of health and the third eye

i'm annoyed. why is it that so often, healthy living is synonymous with eastern /fringe religion?

lauren & i are trying out organically grown for you, and i just picked up the box of organic produce this afternoon. included is an issue of "natural awakenings, healthy living" mini-mag. peppered throughout are references to many different spiritual and philosophical belief systems that, in my opinion, have nothing to do with healthy living. discovering your third eye, kabbalah, karma, zen, polarity... unfortunately, i have found this same theme at every health food store and in almost every healthy living magazine i've read.

i think it's okay to include the summaries of scientific studies which show some effect of an alternative treatment or lifestyle like meditation, acupuncture, etc. but there's a rampant assumption that those who strive to be healthy are open to all spiritual experience and must believe in karma. forget the fact that many of the commonly accepted belief systems in this subculture have direct contradictions between them!

just because i try to be good to my body and good to the earth doesn't mean i want to be involved in demonic religion. there's a whole new can of worms right there, because i know there are plenty out there who might take offense at that. but i'm not going there right now.

i'm just going to keep on being a health-concerned christian. how many others are there?? are we just letting ourselves be swept in to the dark side of living well? we of all people should acknowledge the responsibility and sense in caring for God's creation within and around us.

awhile back, i did a Bible search to see what it says directly about health. the proverbs talk a lot about gentle or wise words bringing good health, and harsh words the opposite. i found that quite interesting, and have read about studies that verify that causal relationship. people heal much more slowly when their life includes conflict. here's an article on such a study (click text).

so speak kindly, and live well... i've really gotta work on that.