What Are You Feeding Your Soul?
Your body needs nutrients, but what about your soul?
Let’s talk about it!
Maybe you’ve seen the difference it makes in a person’s physical health and relationship with food when tracking their daily food choices, why they choose certain foods, the time of day that they are inclined to eat certain things and especially how strong emotions can drive food habits.
I certainly have!
Understanding consumption habits and discovering the source of any eating disorder is the only way to really put a stop to it and create a brand new healthy lifestyle.
This applies to your soul eating disorders as well.
If you’re new to this whole spiritual consumption concept, don’t worry it’s not as complex as it seems.
Have you noticed how after a long day of being mentally drained and emotionally depleted, you are left feeling empty?
You can experience this feeling after dealing with relationship tension, or high stress situations that cause your thoughts to become anxious, hopeless or aggravated.
I like to call that a soul growl.
It’s similar to when you haven’t eaten all day, just used up the calories in your body, and now your body is growling for something to refill your energy.
When you feel this hunger, it triggers a desire to fill that emptiness!
Just like our bodies, we try to feed our soul whatever will stop the hunger the quickest.
For our stomach, notice how we run to great-tasting processed sugar, carbs and fats!
We do this because our body is stressed and in dire need of energy to keep running.
Your brain brings into your mind pleasant thoughts of foods that can give you energy, in order to influence you to consume them.
Your brain uses the memory of how good something tasted at one point and how pleasant that experience was, to encourage you to eat.
Hello cravings!
The food that we find most pleasant is usually the same food that is convenient and full of calories, yet lacking in nutrients.
This is because when you’re starving for food and your digestive track is empty your body’s primary goal is no longer to distribute vital nutrients; it is now only focused on getting energy to sustain your life.
It knows that sugar, carbs and processed fats are the fastest way to accomplish that.
Though, your body does not thrive on those foods.
It’s funny how eating nutritious foods are easier when you’re not starving.
If you let your food tank get on E, you most likely will be filling it with the quickest fuel you can find; even if it’s not very good for you and won’t provide the sustaining value that nutrition offers.
Your soul is no different!
When your heart has been through a lot and your mind is exhausted, your soul tries to restore your emotional and mental energy by causing you to consume with your senses, things that don’t require emotional or mental energy.
The only way to instantly stop your brain from producing thoughts of stress or anxiety is to consume things sensorily that give quick thoughts of pleasure.
This is when your hungry heart starts craving sensations of quick comfort and satisfaction, just to restore your soul to a sound state.
When your soul is starving, its main priority is not the things that will heal your mind and heart in the long run.
At this degree of pressure, your soul’s primary focus is to bring urgent relief.
This is where soul consumption comes in!
As briefly mentioned, “soulfood” is things that are consumed via the senses.
This looks like pleasant physical experiences, visual entertainment and audible stimulation.
Just like with bodily food, these consumption methods can be good or bad for you, based on its nutrition levels.
Nutritious soulfoods are things that require slightly more effort to consume, they don’t usually produce instant pleasure; however, they actually improve your mental and emotional state after prolonged exposure.
A hug from a supportive friend, an uplifting worship song and reading the Gospels are all wonderful examples of soul nutrition!
Soul junk food on the other hand is the spiritual equivalent to processed sugar, carbs and fats.
Things that are more convenient, provide instant pleasure but don’t really help heal or resolve the anxiety, fears, stress, anger or depression.
They provide a temporary numbing of the problems by triggering pleasant feelings, but when you stop consuming, the deficiency is only greater.
They taste amazing in the moment and give a brief sensation of relief, but that sensation is only spiritual false-fullness.
Your spirit does not thrive on these things.
It’s like when you drink cold soda after a day in the sun; and for a moment you feel hydrated, though it only makes you thirstier.
The soda tasted fantastic yet provided nothing that your body needed, in fact it made your need even greater.
That is what happens with your hungry soul when you feed it things that are pleasant in the moment, but void of nutrients.
The romantic physical experience, the crude gossip podcast and the television show that empowers you to live your life and do what makes you happy.
They don’t sound that bad, just like the entire bag of potato chips!
The truth is, the junk food really doesn’t help you, it just feels good at the time!
Does this mean that we can never consume food that tastes good, bodily or spiritually?
No, absolutely not.
Some junk food on an occasion is not going to destroy a good habit of healthy consumption.
However, I must warn you that there are soul junk foods that are immensely toxic.
Just like the toxins in food, there are methods of spiritual consumption that can create horrific addictions that result in devastating health conditions; which can be extremely hard to come back from.
So, how much junk food is okay?
That is not my call to make.
Your spiritual health, like your bodily health, is entirely dependent on you!
I recommend that you start by just tracking what your soul consumes daily, what emotions or thoughts presided the choices and the soul responses after consumption.
This is why I created the SOULFOOD Log by Hungry Still?™.
This notepad asks all of these questions daily, making it easy to write down what you consume and record the thoughts and feelings that trigger consumption or result from the consumption.
Includes sections for what you consumed through the day, what time of day you consumed, how long you consumed and how it impacted your mental and emotional state.
Making reflection and analysis of what spiritual consumption affects less overwhelming.
It helps to not only see the things that you may need to consume less of sensorily, it raises awareness of what good soul nutrition can do for your mind and heart!
Perhaps you may find that the solution to your depression, anxiety, anger or worries are just the result of unhealthy soul eating habits.
Additionally, each page contains sections that invite contemplation and thoughtful examination of your souls condition.
- Track patterns that you’ve noticed in your soul consumption journey.
- Document external circumstances or events that could impact your state of mind or emotions
- Acknowledge positive or negative thoughts or feelings throughout the day!
Most importantly there is a section to write down God’s word, as an anchor for your heart through this daily journey to spiritual health!
Each day write down the scripture you are clinging to in this time of soul healing and just watch how it strengthens your faith.
Day by day notice your soul being renewed and sustained by the truth in God’s word.
Find freedom from soul cravings and the side effects of spiritual junk food.
Enjoy the goodness and richness of all that the LORD gives through Jesus, without crashing from the false filling lies.
Finally experience the matchless feeling of true fullness and satisfaction that remains!
“For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
Psalms 107:9 NKJV.
Hungry Still? began for this exact purpose!
It’s time for you to begin your spiritual health and healing journey!
Here is the first step!
Photo by Letícia Alvares.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
