Think back to a time when you were passionately in love.
Everything was exciting. Colors were vivid. You were floating on air, gazing
into your lover’s eyes. Your lover's touch and your shared feelings of
exhilaration were enough to sustain you. You forgot about food and were high on
life.
Remember a time when you were deeply involved in an exciting
project. You believed in what you were doing and felt confident and stimulated.
Time seemed to stop. The outside world faded away. You didn't feel the need to eat.
Someone had to come by and remind you.
Imagine children playing outside with friends. At dinnertime
the mother reminds the children, "Time to come in and eat." "No
mommy, I'm not hungry yet," they respond. At the dinner table, the mother
feels that her role is to enforce the rules of good nutrition and instructs the
children to eat their food. Eventually, the children force down a minimally
acceptable amount of food and rush out again to play. At the end of the day,
the kids return, exhausted, and go to sleep without thinking about food at all.
As children, we all lived on primary food. The same as when
deeply in love, or working passionately on a project. The fun, excitement and
love of daily life have the power to feed us so that food becomes secondary.
Now think of a time when you were depressed, or your
self-esteem was low; you were starving for primary food. No amount of secondary
food would do. You ate as much as you wanted, but you never felt satisfied.
Even in good times when we come home at night, we often look into the
refrigerator for something to eat, when all we really want is a hug or someone
to talk to.
Primary foods feed us, but they don't come on a plate.
Elements such as a meaningful spiritual practice, an inspiring career, regular
and enjoyable physical activity and honest and open relationships that feed
your soul and your hunger for living all constitute primary food.
The more primary food we receive, the less we depend upon
secondary foods. The opposite is also true. The more we fill ourselves with
secondary foods, the less we are able to receive the primary foods of life.
Every spiritual tradition encourages people to fast during
the year so that individuals have time to reduce secondary foods, thus allowing
for a greater awareness of primary food.
How are you doing with your primary foods? Try this quick activity and contact me if you need additional support!
Beth Bunchman, MS, CHHC
303-956-8063
beth@secondnaturehealthcoaching.com
© Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Shared with Permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment