Nutrition, Spirituality, and Mood
Nutrition, Spirituality, and Mood
By Dustin Hawkins
Proper nutrition fuels a proper mindset. I can't help but notice how clean I feel both physically and mentally when I'm locked in nutritionally. It's almost as if moments of clarity happen more frequently in my life, which means my mood is enhanced, and my serotonin levels seem to be lifted. These moments of clarity and cleanliness have to be due to the psychological influence of knowing that I have been discipline with what I put into my body; therefore, I feel good about myself because of this discipline, which then compliments the nutrition itself.In the morning I seem to wake up with a sense of confidence and energy, then causing me to be more proactive since I know that I have ten days of nutritional perfection under my belt. The first five days were challenging, but now that I'm committed, and have felt the benefits of such nutritional practices, I can't help but feel a sense of reawakening in my soul and spirit. I believe that this is the way that God wants us to eat, and is in fact another one of his priceless gifts to we who are in search of the ultimate high.Nutrition can get us high, and I've felt its effects in my own life; however, just like everything else, I seem to be quick to forget its benefits and power. Why wouldn't nutrition be the same as everything else that we as human beings are quick to forget? Proper nutrition is a good thing, and its relationship with addiction can't go unnoticed. So since nutrition can be such a valuable tool for us, why wouldn't the Dragon do everything in his power to cause us to be quick to forget? Food can be self destructive just like anything else. The Wendy's; the McDonalds; the Chic Fila; all of which are a necessary evil, that do offer some benefits to the human race, but in all reality they cause more harm than good. The opportunity to experience this clarity cannot take place in such institutions, for their food is skewed and watered down.With the mood enhancement due to the nutritional balance comes a feeling of spiritual calmness as well. It’s a beautiful thing when you start tying in your spiritual day, with your newfound nutritional routine. It's a beautiful thing when you’re both hydrated and fueled properly when going on an intense hike into the beautiful, and even serene mountains, where at the top you enjoy further nutrition and hydration, coupled with prayer and scripture study. Now you’re not only clean nutritionally, but you are also clean physically and spiritually since your mind, body and spirit are now in perfect harmony. Then you may even take it a step further, where you then write about the impressions that are flowing into your mind, and even analyze your current natural high from experiencing a way of life such as this.Experiences like this are truly magical and are what keep people motivated to continue on in exploring new natural ways to get high through the harmonization of the mind, body, and spirit. We as human beings like to feel good, and fueling ourselves properly, while at the same time working on our spiritual self leads to an incredible, and even lasting high. No more ups and downs with mood, nor is your energy levels going to lack. You will feel a sense of calmness and peace that I cannot fully describe; but it is real, and it is true; however it takes work and discipline, for it seems that all good and lasting things do.This is another one of Gods ways for us to get high. His ways are the challenging ways, but are the lasting ways. There are no quick highs through the Invisible Hands ways, for those ways are the Dragons ways. The Invisible Hands way is the two mile strenuous hike into the mountains, only to fill your water bottle up with pure natural spring water that comes directly out of the mountain, since drinking this pure natural water can get you high. The Invisible Hands way is snow shoeing on a frozen lake in the middle of winter on a sunny day, only so you can feel the peace of the sun, and enjoy the beauty of the white glistening snow.The Invisible Hands ways are the unique thinking ways, but only unique thinking ways to those who have no such knowledge. There are many who will never go above and beyond to have experiences such as this, because the only way they know how to get high is through the ways of the world. There are so many other ways to get high, and if only a person would search past the ways of the world, and towards the ways of spirituality, they would come to find that the greatest high of all could be accomplished through this spiritual avenue.A great sense of mental alertness and acuity takes form when an individual is properly fueled. Waking up in the morning is now a great experience, since you know how healthy you currently are. The days even seem different, in which there’s a constantly flow of energy moving through your body - since you've also been working on your spiritual and physical self through scripture study, prayer, and intense exercise.This fluent harmonization that I speak of is so incredible, for no high can match it. This harmonization is not an easy thing to obtain, because it does take work, and means putting off the ways of the world. This way means slowing down your day, and setting time aside to work on your relationship with the Invisible Hand. Everyone wants to claim that they are to busy, but if they would just see that by setting time aside to work on this relationship that He would help make their day more efficient, and even manageable.People want to say that they don't have time to work on their physical self, but if they would just cut out one hour of their worldly ways, then they would see that they do have the time to be physically active.People want to say that it's too hard to eat healthy, and that it's too expensive, but if they would just cut out their fast food ways, then they would see that it's not too expensive, and that it's actually a great investment in themselves, because after all, we only get one healthy body in this life.How can we truly expect to be in tune spiritually if we are binging on food day and day out? What's the difference in the guy that drinks fifteen beers at a party, and the guy that drinks five Dr. Peppers, eats a whole large pizza, and then has desert? The only difference I can see - is that the alcohol drives spirituality out of the heart faster and longer due to the loss of inhibition the Alcohol gives way to. However, eating, or performing gluttony day in and day out drives the spirit away as well, just in a different way. Maybe the guy who drinks alcohol only does so once a week; but the guy performing gluttony does it day in and day out. So whose addiction is worse? Alcohol is obviously the more challenging of the two, since it takes people out of reality and causes them to make poor decisions; however, an overload on food leads to not only poor health and laziness, but just like Alcohol, it can lead to death.What about the Father who has a family, and is in poor health due to his worldly ways of eating? This Father might have five kids he responsible for in raising, so wouldn't you think that his unhealthy way of life is in fact selfish? -Since his poor health could lead him to death at an early age. It's a similar situation with the drug addict father who has a family, and is in jeopardy of not waking up one morning due to his nightly pill abuse. These are two very different examples, however I cant help but recognize the similarities between the two.The Invisible Hands ways are the clean ways; and the further I come towards understanding his ways, the clearer I see the importance of living a clean life: nutritionally, physically, and spiritually. If we remain cautious about what we put in to our bodies, then we are bound to experience an exceptional sense of clarity and peace; if we are physically active on a consistent basis, then we are bound to be energetic, fun loving, and even happy; if we are spiritually in tune to the best of our abilities, then we are bound to experience a life full of help and assistance from an Invisible Hand who wants nothing more than for us to be happy. And then when we experience the harmonization of all three of these components, where they're actively working together in unison - is when the greatest of all highs can be achieved.