| Rituals
Gaia, mother of all
Foundation of all,
The oldest one. . . .
Queen of Earth
Through you
Beautiful children,
Beautiful harvests come.
Ancient Greek prayer
For
the week beginning August 1st, 2004
DO YOU EVER STOP to consider that the food on your
plate has a direct connection to the Earth? Actually, a mealtime blessing
based on this idea can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, who celebrated
the planet as a living entity on which you – and all of us –
depend. When you acknowledge your Earth connection with such a blessing,
how does it change your relationship to food?
Adding a ritual blessing like the one above can help you experience
the interactive relationship that exists between you, your meal, and
the care of the planet. A healthy planet means a good harvest. In turn,
the Earth heals your hunger and sustains you with each bite.The next
time you feel down because you think food is the enemy, use a blessing
to experience how food brings you into communion with the wellness of
every living thing.
•
Say a blessing for the living planet that
provides your well-being.
A man has no better thing under the sun than to
eat, and to drink, and to be merry.
Ecclesiastes 8 : 1 5
For
the week of August 5th
WHAT IS THE FIRST thing to “go away” in
your life when you are under pressure and stress? Do you lose your appetite
or skip meals? Do you stop eating nutritiously and mindlessly eat junk
food instead? Do you ignore your diet plan and stop exercising? It is
important to be aware of your usual behavior under stress if you are
to change it.
I know a woman, for example, whose good eating habits disappeared during
times of high stress. After recognizing this, she wisely decided to
do the opposite. Now,whenever she anticipates stress she goes out of
her way to prepare especially tasty and nutritious meals. In this way,
she skillfully counteracts the effects of stress by practicing self-care.
Feeding yourself well is an excellent way of caring for yourself and
others.
•
Choose a self-care eating strategy
when stressed out.
In two decades I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds.
I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.
Erma Bombeck, syndicated columnist
For
the week of August 12th
Do you carry the battle scars of yo-yo dieting with
you into your next meal? Maintaining any diet for an extended period
of time can be difficult. Diets can become boring and repetitive. Or
the motivation around your diet can change.
Your next meal does not have to be another yo-yo struggle. Fortunately,
your body has a biological heritage that is tens of thousands of years
old! Be mindful of this built-in wisdom by listening and awakening to
your needs, emotions, and inner perceptions of the food you eat.
Sometimes, problems with maintaining healthy eating are connected to
an addiction to sugar or caffeine. If you feel this is the case, then
you may want to find a nutritionist, dietitian, or doctor who specializes
in this area. Under any circumstances, you can let
go of yo-yo dieting and experience what you really need most to nourish
you at today’s meal.
•
Let go of yo-yo dieting expectations at
today’s meal. Be aware of food cravings and
possible addictions.
A good runner leaves no tracks.
Lao Tzu
For the week of August 19th
DO
YOU EVER enter a meal feeling relaxed and calm? Do you check
your emotions at the kitchen door? When you act in this way, you wisely
leave “no tracks,” as Lao Tzu advises.This is not always
easily accomplished, however. It requires awareness of your physical
and emotional state.
Before you enter mealtime, take a moment of pause. Breathe slowly into
your diaphragm. Experience your body tension. Listen to your thoughts
to see if you are anxious, angry, tired, upset, and needing comfort.Accept
these feelings and enter mealtime mindful
of their presence.
You can release physical feelings by alternately tightening and loosening
your body where you feel tension and tightness. If your shoulders are
tense, for example, take a breath as you purposely tighten your muscles
for up to seven seconds.Then exhale as you let the muscles relax. You
can also do this for all muscle groups, including your forehead and
facial muscles.
•
Leave your physical and emotional
tracks at the kitchen door.
When there is no firewood, fire goes out; and when
no one is quarrelsome, argument ends.
Pythagoras , Greek mathematician
For the week of August 26th
DO YOU POSESS emotional “firewood” that
is easily ignited at mealtime? Maybe it is so flammable that it can
burst into flames at the slightest sign of distress or discomfort.
Under such situations, the best way to avoid a fire is simply this:
Remove the emotional firewood before you sit down to eat. Is it your
own tendency to blame yourself when your food desires overwhelm you?
Is your firewood the emotions of nervousness and anxiety you feel before
you quench your hunger? Is your firewood the disapproval you feel from
others when they judge your eating style?
Generally, you can remove the emotions by observing them and being more
mindful of them.As you recognize them, think,“There goes that
feeling of being judged again,”or “Here I am blaming myself.”
Listen and watch your emotional mealtime firewood without
having to respond to it.
•
Think how you can remove emotion
before it ignites at mealtime.
© Meal
by Meal by Donald Altman published by Inner Ocean Publishing, All Rights
Reserved, 2004
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