philosopher, Patanjali.)
In fact, these "super powers" must arise, as a kind of a "scoreboard"
to let the yogi know just where he is along his pathway of spiritual
development. Yogananda calls this state of being "super-consciousness."
I, too, have witnessed my own guru (spiritual teacher or master) perform
many of these same seemingly miraculous feats. And on rare occasion,
even I have been able to "break" (or at least bend) a physical
law here and there by the application of some of these same, simple
principles I was later to hear described by Yogananda. Thus, like millions
of searchers before me, I have concluded that super-consciousness is
not simply a gift from a Higher Force: it is our normal way of being
as humans ... if we only allow ourselves to live in this wondrous state.
However, over millennia of disuse and abuse we have gradually lost (rather,
forgotten) the way of living super consciously. In its place, we are
forced to accept brief moments of clarity (in the form of occasional
feelings of psychometry of deja vu, for example); or brief bursts of
mental super power (perhaps in the form of key bending or such); or
even clairvoyant glimpses into the future. Not surprisingly, once we
taste this wonderful power, we wish to have more of it. Yearning to
have these abilities and more is our natural desire as human beings;
and searching for it at whatever speed we move is called evolution.
Along the evolutionary pathway which we are each traveling, there are
a number of important milestones we must encounter, at least according
to most traditional Oriental beliefs. These may occur over the course
of many life times or, rarely, during the course of a single tour of
this earthly plane. (Virtually all Eastern philosophies agree that reincarnation
must occur time and again for each of us.)
One such important milestone is the learning to control the body and
its senses. Not only is this true for learning the control of such normal
functions as hunger or the need to sleep, but especially in the more
practical area of learning to relieve our own pain and suffering. For
it is said that only the body heals itself, but when one is distressed
by pain and suffering, he or she is not able to apply his mind toward
the single purpose of this earthly incarnation: namely, the pursuit
of freely willed self perfection.
If not hundreds, I have learned at least several dozen easy, effective
ways to promptly relieve and "reverse" one's own pain and
suffering without doctors, drugs or medications. In an earlier article,
I described one of the most powerful of these "self health"
techniques G Jo acupressure (see FATE, February. 1984).
A second important marker along one's spiritual pathway is meeting the
guru. It is said that we each have our guru or teacher, regardless of
whether he (or she) has actually been met in the flesh. Consciously
establishing a Master/Disciple relationship with one's guru is thought
to be a most vital step in the surrender (or self destruction) of the
ego.
Ego is said to be a fear reaction which, though it may protect us from
real or presumed harm, also prevents us from reaching super-consciousness.
Thus, at a certain point, the ego is said to cause a wall or insurmountable
obstacle; serving the guru is the doorway through that wall.
But perhaps the most important milestone is learning to control the
mind and its emotions. This may be called "the expansion of consciousness."
And one of the most important elements of this process is becoming food
conscious.
Essentially, this means becoming aware of the effects that food has
upon not only the body, but also the mind ... then doing something about
it.
There is a logical "progression of eating" as one evolves
(or returns) toward super-consciousness. First is learning or relearning
the pleasure one receives from the gross senses (sight, smell and especially
taste) as one raises himself from the unconscious and habitual (or "meat
and potatoes") way of eating. His tastes become "refined."
He learns to want better, more diversified food. This is called "eating
sensually," and is an easy place to get stranded. The "gourmet"
is often a person stuck at this level.
But eating too sensually eventually produces illness most commonly obesity,
but may include other ailments such as arthritis, diabetes, heart problems,
etc. (Note: throughout the Orient, it is believed that wrong diet is
a contributing factor to virtually all suffering see below.)
So either voluntarily or by unfortunate circumstance, one tends to progress
toward the next level: eating more medicinally. Here, concern for health
(either restoring or maintaining it) including dieting for the sake
of one's appearance is the primary motivation. While sensual pleasure
is desirable, there is now a definite awareness and concern about the
effects of various foods and seasonings (e.g., fatty or fattening foods,
salt or sugar, etc.).
Here, too, it is easy to become trapped. The "health food addict"
or the person who follows the "pop" best seller diets is a
prime example of a person stuck at this level of eating. But anyone
following any sort of voluntary diet is eating at least partially at
this level of food consciousness.
There are actually two kinds of medicinal eating: passive and active.
Passive medicinal eating is characterized by avoidance (not using salt,
for example, because of its proven relationship with high blood pressure).
Active medicinal eating a nearly unknown method of eating to Westerners
means deliberately adding a food to "counter," balance or
promote a response within a specific bodily organ or gland. This is
an ancient, but still widely practiced art throughout the entire East
Dynamic Nutrition! The Acugenics Way of Eating for Pleasure and Health,
by this author -- www.g-jo.com ).
As health returns or grows within a person, a sense of universal (humanitarian)
love expands within him and he naturally moves to the next step: he
begins following a more spiritual way of eating. Almost invariably,
this means becoming first a vegetarian, then ultimately even a fruitarian
(very rare in today's world). The move toward a spiritual way of eating
often follows an incident wherein the brotherhood of all animal (and
perhaps even vegetable) life forms is experienced. This typically occurs
as a flash of insight.
On one hand, then, is the person who "lives to eat," one whose
emotions and actions are directly or indirectly based on how empty his
stomach feels. He is moved like a marionette by the strings of his bodily
senses.
On the other hand is the enlightened (spiritual) eater the person who
"eats to live." At his most enlightened, such a person is
able to exist for days with little or no food. By the act of mind control
(or the simpler act, say, of "triggering" an acupressure point
here or there on the body), he is able to instantly "erase"
his pangs of hunger and gradually free himself from his natural subconscious
fear of starvation (or so called "starvation karma").
Karma that is self generated, accumulated destiny (the Oriental equivalent
to the Newtonian law of cause and effect) is said to begin and end in
the mind: it is the inevitable emotional reaction from good or bad actions
from this, or even previous, lifetimes. Karma is said to operate our
drives, actions (and thus our destiny) through our emotions. And food
plays an important role in stoking or calming our emotional fires.
Yogis say that each food has at least one guna or quality that it produces
within the emotions. There are a total of three gunas sattwic (spiritually
uplifting and evolutionary) ... rajasic (emotion producing, inflaming
the passions) ... and tamasic (the dulling or deadening quality that
promotes devolution and "unconsciousness").
Most fruits, nuts, grains and some vegetables and dairy products fall
into the sattwic category. Other vegetables (notably carrots and turnips),
eggs, most seasonings and spices, coffee (or similar beverages) and
sugar fall into the rajasic category. And slaughtered, preserved, pickled,
leftover or twice cooked foods as well as onions, garlic, tobacco, alcohol,
drugs, etc. are considered to be tamasic.
Thus, sattwic foods calm the emotions and encourage reasonableness in
human behavior. Rajasic foods cause the emotions to become the master,
not the servant, of the mind. And tamasic foods add strength and length
(of time) to the intensity of whatever emotions may be controlling one's
actions or dominating one's thoughts.
Rajasic and tamasic foods are subsequently responsible for the boredom
and mental restlessness that causes one to pursue senseless or unwise
activities ... activities that usually generate karma. But sattwic foods
ease restlessness and make meditation or other quiet activities easier
to enjoy for longer periods of time.
Experience through the ages has shown that each emotion e.g., anger,
fear, depression, etc. has an organ or gland for its natural "home."
When that organ is abused or injured, its emotion(s) arise as a natural
consequence and begin directing one's thoughts and behavior. But when
that organ's natural balance and harmony is restored, a sense of inner
peace, and objectivity returns.
Emotions are said to be caused by imbalances of various bodily chemicals
(which are controlled by the organs and glands). Just as a person cannot
long remain sane and reasonable with too much alcohol, heroin or cocaine
in his system, so the same holds true to a lesser extent for excesses
or deficiencies of insulin, adrenaline or any other of the hundreds
of other chemicals the body naturally produces and reabsorbs.
Similarly, each organ has a number of foods which particularly affect
and, if consumed in quantity, injure it. Thus, knowing the nature or
guna of a food as well as the organ(s) or gland(s) that food affects
is important, basic knowledge for anyone desiring to keep himself well
and happy throughout life. And for one actively seeking to reach/restore
super-consciousness, this knowledge is vital.
Obviously, living a life that is free from gross abuses such as smoking,
the excessive use of alcohol or the taking of harsh chemicals or drugs
is a prerequisite for stimulating super-consciousness. Anything that
injures the organs or glands also injures one's natural powers and abilities.
But this is only common sense: there are lesser known facts I want to
share with you here.
There are six primary pairs of vital organs and glands in the human
body. Each of these has foods that both benefit as well as injure it.
(These are described in greater detail in our Master of G-Jo Acupressure
Home-Study Certification Program and Dynamic Nutrition both from
The G Jo Institute, www.g-jo.com
). Of greatest importance is the knowledge of which foods and even which
tastes injure and abuse specific organs and glands. For if we simply
avoid injuring or abusing ourselves, super-consciousness must eventually
become our normal state of being.
The liver and gallbladder "companion" organs which are thought
to be responsible for the emotions of anger and depression, plus a number
of intellectual and decision making functions are easily abused by both
sweet and sour foods. These two, key digestive organs will still be
feeling the effects of especially too many sweets for as long as three
or four days after their consumption. Excessive wheat, eggs, nuts, fats
and oils, alcohol, drugs, and any poisonous substances all easily abuse
these two organs, as well.
The liver team is also "in charge of" one's sensitivity to
pain. Thus sweet foods (including alcohol) to excess will eventually
increase feelings of pain, distress and suffering.
The spleen (which includes the pancreas) and stomach are also injured
by too many sweet foods. But the emotions produced by these organs and
glands tend to be stubbornness, obsessive or compulsive behavior as
well as the "stick to it iveness" quality of the mind. Additionally,
feelings of anxiety, and the poignancy and acuteness of all emotional
qualities is under the control of this group of organs and glands. Particularly
hot or large meals or excessively cold foods as well as sweets, most
easily injure this organ/glandular group.
The lungs and colon (large intestine) are the body mind's third pair
of matched or companion organs. They are most easily injured by excessive
amounts of pungent or spicy foods, cold liquids, milk products or glutinous
grains (e.g., wheat, rye). When injured, the emotions of grief, resentment,
melancholy and rigidity (that is, inflexibility both of body and mind)
are the result. Pessimism and the desire to overachieve (as well as
feelings of helplessness) are also qualities of lung/colon malfunction.
The heart is coupled with the small intestine and the most prominent
emotions they manifest when abused include: sorrow; excessive joy (which
causes a "scattering" effect); rage; sadness or dullness.
Hatred and jealousy as well as too much (or too little) laughter are
also indicators of emotional (and often physical) injury to one or both
of these organs. Hot drinks, eggs (especially the whites), milk products,
spicy foods and excessive salt all affect these organs adversely.
Another group of organs and glands called the "pericardium"
and "triple warmer" by Chinese doctors are not recognized
by Western physicians, although parts of them (especially the endocrine
system) do play an important role in Western medicine. These two groups
are as much bodily functions as physical organs. These organ functions
are in many ways affected by the same abuses that affect the heart and
small intestine, and their manifestations are somewhat similar, too.
But it is the kidneys and their companion organ, the urinary bladder,
which are of greatest concern to many Oriental doctor philosophers,
especially to yogis. These organs which are "in charge of"
sexual drive, the survival (and other "lower chakra") mechanisms,
as well as willpower manifest the emotion of fear when abused. And fear,
more than any other emotion, is responsible for the unloving (and thus
karmic) activities and thoughts that are said to keep the human being
chained to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth onto this earthly plane.
Fear is also the most long lasting and pervasive of the emotions. And
salt, or excessively salty foods, are a major culprit. This is because
of salt's abusive effects on the kidneys and bladder. Anything slaughtered,
too, has a similar effect and tends to cause fearful or suspicious thoughts
and feelings. One's actions then follow accordingly, making self enlightenment
a most difficult task.
Avoiding slaughtered foods plays a crucial part in any program of voluntary
self perfection. Most of us are vegetarians at heart. This is why we
abhor killing especially senseless killing and why we seldom (if ever)
take part (and certainly no pleasure) in the actual slaughtering of
creatures for meat. We feel anger at animal mistreatment, maybe even
keep pets of our own: yet, ironically, we have developed tastes for
and become addicted to eating animal flesh. However, even the "best"
meat is not in our highest interests.
Animals which include any creature that runs, flies or swims away have
innate self protective mechanisms (called "the fight or flight"
syndrome) that burst into action as that creature approaches danger
... especially death by slaughter. Unless the animal can be killed when
it is completely calm and before it realizes what is happening, its
entire system is flooded with adrenaline and similar fear chemicals
produced by the organs in a panic state.
Its flesh is then loaded with these terror/survival substances which,
upon being consumed by a human being, will ultimately affect his own
biochemical state. This finally manifests itself especially as fearfulness
and emotional discontent (primarily kidney and heart disorders). Nowhere
is the adage "you are what you eat" more applicable than when
applied to the eating of meat or other slaughtered products.
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