Expert: Joe McSorley - 3/13/2010

Question
Hello. Question on Karma and health.  Many of us have daily habits that, in reality, are harmful to our bodies; food, alcohol, weight control, blood pressure, stress, lack of exercise, and similar issues.  It seems to me that, fundamentally, a lack of respect for our own lives is at least on par, on a karma basis, as a lack of respect for the lives of other beings.  Said another way, it seems to me that a life that fails to accentuate the value of ones one life, is as bad as, if not worse, than an exploitive lifestyle.  Please comment.

Answer
Hello Don,
 
  I understand your point and why you feel this way.  For a long time I felt very strongly about this topic and was harsh in my opinion.  I relate to karma only in the sense of cause and effect and see this as symptomatic of human’s ignorance of their own true nature.  The person who has bad habits may or may not be aware of the effect they are having on their health. Our ignorance of our own needs is great and our disconnect from nature, our root, is the cause of it.  We fundamentally do not know how to conduct our lives because of this disconnect. We don’t know instinctually what to eat and drink.  An animal, in nature, can only live according to its own nature. What is available to it is only what nature provides. We, on the other hand, have a contrived sense of nature and therefore attempt to find our way back, so to speak.  Over the centuries there have been different health practices that have ended up being detrimental because people did not know the long-term effects or the biochemistry behind it all.  In an attempt to grow food faster, to make it cheaper and more accessible, industry has manufactured food that no longer resembles its natural counterpart and can have devastating effects on our health. Even a simple glass of apple juice that might seem good for you contains the calories of about 10 apples.  Who can eat 10 apples as fast as you can drink the juice?  Here you get a ton of calories without realizing it and the impact all the sugar and calories effect on the body.  So, again, I think the problem here is human’s ignorance of their selves and their needs as opposed to their wants and desires.
   I have often said on this forum that it is extremely daunting to attempt to get a person to see how dysfunctional the human mind is when they can’t see the simple and obvious effect of their daily living habits on their health. If we don’t know that our lifestyles are killing us how can we be aware that our consciousness is problematic?  I think the two problems are part and parcel to one another.  In terms of karma it is clearly the cause and effect of our habits that create our health problems.  Even the attempt to stay in shape can have negative effects when we over train.  An animal does not have this dilemma, it just does what it does and it is what is right for it.
  I understand your thoughts on this but how do we blame someone who doesn’t know what they are doing?  They will pay for it karmically in that they will suffer ill health but their deeds were not intentional.  Who decides what is right for humans, what to eat, drink or how much exercise?  This is highly debated by different health professionals with no definitive answers other than to be as close to natural, whatever that is, as possible. It hasn’t been until recent years that we have become aware of what manufactured foods can do to us so that is changing.
   As far as the clearly self destructive habits of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes I think it shows just how disconnected we are from our nature.  People will fear death but do those things that will lead to an early death.  This is clearly insane yet somehow they are either blind to it or choose to ignore it.  More than one friend of mine has claimed that ‘we have to die by something so it might as well be cigarettes” but while on their deathbed regretted it.  If we do not see that our life is all life how can we truly respect any life? I agree that respect for ourselves reflects our respect for others but I have known people that were truly compassionate and spent their lives helping others but had some of these destructive personal habits.  How do we judge them as being as bad as an exploitive person when they have done so much to help other people?  I have known so-called religious people who took great care of their selves and had a great sense of what was good for their life and yet were selfish wretches personally.  The fact that they were so life conscious did not diminish the fact that they were not very good people.  You can lead an unhealthy lifestyle and be deeply religious and you can lead a healthy lifestyle and be self centered and ignorant.
  Where I do think this is particularly problematic is when someone claims to be aware or awakened and has these habits.  Time and time again I have seen famous “masters’ who had these destructive habits and couldn’t understand how they could claim to be awakened and yet be self destructive.
        Take care,
                     Joe