In regards to eating meat

[Diana]

It is one thing to keep the body in good working order- it is another thing to enslave oneself to diet and exercise regimens- especially under the presumption that it will "make one more spiritual".

For example, when I see somebody who thinks that they "need" to take 2 - 3 hours out of their day to go to the gym, and another 2 - 3 hours in procuring and preparing their special diets, I start to think this individual has some deeper issues that need dealing with. They are using "working on the body" as a distraction from "working on consciousness".

You are right- the body serves a purpose- but only relative to the environment in which it exists. If consciousness wants to travel to other realms, it needs to be able to leave one body behind and take up a new form. Attachment to, and identification with, the body- that is the imprisonment of which I speak.

Certainly there are some people who obsess on various things. Hollywood has been instrumental in stuffing humans' heads with what physical beauty should be. And I agree that some obsessive individuals will use diet such as vegan to prove they are spiritual, and I would say that they are obsessing in order to avoid real change (as an addict uses addictions to avoid awareness of unpleasant things). But where I differ is that I see it all as connected. I don't think one can do the minimum for the body while focusing on the "important" spiritual stuff--that seems imbalanced.

I have a different, general view of this. I am caretaker of my property. I am caretaker of my body. To these things I give my very best, as I endeavor to do in all things. The body is not just in relationship to the environment. If I eat junk, and feel horrible, how can I come up to my "spiritual" potential that day if attention is necessarily diverted to my stressed liver and stomach? If I don't exercise my body, when I am old, I will become a burden on others as I have not cared for my vehicle well. All things seem to affect all things.

As one cleans up and clears the physical body, so does one clear other "bodies." Just as emotional stress will cause physical disease, the inverse is also true.

My thinking is to maximize all potentials within our worlds. Sounds grandiose, but I see it as an intention, and goal.