2016-06-30
When we develop reverence for food and the miracle of transformation inherent in it, just the simple act of eating creates a ritual of celebration.
-Deepak Chopra

From "If the Buddha Came to Dinner: How to Nourish Your Body and Awaken Your Spirit" by Halé Sofia Schatz with Shira Shaiman:

We eat every day, all day long. But we are eating on the run, grabbing a doughnut and a cup of coffee on our way to work, heating up TV dinners, or making meals from instant foods. According to Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser's thorough investigation of our nation's fast-food preoccupation, about 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food goes toward purchasing processed food. In the incredible pace of our lives and with the availability of every prepackaged imaginable, we have lost the connection between what we eat, why we feed ourselves, and how we feel. For the most part, people eat without a great deal of thought beyond the taste. But the simple, daily act of eating has the potential to become a profound catalyst for spiritual growth, from experiencing a renewed sense of vitality and purpose in life to discovering our true vocations and making deeper connections in all of our relationships.

How to we regularly nourish our spirit so that it continually bears fruit? How do we literally feed this part of ourselves? Imagine for a moment that the Buddha is coming to dinner. What would you prepare? Most likely you wouldn't run out for fast-food burgers and onion rings. Instead, you'd spend time shopping and preparing the freshest, most tasty, wholesome meal you could produce with your own hands, in your very own kitchen.

Now let's imagine that you are a spiritual being-which you are!-what would you feed yourself?

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