Conscious Eating

Last night I went to Erika Wolff’s raw workshop… it was on dehydrating. Very interesting, as usual.. but I was just thinking about on the way home, when I stopped into Dominion to grab a few things. In the morning the kids kept asking for things that we didn’t have.. so I stopped to get them.. and at the check-out I looked down at my arms.. they were filled with things I wouldn’t eat or use & I was buying them for my kids: toothpaste – Crest (I use Young Living’s toothpaste – essential oils, no fluoride), bagels- my son’s favorite breakfast these days, chips – my husband told me we were out of those the night before and the clincher.. and it’s hard to even admit this here – Fugeeo’s - they were on sale &.. Wow, ok, there’s my admission.. So, there I was in the check-out line, with all these non-foods in my arms.. I’m sure no-one else thought anything about it, which is kind of part of the scary thing, cause they all had similar products in their arms and carts.. but I was thinking how sad.. these things I am buying to make my family happy are really so harmful for them. I just felt so strange being that person with all the junk food at the check-out line. I feel so much better when my cart is filled up with fruits and vegetables!

On the upside, I do notice my kids eating a lot more fruits & vegetables now than before. A few nights ago I came home from work & my oldest son, he’s 17, had a plate of vegetables cut up on a plate in the living room. It made me so happy to come home & see this. Both Jim & I worked late that night.. Kaiya had a ceasar salad for dinner with a fruit salad – pineapple, grapes, blueberries – after. There really is hope for them yet! : )
On the last page of her workshop booklet Erika wrote some special notes.. These are worded very nicely & so I am copying them here.

Food Meditation

While preparing food, take a minute to focus on who will be eating this meal, whether friends, family or yourself. Become conscious of the love that is within you, feel it radiating from the heart; visualize love streaming from your hands as you prepare, stir, chop or toss a salad. Know your love will flow into the food and will nourish those who eat it.

Meditation on Conscious Eating

Meditating on food is easy and pleasurable and a practice you can do twice or three times a day. No need to set extra time aside for it. When you eat a fruit, a slice of bread, a piece of chocolate, some nuts or a cup of your favorite tea – anything you like. Look at what you have chosen; see the colors, examine the textures, inhale the fragrance. Now take a bite or sip. How does it feel in your mouth? What do you taste on the tip of your tongue? Close your eyes and let thoughts and imagination flow. See the bread when it was wheat shimmering in the sun; imagine the fruit when it was ripe and heavy, hanging from the tree. Thank Mother Earth, the farmers, the bakers, let a sense of gratitude fill you. Know you are blessed. Try this with one bite every time you eat. In this way, magically eating will be turned into the sacrament it was meant to be.