For years, I heard people’s unsolicited opinions about spirituality and coffee, and how you couldn’t enjoy both. Then I stopped listening.
My lived experience told me this was NOT. TRUE.
I remember sitting in class at my nutrition school and hearing the founder speak about how the foods of our childhoods could nurture us in ways we can’t imagine and won’t ever understand. Even those that don’t seem to have many health benefits can be deeply healing. He gave the example of goulash and how, on his journey to health, this dish could nurture him is ways all of the “healthy” food he was eating just couldn’t—especially when he was needing a little additional reassurance in life.
This got me thinking about how we, as sensitives, often give up foods and other things because we think we should in order to be “more spiritual,” and not because our bodies are asking us to. We also tend to spend a lot of time feeling isolated, lonely, misunderstood, and like the world is not supporting us in the way we need or want. I began to wonder if one of these things could remedy the other.
In all my years of practice, I haven’t found many people who are willing to play with this. We tend to get caught up in identifying and labeling ourselves based on what we ingest. We pride ourselves on going with the flow and being flexible—just not when it comes to giving up a label.
What I can tell you, is that over the years, my body has asked that I let go of many things, but coffee has never been one of them. It's one of the foods that is deeply woven into my life experience and brings me into a vibration where I feel completely surrounded in Love.
PLUS, it has many health benefits! (Reducing kapha, providing the bitter taste in a diet that is low in it, increasing circulation, and reducing likelihood of certain cancers are just a few.)
I love and enjoy everything about it—the smell, the taste, the process of brewing it, and the equipment. In fact, we have no less than 5 different ways to make it in my house!
Coffee is part of my best childhood memories of gathering with those I loved. As soon as you walked in to my Grandparents’ home, my Nonna would break out the coffee pot, tin of cookies, and the demitasse china rimmed in gold. There was so much Love wrapped up in her offering.
To this day, it doesn’t matter if I am making it myself, drinking what another has made, ordering a fancy brew from a high-end shop, or a simple espresso, drinking it is a sacred act for me. I connect to and feel my ancestors, all that they have given me, and the ways they continue to support me. It is an experience to be savored and cherished with all of the senses—especially the heart.
Not gonna lie, I do require that the coffee be GOOD. Life is just too short to drink bad coffee.
When you understand what makes you tick as an individual, you can listen in and nourish yourself in ways those outside of you can’t understand. You can make any experience into one that heals you, as long as you embrace it fully and without guilt or shame, which will turn anything you ingest into poison in your system.
Plus, when you are true to yourself, you attract those who are like you. Today, I have a community of spiritually-focused sensitives that I can enjoy my coffee with!
What is it for you? Is there a food from your childhood that nourishes you in ways that might not even make sense?
I'd LOVE to hear about it in the comments!
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