The Two Connections to Conscious Eating & Consciousness: The Second is.....Self-Worth

The philosophical journey to conscious eating and consciousness continues.....see if any of these portrayals look familiar to anyone you know in the mirror.

Although much of who you are changes as you journey through life, your inherent worth remains constant. You may have heard the term self-esteem to mean self-worth because the two are used interchangeably, but to your surprise they are quite different. Self-esteem is the measure of how you feel about yourself at any given time. However, your self-worth is not a product of your health, looks, talent, intelligence, or accomplishments. It is how you perceive your oneness with Source and the infinite power of that realization. Your self-worth cannot be taken from you or damaged by life experiences, yet it can be disconnected and hidden as if not there.

You are born worthy – your self-worth encompasses every fabric of your being. Your perception of your own self-worth is reinforced by your thoughts, words, choices, and actions. Each day that you appreciate yourself, treat yourself kindly, define your personal boundaries, be proactive in taking care of your body temple, and put God first in your life, you express your gratitude for your innate value. During periods when you lose consciousness of your self-worth, you may feel a lack of energy in your body temple from that disconnect. Simply awakening to this concept can allow you to rediscover your awe-inspiring self-worth within you because now you realize that your self-worth is not based on the fulfillment of expectations.

There may be times when you question….why it is that you do not know more about yourself and how you have been living. You may even criticize yourself for repeating the same mistakes of low vibrational food choices regarding your health. From the minute you are born, your God essence is yearning to have you connect to that oneness which builds your self-worth and helps you to support your spiritual self and your human self. You always know as much as you are meant to know at any given moment. Sometimes your self-worth can be attached to things like feeling you have to be perfect or the most popular of all….comparing yourself to others.

Having to be perfect is certainly not in alignment with your Oneness and value of self-worth. Yet, many people have this character or aspiration. When you are in the mindset of perfection, making mistakes and not measuring up are seen as failures. But if you remember life is an experimental journey of learning, then to be imperfect should be a prerequisite. Life becomes much more interesting once you let go of your quest for perfection. Perfection is an impermanent state. Your life changes more than it stays the same and even in this moment your hair is growing, your cells are dividing, and your blood is moving through your veins. Trying to hold on to perfection or forcing it to happen may just cause stress on the body and lay the ground work for dis-ease.

You are unique. There is no one like you in the entire universe. One way to honor your unique oneness is not to compare yourself with other people. It is human nature to want to compare yourself to others….especially if you think that they are better than you or have more of something you want. Your Creator thinks you are incomparable, thus it is not a good use of time to compare yourself to others. You may do this because it is easier to look outside yourself and feel like you’re deficient to others rather than realizing your desire for wholeness and embodying your self-worth. Every one of us is here for very specific reasons. Each of us has a life purpose to fulfill and with this comes the experiences and lessons made just for you in order to evolve as a spiritual being having human experiences. To compare your life to others when you have no idea what they are here to experience or fulfill does not benefit anyone – especially you. Realizing your value brings out the best in yourself, so that you can get on with living a high vibrational life, rather than preoccupying yourself with meaningless comparisons.

Realizing consciousness awakens conscious living which urges conscious eating. Self-love and self-worth are part of realizing your consciousness. As your spiritual well-being begins to elevate, you will strongly resonate and utilize the component of wholeness from Chapter One (recognizing your body as a temple). As you fully embody this component, conscious eating will be one of the gifts you will adamantly give your body in order to experience vibrant health. 

The Two Connections to Conscious Eating & Consciousness: The First is.....Self-Love

Within you are voices that often compete for your attention. It can be difficult to decide which one to listen to, particularly when their messages are all quite different, and sometimes conflicting. The One Voice however, only speaks the language of truth. Among all your inner voices, the voice that IS quintessential LOVE is the one that encourages you, gives you hope, and urges you to trust and believe in yourself. Struggle within oneself is often caused by conflicting voices inside of you. As you move through life, you get an assortment of messages from the various aspects of yourself. Some of your voices, such as the saboteur and the victim can speak so loudly that they drown out the voice of truth. Listening to the voice that IS quintessential LOVE will help you resolve internal conflict, so that your every expression is that of God’s love emanating self-love. The more you listen to and believe in what the One voice is telling you about your value (self-love and self-worth), the stronger that voice will become. Saying NO to the voices that are judgmental and make you feel ashamed will help you stop being afraid of taking the next step to realize your wholeness, raise your consciousness, and thus improve your food relationship, struggles, and bring forth vibrant health.

Many people, in seeking out love, tend to look outward rather than inward. Yet falling in love with yourself can be just as wonderful an experience as falling in love with someone else. While the idea may seem odd at first, even conceited or selfish, choosing to fall in love with who you are is a powerful act of self-love. When you fall in love with yourself, you can’t help but experience God. When you begin to look at yourself with fresh eyes, noticing the magnificence of what makes you unique, you discover how much there is about you to fall in love with and you can’t help but want to treat your body temple as lovingly and respectfully as you would treat anyone else who is special to you. Upon this revelation….being overweight, taking medications for hypertension, high cholesterol, being in-active and the other things that you have created with low vibrational choices – you won’t want to continue any longer. You will not tolerate this expression or ignore it anymore. You will be pro-active in making the necessary changes to elevate your consciousness and it will involve a mostly whole food/plant based conscious eating plan that is your Divine Self expressing.

Choosing to fall in love with yourself is a very personal process that takes time. There is no “genie in the bottle” that will snap its finger to make this happen. But there is the power of intention and the power of your Divine Self expressing that will motivate you to make necessary changes, encourage you to treat yourself with love, help you to take inventory of all your wonderful qualities, and teach you to nurture yourself with nature’s bounty, meditation, and physical activity

Self-love is really important in a world still comprised of low vibrational people who may not like you. Remember like attracts like, so when you run across a person who does not like you – it is most likely because they are not like you. Rather than taking it personally you can let them be who they are accepting we all have different perspectives. But more importantly you are not taking it personally because you love yourself and do not need their approval.

While approval from others is a nice feeling, when you come to depend on it, you weaken your foundation of self-love. As you reap the benefits of loving yourself, one of the most rewarding benefits will be your relationship with God that has a direct connection to all your other relationships in your life including food. The need for you to have everyone like you will be replaced by the joy of discovering that you are attracting like minded people to your life – people who are like you and understand and appreciate the truth of who you are. Living your life in the light and love of God transcends limitations and empowers you to “NOT live to eat”, but rather, “eat consciously to live.”

Begin a new conscious routine of attracting the natural bliss of life into your being by starting each morning taking several deep grounding breaths. Reaffirm the love you have for yourself. Say aloud a self-directed loving prayer that enables you to access and awaken your soul into making choices for your spiritual well-being and body temple health. Before you leave the warmth and comfort of your bed, be sure to tell Spirit that you are eager to accept the blessings “It” has set aside for you and that you will be operating during this day in consciousness. As you prepare to meet the day, visualize yourself enveloped in the energy of God with a bright light guiding you to fulfill your spiritual well-being. Gradually widen the circle of light until you are able to send it ahead into your future and then “be” in awe of what awaits you. Each morning as you acknowledge your love of self and love of Spirit, this practice will ensure that your day is suffused with grace and movement in consciousness.

What is Conscious Eating?

Simply….it is eating some form of a mostly whole food/plant based eating plan that works for you.

People who are expressing their Higher Self choose more whole foods and plants, water to hydrate, look within to heal their bodies, minimize nutrient depleted foods like sugar, use natural body care products on their skin, and give their bodies love through meditation, massage, and positive self- talk. Did I mention drinking water, water, water?  A whole food/plant based eating plan will consist of: nuts, unprocessed seeds, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, and vegetable proteins providing natures nutrients without additional substances you do not need. Juicing is a wonderful adjunct to conscious eating.

Like most Americans….the idea of giving up virtually all animal products seemed ludicrous to me. The whole idea was strange from the perspective of my human self, but my spiritual self was assuring me that it would be easier than I thought. When I decided to make the move to a whole food/plant based eating plan I decided to dive in and forget about testing the waters. Interestingly enough, my spiritual self was right….it wasn’t hard at all! I knew I didn’t want to give up all animal products, so I decided to keep a few of the ones that I knew had the lowest amount of protein per gram as well as the ones lowest in casein (a protein found in milk). I will discuss in later issues why lowering your protein and focusing mostly on plants (fruits and veggies) more healthful for your body and evidenced in scientific research.

I believe I never had any food struggles or an unhealthy food relationship because I value my self love and self-worth, which are crucial to eating from your God-Self.  Add to that, I have always had an innate honor of my body temple. These three principles have kept me in Divine Alignment and subsequently I express high vibrational food consciousness and you can too!

Self love and Self-worth are not just ethereal beliefs or thoughts that enter your mind and then disappear. That information you call thoughts can shape your life and drive you toward success, happiness, and health. How you think and feel can have a profound effect on your ability to perform and achieve the goals that you have set for yourself and manifest your desires. But remember an optimistic mind must also be an honest one. Staying positive does not mean that you ignore unhealthy symptoms or your possible obsession with food. Positive thinking dramatically increases your chance of success in any endeavor including your food struggles.

When you are sure that you are worthy and love yourself; any achievement is within your grasp because you relax and look for solutions such as realizing your wholeness rather dwelling on your problems. You are also more likely to imagine yourself without food struggles then to stay mired in an unhealthy food relationship that produces illness and dis-ease. What the mind expects, it will find. Thinking positively may sound like a simple shift in consciousness, as it is, but it also comes from the mindset and value of self love and self-worth. We will begin a philosophical journey of how self love and self worth are connected to conscious eating and consciousness in the March and April release of this blog.

What is Unconscious Eating?

The simplest way to define unconscious eating is a typical Western diet. You may say to yourself that people who are eating a typical Western “diet” are making that choice consciously. Yes, I could agree with you at some level, but remember that consciousness is connecting to your Divine Nature and asking yourself….would God choose this kind of eating for me knowing it creates obesity and disease? Is it OK to treat my body temple so recklessly through the food choices of a typical Western diet and commercialized diet programs?

I believe we can agree that we all know what unconscious eating looks like because most everyone around us is eating from the tribal mind of the typical Western diet. So I am not going to go into the details of what that looks like from food choices or habits. Rather, I am going to talk about what unconscious eating looks like philosophically.

Just because an ideology or way of doing something is popular or mainstream doesn’t mean it is the best choice to make. Interestingly thou, part of the way something becomes popular is because the individuals within the tribal mind do not take the time to determine what is right for them. Instead, it is simpler to do what the rest of the tribal mind/society is doing. Unfortunately, when you approach your life unconsciously from both your spiritual self and your human self, your decisions are being made by default and NOT consciously. Going along with the tribal mind and eating a typical Western diet may be the result of pressure by family or peers or just plain accepting social conditioning to do things the way they have always been. It’s not easy to go against the grain….you may find people feel threatened when you make decisions and choices that are divergent from the ones everyone else makes. Furthermore, it’s easy to feel frustrated when you feel unsupported and misunderstood simply because you are elevating your mind, body, and soul from the tribal mind. But this is where connecting to Source and experiencing “It’s” strength and love for your body temple that will bring healing and a knowing that this new desire of conscious eating is your wholeness expressing.

When you are unconscious, you are sending your body messages that you are not good enough. Whenever you do this, you are creating energy that damages the body in the form of stress, aliments, and dis-ease by choosing unconscious eating as your choice. Being hard on yourself is a waste of energy and saps your mind, body, and soul of much needed energy to be used in positive ways. Maybe you can understand what I am saying by remembering a time when someone made you feel you weren’t good enough. Take that feeling and magnify it when you do this to yourself. If you tune into this unconscious message….you will intuitively say to yourself – I know this cannot be good for me. This is where self love and self worth create a foundation of consciousness with God that spurs an impulse to activate your desire to eat consciously. If you do not have self love or self worth in the development of your spiritual well-being or your human self…. food struggles may still worm their way into your choices and sabotage you from fulfilling a conscious eating plan.

So......what is Food Consciousness any way?

Food Consciousness is blending  nutrition (food) and spirituality (consciousness) into a unified state of mind that comes from your Higher Self. In other words, it is contemplating and noticing what your relationship with food looks like and what part of yourself is driving it.....unconsciousness or consciousness.
Consciousness is defined as being spiritually awake....aware of one’s relationship with their spiritual self (as God) and their human self. Consciousness is awareness of Divine Ideas, Inspiration, and the Essence of God. Consciousness and awareness can be used as similar and interchangeable terms. Consciousness is when you are able to realize what you are doing and then ask yourself….does this match your Divine Nature? In a state of consciousness  you observe yourself, noticing your actions, reactions, thoughts, words, and choices as if you were outside of yourself, viewing yourself as God would….because God is everywhere Omnipresent. Consciousness is the next step - while realizing wholeness to create real change. There is an unfathomable freedom that comes with this awareness which clears the way for healthier food relationships. Connecting to consciousness is to awaken to your True Self and how you live from that place of Divinity. Is it in a forward direction, moving backwards, or merely spinning in never ending circles?

 If you are moving in a forward direction you are probably eating a more whole food/plant based eating plan. If you are moving backwards you are probably eating a typical Western “diet”. If you a spinning in never ending circles you are probably eating a typical Western “diet” and then when you notice your bodies health doesn’t feel so healthy you will go on and off the various “commercialized diets” that are available and not so good for your health either. I use the word “diet” in quotes because I believe that “diet” is an ideology that is NOT of God’s energy and carries a low vibrational charge. The word “diet” was created by those wonderful marketers to hypnotize your human side; also known as the consumer. A marketer’s purpose is to brainwash you away from your Divine Knowing of eating mostly foods that Mother Nature provides, which will sustain you months and years on end. An eating plan has a high vibrational energy attached to it because an eating plan is just that, a plan, not something you do for a short period of time but rather for life!

People who are conscious, awake, and realizing their wholeness in order to fulfill their spiritual well-being will recognize their bodies as a temple and as one of the greatest gifts from God. When people operate from their Divine Nature, their relationship with food is not an unconscious shoveling of food in their mouth, a form of medicine, or choices made to go along with the tribal mind because that’s what everyone else is doing. No! A conscious soul finds their relationship with food easy….joyfully consuming Mother Nature’s bounty which gives their bodies Pure Divine Nourishment in honor of the “gift” they know they have.

In this day and age we know so much more about our relationship with food than our ancestors, and yet we eat and think about food in a way that is almost unrecognizable to past generations. Fuel and energy is the simplest definition of food. Understanding how your body reacts to food, and knowing what adjustments need to be made, can have a profound effect on your mind, body, and soul. However, the intimate connection between your eating plan and your spiritual well-being is less understood. The common thought is that food is energy for the body, but more importantly it is a gift for the soul. Some foods can weaken the functioning of the mind, body, and soul where your energy feels sapped, while others elevate the body system and support you to feel vibrant.

Taking the time to notice if anxiety, a foggy head, digestive ailments, or even mild depression may be linked to food can empower you to treat your mind, body, and soul with higher choices. Sugar, saturated fats, wheat, and animal products are known scientifically to produce inflammation in your body and change your brain chemistry which creates stress and dis-ease. On the other hand, water, fiber, nuts, unprocessed seeds, raw fruits and vegetables, and vegetable proteins provide natures nutrients without additional substances you do not need.

Most people are aware that it is important to choose a variety of foods to create a state of good health and well-being. The problem with this statement is….its too vague. An unconscious person can interpret this statement to mean choosing a variety of foods from the middle isle’s of the grocery store or eating from a variety of fast food restaurants. See how easily such a common statement can be misconstrued depending on the state of your consciousness and spiritual well being. Let me ask you this.…is that what Jesus would do??? Yes, I was being funny, but also serious at the same time!

We’ll discuss unconscious and conscious eating in the next blogs to come!

Spiritual well-being...... and your relationship with food

It is important to recognize that your relationship with food has a linear correlation with your relationship to “Source”. Before I go into what food consciousness looks like…. I want to address how spiritual well-being is the “bigger portion” of your food relationship struggles.

What is Source? I contend that it is God, Spirit, Creator, Higher self, True self, the Divine, or as Yoda would say “the Force”.

From the moment you are born, your soul carries with it an imprint of experiences from past incarnations and, most importantly, the essence of your Creator. You are in this body to work through issues to move toward “wholeness” so that your soul continues to evolve. Wholeness comes from making Source the focus in your life. The soul is the inward manifestation of your consciousness and your body is the living, breathing expression of that consciousness. Your soul (God’s essence) yearns for you to know your “true self” and find the peace that comes from within rather than outside yourself.

Your spiritual well-being is a reflection of your level of consciousness and connectedness to Source, which is demonstrated by your words, thoughts, choices, and actions. Conscious people form Divine routines that reaffirm self love, gratitude, forgiveness, and meditation, as well as taking care of one’s well being which also tends to include a Divine Practice that promotes healthy living and wholeness. People who are expressing their Higher self choose more plant based whole foods, water to hydrate, look within to heal their bodies, minimize nutrient depleted foods like sugar, use natural body care products on their skin, and give their bodies love through meditation, massage, and positive self talk.

However, striking the right balance between our human self and spiritual self is one of the most challenging aspects of existence. In your lifetime, you are responsible for nurturing and tending to both selves with equal love and devotion. Unfortunately as a whole, Americans seem to be in an unconscious state spending more energy tending to the human side of themselves, thus producing a society where more than half of us are overweight and obese. You are only “whole” to the degree that you can embrace both sides of your being.  Just as you must tend to the seed of your soul to ensure it grows and evolves, so, too, must you care for the body or “the meat suit”, as my sister likes to refer to it, to make certain the body is capable and healthy enough to play its role in your development. Denying the critical importance of one or the other can lead to ill health, emotional distress, and incompleteness which will shift you away from your journey to “wholeness”.

Through your relationships, even relationships with food, the universe conspires to teach you exactly what you need to be learning at any given time. Food may not seem like an obvious teacher because it may not look like your idea of a guru. But food, left whole and treated with love, embodies an energy that feeds the soul. When the soul is nourished by “wholesome” food, Divine choices breed vibrant health and provide sustenance that makes spiritual well-being come naturally. The people and situations you encounter daily teach you, if you are open and conscious to receiving their wisdom. Some people you know, and others that you just pass in the store or the sidewalk, are always teaching you what NOT to do…..considering more than half of Americans are overweight or obese. Why is this? What has happened to us?

Divesting yourself from what no longer serves you, such as fear and self limiting behaviors, are just some of the food relationship challenges you will face in this lifetime. As you awaken and embody your spiritual well being, you will become more attuned to your bodies desire for Divine nourishment. The Force of the Universe speaks to all of us through different channels and each of us have our own frequency and timing in which we become aware. Put God first and you will see your body temple as a gift to covet with conscious food choices that are created from a healthy food relationship.

Power Vampires...... create illness

I am writing this blog on the date of a full moon. Furthermore, October is the month that celebrates Halloween and whollah ….. you will find the title to this month’s blog to be timely and fitting.

When your body, mind, and spirit are in harmony, you experience vibrant health. Yet, sometimes you will get caught up in the stress of life and maybe allow people to take your power, which will get you out of balance. Just as with the seasons, your body goes through cycles of cleansing and times of disruption. Illness is a sign that it is time to cleanse the buildup of negative energy from “power vampires” or from the manner in which you are treating yourself.

Your body gives you signals when it is uncomfortable or stressed. But when you don’t listen, then the imbalance amplifies and a stronger message is manifested in the form of illness or dis-ease. The first step to restoring a harmonious being….. is to take back your power and turn on your consciousness.

The biggest source of negative energy comes from your relationships with people; it also includes being unconscious to your choices, and following the crowd. All your relationships with people and with food can be both the source of your struggles and your solutions. Reacting to a person (parent, spouse, or boss) by getting upset or building up resentment will only entrench you to allow them to take your power. Only by disengaging and becoming still, going inward to your center, can you begin to see how the “power vampire” just sucked the life out of you – the power you have inherited from God. When you use meditation instead of reaction, you will most likely find unprocessed emotions you can finally fully feel and release. The more you are able to develop this practice, the less you will be bothered by  other people’s (labels, lack of support, or negative energy) and instead, have a new way of responding without reacting.

People are in our lives for a reason, to show us something about ourselves that we would not notice otherwise. When “power vampires” try to sink their teeth into you with their mind games and power trips, you can remind yourself that you have something to learn and there is a part of you that is calling out for healing. This practice takes the focus off the vampire in your life and puts the focus back on you, giving you the opportunity to change the situation from the inside out.

If you don’t know how to handle the power vampires in your life…. you will likely react to them by taking on their labels, building up resentment, and continuing to make unconscious choices. These reactions will usually involve food, thus making your food relationship unhealthy and ultimately creating dis-ease or illness in your body.