This was written for the 185th issue of The Culture of Awareness Weekly Newsletter, which I offer for $11.11 a month.

To begin for this week – Healthy eating is a common theme in the spiritual community, and the prevailing belief is that eating healthy keeps our mind clear and our vibration high. It’s an interesting idea, but is it actually true?

Since mainstream science is unwilling to explore most spiritual concepts, we can only go by anecdotal evidence. Practically anyone who eats healthy will tell you that it helps them feel better and you don’t have to be ‘spiritual’ to benefit from it.

I feel better and more energized when I eat healthy, and in the same vein, I feel heavy and low on energy when I don’t.

I notice a huge difference between eating fruits and veggies than cheese sticks and fries, and some people swear that being vegan is essential to a physically and spiritually healthy life. You have to be careful when getting into this territory, however, because many vegans and non-vegans alike are usually willing to get ugly.

I’m not vegan, but I tend to feel heavy after eating animal products. I don’t eat meat so I couldn’t tell you how it feels, but whether you’re a vegan or a meat eater, we all have a basic understanding of what is and isn’t healthy.

The problem is that some people become so narcissistic and self-righteous about their lifestyle that they criticize anyone who lives differently. There’s a difference between caring about our health and being egotistical and overly self-assured, and the difference is in how we treat others.

We could try all day long to put ourselves in a higher space with the food we eat, but it won’t matter if we mistreat people because of how they live. We lower our vibration and theirs by fighting with them over their lifestyle choices, and as difficult as it is, our evolution will require us to respect that we all think and live differently.

Everything we do, in every moment, is crucial to the evolution of humanity; including the way we eat and how we treat others. We can eat well but keep our vibration low in other ways, and even the most ‘enlightened’ people usually have flaws they don’t share with others.

Those flaws will eventually rear their ugly heads in a big way if they aren’t dealt with, and if you have personal issues to resolve, your eating habits don’t really matter as much as dealing with them.

Personally, I try to eat healthy but I get caught in the same traps as others.

I enjoy food so much that I’m generally more open to healthy foods that other people wouldn’t care for, but this love of food has its downside. I’m actually grateful that I my eating habits haven’t been 100% healthy up to this point, because I wouldn’t be able to share what I’ve learned about them if I haven’t.

For me, certain unhealthy foods are a delicacy, but again, I always feel worse after eating them.

It’s as if feeling physically bad after eating something we know isn’t good for us has become normal in our society, and while a lot of healthy food does taste good (contrary to popular opinion), its real value is in how it makes you feel.

Fruits, veggies and other healthy, natural foods energize me, give me a positive outlook and can even enhance creativity. I never knew until recently that healthful eating makes the creative process easier and more enjoyable, but it’s valuable knowledge for anyone who likes to be creative.

So if you can resist the delectable taste of some of your favorite unhealthy food and discover the delicious natural foods that provide elevated energy, clarity and joy, I’d recommend at least mixing some healthy food into your diet and seeing where it takes you.

This is what I’ve tried to do, and it all started with a choice not to eat meat that, for me, became a lifestyle overnight. It’s possible to refrain from meat and still not eat healthy, however (in fact, it’s pretty easy), so whether or not you eat meat, it might help to add some fruit and veggies to your diet.

I don’t advocate perfectionism when it comes to healthful eating, because part of the purpose of life is tolive and there are experiences on this planet we’ll never have elsewhere; some of which have to do with food.

So enjoy those nachos or cupcakes, but don’t overdo it and remember which foods are healthy and which foods only exist for enjoyment. It’s easy to overdo it with food, mind-altering substances or anything else, and almost everything has its value in moderation.

We can raise our vibration regardless of the food we eat, but it’s still crucial to our physical and spiritual wellbeing. We can look at the effects certain foods have on the body to determine what we should cut back on or completely remove, and as long as we try, we don’t have to be perfect.

As with all things, we can only do our best while remembering to enjoy life and respecting the choices others make. This, combined with the pursuit of a higher consciousness and a life of purpose, is arguably the best way to spiritually evolve because it teaches respect, empathy and a healthy level of self-discipline.

Source:By Wes Annac, Culture of Awareness, February 19, 2016 – http://tinyurl.com/glxoql9