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The first step in the process of conscious change is having a desire to do so. This desire, this sincere questioning for the purpose of growth, has the ability to open portals to deeper and higher dimensions of being.
What does my relationship to food reflect? It does indeed act as a mirror for my/our core beliefs and values. How I eat is not separate from how I live.
What would it look like if I were eating in a way that supported my "inner" work as primary, knowing that my outer being is an emanation of this?
What happens if I honor the wisdom gained from listening to something more than what my mind is saying when choosing what to eat?
What happens when what I eat is actually a reflection of what I profess my core values to be? Do they line up?
What happens when I put my attention on something other than my momentary perception of comfort?
What happens in my body/mind when I eat ______?
Do I pay attention to what I put in my mouth? What happens when I do, and when I don't? How is this a real time reflection of my capacity to pay attention to and engage in a meaningful way with life?
What are my intentions?
This last one may seem general and not necessarily related to what or how I eat, but it has been becoming clearer and clearer to me that my intentions in regards to food, are a reflection of, nothing less than, my life intentions.
What is worth looking carefully into is this: Your thinking is greatly effected by what you eat... and what you think effects what you choose to eat. Your intentions are to a large degree fueled by your thinking. So where does this leave us: Both intentionality and eating are means of expressing and manifesting who you are, and their interaction with each other is profoundly intimate.
As we move forward in life, with the genuine desire to help make the world a better place, to transform the very culture that we are growing in, it is of utmost importance that we consciously cultivate clarity. If we truly want to see, then an excellent place to start is by looking into the mirror of what and how we eat. Through this we will learn to see ourselves with insightful subtlety.
This practice serves to further fuel my clarity of intention in life, and simultaneously my intentions influence what choices I make with food.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Cultivating Awareness
Having coached thousands of people on what and how to eat I have come to the realization that in regards to long term, sustained change, diets do not work, and telling people what to do does not either :).
That last part needs a qualifier: Telling people what to do, who are coming from the perspective of "give me the quick fix and I'll do it" does not work. We are indeed a quick fix society and we are conditioned to haphazardly focus our awareness on superficial, external distractions.
What should I eat, just tell me what to to eat. What pill or supplement is going to help me have more energy or lose weight? How many grams of protein do I need?
I can answer these questions for people, but if they are implemented without any serious personal implication.. personal responsibility then they have no where to take root and inevitably people revert back to known and comfortable ways of eating and living.
As I have evolved and my spiritual practice has become more mature, I have completely flipped the way I work with people in regards to food. Now we start with cultivating awareness.
"Awareness" is a nebulous word, so I will define what I mean.
If we start with paying attention and taking responsibility, then a genuine awareness is what begins to develop. It is the ability to be engaged with what is actually happening. When you take ownership of what is happening, you are in position to make change.
The first place to start is to ask what it is that we want in regards to our relationship with food. Ask yourself this question. And then acknowledge where you actually are. For example: "I want to desire the foods that are really good for me, and I want to eat in a way that keeps me looking and feeling good." "But what I actually do is eat on the run and eat the first thing that I crave." OK, so now we know where we are and where we want to be... there is only one way to bridge the gap and it is through clear intentions and commitment.
Next post we'll get into what it means to get "clear on our intentions" in regards to Eating For Evolution.
That last part needs a qualifier: Telling people what to do, who are coming from the perspective of "give me the quick fix and I'll do it" does not work. We are indeed a quick fix society and we are conditioned to haphazardly focus our awareness on superficial, external distractions.
What should I eat, just tell me what to to eat. What pill or supplement is going to help me have more energy or lose weight? How many grams of protein do I need?
I can answer these questions for people, but if they are implemented without any serious personal implication.. personal responsibility then they have no where to take root and inevitably people revert back to known and comfortable ways of eating and living.
As I have evolved and my spiritual practice has become more mature, I have completely flipped the way I work with people in regards to food. Now we start with cultivating awareness.
"Awareness" is a nebulous word, so I will define what I mean.
If we start with paying attention and taking responsibility, then a genuine awareness is what begins to develop. It is the ability to be engaged with what is actually happening. When you take ownership of what is happening, you are in position to make change.
The first place to start is to ask what it is that we want in regards to our relationship with food. Ask yourself this question. And then acknowledge where you actually are. For example: "I want to desire the foods that are really good for me, and I want to eat in a way that keeps me looking and feeling good." "But what I actually do is eat on the run and eat the first thing that I crave." OK, so now we know where we are and where we want to be... there is only one way to bridge the gap and it is through clear intentions and commitment.
Next post we'll get into what it means to get "clear on our intentions" in regards to Eating For Evolution.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Survive to Thrive
What does it mean to move from surviving to thriving in regards to what and how we eat?
You may think, “I am doing much more than surviving when it comes to what I eat!”
Well let’s pull this apart a little: I’ll bet you are very busy; life is probably pretty full. There is not much time for creating delicious and healthful meals that nourish you to your core. Who has time for that?! Most of us are eating on the go. And if you are reading this I imagine that you actually care with some depth about what you eat and the impact that it has on the world. You may be busy, but you’re relatively selective, eating mostly or all organic, and regional when possible. Maybe you eat at the better restaurants that use quality ingredients, and you buy the whole food or raw energy bars that are easier to find nowadays.
But is this truly eating to thrive? Don’t get me wrong, anyone who makes the above choices for long enough will certainly feel better, and becoming more and more conscious of how our food choices effect the planet is very important.
Eating to thrive, I propose, goes one step beyond: This is why I call it Eating for Evolution (EFE). It is a mind set that takes “green” to the next level. Do we want to eat organic, or what some people call “beyond organic?” Yes!! Do we want to eat seasonal and as local as possible? Yes! Do we want to make conscious food choices? Yes, of course.
What I have found is that, although we are more aware than ever of being part of a global family, we actually don’t act like it on a fundamental level. Our motivations are primarily selfish in nature, and what generally gets us going in a particular direction is based on fear and the ever-present “problem” within or without that we need to fix. Please don’t take my word on it, look into this for yourself and you will see that it is true. This is actually the way our minds unconsciously work… part of thousands of years of survival conditioning.
What I propose is that we begin to operate out of a completely different paradigm. How you say? Well, we can start in and through the very thing that we are most intimately intertwined with… food!
Eating f
or Evolution is a position that we take in regards to life. It is an acknowledgment of the Truth of interconnectedness, which is embodied in a deep sense of responsibility. The realization on a gut level (pun intended) that how and what we eat actually alters culture on a foundational level. From an EFE perspective, we can see that what and how we eat is not separate from the creation of new and more evolved values, and shared values are what create culture. This is incredibly implicating if you really let it in!
I believe that you want to make the world a better place; I know I do. And how spectacular is it that we can do this by starting with what’s on plate and our relationship to the choices behind that!
I really look forward to diving into this deeper with you. Next post I will start with looking into what fueling our body for the “evolution of consciousness” means. And then we’ll explore the nitty gritty details of how we begin to EFE and balance that with a busy lifestyle.
Love,
Tiffany
You may think, “I am doing much more than surviving when it comes to what I eat!”
Well let’s pull this apart a little: I’ll bet you are very busy; life is probably pretty full. There is not much time for creating delicious and healthful meals that nourish you to your core. Who has time for that?! Most of us are eating on the go. And if you are reading this I imagine that you actually care with some depth about what you eat and the impact that it has on the world. You may be busy, but you’re relatively selective, eating mostly or all organic, and regional when possible. Maybe you eat at the better restaurants that use quality ingredients, and you buy the whole food or raw energy bars that are easier to find nowadays.
But is this truly eating to thrive? Don’t get me wrong, anyone who makes the above choices for long enough will certainly feel better, and becoming more and more conscious of how our food choices effect the planet is very important.
Eating to thrive, I propose, goes one step beyond: This is why I call it Eating for Evolution (EFE). It is a mind set that takes “green” to the next level. Do we want to eat organic, or what some people call “beyond organic?” Yes!! Do we want to eat seasonal and as local as possible? Yes! Do we want to make conscious food choices? Yes, of course.
What I have found is that, although we are more aware than ever of being part of a global family, we actually don’t act like it on a fundamental level. Our motivations are primarily selfish in nature, and what generally gets us going in a particular direction is based on fear and the ever-present “problem” within or without that we need to fix. Please don’t take my word on it, look into this for yourself and you will see that it is true. This is actually the way our minds unconsciously work… part of thousands of years of survival conditioning.
What I propose is that we begin to operate out of a completely different paradigm. How you say? Well, we can start in and through the very thing that we are most intimately intertwined with… food!
Eating f
or Evolution is a position that we take in regards to life. It is an acknowledgment of the Truth of interconnectedness, which is embodied in a deep sense of responsibility. The realization on a gut level (pun intended) that how and what we eat actually alters culture on a foundational level. From an EFE perspective, we can see that what and how we eat is not separate from the creation of new and more evolved values, and shared values are what create culture. This is incredibly implicating if you really let it in!I believe that you want to make the world a better place; I know I do. And how spectacular is it that we can do this by starting with what’s on plate and our relationship to the choices behind that!
I really look forward to diving into this deeper with you. Next post I will start with looking into what fueling our body for the “evolution of consciousness” means. And then we’ll explore the nitty gritty details of how we begin to EFE and balance that with a busy lifestyle.
Love,
Tiffany
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Eating for Evolution!
I've been asking myself what "Eating for Evolution" means... what is it all about? I don't have "the answer" but I have some thoughts, and I realize that as I attempt to articulate these thoughts, I am contributing to the very evolution of this topic.
Evolution means to push the edge of what is known. There is an inherent dynamic and forward moving quality to it. "Inclusive" is another word that comes to mind when I think of evolution... but not inclusive of every thing, inclusive of that which is serving a higher purpose. I think of development, and increased integrity.
So lets go back to that question: What does Eating for Evolution mean?
Tiffany
Evolution means to push the edge of what is known. There is an inherent dynamic and forward moving quality to it. "Inclusive" is another word that comes to mind when I think of evolution... but not inclusive of every thing, inclusive of that which is serving a higher purpose. I think of development, and increased integrity.
So lets go back to that question: What does Eating for Evolution mean?
- It's a posture in relationship to food and eating. Its a posture of "wanting to know," of being interested in finding out what will create a sustain inner radiance. Inner radiance that has no real separation from its effect on the "outside." It's a stance of acknowledgment of the Truth of interconnectedness.
- It's a relationship to food in which we listen. We listen to the interaction of certain foods within us. We listen because we know that who we are "in the world" is greatly effected by what we fuel ourselves with and how we go about doing this.
- It's a relationship to food and eating in which we take responsibility; we face the fact that how we eat is a reflection of how we live.
- And finally, its a posture poised for evolutionary growth. When we are Eating for Evolution we are busting myths and blazing new trails! We are learning to trust our inner wisdom and melding this with our desire to reach unimagined potentials. We do this because we realize that the future truly does depend on us!
Tiffany
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