Healthful Eating

Life on this planet, including the experience of eating, is meant to be pleasurable, satisfying and nurturing. Eating is also meant to be consciousness expanding (not numbing).

Food furnishes raw materials for vitality if the food is natural and raw, provided we eat to nourish that vitality rather than for emotional reasons. When we eat when we are not physically hungry, the food does not digest well and becomes an energy robber, stressing the body and leading to illness.

When we need emotional comfort it is important to identify the root causes of our feelings. A good counselor and deep self-inquiries can help bring self-nurturing into our awareness, thereby loosening the grip on any tendencies toward eating for comfort or to disconnect from feeling.

When we are craving food, it is necessary to identify what the senses are calling for and choose the most nourishing foods that Mother Nature has to offer -- a positive step toward increasing our personal power.

Providing All of the Essentials of Health

It is important to identify and reduce the stress in our lives, taking the time for nurturing activities, relaxation, fun, sunshine, exercise, fulfilling human connection, physical touch, bodywork, personal growth, and getting extra sleep to restore and keep our nerve energy at a vigorous level.

It is not possible to handle stress if we are over tired. Sleep is Nature's great restorer. Recognizing the basic human need for these life-giving elements is the first step.

When it seems difficult to muster the energy to include them, enlisting a dedicated, loving support system can be a wonderful step towards this ideal. Here's to health, happiness and peace for us all.

NOURISHING RAW FOODS

While making the transition to total self-love and self-nurturing, a good goal is to gradually increase the proportion of whole, fresh, organic living and raw foods in your diet. With this in mind, a good guideline to follow is to always include a portion of raw foods (e.g., salad) every time you eat cooked food.

The following vegan foods contain the millions of broad spectrum nutrients needed to completely satisfy our dietary needs for creating and maintaining peak mental-emotional-physical function, supporting personal power.

Organically-grown plant foods are naturally high in minerals for strengthening the nervous system and enzymes which feed our vitality. Raw, fresh fatty fruits, nuts and seeds are rich in vitamins and proteins which also support our nervous systems.

As an extra-special delight of Creation, tropical fruits are rich in the hormonal proteins which function as precursors to neurotransmitters, soothing our nervous system, naturally elevating our mood, and enhancing our mental powers.

What kinds of tastes are your senses calling for? Light refreshment, sweet ecstasy, salty/minerals, or creamy/fatty? Tune in to your body's cravings, observe the color, texture and fragrance of the food you are instinctively drawn to, and consciously eat until satisfied, remaining alert to your body's responses.

The natural foods which you find most attractive and satisfying are the most nourishing ones for your body at that time. Remember, the simpler the meal the better the results.

WATERY, REFRESHING FRUITS & PLANTS
cucumber, lettuce, celery, celery root

SWEET FIBROUS PLANT-FRUITS, AND ROOTS
corn, bell pepper (sweet red, yellow and orange), corn (sweet fresh),
sweet pea, carrot (sweet fresh), jicama, beet, Jerusalem artichoke

SWEET WATERY FRUITS
Of Vines: grape, kiwi, melons: watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, sharlyn

Of Trees: cherry, apricot, peach, plum, pear, apple, fig, apple,
cherimoya, sapodillo, mamea, mango, date, papaya, persimmon, banana,
sapote, nectarine, mulberry, orange, tangerine, mandarin, satsuma,
grapefruit, pomegranate

Of Bushes: pineapple, guava, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry,
blackberry, loganberry

SWEET CONCENTRATED FRUITS
raisin, dried date, dried fig

SALTY FRUITS, PLANTS & ROOTS
tomato, bok choy, kale, celery, zucchini, squash, cabbage, broccoli,
cauliflower, sea vegetables (thoroughly rinsed), sprouted sunflower seed
greens, kohl-rabi, turnip

FATTY FRUITS, NUTS & SEEDS
Fruits: avocado, durian, carob, olives (unsalted, or soaked and
desalted)
Nuts (fresh raw, or germinated): walnut, almond, macadamia, pecan,
pistachio, pine, young soft (non-starchy) coconut
Seeds (fresh raw, or germinated): sunflower, squash, pumpkin, flax

FOOD COMBINING GUIDELINES FOR OPTIMAL DIGESTION & STRONG NERVE FUNCTION

Eat watery, refreshing fruits and plants alone or with any other type of food except melon.

Eat sweet fibrous plant-fruits, and roots alone or with watery, refreshing fruits and plants.

Eat sweet fruits (except melon which should not be combined with any other food) alone or with lettuce, celery or cucumber.

Eat salty fruits, plants & roots alone or with watery, refreshing fruits & plants.

Eat fats alone (one kind per meal) or with watery, refreshing fruits & plants.