High vs Low Vibrational Foods
Turns out I, much like Ari Gold, best work when anger is the fuel for me doing my job. So, we're going to be setting some shit straight today, since spiritual social media (yeah, I'm lookin at you TWITTER) has decided once again to go off the fucking rails. Honorable mention to spiritual Tik Tok because we know that they're always so out of pocket they might as well be in another pair of pants.
If you haven't seen anything about "high" or "low" vibrational meals or foods, consider yourself lucky. I'll give you the general low down in terms of how it pertains to today's post. This is a general trigger warning as we'll be discussing food and diet; and while we all know I am not a dick about that stuff, I will be talking about content that is. The more triggering info is probably going to be the following paragraph, so if you want to skip it you can definitely go to the end of that line divider and keep reading.
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A few days ago a Tik Tok went viral of a "life coach" speaking on the vibrations of food. Before we go even further, I'd like to mention that this life coach is ridiculous; and from what I've heard makes people pay thousands of dollars to do "retreats" where she basically shames people on the basis of self growth-all from her actual home. Tell me you don't care about energetic protection without telling me. The coach is comparing her plate to a woman's next to hers. The woman sitting next to the coach had a full plate of food, which generally looked like a delicious spread of things like wings, ribs, bread, etc. The coach on the other hand, probably had two chicken wings and half a carrot on her plate. I'm not judging either person's choice of quantity of food; but, that damn coach was.
It's not hard to see why the video went viral. The coach is being extremely toxic, describing her plate as "high vibrational," a "queen's plate," all while shaming the woman next to her; saying things like "that's low vibrational, and you took it" or "you couldn't pay me [x amount of money I (Kieu) don't remember] to take that plate," and things along that line.
The comments under and around this video have varied from obvious disgust; to encouragement and affirmations of the coach's behavior.
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The perceived "vibration" of foods or meals, both as a spiritual tool or ethical measurement, isn't a new thing in the spiritual industry-and honestly this goes beyond food since we see vibrations used to describe entities, activities, books, and people. I personally remember some of the first things I ever came across in my dabbling way back when, were about what foods can decalcify your pituitary gland; and foods that "help raise your vibration". Old as it may be, it's still problematic, and I think I'll just present these points in bullet lists.
Food, like all things, does not have a ethical or moral classification. Like anything, the imbalanced over/under use of anything is bad for you. If you sit around and eat two gallon containers of watermelon, that's just as bad for you as having a shit ton of friend chicken. Why? Because it's a lot of anything and your body needs other nourishment besides crunchy water, or bread and chicken.
People who believe in the concept of "low vibration" and "high vibration" in terms of what is good or bad for your body, are kind of ignoring all of science. The way food effects your body can be high or low vibrational, but that's not philosophical. It's science. If you eat something that your body can process, digest, and metabolize quickly: this is high vibrational food. While it includes things like fruits or veggies (i.e. apples, celery, coconut water, cucumbers, etc.); it also includes foods like potato chips, candy, and anything else that is easy to digest. If you eat something that takes your body a long time to digest-dense things like potatoes, hearty breads, stews, and some processed foods-are low vibrational.
When people determine if a food has a negative or positive effect on you and your spirituality, based solely on what the food is-not the context of its use-we invalidate a lot of different people and cultures. What if someone has dietary restrictions? What if it's hard for someone to eat? This mentality is a slippery slope to an ED, people. And I should know: I've had one. The perceived "high vibe meal" is generally one not able to be sustained by all people. If you live in a food desert, have little nutrition education, or are any type of disabled, part of a marginalized community: it might literally be impossible to maintain a "high vibe" diet. Specifically, the video that went viral had two Black women at the center. Black culture is very food centered; and, it's extremely centered on foods that would either be scraps (slavery at work there); or, foods that your body can take a long time to digest for sustainable energy (also slavery's effect). The coach was basically shaming her own ancestry when she was shaming the other woman's plate. *If you're interested in learning more about how enslaved Black populations greatly influenced the cuisine of the United States, I highly recommend "High on the Hog" a beautiful travel food series on Netflix that covers this.
Context is key here. If I decide to sit and eat an entire bag of those Jalpeno chips I'm allergic to. That is low vibe, because I know I am harming myself with something my body finds actually poisonous. If I decide to mindfully have a plate of a deep fried bean burrito to honor my great grandma, savor the bites, and think of her when doing it. That's high vibe. I personally think, we should classify the vibe as a literal marker of energy, just measurement. Like hot or cold. Left or right. Once we start creating binaries of classification and label, we remove and ignore the spectrum of existence between and beyond those. It's giving....BLACK VS. WHITE MAGIC. It's giving........Divine Masculine/Divine Feminine.
If molecules and atoms are moving fast, that's high vibrational. The vibrational patterns and frequencies of the atoms and molecules in that object/food/or your body during an activity are moving and interacting at a lower speed, THAT is low vibrational. Technically we could talk here about how light travels, and how the ancestors are generally technically low vibrational; because they're vibrating at a semi-earthly frequency instead of the more "high vibe" of angels or deities. Tooooo be honest, if we think of vibrations and dimensions (literally in terms of being able to see, touch, hear, feel, etc) we could argue that human beings are generally lower vibrational than demons. But not everyone's ready for that conversation.
Last but not least, you all know I am basically the most giant disciple of TCM and how this views the Qi system and body. IF you want to incorporate energy work and nutrition/food, figure out first what your body is deficient in (vitamin and Qi wise). Then see what TCM has to say about it. That'll better inform you of what foods you need based on your unique energy, body, anatomy, culture, etc. Putting energetic value in terms of "vibrational frequency" but not how the frequency is found, or classified, is very close to culturally appropriating TCM and Taoist body work.
MAYBE ONE DAY we won't have to deal with other people judging our food, our bodies, or our lives. Maybe one day people will stop needing to have a label, just to exclude others or feel better about themselves. If we're being honest, the woman saying she had a "high vibrational" plate, was acting in a "low vibrational" way.