Tummy Beliefs.
April 18, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Since attending an amazing workshop taught by my yoga instructor and friend, Jessica Jennings, on Ayurvedic eating and transfusing it into your lifestyle, my world has turned upside down. Or rather, loves that I have had deep down inside of me have begun to become more and more clear in the past six weeks because I’m getting my rudimentary health needs met.
It may sound silly and simple, however just having my stomach feeling great every day by eating an ayurvedic menu has given me a tremendous amount of room in self-discovery. By eating a grain, green veggies, and tastes that fulfill the six senses (of the tongue), I feel fuller, healthier, and more content.
Food has become for sustenance rather than a coping mechanism, joy, help, balance, distraction, or the like. I’ve been eating a light breakfast around eight. Lunch around eleven. And dinner around four. My stomach feels full and happy until I wake up the next day.
If you remember, health was one of my hopes for this year to get under control. I wanted to really, truly know what was wrong with my stomach and take care of it. Well, I finally faced the reality that I cannot–under any circumstance–eat wheat or gluten. That means when I make toast for Audrey in the morning, I have to wash my hands and the cutting board before I make a rice cake with sunflower seed butter for myself.
I have to proceed with caution and treat my stomach with the same level of respect that I do the health of my husband and my beautiful children. I would never give them food that would make them more unhealthy rather than healthier. That being said, we find that veganism is the best form of eating for our little family.
And with this happy tummy, I’ve been able to proceed towards allowing my mind to process about my childhood, parenting style, old beliefs, communication, and so on. Lots of good stuff. The day before my 28th birthday this year, I created a list that I now enjoy looking at on a daily basis. It is the summary of what I have based my life on. It is the same now as it has been as far back as I can remember, only now I’ve put it into words.
I believe in…
Building community
Exploring creativity
Nonviolent Communication
Processing issues
Growing naturally
Preserving relationships
Seeking wisdom
Discovering self-truth
World compassion
Serving over financial gain
Honoring others beliefs
I know, I know. Summarizing your beliefs into twelve “ideas” that mean different things to different people is kind of silly. But it’s really helped me. Helped me to see that regardless the backbone of my beliefs, I have a core that transcends multiple religions, ideals, and systems that have been around for thousands of years. And for that I am thankful.
Community Discussion: When you have your basic needs met, what do you believe in?
Life or Death Diet.
March 9, 2012 § Leave a Comment
As was mentioned months past in our Family Overview post, one of our hopes this year was to grow spiritually. To be honest, we have no idea what that means or what that looks like. Yet we do know that spirituality is something that is integrated into every part of our life.
You’re either giving and reaping life in your spirituality. Or you’re spreading death to those around you.
Okay, okay, let’s not dichotomize spirituality or the entirety of our Beings. I don’t think that’s right, nor can it be done. But just think: the balance within you is either more light or greater in darkness in any given moment.
Whatever spiritual path I choose to take, my hope is to have more good coming out of me. I have a hard time with this on a daily basis. A struggle for humanity in general, I fight to be patient and have self-control. That is, to keep my temper.
The following is a poetic encouragement to “eat spiritual food” that is healthful and sweet to your soul. I hope you feel as encouraged as I did whilst re-reading it.
Every person has to be spiritually fed. eats spiritual food. Lives on a spiritual diet. Some eat food that is nutritious. That benefits their bodies as an adult. That balances their life. And feeds their mind, body, soul, and strength. Others and most eat food that poisons. Poisons their being. Intoxicates their life. Feeds and tears apart at the same time. It rips, shreds, destroys, kills, and steals. True life from them.
Their spiritual diet is death. They feast on darkness. Day-in and day-out they consume a variety of meals that bring lies. And they feast on foods that only make them too fat. Too skinny. Too proud. Too weak. Too insane. Too lifeless. Too confused. Too hurt. Too thirsty and/or hungry for the wrong thing. Not thirsty and/or hungry enough for the right.
For righteousness. Too damaged. Too filthy. Too infested. Too bland. Too imperfect. Too dirty. Too defiled. Too broken. Those who eat this food do not realize they’re doing so. That they are stuffing their faces with death. With decay. Each bite they take takes them closer to the grave. The Sheol.
Instead of monitoring their intake. They eat whatever they see. They replace water with wine all too often. Pleasure with delicacies they’re not prepared to take. And coping with just one more bite to push away the pain. They pretend that they are not the one choosing. Choosing to lift the fork to their mouths. Choosing to eat what is placed before them. Choosing to consume what will never satisfy.
And what is worse than those who only eat a diet of dissastisfaction and death are those who believe they are eating a satisfactory life. In their own minds they are consuming glory. When in reality, they’re consuming to gorge. They stuff their faces with the right foods only because they are considered to be right. Not because they crave them. They teach others to “eat nutritiously.”
Making their announcements known throughout the world. Yet they still binge and barf on their own demise. In their double life, they sample and sometimes stuff themselves with secret meals. Eaten behind closed doors. That evoke the entire purpose of their original diet. They rationalize one slip here and their to be natural, normal, and blame it on “part of being imperfect.”
They blend the good, healthy, life-giving, nutritious foods with a diet that suffocates. The blending that takes place only brings more lifelessness. Any energy that could come from the healthy is torn apart by the treachery of the cleverly disguised. Misguided as though they seem, these eaters consume what they believe will bring them long-lasting life. In reality, their reality tricks them into only seeing the nutritious and not the grotesque. Death will come upon them and they will blame it on the pressures of those around them. Rather than seeing the own fork they put to their mouth.
If they could only understand with their misguided hearts, life comes from an appetite of goodness. Not for what it is, but for where it takes you. What it does in you that you cannot see, but you can feel, touch, taste, and desire. Those who long for this diet of light find themselves deeply satisfied. And always wanting more. The life that it brings always. Always satisfies.
The choice to be made is the diet you choose. The spiritual undertaking of grub you decide to digest. Since it takes discipline, habitual discipline, to eat the diet that sheds light and brings vitality. It is one that needs to be chosen on a daily basis. The habit becomes devotion. The devotion becomes internal. Naturally satisfying. Causing the wrong foods to be distasteful. Leaving you in wanting. Dissatisfied in the fullest. And while immoral delicacies may be inappropriately appealing, they are not altogether unavoidable. The choice is then this: What will you choose to be spiritually fed: a life or death diet.
Originally posted: September 15, 2007
Photo: My sweet Audrey.
Food vs. Food Product.
December 16, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I’m gonna be quite frank with you and let you in on a little secret. During this past year of diet/food changing habits, I’ve never really thought about why the food that I was putting into my body was so much better for me than what I was doing before. At the very strong chance of sounding dumb, I never thought it was so simple:
Food vs. food product.
Why hadn’t I thought of this before? It really comes down to how many food items I’m putting into my body daily, weekly, monthly that come, not only in a package, but with an ingredients list. Versus those that don’t.
When I became conscious of this fact a few weeks ago, my buying habits changed once again. Instead of buying veggie broth or pesto in a jar or hummus ready made, I began rethinking what I was buying and asked myself,
• How easy would it be to take this from a food product to a food?
• Would it be cost effective?
• Can I make it time-efficiently?
• Is there an alternative that is a food or foods rather than this food product?
• If none of the above, do I really need it?
When I started becoming more aware of the ingredients list, I made different choices of what I purchased and put inside of me. Not only did I begin to buy fewer food products when I asked myself this series of questions, but I decided to cut out some foods altogether and make my own from scratch–like homemade crackers! Mmmm!
It’s not an easy choice to make. I must admit, there’s a mentality that goes along with food products that come in boxes, jars, cartons, and so on. They’re marketed as “easy”; as something that will make cooking a breeze. I’ve had to break that perspective and say to myself, “Homemade is not more difficult than a box. It’s a lifestyle shift. And a good one at that.”
I want the food that I put into my body to allow me to live longer. And happier. I want to feel confident that I’m giving my family foods that will give them health when they are feeling sick, depressed, tired, or stressed. And that’s what food is to me.
Try it this week. Take 3 food products on your list and find recipes to turn them into foods. Ask yourself the above questions and start feeling better about what you’re putting inside of your beautiful body. Food vs. food product: it’s as simple as that.
