“You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead or incise any marks on yourselves.” Leviticus 19:28
 
From a biblical perspective, this is the most common passage that is quoted for why a person should not alter their body in any matter.
 
First of all, there are a lot of way people knowingly alter their body. Tattoos have been a long-known form of body alteration. Various tribes, in various geographic location have altered their bodies by doing various body modifications for eons. Various forms of makeup have been in existence forever. People have styled and dyed their hair for centuries. Certainly, in this modern era, what has become known as, “Plastic surgery,” has seen many a person go under the knife or, more recently, inject various substances into their body to change their body’s natural form. More recently, there has been that breakthrough in weight loss drugs and now a lot of people are getting, “Easy skinny.” No workout necessary.   
 
Most religions have something negative to say about body modifications. If not in their scriptures, then via their pundits. For the most part, this is based in the ideology that, at birth, you were given a pure vessel, and your body is your reflection of god’s image, so you should not alter or damage it in any manner. But, ask any Christian who has a tattoo and I am sure they will give you a reason why what they did was okay. Ask them why they decided to get plastic surgery, and they will provide a very logical reason. Ask them why they are taking Ozempic, or some other weight loss drug, and they will give you their reason why. But, is that reason based in the true reality of higher consciousness?
 
Some people work out, they get all muscular. I know when I was younger, people like that were always snickered at. “There goes a bar bell boy,” and things like that were said. Then, it became very common and the idealized norm. Everyone wanted to see people with fit trim bodies, and a six pack. Excessively working out, is that body modification?
 
The thing to keep in mind, as you ponder this subject, in regard to you and/or the greater world as a whole, is at the root of any body modification is ego. It is you, (and I am using the word, “You,” in terms of the grander YOU), who wants to be seen as a something. You want to be adorned.
 
I remember when I was in high school, there was this guy who I would say was a good-looking guy. He had a friend who was chubby and his facial features were not at the standard that has been deemed by society as sought after. (So, don’t get me wrong, I’m not being judgmental or shallow here). Anyway, they both showed up on this one Monday morning with the same very-style haircut. On one, it looked great. On the other… Well, not so much. He just didn’t have the facial feature to rock it. Even he was saying, “It looks better on him.”
 
But, what was at the root to walk this path in the first place? Answer: Ego. They wanted to look a certain way.
 
Certainly, everyone in life is like this. Everyone wants to be seen as attractive.
 
Okay, but what about the other level of life? The other level that most would claim is far more important. That area completely removed from ego. That area of knowledge. That are of wisdom. Does following the path of ego ever get you there? Does allowing your vanity to control you, allow you to gain wisdom?
 
I say this all the time, but very few people truly seek a deeper meaning in their life. They do not seek the true meaning of life.  Sure, many may go to church or to temple or to a mosque or to an ashram, or to a… But, how many people allow themselves to be removed from their ego and to truly take their Life Time to peer into the true realms of reality verse how many people get inked?
 
This is your life. You can do with it whatever you will. But, does focusing your life on your ego truly provide you with any deep inner knowledge and peace or does it simply cause you to remain lost in the depth of chasing after that hoped-for outer image that does nothing but fade with time?
 
Your life, your choice.