How often do you pay attention to the food that goes into your mouth. How frequently are you truly aware of what you're eating-where it came from, how it was produced, where you purchased it from, what is actually in it? Are you on the phone while you are buying your food or are you mindful of what goes into your basket?
When you start to be mindful of what goes into your mouth, when you can resist temptations of junk food. unhealthy foods and intoxicants, you begin to transform your life and preserve your health. This is one of the countless reasons why developing a meditation practice leads to a healthier life. Meditation teaches us patience, how to resist temptations, decreases the ego, and how to be more mindful-among several other great qualities.
Also, if you are aware of how to lead a healthy life, yet, do not walk the talk, then you're putting yourself and the Universe at a huge disadvantage. The grocery stores are jam packed with thousands of different brand names, choices and products that all claim health and wellness. Therefore, you have to be mindful of what goes into your basket because it's much easier to purchase bad quality food than to look, read labels, and start to educate yourself on brands and ingredients that are the most healthy (again, patience here is crucial). When you educate yourself and put forth the effort to purchase good quality foods; when you can shift your priorities from spending money on material objects to instead purchasing healthy, local, organic foods, you will be making yourself, your children and the environment a much healthier place.
Yet, one of the most difficult tasks in life is to adapt to change. When you can adapt to change and take steps towards making yourself healthier and the planet healthier, you begin to tap into your life's purpose. Change is extremely difficult, it often carries pain and suffering with it. However, the most bountiful harvests often result from fertile soil which includes shit. Dung makes things grow; if we can surrender to change, to pain and suffering-the manure for human beings, there will undoubtedly be tremendous growth.
The healthiest foods available are the simplest foods. These include grains such as brown rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth, teff; fresh, local, seasonal fruits and vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, raw butter, organic cage free local eggs, local and fresh meats and small amounts of fish; beans and other foods such as seaweeds, miso, fresh juices, sauerkraut, kimchi, mushrooms, noodles, spices, nuts and seeds, raw chocolate, sea salt, micro-greens, algae, and certain teas and herbal medicines. It is wise to purchase such foods at your farmers market and/or co-op as they tend to have the freshest choices of several local fruits and veggies.
Most importantly, if we want to be healthier, we have to stop looking outside of ourselves and turn our eyes inward. Because no matter what you put into your mouth-if the words that come out aren't polite, if they're filled with hatred, jealousy, anger, gossip, blame, criticism, egocentrism or lies then your health will suffer. I encourage you to take the time to listen to the words that you say including the tone that you use- you may be surprised at what you find when you mindfully listen. This awareness exercise, if practiced regularly, will help to transform a polluted mind into compassion, empathy, gratitude, politeness, and genuinity.
Am I suggesting that you can transform your life if you make it a habit to purchase sustainable, local, healthy foods; or that by implementing a meditation practice you will cultivate mindfulness and compassion, humility, humbleness, decrease stress and anxiety, diminish the ego and attract more positivity into your life; that the words and tone that comes out of your mouth will have a great effect on your health? Well, all I can say is when you start to incorporate such habits, you will be astonished at the results.
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