I?m not against vegetarians, and I firmly understand what it means to be a vegetarian. In fact I admire those that are vegetarian. I understand that there are many types of vegetarians such as the Lacto-ovo-vegetarian one who eats both dairy products and eggs. There?s the Lacto-vegetarian one who eats dairy products but not eggs. The true vegan has a strict diet which consists of very few processed or cooked foods. There is also the fruitarian where very few processed or cooked foods are eaten, and consists mainly of raw fruit, grains and nuts. Believe it or not there is one more type. The macrobiotic is a diet followed for spiritual and philosophical reasons which aim to balance foods seen as ying and yang. I believe that some people thrive and prosper spiritually and maintain a better healthy body system than those who aren?t.
When I was first diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) I knew only that I needed to get as healthy as possible. I read, and studied about foods, nutrition and how food interacts within the body. I prayed and meditated on the direction I should take in order to improve my immune system. I placed my eating habits on the microscope and set out to eliminate foods that weren?t good for me, and my body. I decided to go the vegetarian route. This seemed to me as the best way to gain energy was to eat live foods, and those live foods would come from vegetables, fruits, nuts and cheese. I didn?t want to give up everything. I felt that cheese would be a good protein choice for me as well as nuts and grains.
I started off slow and methodical. I slowed down on the red meat, and substituted my meat choice with chicken. I began to eat lots of salads, and eggs. I learned about cooking vegetables, and began to eat lots of fried rice. I rid my kitchen of unhealthy kinds of oils and fats when I cooked, and used primarily Olive Oil. At some point I was eating very little chicken, and more and more fruit, vegetables, nuts, and grains. I combined these ingredients with pasta and rice. Suddenly, or so it seemed, I wasn?t eating any meat. I declared myself a vegetarian, and no, I wasn?t a vegan, but one of those that ate dairy products and eggs. I began to have more energy. I was beginning to work with my immune system. I felt stronger and began to feel better. CFS had still a major hold on me and was a great presence in my life. I began to feel better.
After a couple of weeks of being a vegetarian, my body revolted. My body told me enough, and started craving meat. This craving wasn?t just for any type of meat this craving was for red meat. I needed a steak, and I needed it now! At this point I hadn?t had red meat in over two months. One of my blessings and gifts is that I listen to my body. The body craves what it needs. I listen to my body and its needs. My CFS was still with me, but I was by no means cured. I?m not sure we can cure CFS, but it can be managed. Anyway, I listened to that craving, and I invited a friend out to eat, and we had steak. That steak was one of the best steaks I?ve ever eaten.
I?m no longer a vegetarian. My body and soul comes from a lineage of meat eaters. I put my best effort forward to become not a true vegan, but one of those lacto-ovo-vegetarians. I gave my body a chance, and it said, no, being a vegetarian is not the best for me. My attempt at being a vegetarian, I learned how to eat differently, and I learned what foods my body needed. As I listened to my body?s messages I learned how my body reacted to certain types of foods. With this information I began to better manage my CFS. I found that I could eat red meat, but only once in a while. I changed my eating habits to one that contained more vegetables, fruit, and the meat of choice was chicken or fish. About once a month or at least once every two months I gave my body red meat. I began to feel better, and not as if I was lacking anything. I still had CFS, but I could better manage it with this new found diet.
In this process, of attempting to become a vegetarian, I learned an even better lesson on eating; the art of mindfulness. In other words I began to experience the joy of eating. For anyone who wants to incorporate spirituality into their eating habits, this is the way. If you have been dieting and need to lose weight the art of being mindful while eating has been found to help be successful in your diet endeavors. What does this mindfulness while eating entail?
Many times during our eating experience we will eat to be social, or we eat for comfort. We don?t necessarily eat for energy. We often meet our friends and family at the table to break bread together; a form of camaraderie and a form of being with these people to engage in their lives. The food arrives. Do we, arrive whole heartedly, mentally, emotionally and spiritually as we begin to devour our food? Chances are very high that the answer is no we don?t. We talk and eat at the same time, and don?t think about any part of the food we are eating. It?s time to do something different. Let?s help our food take care of us, and energize us to the betterment of our health.
When the food arrives, take a moment and say a prayer for the food. Thank the people that prepared the food, the plants and animals that gave to us for nourishment, and pray that the food blesses us in return. Think about the service of others for the food at your table. Think not only about the hands that prepared the food, but think about the table setting, dishes silverware, and other parts of the table. Become observant.
When looking at your plate of food, admire the beauty of the plate, and the presentation of the food. What are the colors presented to you? What are the smells you smell in regard to your food? Name the foods to yourself on your plate. Remind your body that you are listening to it as you eat.
Tune into the foods, and allow them to nourish your body. Not only when you eat mindfully do you pay attention to your food, but you become aware of how and what your body does with each piece of food. Take a small bite and let your tongue and mouth taste and feel the texture of the food. Swallow after chewing the bite slowly, and follow it down to your stomach. Move around the plate and take a bite of something else. Smell it, ponder the texture, and let your tongue savor that particular bite. Then follow it down to your stomach. You have arrived at your plate, and your plate has arrived to you. Another activity you can do to help you be mindful while eating is to eat only one portion at a time, and not mix your foods. For example eat the vegetables first then move to the next item which could be the meat portion, or vice versa.
With mindful eating you can change your attitude concerning the meal, the eating of the meal and nutrition as a whole. You will learn to appreciate food more and recognize its great gifts. In that process you will give yourself a heightened sense of respect. You will learn to slow down in your eating and truly pay attention to the food that you are about to eat. Mindful eating means that you are arriving at your food, tuning into your food, awakening to your food, and extending mindfulness to the activities that come in preparing the food as well as eating the food. You will learn to challenge all your old eating behaviors and assumptions. You will develop effective ways to create boundaries for yourself in your eating. You will enjoy your food more.
Being mindful also looks at your intentions about the food as you eat it. What are your intentions? Are you eating for nutrition? Are you eating for energy? Are you eating for health? Are you eating to be social? Are you eating for comfort? None of these are bad, but as you eat they need to be answered. For the most part, just asking yourself these questions will bring about mindfulness.
There can be joy and energy gained from eating a luscious chocolate candy bar. The task is to take your time with that candy bar. Enjoy unwrapping slowly the candy, savoring each moment. Enjoy the chocolate smell, and think about the process of it being made. Many people and lots of energy went into the making of that candy bar. Be thankful for those people. As you eat that candy bar, think about how your body is reacting as you consume the candy. Do you feel good after you have consumed it? Is your body lethargic, or does it feel heavy afterwards. Those questions will help you understand if eating that candy bar was a healthy thing for your body. Sometimes it will be healthy, and sometimes it won?t. You and your body must decide that.
In my attempt to learn and train my body to become a vegetarian, I learned several valuable lessons. The most important lesson was to listen to my body, and what it told me after I ate food. Another important lesson was to be mindful of all the steps of eating. I listened to my body, and found that I am one of those people that need to eat meat. I don?t have to eat meat every meal, and I don?t need red meat every week. Most importantly I am to be thankful for the hands that prepared my food, the food that sacrificed itself for my meal, and the added blessing of nourishment for my body.
I understand that many of you out there are vegetarians and I applaud you for that, but I ask that you remember one thing. We all need to come to the table in the state of mindfulness. With that mindfulness the ability to listen to our bodies will come. This listening will help in the overall health of each individual. We don?t need to be involved in the argument about whether or not being a vegetarian is more spiritual, and a person who is vegetarian is eating food that provides more energy. What we need is to realize that we eat to live, not live to eat. The best way to balance the act of eating is to eat and enjoy the food with the art of mindfulness.
Carrie Fleharty is a mild-mannered school librarian, who loves moonlighting as a writer. She has written many articles, and is currently fine-tuning her craft. She has taken many workshops and classes on the art of writing, and has a modicum of success. She continues to work very hard in learning her craft. While not writing or playing with books, she's home with two Boston "Terrors" and recently added two adopted kitties. She also is into practicing a spiritual life, and attempts to incorporate that among the experiences of being human. | |
