I had finished my grocery shopping and was in line checking out. The checker took the organic beets from my basket and said to herself, “I can’t eat those.” Then she grabbed the bunch of organic carrots: “Nope, not those either.” I am a pretty transparent person, so I can only imagine the look of “wtf?!” on my face because she began to explain to me that she was on some new diet and one of the rules of the diet is that she can’t eat anything that grows below the ground.
Okay, time out. Full disclosure: Yes, I am a nutritionist, but I don’t keep up with current diet trends because truthfully they are mostly irrelevant to me and the philosophies that guide my work, coupled with my belief that we need to approach this diet and nutrition thing from a different angle altogether. I digress…but you get the idea. In short, I don’t know the details or scientific claims behind this new diet she was speaking of, and I’m not discrediting them, however, I am skeptical of any diet that puts such strict limitations on vegetables and other nourishing foods grown in the earth.
So finally, she grabs my head of organic romaine lettuce and says, “I can have this! …oh, but NOT the white part.” Okay, restrictions on eating a damn leaf of lettuce?! Seriously?! Eating is an essential necessity that we have been doing to sustain life since the beginning of human existence on earth. And now we are receiving external messages that say we no longer know how to do this on our own and we need someone to provide us with a complex list of rules that turns mealtime into an anxiety-riddled, fear-inducing science experiment instead of the communal, spiritual, holistically nourishing, joyful experience it can be.
No wonder we are experiencing a disconnect from our intuition and a lack of trust in ourselves. Look, obviously I feel passionately and have strong opinions about food, but this is just one example. Don’t even get me started on pregnancy or parenting! 😉
Today let’s choose to push back against and reclaim trust in ourselves. Here’s mantra to get you started:
I already have everything I need, and I open to the support of the Universe as I uncover all that I am, align with my true Self, reveal all that I need, and step into my Light.
You might try repeating this to yourself as you rest in Balasana/Child’s Pose. In this posture we connect with our intuition and natural wisdom. When in alignment with our Truth/Self and fully present, we can hear, see, and sense clearly. Doubt and fear fall away, and we are left only with what must be done and ample courage with which to do it.
“…we already have what we need. The wisdom, the strength, the confidence, the awakened heart and mind are always accessible, here, now, always. We are just uncovering them. We are rediscovering them. We’re not inventing them or importing them from somewhere else. They’re here… No one else gives this to you. People will support you and help you with teachings and practices…but you yourself experience your unlimited potential.” — Pema Chodron
Krystal Barschig 