Will Tuttle has a masters' degree in humanities from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in the philosophy of education from the University of California, Berkeley. A professional pianist, composer, and teacher, he has for the last fifteen years presented at progressive churches, vegetarian and human potential conferences, and intentional communities throughout the country. Tuttle trained in Korea as a Zen Buddhist monk and has worked extensively in Tai Chi, yoga, meditation, intuition development and spiritual healing. He lives in Healdsburg, California. A few excerpts from the book " The World Peace Diet ".
Animal foods concentrate both physical and metaphysical toxins.
The physical toxins in animal foods .. such as the trans fats, pathogens, and pesticide, drug, and hormone residues .. besides injuring our bodily health, can also disturb us mentally and emotionally.
Mood-swings, irritability, and loss of attentiveness are well-known side-effects of drugs and chemicals and the power of psychoactive substances is well documented. We are rediscovering what Pythagoras taught us thet : " EATING animal foods has negative effects on our consciousness ".
Studies have repeatedly shown that high levels of testosterone are associated with aggressive destructive behavior, impatience, and irritability. In addition, it's now understood that diets high in animal fat and low in plant fiber lead to a retention and concentration of sex hormones like testosterone in the body.
The fiber of vegetables, grains, and other plant foods binds these circulating hormones and" keeps them in check" through SHBG ( sex hormone binding globulin) which increases with plant food intake.
Beyond this physical level of bio-mechanism such as hormone levels, toxins, and nutrients, there are " metaphysical forces "at work that though ignored are nevertheless operating.
" Metaphysical toxins " .. i.e., the concentrated vibrations of terror, grief, frustration, and desperation permeating these foods .. are invisible and completely unrecognized by conventional science, yet they may be even more disturbing to us than physical toxins because they work on the level of feelings and consciousness, which are more essential dimensions of ourselves than our physical vehicle.
Physicists are beginning to glimpse the truth that Mystics and Sages have been pointing toward for centuries, that the world that appears to us through our senses is a vibrational phenomenon.
Energy that vibrates within a certain range becomes perceptible to us as " MATTER ", and vibrations outside that range, though not necessarily perceptible by our senses, still exist.
We may look at an egg and see just a material thing, but if we had the necessary intuitive equipment, we could become much more aware of the egg as a vibrational entity.
Though our mind may be blocked from seeing, feeling, or sensing the egg as a vibrational energy system, our body, which is also a vibratory system, will be affected by it at the essential vibratory level. Our body knows what vibration it is EATING, as does our mind at the deeper levels beyond conscious awareness.
The level of vibrational frequency, our bodies know and respond to the vibrations of environments and situations, of relationships, of emotions, and especially of what we EAT. It has been well known for generations that the milk of a mother who is angry or disturbed will often make her baby sick.
Consciousness and" ENERGY-MATTER" are mutually conditioning, interpenetrating, and interdependent in utterly profound and mysterious ways.
Consciousness is primary and essential, and what appears as " ENERGY-MATTER " is ultimately a manifestation of consciousness.
Many cultures recognize that food that is prepared with love and caring attention to detail is more healthful than food that is prepared with indifference or, even worse, with irritation or anger. For this reason .. for example .. in many Zen monasteries, only the most senior and advanced meditation monks are allowed to prepare food in the monastery kitchen.
In India, MOTHERS have been encouraged for centuries to cook in a loving, calm, and meditative mood so that the food they prepare for their children will nourish them not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually.
It's also widely recognized that when food is eaten in an attitude of mindfulness and appreciation, it's more nourishing than if eaten in a distracted, hurried, or irritated frame of mind.
Food, like all apparently physical matter, is energy and vibration and is a manifestation of consciousness, and though it is important to prepare, eat, and share food mindfully, we can see that it's important to look more deeply than this, to the actual source of our food.
Matter, Energy, and Consciousness are inseparable, and the cruelty unavoidably embodied in animal foods is a potent and unrecognized toxin, damaging not just to our physical health, but to our emotional and spiritual health as well.
Source: " Spiritual India - Jul-Aug 2014 "