Food

Posted this in February elsewhere:

In the RUwithLoA Yahoo group I am a part of, we have been talking a lot about food. Specifically, what has been getting me thinking is how our feelings about the foods we eat impact their impact on us. In the group, some people brought up various concepts that were very interesting to me, concepts that have gotten me thinking a lot recently. I am going to speak from my own thoughts, instead of trying to remember what was said.

I feel like what we put into our bodies is not as important as how we feel about it. Masaru Emoto is a Japanese scientist who has done experiments with water, where he sends it a certain energy and then photographs it. The results are amazing. This was in the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know". He also has an experiment with rice that some students have done, where with one pot they said, "Thank you" and with the other they said "You fool", and then watched to see what happened. The "You fool" jar turned all green and black, the other stayed pretty white. Amazing. I have, since, tried to remember to say a thank you whenever I eat, and to bless the milk I share with my nursing babies <3

A big concept that was talked about (one that is fairly controvercial) is that how we feel when we consume food is more important than the "health" of the food itself. This was an easy thing for me to understand and agree with. I was first introduced to this concept on Laura Shanley's website. Basically, what we believe about food becomes real. I have had personal experience with this - I developed an allergy to bananas when I was pregnant with Noble. I had been extremely stressed and ate a banana on an empty stomach and ate it against my really wanting to (I had accepted it and felt compelled to eat it instead of changing my mind). I ended up getting very sick, and kept these horrible allergic reaction symptoms through the rest of my pregnany and shortly afterward, until I decided to not be allergic, and I starting trying some slowly and focusing on how I felt when I used to eat them, and I am completely fine now.

Another aspect of this is how important all areas of a person is. Yes, there is a physical aspect of food, but there is more. There can be stress around food. I think this is VERY common, very agreed upon. People stress about the health or nutrition of their food, of how it will impact their body, of life itself while they are eating, and more. We call some of the food we eat "junk", and how can that impact our spiritual and emotional and mental self, when we feel a draw to eat them?

I have decided that I am going to enjoy everything I eat. I am going to savor every molecule and every flavor. I am going to focus on how it is nourishing my body in whatever possible way, and I am going to trust that if my body is drawn to something that there is something in it that I need for whatever reason. I have known for as long as I can remember that I eat to heal something inside of me. I have tried to "work on" not eating and why I do it, etc. I have decided to just enjoy for now. If I am eating to heal, to bring joy, how can I feel that healing and joy by beating myself up over what I am eating or consuming? By not being mindful while I am eating, and not enjoying what I am eating, I am disconnecting myself from my eating, which perpetuates the problem of me overeating and overeating some stuff - and I believe these things vary per person, so I am refering to my knowing I am overeating for myself.

I heard something amazing on that list the other day that I want to really be mindful of: dare to be joyful. What an amazing phrase. When life is orugh, dare to be joyful. When people expect you to feel bad or be down, dare to be joyful. I am excited about being joyful when I am eating a smore made of all kinds of noxious materials but tasting like love and bonding with my daughter who prides herself on making them in our fireplace on a cold night. I want to be mindful of all of the wonderful things in my life and give space to the negatives that I have found myself focusing on more often than not - THAT is law of attraction :) I know that I am free to be joyful about what I put into my body, I will be free to follow what my body needs for its best... I am not afraid of having a freedom to eat, don't feel that I need to "self-regulate", because I am just going to follow my body's lead and I know when I let go of judgment of foods, I am free to eat what my body wants, and I trust it. If I am mentally and emotionally and everything healthy, my phyical body will follow, especially if I bless my food before I eat it :)