I have a friend who began meditating several years ago. She immediately felt a connection between how her various addictions affected her level of awareness and, without batting an eye, let go of all the foods, drinks, and ingestible substances she had been overly attached to and that she felt were getting in the way of her inner growth.
She adopted a more or less vegetarian diet: stopped drinking alcohol, coffee, and other caffeinated drinks; eliminated processed foods and sugars from her diet because they brought her energy down. She feels she’s made tremendous strides in achieving a level of inner growth she wouldn’t have been able to make otherwise.
When I first started working seriously on inner growth, I was more inclined to use St. Augustine’s approach: Oh God, please make me a saint, but not yet. There’s a possibility I’d be much further along on my path toward inner freedom if I’d been able to give up chocolate mousse five years ago, but the elimination of addictions has been a much more gradual process for me.
Many people find, once they start meditating, contemplating, and going within, that the things they eat and drink affect the quietness of their minds. Often, if we’re consuming the wrong stuff, it makes it difficult for us to be in touch with what’s going on at the inner levels.
Deciding which of your cravings you want to eliminate and how quickly you want to do it is a personal choice, based on your own intuitive reaction to the things you eat and drink. If you’re tuned in, you’ll know what makes it harder for you to stay in touch with the inner you.