Eating from the Inside Out

Listen to your Body

People’s food requirements vary widely, and those differences should be respected. They are partly physical, DNA-based and partly evolutionary or energetic. What suits one person may not suit another at all.

As a guiding principle, if people become sufficiently aware, they can follow their body’s own intelligence on what to eat, how much, and when. There is a guide within every body, just as there is throughout nature. Animals are not taught what to eat. They instinctively know. Humans also have this instinctive knowledge, but most people are not sufficiently connected to it.

Instead, people often listen to other things—advertising, habits, cravings, compulsive eating, too much sugar and caffeine, and all the other influences that can override the body’s natural intelligence.

Eat with Consciousness and Respect

As we energetically evolve, we usually eat less and certainly more consciously. Our choices tend to become simpler and cleaner. We gravitate towards organic food whenever we can because it is obvious to avoid pollutants and toxins. Many people also move towards vegetarian food.

Having said that, there are many evolved human beings on Earth who eat differently and who certainly eat meat. If someone is a meat eater, then it is important to be highly respectful of the fact that another creature’s life is being used to sustain our own. As with many tribal and Indigenous peoples, there can be a deep awareness that another being is giving up their life for our benefit.

Really, though, this principle goes beyond animals. Even if you eat a carrot, you are still ingesting another life form. It is simply more obvious when the food is an animal. 

Further, it is not just a matter of us taking the food into ourselves. We become part of what we eat as much as what we eat becomes part of us. Eating is an exchange of life and energy, not merely the consumption of a substance.

Detox in a Toxic World

Our world is currently highly toxic. Much of what goes into our air, water, and soil has been polluted by human activity. It did not used to be this way because nature itself is not toxic. Nature, by its own processes, is organic. Our Earth will become cleaner as we develop greater understanding of ourselves and our world. But at present, we live in an environment where our bodies are continually exposed to substances that must be processed and eliminated.

For that reason, even if you eat very well, it is good to have some sort of detoxification system. It does not have to be obsessive or harsh. Again, one has to follow one’s own instinct. Listen to your body. Pay attention to what parts of you may most need detoxing, do your research, and find detoxifying agents or practices that are organic, natural, and effective.

Get help from Chinese medicine practitioners, naturopaths, or other knowledgeable people if you need it, and develop a detoxification approach that suits your body.

Some people, in some situations, may want to do something quite dramatic—perhaps if they are dealing with a severe illness, if they strongly feel their body needs it, or if they simply need a real wake-up and shake-up. They may want to do a much more intensive detox with very limited food. 

For other people, it certainly does not have to be like that. Detoxification can be gentle. You can eat your normal healthy diet while also incorporating things that support the body’s natural cleansing processes.

The main point is to see detoxification as part of living as a human being at this stage of our evolution. Our world is still toxic, and our bodies have to deal with that. Supporting the body in releasing what it does not need is part of conscious living.

Emotional Relationship with Food

We do not always eat because the body is hungry. We also eat from habit, emotion, boredom, comfort, reward, or simply because food is there. Becoming more conscious about food means noticing the difference between what the body genuinely needs and what is coming from an emotional or psychological need.

There is nothing wrong with eating for comfort or pleasure, but it helps to be aware of what we are doing and how often we are doing it. I love chocolate and eat it every day, but I do two things. I make sure it is good-quality organic chocolate because I do not want to waste my calories on cheap chocolate, and I eat it in moderation. I have it, but I only have a little.

The more connected we become to ourselves, the easier it is to recognise genuine hunger, habitual eating, cravings, and emotional reactiveness. We can then respond appropriately, without undue strain. 

The Pleasure of Food

Food is meant to be enjoyed. Conscious eating isn’t restrictive, serious, or joyless. Pleasure, appreciation, and enjoyment are an important part of our relationship with food.

When we eat something we genuinely enjoy, take the time to taste it, and appreciate what we are receiving, eating becomes a pleasurable and nourishing experience. It is a significant part of our human experience. We didn’t come here for nothing. We came here to learn, experience, grow, and enjoy life to the full. So eat in a way that makes your heart genuinely content.

—Consciousness Continuing

Consciousness Continuing