Taken now from my Book of Shadows,original author not known
DIET
"He who has health has hope, he who has hope has everything"
Arabian Proverb
***
The Magician can be looked upon as a battery, with the capacity to store and manipulate energy and current. Pranayama and exercise deal with the capacity to hold these elements. Through physical movement we become more efficient vehicles to carry with us this Life Force. Diet deals with the energy and current. It would be of little value to become perfect vessels if we fill ourselves with dead matter or things of substance with little value.
In today's world we are faced with an unique problem. Science can keep us alive a lot longer than ever before, but the quality of living has gone downhill. Our environment is such that we have to depend on those methods of life extension because living in this filthy, polluted world is killing us. Even the food which we eat can harm us because of the processing which it has to go through before it gets to our tables. Not to mention the pesticides which are sprayed on our fruits and vegetables, or the waxes in which they are covered order to make them appear to be fresh.
The animals which we eat are fed antibiotics, which we absorb when eating the meat; our bodies then adjust to these accumulative levels of antibiotics until they become worthless to us in treating infection. Because the cattle rancher mixes these antibiotics indiscriminately with the cattle's food, the animal's body eventually becomes the perfect breeding ground for medicine tolerant bacteria. This bacteria is then absorbed into our bodies by consuming the flesh of the animal, and because we have developed a tolerance to antibiotics we are not able to treat the ailment.
Farmers have added more and more chemicals to the soil which are in turn absorbed by the vegetation we eat and into the water we drink.
Processing hurts all foods. When wheat is "refined" it loses over 20 nutrients in the process. The flour manufacturer returns 4 or 5 chemical nutrients to it and he calls it "enriched".
Wheat and bread have been subjected to about 80 chemicals in the growing and manufacturing process. Some of these chemicals stay in the finished product to be eaten by the unsuspecting consumer.
There is a substance in all living things called "PRANA". This Prana is "the life force" within them which is responsible for the vitality of all living organisms. All vegetables, fruits, and animals have Prana; the amount being determined by the condition, biological makeup and size of the item. They get it from nutrients in the soil or food which they consume. Without it, all living things would die.
Humans also have Prana and we require it for our survival. We also get it from the foods which we consume, the sun we are exposed to, and the air which we breathe. So it makes a lot of sense to only consume those foods which have the highest amount of Prana still in them. Prana will stay within fruits, vegetables, and meats after they have been picked, or slaughtered for a time determined by the condition they were in at the point their life was terminated.
Another dietary problem we face is that humans have much longer intestinal tracts and weaker digestive acids than most meat eating animals. This creates two problems:
1) Human digestive acids do not break down flesh properly because they are not strong enough to do so. Therefore, most of the nutrients that are available in meat are not even absorbed by the intestines into our bodies.
2) The undigested remains of meat are sent down to our intestines where they can be absorbed into our bodies, but because the intestinal tract is so long in humans, the meat starts to rot before it can reach that stage. What we end up absorbing are the poisons in the rotten meat.
If you must eat meat; chew it thoroughly as the enzymes in your saliva are very important in the digestive and absorption processes. Saliva is believed to release Prana from foods so that it can be absorbed through the mucus membrane in the mouth.
Canned foods should be avoided. By the time the food has gone through the processing & refining, it has lost 82% of its proteins, amino acids, and nutrients.
Frozen food is even worse. Between stock fed tetracycline, steroids, processing, and freezing there is a 92% loss. And most important; you cannot freeze or can Prana. The reason that frozen and canned foods "appear" fresh is because of the chemicals which are added to preserve the food. T.V.dinners, junk foods and fast foods ought to be avoided. All chemical preservatives should be considered as poisons.
Sugar, salt, and white flour are worthless. There is no food value left in these after "refining", just chemicals which are used in the process. Monosodium glutamate (M.S.G.) damages the nervous system and has been known to destroy brain cells.
Vitamins tablets should be relied upon only when the proper vitamin and/or mineral can not be extracted from food. Most vitamins tablets are chemicals and the body has a hard time dealing with unnatural substances. They should not be taken in place of food; remember what's been said about Prana.
Vitamin supplements are useless because some mineral/vitamins prevent the absorption of others which may be included in the same pill. Take your vitamins separately at different times of the day and make sure that they are not synthetic forms of vitamins (synthetic vitamin D has been known to cause more trouble than it is worth). The best policy is to eat the right foods; RAW MATERIALS.
Much has been said in this chapter about things which most people believe have nothing to do with Magick or the Great Work but I assure you, they are mistaken. The furnace which the Alchemists referred to in their books is the body! Making sure that it functions well is of great importance.
If you take the time to care for your vehicle you will see a body which is leaner, stronger, healthier, and more resistant to the stress created by a harmful environment and everyday life. A body better equipped to deal with whatever you may encounter on your Magical voyage; a body worthy of the Great Work
EXERCISE
"It is only by labor that thought can be made healthy, and only by thought that labor can be made happy; and the two cannot be separated with punity".
Ruskin
***
Physical exercise helps to maintain the chemical/organic balance between the body and the mind. When these two are out of synch, disease occurs. For too long body and mind have been erroneously treated as two separate units completely independent from one another.
The brain maintains perfect body temperature, synchronizes the heart beat with the pulmonary rhythms, and performs many other miraculous functions without us being conscious of it.
The brain can execute these functions using two components simultaneously: The nervous system, which executes certain tasks with the use of electricity; and the lymphatic system which accomplishes the same objective by using chemicals produced by the glands. Either way, things get done.
If you are physically able, Martial Arts should seriously be considered as a form of exercise. It accomplishes two tasks; because it involves the whole of the body, you will exercise muscles you did not even know you had. Also, there is a very Spiritual side to the Martial Arts, and if you have a good instructor you will learn the virtue and honor of a True Warrior.
If for some reason you decide that Martial Arts is too intense, or your body just isn't capable of dealing with it try Yoga. This will address the same objective treat the brain as a muscle; which if not used will wither away, just like physical the muscles. There are many Yogas. Find the one(s) that are right for you; but the ones which require physical activity are the best advice.
