It's All Within You

Recently I was interviewed by a college student doing a project on food transitions. As someone with a wide variety of training in nutrition, plenty of experience with my own food transitions, and a fascination with how we are influenced in our decision-making around food, I was eager to do the interview. I didn't think about or prepare anything in particular ahead of time, and was pleasantly surprised by the theme that emerged from our conversation. As I reflected with my interviewer on all I've learned over the years, I kept coming back to the word "within." And while we were focusing on the topic of food, I sensed the holographic connection to all areas of life.

We are bombarded daily with messages about what we "should" eat, or how to be "healthy." From profit-motivated ads and commercials to research-driven advice or your aunt's well-intentioned suggestions... it's practically impossible to avoid being influenced by the media, someone else's opinion/experience, or the latest fad diet or "expert." The amusing (or sad, depending how you look at it) thing is that 100 years ago, people weren't looking for guidance about what to eat! In less than a century we have lost touch with the wisdom of our bodies, the rhythms of the land and seasons, and are easily overwhelmed by the myriad of choices coming at us from profit-driven factories around the world.

Lately, I've noticed myself turning to external sources for the "answers" to my health challenges and life questions. It's a natural tendency that creeps up again and again, since I've been conditioned for so many years to look outside myself for the quick fix. Yet I know my body and heart have the answers when I get still and connected enough to listen above the cacaphony of external voices. (I'm not saying there isn't a place for support from others, even doctors. I simply think we've lost the balance that would best serve our own health and the health of the planet.)

It's past time to turn our modern relationship to food and nature upside-down... returning to the the wisdom and guidance within. Here are a few practices I have used and taught over the years:

• Pay attention to how you feel after eating a particular food and learn from it.
• Take 3 deep breaths before each meal, connecting to the energy of gratitude in your heart.
• Slow down and pay attention enough to actually taste and savor each bite, allowing it to nourish you deeply on physical and non-physical levels. (This means turning off the TV or getting away from the computer!)
• Start your day (or pause in the midst of it) with a few minutes of mindfulness/meditation to calm your busy mind and connect to your center.

I would be a much more agitated and unhappy person without practices like these in my life. Some days they are easier than others. Some days I forget and get wrapped up in my thoughts and worries. Each day, each moment, is an opportunity to return and begin again.

What I took away from my food-related interview was a deeper level of conviction that the answers to our nutritional dilemmas--and ultimately, all of our questions in life--lie within us. The seed of Divine wisdom is there, in each and every person. The journey of life is about watering and tending that seed, so that it grows to it's fullest potential, expressed through the symphonic gift of the individual.

May deeper connection to the God-seed within guide you peacefully in all ways.

With great-fullness,
Andrea