Dear Julia:

I read an article recently about how smoking is damaging to auras and how healers shouldn't smoke. I was wondering what the spiritual view on eating meat is. I love my meat but wonder about the effect it is having on my aura and vibration. Can you please shed some light on this topic?

Urchana

Dear Urchana:

As there is no singular "spiritual view" on any subject, the following is my own perspective, and is not meant to condone or condemn any particular lifestyle. (I spent a number of years as a vegetarian, during which time I learned what an incendiary topic this can be.) Further, I don't believe there is one diet that is right for all people; as with everything else in life, we must consult our own inner guidance to determine what is right and best for us.

Of course, we are also wise to look to nature to determine what will best nourish and sustain us physically, and there are things we must accept in order to live in peace on this planet. One is that death is inevitable; another is that there is a food chain in effect here, and in order to survive, other living beings must die. Even if we eat nothing but grass, the grass must die to feed us.

In order to be healthy, we can't eat nothing but grass, of course, so we are wise to listen to our bodies to determine the best diet for us. If we want to be physically strong and healthy, we must devote ourselves to physical health. We must actively exercise the body and engage the physical realm by eating of the fruits of the earth and interacting with the world around us. This is the archetype of the warrior or hunter who is all physical: he is at home in his body; he eats whatever he can catch without remorse; he takes what he can from the earth; and he grows physically strong and prosperous.

If we have goals beyond physical health and survival, then we may make different choices regarding a lot of things, including what we eat. When we begin to evolve spiritually and desire more than just physical survival, we start to long for higher, more abstract aims such as the development of wisdom and compassion. I assume that this is where you are coming from: you want to be both spiritually and physically "fit."

At the other end of the spectrum from the hunter, there are spiritual seekers like monks and gurus who have little or no interest in physical survival, who long for nothing but communion with the Divine. It is from this end of the spectrum that we get our ideas about eating meat being spiritually detrimental. Naturally, most of us fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, in that grey area where it can be hard to reason our way to what is right and best.

As is true of all things in Creation, different foods do have various vibrations, and every interaction affects us to some degree. When we ingest something, it tends to affect us strongly and directly, thus the common saying, You are what you eat. In fact, in some native cultures, certain animals were eaten in order to absorb their traits, and some peoples even consumed their enemies in order to gain their powers.

We all have an innate sense that some food is inherently heavy while other food is light. This goes beyond how it feels in our stomachs, for plant foods are directly synthesized from sunlight. The further we move from this process, the lower in vibration food gets. Thus freshly picked fruits, vegetables and nuts are generally high in vibration, while meat from animals is lower. The closer food is to a living state, the higher its vibration, so it may surprise a lot of vegetarians to know that bread, pasta, and other processed foods are typically of a vibration lower than meat.

If you are longing to leave this world or want to sit in meditation all day in search of nirvana, it would make sense to eat only small amounts of the highest vibration food you can find, the point being to minimize your interaction with the physical planet. Here you turn entirely within and the physical world is ignored. Of course, this is not a lifestyle that promotes physical health and well-being; it is instead devoted to transcending this realm.

None of this is as simple as a mathematical equation, of course, for much depends on the mental, emotional and spiritual energy that surrounds all we do. If the animals we eat are treated inhumanely; if we eat without gratitude or respect for the beings that are feeding us; if we are full of negative emotions when we are eating, then even the sweetest fruits of the earth may not benefit us. By contrast, if the animals we eat are treated humanely; if we prepare our food with love and reverence; if our own vibration is high and aligned with well-being, then whatever we eat should nourish us well.

Many say that when animals are inhumanely treated and slaughtered, their bodies release hormones that are passed on to us, and we all know how powerful hormones can be. So both physically and metaphysically, when we eat an animal that lived with constant pain and anxiety and was terrified when it was slaughtered, we may ingest its fear, which would be a heavy anchor on our vibration. Though it sounds incredible, it's possible that plants have a similar but subtler reaction when we pick them. (For a fascinating read, I recommend one of my favorite books of all time, The Secret Life of Plants.)

Since we must eat other beings in order to survive, the degree to which our choices affect us depends on how well we listen to our conscience and our bodies regarding what we eat. The more we infuse all we do with respect and reverence for life, the higher our vibration and the higher our course of experience. No doubt this is one reason why so many religions teach us to pray over our food, to give thanks for it and bless it that it may nourish us well.

Of course, eating high vibration food does encourage a high vibration. That doesn't mean that we can't set our own tone and have a high vibration while eating low vibration foods; it just means that it will take more conscious effort and energy to overcome the low vibrations we ingest. This is also true of all influences, of course: if we surround ourselves with spiritual people and peaceful circumstances, we will naturally grow more spiritual and peaceful. This doesn't mean we can't be spiritual and peaceful in chaotic, disharmonious situations, but doing so will take more conscious effort on our part.

In summary, while eating whole, fresh plant foods encourages a high vibration, good health also supports a high vibration, so we are wise to listen to our bodies and feed them accordingly. While meat has a lower vibration than fresh plant foods, we are still better off eating humanely raised and slaughtered meat than the processed, dead energy of refined carbohydrates that form the bulk of the modern diet.

Above all, we must listen to our inner knowing regarding all we do. Life is a personal, individual journey, so there is no one right answer for all people. There are certain habits and attitudes that tend to support and nourish us regardless of the individual choices we make. If we act with love, take good care of ourselves, and give thanks for all our blessings, we naturally align with a high vibration, personal power, and a high level of experience.

Julia