Although technology may be able to blur the line of what is truly real and what is computer generated on a screen, the existence of reality is very real in the natural world all around us. It is participating and engaging with real life that creates the fullest experience of life. So, do we question how much of our lives are based on artificial things? And does it really matter?

Let’s look at food as an example. What is real food and what is fake? And again, does it make a difference? Real food is mostly from two sources, plants or animals. Healthy food from plants comes from unaltered heirloom seeds planted in fertile, non-toxic soil, tended and watered until an optimal time to harvest, naturally stored and prepared to be eaten for the optimal enjoyment and benefit to us. Notice how none of the steps involve the use of chemicals or artificial processing. You can be assured that none of the food produced by industrial food corporations filling our local grocery store takes these basic steps in providing nourishing, real food.

Real food nourishes the body, or in other words, provides it with the stuff that it needs to grow, maintain, and regenerate our physical structure. Our bodies cannot be nourished by anything fake. Certainly, the highly processed plant matter making up a large portion of the grocery store doesn’t even resemble the plant it initially came from and is not real food. We can see that almost everything outside of the produce or freezer section falls into this category. The amazing thing is we can taste the nutrients in food. So even if you bite into a perfectly normal looking strawberr, that is void of nutrients, you’ll immediately taste the blandness compared to the real, nutrient dense strawberry that is bursting with flavor.

A more obvious source of artificial food is the so-called “plant based” meat. Simply put: there’s real meat and there’s fake meat. Any lab grown or synthetic substance that is called meat is a fictional thing; it just doesn’t exist. Real meat comes from an animal, period. Nutrients from meat are the best source of nutrients to support healthy physical structure. Therefore, the most important principle surrounding food today is focusing on eating real, clean, nourishing food. The clean and nourishing parts are discussion points for another day.

Now let’s look at how we connect to the natural world. How much of our time is spent in a virtual space, on a screen? Do we have balance between the real and virtual worlds? Especially in the formative years, it’s important for children to be grounded in reality. However, playing and exploring in nature is extremely healthy for all ages. The grounding effect from being connected to nature is very beneficial for our health and can be a big part of our recovery from illness.

Experiencing and expressing real feelings is also critical to a full and healthy life. On one hand, there is an over sensationalism in society. Emotionally triggered responses to different topics are fostered in many ways through the educational system and news media. On the other hand, artificially suppressing emotions through various ways including pharmaceuticals has become an all too common occurrence. Instead of experiencing natural emotions that aid us in healing from our experiences and allowing us to grow, individuals remain stuck, and in a way, haunted by the past. At the same time, their emotional experience is continually blunted. In the end, real life isn’t experienced.

At a fundamental level we need to be connected to other real people. How much time do we interact in real life with others? How authentic are we in our interactions? We receive the most from others and most deeply enjoy the company of others that are genuine. It’s liberating to know that we do not need to try, nor can we be, anyone other than who we are. It’s a very difficult and exhausting endeavor to try to be someone other than who we are. When we are not true to others and ourselves, we create incoherence. This is very disruptive to our mind.

These questions are important to ask as artificial versions of nearly everything around us are being offered. Is our food real? Are our feelings real? Are we connected to real people? Because these things really matter.