Eating in Season

Nowadays most fruits and vegetables are on offer throughout the year. Since everything is available at any time, we are loosing the concept of eating according to the season. Some even find it difficult to name typical spring vegetables or to indicate when exactly the strawberries are in season. Nonetheless, it would be better for our health to eat in accordance with the season.

When is a food in season?

Nature offers us a variety of plant and animal foodstuffs, but not all at the same time. The offer differs from season to season, therefore we speak of “seasonal foods”. It is, however, not that every foodstuff belongs to the one season – spring, summer, autumn or winter – but that it has its specific season, a certain period when it comes to full ripeness and is at its peak for consumption.

For example, the apricot season lasts only a few weeks, as this fruit gets overripe very quickly and then decays. Drying, though, can extend its season.

Grains such as wheat, have a longer natural season. Mature wheat, harvested in summer and stored in good conditions, can be enjoyed over the entire winter and up to the next harvest. Wheat therefore has a year-round cycle, retaining its qualities and its vitality all through.

Eating according to need

There is a wise correlation between what nature offers seasonally and our bodily requirements. Nature gives us the necessary food exactly when we need it most.

In broad terms, the following foods are available during the year: in spring, at the time of awakening and renewal, nature makes a variety of young shoots available – dandelions, greens, lambs lettuce and so on. Fast-growing, vital or also vitamin-rich plants aid the human body, with its intensified activities typical for this season, and they also satisfy the increased vitamin requirements after winter, when mainly long-lasting, vitamin-deficient foods are available, because at this time of the year almost no fresh foodstuffs are available.

From spring onwards, proteins are also available in greater quantities. Hens lay more regularly again, the cows calve and suckle. The supply of protein-rich foods such as eggs, milk and meat grows, meeting the increased protein demands during the hot, sunny months. The days lengthen, we work longer hours and tissue metabolism is thus also higher.

During the warmest time of the year, nature also offers the juiciest vegetables; cucumbers, tomatoes, melons. They help to meet the greater fluid demands conditioned by the high temperatures. Summer is also the time of energy-rich fruits that are easily digestible in the severe heat.

In September and October with the return of cooler days, the food needs to be more enriched, so that the body can better withstand the onset of winter. At this time more concentrated foods are available: cereals, pulses, chestnuts, nuts and so forth. The vegetables suitable for the cold season – carrots, beetroots, celery – are less juicy, just as the fluid requirements of the body are reduced.

In winter, the cold compels people to live on a high calorie diet, provided by foods that are suitable for storage: potatoes, cereals, pulses. We obtain vitamins from stored fruit and vegetables, dried fruits (sultanas and apricots) are also a good source. Preserving suitable food for winter is justified, natural and also provides consistent seasonal nutrition. Animals do the same – bees keep honey for winter, squirrels store nuts, and so on.

If the climate conditions – sunshine, temperature and so on – were to be unchanged throughout the year, then our physical needs would also remain the same and nature would provide us with a constant selection of foods. This is the case in tropical areas near the equator, where nature minimally changes the food supply throughout the year.

Benefits of seasonal food

There are two main reasons why it is advantageous for us to eat in season. On the one hand, because the foods are ideally suited to the organic requirements of the respective season; they comply with the seasons and we can maximize the benefit from them. On the other hand, foods during the time of full ripeness offer the most nutrients – vitamins, trace elements and so on.

A food out of season lacks energy, it is inferior. Moreover, such foodstuffs are often imported from far away and are treated with preservatives or cultivated in unnatural ways. All this reduces its essential quality.

To eat foods in season as much as possible is exceptionally beneficial for good health. In this way we enjoy the best of what nature makes available, and at a time when we most need it.

Being Vegetarian, Part 2

Adaptation to change

The question of meat-eating is different for a born vegetarian, living in a country where by tradition meat is not consumed, than for someone who becomes a vegetarian. In the first case, the body is accustomed to functioning without animal flesh for generations and is able to provide adequate blood radiations from other types of foods. The spirit is therefore well adapted to the body, though it should be noted that vegetarian nations are more prone to dreaming and meditating than meat-consuming nations.

In this second case, the people who decide to stop eating meat, had done so for decades and inherited a physical body that was accustomed to eating meat for generations. The suppression of meat cannot therefore be easy. They generally face a problem of adaptation to their new way of life.

The process is similar to that of a smoker who decides to stop this habit. The body no longer receives the nicotine that stimulated the organ functions prior to quitting smoking. The organs then slow down their activity and cannot accomplish the work expected of them. Consequently problems arise: headaches, lethargy, constipation, nervousness, etc. A general malaise also sets in.

Since meat is a type of food rather than a drug, its suppression does not cause acute disorders. In fact there may not be any visible problems for weeks or months thereafter. On the contrary, those who effect the change generally feel better and more energetic. However, problems arise with time.

Initially the body succeeds in maintaining a correct blood radiation because the meat consumed in the past exerts its influence for a while. Since the body does not have any substitute element at its disposal to replace what it found in meat, the composition of the blood and its radiations will be modified. It can then no longer offer a good connection to the spirit, which cannot penetrate the body and manifest with the same force and intensity as before. A certain distancing and pondering sets in. This state, however, only manifests very progressively and for this reason it often goes unperceived until being clearly present. Therefore it is not attributed to the suppressing of meat, that would have occurred quite a long time before.

A person in this situation does not enjoy life as he should. The aim of human life is indeed to give the spirit the opportunity to experience on the earthly plane, and develop the faculties entrusted to it by the Creator. These experiences must be intensely lived according to the spirit’s wishes. In order to feel and to act efficiently, the spirit must be correctly linked to the body. This is not the case for those who eliminate meat consumption. The “lack of presence” of their spirit does not allow them to fully experience their lives. Events glide past them without touching them. Moreover, the decrease in their inner zeal leads to lethargy and lack of interest in external issues, which they actually avoid due to their additional sensitivity. They therefore miss a great deal of experiences and must subsequently make up for lost time.

Should meat be eliminated from the diet or not?

From a spiritual viewpoint, it is not recommended to eliminate meat from the diet of one used to it. By so doing the body is deprived of the possibility to offer a vital link to the spirit through blood radiations. Should meat then continue to be a part of our diet? If so, in what quantity? There is no single answer for everyone as it depends on the one concerned. If a person is too attached and inclined towards materialism, it is necessary to reduce the amount of meat consumption in order for him to open himself more easily to spiritual matters. On the other hand, whenever one “drifts” or “floats” too much, meat consumption should be increased in order to bring him back to reality. These measures can be alternated over time.

Changes can be effected either in the quantity taken at a meal (to be increased or decreased, as necessary), or the frequency of servings (meat consumed daily or every other day). The choice of animal flesh is also important. Red meat contains more toxins and grounds us more than white meat (veal, poultry, lamb) and fish.

The need for meat varies from one individual to another and from one epoch in the evolution of man to another. Needs were greater at the beginning of human history than they are in the present time. Then, the incarnating spirits needed very strong blood radiations that would firmly anchor them in gross matter, which was very alien to them and which they were penetrating for the first time. Now, needs differ in our materialistic world. A reduction in the consumption of animal flesh and a transition towards a more vegetarian diet would be desirable. However, such a transition should be progressive. It cannot be achieved in the course of a single earth-life but must be stretched over several generations.

Being Vegetarian, Part 1

Is animal food necessary for our health?

Meat consumption is steadily increasing. From 20 Kg per person annually in 1850, it rose to 40 Kg in 1900, 60 Kg in 1950 and up to 110 Kg in 1996. According to some vegetarians, meat is responsible for numerous ailments and should definitely be excluded from our diet. What are the reasons? Are these reasons sufficient to identify the problem?

Vegetarianism is a diet based on plant products: vegetables, fruits, and grains. It completely excludes animal flesh, that is to say meat, processed meats, fish and seafood. But it allows animal products that do not contain flesh: eggs and dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt).

Some diets are even more restrictive: veganism and fruitarism disallow animal flesh and animal by-products. The difference between these two diets is that veganism puts the emphasis on vegetables, grains and legumes, while fruitarism stresses fresh and dried fruits along with oily seeds and grains.

The arguments put forward by vegetarians against meat consumption are numerous. They are derived from such various fields as anatomy, medicine, dietetics, ethics and economics. The main argument, however, is that meat would not be good for our health. The toxins in meat would burden the body: tissues would be attacked and organ functions hampered. Our bodies, therefore, were not really meant to digest meat correctly and especially to expel its toxins. In the long run the entire organism would fall ill.

Since good health is invaluable, these few points could be considered enough good reasons to renounce meat. However, they concern only the physical body, whereas there is more to a human being than his physical body. Man is an immaterial spirit incarnated into a physical body. This completely changes the facts of the problem. The consideration of the physical body alone gives a fragmented vision of reality. In order to have an overall view of man and adequately answer the question “should meat be eaten or not”, it is necessary to take the spirit into consideration as well as its interaction with the physical body.

The spirit and the physical body are two very different species. The former consists of spiritual substance, originating in Paradise, while the latter is made of gross matter from the earthly plane. Consequently they cannot come into contact with each other without an intermediary, which is the blood, or more precisely the radiations of the blood, thus remaining bound during the period of incarnation, as explained in the Grail Message…

Just like any other material object, the blood emits radiations. These are more etherised than the blood itself, and their consistency is closer to the densest radiations emanating from the spirit enveloped in its coverings. Together, these radiations constitute the link between the spirit and the physical body. This link is also the bridge through which information between the spirit and the body is mutually transmitted.

The blood composition determines the characteristics of this bridge of radiations. The composition, and consequently the radiations of the blood, depend on whether it is rich in certain substances or not. For instance, the blood of an anaemic person who lacks iron will radiate differently from that of another with a normal iron level. The blood composition itself depends, to a large extent, on nutritional substances provided by the diet. As with any other food, meat plays a role therein.

Meat and blood radiation

Meat is generally considered as a symbol of strength and as strength-giving. In medicine it is known to induce the body to produce blood, and in natural therapies to help the spirit to incarnate. These three outlooks perfectly supplement each other. A high meat consumption makes the body produce more blood. Therefore the blood volume increases a little in heavy meat-eaters. Because of the greater force of attraction caused by this increased blood volume, the spirit will be bound more intimately to the body. A qualitative aspect is also taken into account. The “animal energies” generated through meat give special characteristics to the blood, favouring the bond between the spirit and the animal part of the human being: the physical body.

Inversely, the blood volume decreases in people who either abstain from meat or eat very little of it. Their blood characteristics will also be less animal. As a result their spirits will be less closely linked to their bodies.

The above statements can easily be observed in daily life and will be illustrated for clarity.

A heavy meat-eater has “a lot” of blood, which makes him look congested and red. His face easily turns crimson. Being strongly anchored in his body, he is interested in everything physical. Drinking and eating are very important to him. He prefers manual and heavy labour to intellectual activity, and the mundane over speculation. He is enthusiastic, zealous, and enterprising. This can give him a harsh, rude side, even aggressive and violent. These extreme effects of meat were well known in the past. In order to prepare soldiers for battle, they were overfed with meat. This rendered them fierce in battle or in other words, eager, furious and unrelenting in combat. This same technique is still used with hunting dogs and falcons which are fed large quantities of meat in order to give them a “taste of flesh” and through this stimulate their hunting instincts.

Light meat-eaters on the other hand are generally pale in complexion. This pallor betrays a “lack” of blood. Deprived of a strong bridge of radiations, their spirit is not as closely linked to their bodies. The connection is more or less distended and as popular saying goes, these people are “not really there”, they “float” and are in “another world”. They prefer to reflect, dream and meditate rather than to act. The lack of connection with gross matter distances them from physical activities and they particularly do not like to eat; for them, eating is more a burden than pleasure. They are generally calm, gentle, peaceful, even passive, because they lack much strength and stamina.

Medical Hypnosis

Victor Hugo colorfully explains that “Suggestion consists in making a small incision in the spirit of another into which we insert our own idea”. The choice of the word “incision” illustrates very well that we forcefully penetrate the other, and moreover this is done in order to place something there that does not come from him; our own idea. That is far from being harmless, as we generally believe. In this way, during a session, the hypnotist can suggest to the subject that he is cold, that he is either tired or very fit, that he sees a bright light, and so on, and the subject will feel and see everything he is told. Unable to resist the suggestions, he will somaticize what is proposed to him. The information received by his spirit is transmitted to his brain, which in turn modifies the sensory and organic functions to the desired state.

Something similar happens sometimes on a smaller scale when, for example, we start to feel tired and out of sorts after several people have remarked that we do not look well!

It is the possibility of modifying the body’s organic functions according to the idea one has of them that is used in medical hypnosis. Several physical ailments can be treated in this way: migraines, indigestion, eczema, allergies, high blood pressure, arthritic pains, and so on. By suggesting a different organic function to the spirit of the patient, we can exercise an influence on him so that he obtains relief from disagreeable symptoms, and in certain cases, complete recovery.

Hypnosis is also used to treat psychic problems such as anxiety, fears and phobias; impatience, aggression, lack of self confidence; dependency on tobacco, alcohol, food (bulimia), or on different drugs. The suggestions made to the spirit will redirect the behaviour of the subject towards a more positive conduct. This is because his thinking and actions will be guided towards the new ideas implanted in him. For example, the suggestion “I no longer have a craving to smoke” will replace the old idea “a cigarette makes me feel good”. Since the goal of medical hypnosis is positive we tend to believe that the method is also. But is it really?

The Subconscious Mind, or the Spirit?

According to the medical field, hypnosis acts on the brain, or more precisely on the part of the brain harbouring the subconscious mind. This part of the brain is described as the reservoir of all our resources of knowledge. It would also be the centre of creativity, imagination and would constantly react to what our senses perceive.

This type of definition does not apply to the brain but to the immaterial spirit that animates the body and uses the brain. The latter is but a tool at the disposal of the spirit. It resembles a high performance computer in the hands of its user. But in the same way as a computer is completely void of creativity, imagination, and so on, so also is the brain. The spirit, on the other hand, possesses all of these faculties and constantly uses them throughout the course of its activities. The brain does nothing but put everything into a concrete form in the coarse material world.

It is damaging to consider hypnosis as acting upon the brain and not on the spirit because we lose sight of an essential point. The spirit is, in fact, the seat of the free will. Therefore, it is only when the spirit uses its free will that it can progress and advance inwardly, because it then experiences everything it does fully.

Creation vs. Evolution: A Mistaken Contradiction, Part 2

The Key: A Broader Approach
In spite of appearances, Creationism and Evolutionism are not irreconcilable because their elements of truth are not at the same level. In fact, the Creationist refers to the creation of souls while the Evolutionist refers to the physical bodies in which souls incarnate.

For the sake of simplicity we will limit ourselves to animals and human beings. The creation of the animal species followed by that of Man, as described in the Bible, and on which Creationists base their arguments, concerns the animating core of these creatures, that is, the animal soul (souls of dogs, horses, apes, etc.) and the human spirit. They were all created by God, each with its own characteristics.

Now, the human spirit needs a physical body in which to incarnate and sojourn on earth just as the animal soul also needs a body of dense gross matter for the same purpose. But where were these vessels on earth? At the beginning they were not available on planet Earth and needed to be formed.

These vessels were not formed simultaneously as a group but rather developed one after the other through a process of evolution spanning eons, as precisely emphasized by the evolutionist approach.

A Lengthy Evolution of the Physical Bodies
The most basic animal soul incarnated in the simplest animal body comprising only one cell. In its struggle for survival that specie brought itself to a higher stage and through its multiplication gave more perfected souls the opportunity of incarnation in these improved bodies. These souls in turn brought their bodies up to a higher level thus allowing yet more elaborate souls to incarnate. The process repeated itself until the forming of physical bodies of the great apes in whose bodies human spirits finally incarnated instead of souls of apes.

These apes became eventually extinct. The incarnation of human spirits in their bodies occurred within a very definite period. The great apes under reference had attained their highest stage of development on earth. Though different, their faculties were nearest to those of human spirits still under-developed at that time since they were at the beginning of their evolutionary journey. Thus the most developed of the lower species was able to provide a vessel to the least developed of the higher species. That vessel eventually became more human so that human spirits could incarnate into human bodies and no longer into bodies of apes.

It must be noted that a more developed body, not a different one, is handed down in the evolutionary process. The animating core actually makes the difference. The ape did not hand down a human body but the body of an ape to the spirit. It is only when the spirit took possession of that body and began to utilise it that it finally acquired a human form.

Souls Already Created
The progressive evolution of physical bodies here on earth thus gave the various souls in the beyond the opportunity to gradually incarnate, as and when vessels which they needed to come to earth were formed. Therefore an evolution exists at the level of physical bodies, and not at the level of souls which had already existed as such before their incarnation since they were created by God. They do not, therefore, originate from each other. The soul of an ape cannot develop into a human spirit any more than a human spirit can regress to become the soul of an ape. The Creationists and Evolutionists are not in opposition but are complementary. Man, with a spirit core, is not a descendant of the ape; only his body comes from it.

The Secret of the Blood, Part 4

"The Secret of the Blood", Part 3