what we feed the mind matters

lifelong messy delicious lessons

Like a boundless sea, we have the capacity to embrace the waves of life as they move through us. Even when the sea is stirred up by the winds of self-doubt, we can find our way home. We can discover, in the midst of the waves, our spacious and wakeful awareness.

Tara Brach

I don’t know when in my life I deemed bread as “bad,” but I remember when the gluten-free fad began, and I felt anxious and guilty for loving this delicious carb so much.

My relationship with food, exercise, and the vast array of wellness practices ebbs and flows depending on seasons and sensitivities, but I am working on simply appreciating everything for what it is — nourishment — and figuring out ways in which I can stop stressing about it all.

Of course things like movement, getting enough sleep, meditating or self-inquiry, and unprocessed foods are better for our bodies [and the environment as a result], but getting worked up over what we eat and how we live can be just as destructive as “bad” habits, especially over time.

In the realm of food, for example, Divya Alter and Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum – alongside studies from Dr. John Douillard at Life Spa [all via Ayurveda] – helped me to stop deeming gluten/bread/dairy as “evil.” Shout out to Jovial Foods magical einkorn products and research to boot.

*Read my post Why I Stopped Fearing Gluten + Dairy for more insight on this taboo topic.

Although this was a massive relief and validated my Oprah-esque love of bread-things, it did not result in me inhaling a ton of gluten, because I knew that would only result in temporary satisfaction [and potential tummy dissatisfaction]. I have learned over the years that fully ignoring a craving can be futile, but fulfilling a craving is temporary. Neither neglecting nor over-consuming will solve anything.

Like bread or workouts or what-have-you – life in moderation is much more sustainable [for mind, body, and planet alike] than life in excess.

Bottom line[s]: We are all unique; food and lifestyle practices are all unique; “good” vs “evil” is a personal perspective that can greatly affect how we process food [allergies aside] and exercise and “healthy” habits.

*Follow Evelyn Tribole, Unique Hammond, and my friends Sarah Pachelli and Willow Jarosh for more inspiration on intuitive eating and our relationship with eats.

And here’s the [other] thing: we can try to push away our judgement or cravings, or we can witness them with gentleness.

We can eat treats or enjoy a lazy Netflix and chill weekend whilst feeling both guilty and grateful, depending on the day.

We can judge ourselves for judging ourselves, or we can witness the rise and fall of all the feelings with as much kindness as possible.

We can watch our words — what we say to ourselves and to each other — with awareness and an open heart.

We can feed each other’s self-criticism with our own, or we can feed each other’s self-acceptance by accepting ourselves just as we are — at any size, experimenting with any lifestyle or exercise regimen, on any food protocol or “diet,” in any phase of our careers or relationships [or lack thereof].

Our self-judgement or criticism doesn’t have to magically disappear, though. In fact, it might never completely vanish.

We can, however, chose to take it by the hand; work with and learn from it; invite it to tea and listen to what it has to say instead of shoving it away – because we all know that emotions and humans alike have a way of creeping back up if we ignore them.

We can also feel the feelings instead of pushing ourselves in pursuit of being zen and chill about it all [hi it me].

Every emotion around our self-judgements and anxieties are valid, but we don’t necessarily have to suffer through them all if we chose to try to act [i.e. witness] versus react [i.e. continue feeding ourselves the destructive mental loop of not being “good enough”].

It can all exist together.

Be good to yourselves and each other.

Read the newsletter for my chickpea buckwheat savory pancakes [new favorite], 2 new YouTube yoga classes, upcoming retreats, an inspiring podcast, and good vibes.

Onward.

Photo: Amber Gregory / The Good Life Retreat at Rayos Del Sol, Costa Rica.