As the caretakers of the world, we have a lot of things to do each day, including our self-care regimen, which is why everything I teach, preach and do is about simplicity and getting the most out of the things we’re doing anyway!
We have to eat three times a day, and it just so happens that food is one of the greatest ways we can heal ourselves.
Let’s explore.
Though food has become one of my greatest passions, it wasn’t always that way. Our relationship used to be tenuous at best. I would eat for survival, and I didn't think at all about what I was putting into my body or how it was made. I was just fueling to have enough energy to go on to the next thing and do it well.
Learning that food was an immensely powerful way for us to heal ourselves was a gradual process that happened in stages for me. Just like any good empath, my interest was piqued when I realized how I could help other people through food. Learning that it was possible to infuse the food I was preparing with energy, intention, and love, got me to begin preparing meals to share with my friends and family—so that they could ingest those energies. I could help people to heal from the inside and expand my purpose on this planet just by doing something I had to do anyway! (Note: Apologies to my Nonna. If I had been paying any attention to all that you were doing when I was a child, I would have gotten this lesson a lot earlier!)
Those who are open to receiving support will feel it when they ingest what it is that you've prepared. They will think it is the most delicious meal ever, or ask you lots of questions about what makes it so good!
The people who are not open, however, might not even try the food that you've made. Let that be fine. It's not about you. You'll know who's open and who's not through how they are reacting to what it is that you've prepared or served. Play with it. This is really fun, and you'll have great experiences.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov / Pexels
We need to remember that we don't know what healing should look like for anyone or what their process should be. Setting the intention for the highest and best, then allowing their healing process and journey to unfold exactly the way that it is supposed to is key. We can ask for ease and grace on their behalf and then let go.
When we're making shifts in what we're ingesting and how we're doing it, we can heal ourselves with food as well. Just like other Sensitives, I’ve had my share of issues when it comes to digestion, sensitivities, and foods. Yet one of our superpowers is that energy systems and bodies respond in big ways to very subtle shifts. So as we change small things in our lives, we reap humongous benefits.
It was a little while later, when I was the one in need of some healing, personally, that I realized what I was and wasn’t eating was having a huge effect on my own health. I began to pay attention to the qualities of what I was eating—hot, cold, acidic, dry, etc.
Then how it was being prepared.
Then the quality of the food itself.
I began to see that spending more on groceries saved me money on doctors and medical bills.
But how do we know what we need?
Each day we can check in with our bodies and energetic systems asking, “What is it that you need to feel supported today?" Then, let your body show you what it needs while paying attention to all of your senses. Personally, I like to visualize a table in front of me and see it get populated with what my system is asking for!
Another, perhaps simpler, way is to go to the supermarket or the farmstand and see which foods cause a reaction. We'll be drawn to certain things. We might love the color, the smell, or not know why we are attracted to it. Whatever it is that call to you is what you need.
Perhaps the simplest way to increase our health is to pay attention to what's growing naturally (not in a greenhouse out of season) in the area where we live at any time of year and eat more of those foods. These foods best support our bodies in navigating the changes in seasons, and the energy of the seasons themselves.
Considering the qualities present in our foods is important. Like attracts like. Am I generally cold and do I eat a lot of cold, raw foods or foods that haven't been warmed up? Am I generally warm and do I eat hot, spicy foods? Do I feel very stagnant, yet eat a lot of dairy? These are things we can think about in terms of the qualities we would like to increase or reduce in our bodies and our lives. There's a whole science devoted to this called Food Energetics.
Remembering to feed all five of our senses at every meal allows us to nourish ourselves on a much deeper level. Grabbing something out of the refrigerator, opening the wrapper, and eating it on the go is a very different experience than setting the table with my best silverware, plates, tablecloth, and some candles. When I make a beautiful meal, plate it gorgeously with all of the colors of the rainbow represented, and eat while being present, I set myself up for a full sensory experience and optimal digestion.
Granted, sometimes we need to eat on the go, it’s understood, but our goal is to balance our lives. If we have two or three meals on the go, can we then have two or three meals to counterbalance them in a different way? Can we take a moment and be in gratitude for the food that we are eating, even if we are eating in the car? Can we pause to think about all who were involved in growing that food and getting it to us? Can I offer a moment of thanks for the jobs that they've done? Can I send a prayer for them to be nourished as I am nourished? Can I take a moment to intend that this food be brought to the exact right vibration for where I am and what I need today?
In these ways, we start harmonizing ourselves with the food and the world, so that the digestive process will go a lot smoother. When we can eat mindfully, without distractions like tv, excess conversation, or phones, we are in a more relaxed state and have more energy available to use for the actual digestion of the food. We don't have to compensate for the energy that we are losing by doing something else while eating. We digest what we experience through all of our senses—all that we see, smell, hear, taste, and touch.
Being present with our food also leads us to chew more. When we don’t chew enough, our stomachs need to work much harder than they should. Digestion begins with the eyes. Seeing food we want to eat stimulates the digestive process to start in our mouths, releasing salivary amylase, which starts breaking down the food once it passes the lips. Chewing continues this process.
Food is actually fairly well digested when it gets to the stomach, but not if we miss these processes of sensory stimulation. Then our stomachs need to work much harder, and we have more digestive issues.
I mentioned food energetics before, and this is really important for Sensitives. We bring in the food, its qualities, and the energies of that food. When we look at food and pay attention to how it grows, we get clues as to what it can help us with and which parts of the body it can nourish and sustain.
A couple of examples:
• Potatoes grow down in the earth, therefore they are grounding and heavy. They bring those qualities to us.
• Leafy greens grow up and then spread outward. These foods reach up to get the sunlight, oxygen, and prana. They bring energy, help oxygenate the blood, and the green energy helps our heart and lung areas to clear and to open.
• Pomegranate is red. Most red foods help our blood system—that is the ones that aren't poisonous! Things like pomegranates and beets help build up our blood.
• Walnuts are shaped like brains, and they support our brain function.
So these are the ways that we can start to tune in and figure out how to provide ourselves with the energies we need.
One question I do get asked all the time is about sugar and caffeine and all of the things that we obsess over. We are sensitive to a lot of things, and for this reason, we can get very obsessive with what it is that we ingest. Here's the thing: everything is fair game in moderation unless there's a very specific diagnosis that you're trying to heal where avoiding certain things for a period of time would really be helpful.
If you're about to eat that piece of cake or have caffeine, there’s no need to feel bad about it. Be present with what you're ingesting and set the intention to enjoy every bit of it. Engage all of your senses. This goes for all foods, not just the ones that you think that you shouldn't be eating.
When we ingest anything with guilt and shame, it turns to poison in our system. It works the same way if you are digesting through any of your senses—for example watching a movie while telling yourself that it is not an efficient use of your time, even though you really want to see it. When you're bringing things in with guilt, shame, or with a monologue that tells you you should be doing something else, you are creating dis-ease (the opposite of ease).
So, when making the choice to have that cupcake, ENJOY IT! Then and only then will it be able to nourish you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Food can help you heal everything in your life. Regardless of how small or how big the problem, you're going to eat every day anyway, so why not ingest that which will support you in improving every aspect of your health?
I know we're just scratching the surface on this topic and there will be more to come. Please leave a comment to let me know what you would like to know more about with regard to food, nutrition, your health, and your healing.
XO
Theresa
____________________________
For more support on your healing journey, join The Membership!
You’ll receive healing energy every single day and be supported by a loving community of people just like you, who are living in their sensitive superpowers so that they can live more on purpose and feel more alive.
Tap here for more information.