The three main systems of the human organism – nerve-sense system, rhythmic system, and metabolic-limb system – perform specific physiological and soul-spiritual functions. The activity of nutrition is one of the two main functions of the metabolic-limb system which is the seat of the human Will. Each system is also related to one of the three primary activities of people: to the growing and preparation of food, to the healing arts and to the art of education.
Introductory Reading:
In THREEFOLD HUMAN BEING are presented three main systems and their basic physiological and soul-spiritual functions. Here is another, more advanced explanation of these relationships.
"If one is describing the realm of consciousness that is dependent upon our bodily organization, one is correct in membering it into mental picturing (i.e., thinking), feeling, and willing. The bodily counterparts of the soul element of mental picturing are to be found in the processes of the nervous system, with its extensions into the sense organs on the one hand and into the internal organization of the body on the other.
Just as one must relate mental picturing to nerve activity, so one must also relate feeling to that life rhythm which is centred in the breathing activity and is connected with it. In doing so one must bear in mind that one must follow the breathing rhythm, with all that is connected with it, right into the most peripheral parts of our organization. Only when one accomplishes this will all those contradictions disappear which result at first when feeling and the breathing rhythm are brought together. What at first inspires contradiction turns out, upon deeper study, to be a proof of this relation. One need only see the physiology of the breathing rhythm in the right light and one will arrive at a comprehensive recognition of the statement: The soul has feeling experiences by basing itself upon the breathing rhythm in the same way it bases itself, in mental picturing, upon nerve processes.
And relative to willing one finds that it is based, in a similar way, upon metabolic processes. Here again, one must include in one's study all the pertinent ramifications and extensions of the metabolic processes within the entire organism. Just as, when something is mentally pictured, a nerve process occurs upon which the soul becomes conscious of its mental picturing, and just as, when something is felt, a modification of the breathing rhythm takes place through which a feeling arises in the soul: so, when something is willed, a metabolic process happens, which is the bodily foundation for what is experienced in the soul as willing.
Now, in the soul a fully conscious, wakeful experience is present only with respect to the mental picturing mediated by our nervous system. What is mediated by the breathing rhythm lives in ordinary consciousness with about the same intensity as dream pictures. To this belongs everything of a feeling nature: all emotions, passions, and so on. Our willing which is based on metabolic processes, is experienced in a degree of consciousness no higher than that present in the completely dim consciousness of our sleeping state.
The manifoldness in our soul experience – in mental picturing, feeling, and willing – results from these different kinds of conscious experience. Anyone who does not set off in the wrong direction with his concepts in (scientific) manner and is unbiased in his soul observations will recognize the independence of our feeling life in the most definite way; and secondly, the unbiased evaluation of knowledge of physiological processes (which are at the background of soul activities) will give the insight that feeling must be assigned to the breathing rhythm in the way described above.
Unbiased observation of the soul compels one to recognize an independent life of Will [1]; and a realistic insight into physiological findings shows that willing as such must not be brought into relation to nerve processes but rather to metabolic processes.
If one wishes to create clear concepts in this realm, one must view physiological and psychological findings in the light demanded by reality. Above all, we must take a hard look at the interrelations of nerve activity, breathing rhythm, and metabolic activity. For, these forms of activity do not lie side by side; they lie in one another; they interpenetrate; they go over into each other. Metabolic activity is present in the entire organism; it permeates the organs of rhythm and of nerve activity. But it is not the bodily foundation of feeling in rhythm; in nerve activity, it is not the basis of mental picturing; rather in both of them, the working Will that permeates rhythm and nerves is to be assigned to the metabolic activity. Only a materialistic bias can make a connection between what exists in the nerve as metabolic activity and mental picturing. A study rooted in reality says something completely different. It must recognize that metabolism is present in the nerve insofar as Will permeates it. Likewise, metabolism is present in the bodily apparatus of rhythm. The metabolic activity in this apparatus has to do with the Will present in this organ. One must connect willing with metabolic activity and feeling with rhythmical occurrences, no matter which organ it is in which metabolism or rhythm appears.
The body as a whole, not merely the nerve activity included in it, is the physical basis of our soul life. And just as for ordinary consciousness our soul life can be transcribed as mental picturing, feeling, and willing, so our bodily life (can be transcribed) as nerve activity, rhythmical function, and metabolic processes." [2]
So far we have described soul-spiritual activities of mental picturing, feeling and willing in their relationship to the main bodily systems. Now we will extend our view to outward activities performed by human beings which are based on our abilities of perceiving, thinking, feeling and willing.
In our head are concentrated our predominant sense organs of vision, smell, taste, and hearing. Sense organs are the entrances of the sense impressions from the outer world which are a necessity for the process of learning. This is one of the two main activities we need for gaining knowledge about the things which are surrounding us. The other activity is acquisition of appropriate concepts of what we perceive. These we provide with the help of thinking. The main organ of intelligence is the brain, which is also the place where all sensory nerves flow together. Thus the nerve-sense system enables the confluence of perceiving and thinking.
One of the fundamental human activities which influences us through this system is education. Learning can have many forms: we can learn with the aid of teachers – and this includes all people from whom we learn something, not just to the professional teachers – or we can do own studies, or we learn from life-experiences.
In THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN HEALTH the state of health is described as the ability to balance manifold polarities existing in our own organism on the spiritual, psychological and physical levels. This includes balancing between too little and too much of any activity which has influence on our organism, either via forces as in the case when we work, study, etc., or via substances as in the case when we eat, take medicines, etc.
If we look at the position of the rhythmic system, we can see it between the nerve-sense system and the metabolic-limb system. This position enables it to serve as the mediator between these two systems and in this way can balance happenings in the whole organism. And how does the rhythmic system do this? As is described in this principle, in the upper man the spiritual activities of learning are predominant, while in the lower man the physical activities of voluntary movement and digestion are prevalent. The mediating and balancing between these opposing activities is achieved by means of rhythms of breathing and blood circulation.
What is the link between these rhythms and our feelings? Many people still instinctively connect their feelings of love to the heart. But this is not enough. Our experiences demonstrate that listening to harmonious music or sounds stimulates pleasant feelings, and listening to disharmonies or noise unpleasant ones. Here we have an obvious link of feelings to rhythms.
There is also plenty of evidence – personal and statistical – about the effect of our emotions on the state of our whole organism. This can be comprehensible, when we take into account that balancing between too little and too much of specific activity is always accompanied by our feelings of sympathy or antipathy towards the activity in question. It is quite common that we like so much doing or consuming something that we overindulge in it –until this throws us out of healthy balance. Or, we can dislike doing or consuming something which would have a beneficial effect on our organism. Here we can see how our feelings of sympathy and antipathy affect the state of our whole being. Here we are dealing with the links among soul-balancing, processes of healing, and the functions of the rhythmic system.
There is one human activity which influences us in the greatest degree through this system: medicine in its primeval role. This is not modern medicine with its focus on surgery, but those methods of true healing which aim to balance the opposing activities of the human organism. The people who can assist us in this striving for a healthy balance are true healers, regardless as to whether they are trained doctors, or any other people with special healing skills and knowledge. [3]
Activities of nutrition are one of the two main functions of the metabolic-limb system. Through the intake of food and drink we set into motion numerous metabolic processes. The metabolic-limb system is also the physical basis for "forces that come to expression in man as movement and the power of Will, enabling him to walk and work and take hold of things." [4]
There are two fields of human activity which influence us through this system: food production (i.e., farming, food processing and distribution) and cooking. This influence is either indirectly when we consume the food or directly when we are active as farmers (gardeners, workers in food company, etc.) or cooks.
Thus we can see that nutrition belongs to one of the most fundamental functions of the human organism: the power of Will manifested in the activities performed by the help of the metabolic-limb system. On one side this system performs metabolic processes which are engaged in digestion of food and drink; on the other side the limbs enable us to move and work. Without active power of Will we cannot do anything practical in the world; Will is essential for the implementation of human ideas and ideals.
For a complementary perspective see:
The importance of nutrition is recognised by its special link to the human power of Will. Through the consumption of the fruits of the fields, and all other natural foods, we stimulate our Will which enables us to be an active participant of the life on the Earth. One of the consequences of bad diet is the gradual weakening of human forces of Will, as has been happening since the introduction of the modern conventional farming and food processing. [5]
There are signs of time which are not comprehensible without understanding that proper natural food stimulates human power of Will by employing our metabolic system in the processes of digestion, transportation and modification of consumed food. If we compare the traditional food cultures and their physically very demanding ways of life, and the modern fast food culture and the prevalent sedentary life-style of people in the affluent societies, we can get an inkling into the more hidden effects of the conventional food production. In the past people had to be physically strong to be able to farm, to fight, etc. They were also more exposed to the natural conditions, such as cold, heat, flood, draught, etc. But today in the modern affluent societies people are spending more and more time in closed spaces and working with the computers. Beside this general trend, we have a growing number of people who no longer have enough power to carry their own bodies around; instead they need the help of vehicles. This is a sad result of lost wisdom of traditional food cultures and of uncritical application of mechanistic, reductionist, and materialistic science to the food production and nutrition.
The only way out of the present nutritional crisis is development of proper understanding of the concrete relationships between nutrition and human organism and eating again good quality natural food.
♣ See HOLISTIC FOOD 'PYRAMID' for the characteristics of real natural food.
WARNING: You always have to put the above practical dietary instructions inside the framework of GENERAL NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES with the aim to know their limits when looking for a solution of a specific nutritional problem. You also need to be familiar with THE ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES with the aim to avoid any one-sided conclusions.
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