“If you can’t convince them, confuse them.”

In this world of abundant information about the subject of food, it’s easy to see how many of us are confused. We read an article about new food research and soon after there is a counter article to dismiss the new information. This confusion about food which is meant to be a nourishing aspect of our life, becomes depleting.

One of the best antidotes to this confusion is to develop an inclusive basis for our choices that allows us to believe that our individual choices matter. The way I see it a spiritual approach to eating empowers our choices by giving foundation and direction to the journey.

I use the words curious, receptive, expansive and rooted in love when I reflect on the definition of spirituality and I use this energy as the foundation to make my food choices.

Spiritual eating is an acknowledgment that food is a combination of density and of energy. Food much like the human body is a multi-layered life that includes an earthy tangible quality, a lubricating fluid compound, a fiery process of transformation, a pranic layer of energy and space and spiritual eating merits all layers.

There are some powerful antidotes to the confusion issue—including connecting our food choices to our values. Here are three points to ponder before the next time we decide to eat:

We should honor our values. Confidence and wisdom manifest and we are less likely to be distracted.

We should have a clear understanding of what we want from our food, maybe that is instant gratification or real nourishment.

We should make space for the experience of interconnectedness.

When we honor our values and allow ourselves to feel the unity of life, a sense of purpose, stability, confidence and light tends to manifest. I encourage you to spend some time with a pen and paper and reflect on these three points. Often we think we know what we value but the pen and paper has the potential to reveal some deeper truths

Because eating is a daily activity it becomes one of the greatest tools we have to demonstrate what we want to breathe life into. Our food choices are daily, powerful and meaningful ways to express our beliefs, truths, passions and spiritual expressions. Making the wisest choice available to us at the time, knowing and accepting that in this world of ours every action is like a fire and therefore has smoke representing a residue of imperfection reminds us to simply operate from our current highest point of consciousness.

Approaching food and eating with gratitude cultivates deeper connections with our choices. Making the most nourishing choice that leaves the least residue for our body, mind and cohabitants of this planet is a positive direction to take and will most likely lead us to confidently eat to nourish. Spiritual eating is an acknowledgement that in this world of ours, if you, like me, are in a position where you choose what you eat, you are in a highly privileged and impactful position.

When we pay attention to where our food comes from—how it’s created, processed, packaged and offered we tune in to the energy of the food. We are a product of what we ingest—whether it’s food, information or experiences. Eating, even with our eyes closed, is also a form of ingesting. Because curiosity creates expansion, a spiritual approach to eating is one where we allow curiosity about the whole experience of eating to unravel. For this reason, our choices continuously evolve.

A spiritual approach to eating takes to heart the philosophy “as within, so without and as without, so within”. With this belief we make the most intuitive, educated and nourishing choice that impacts our mind, body, environment, communities and the world at large.

Spiritual eating is recognition that we are not just feeding our body but that we are also feeding our mind and our future choices. We use the word “we” more often than “I” when we talk about our food choices and its direct impact on our health. We know that “my health” is dependent upon the health of the environment and all of its inhabitants as a whole. This recognition naturally inspires compassionate confidence.

 

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Relephant Read:

A Meat-Eating Yogi: Is a Veggie Diet the Only Option for a Spiritual Person?

 

Author: Sylvie Gouin

Apprentice Editor: Carlene Kurdziel / Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Sonny Abesamis/Flickr