WHY PLAY WITH FOOD?
So all this sounds great, but why should I “play with my food”
for personal growth and transformation?
EVERYBODY EATS FOOD
Everybody eats food. It’s one of those things we really can’t do without. That means that everybody has a pretty intimate relationship with it. For some, it’s more about “food as fuel,” or “food as nourishment.” For many, it falls somewhere along the spectrum of “good vs. bad,” and is our go-to companion in difficult and celebratory times. For others, including myself, food can take on a deeply spiritual meaning. This is where I think it gets interesting.
FOOD IS A CREATIVE CHANNEL…A VEHICLE
Regardless of your relationship with food, or how you think about it, one thing is certain. Food is a creative channel, or medium, that physically shows us the interconnectedness of the cosmos. It is a complex, interactive vehicle that draws the essence of the Earth and man together in an extraordinarily transformational process. Food comes from the Earth in raw form, is prepared and processed, and then ingested by us. We literally eat the “fruits of the Earth,” embodying the qualities and conditions inherent in them, and return the “waste” back to the ground. How much more transformative can you get?
This fundamental relationship is of a critical nature. It defines our behavior, guides our decisions, and describes our actual state of being. By accepting or rejecting certain aspects of our relationship with food, we also accept or reject our feelings about ourselves, our planet, and our place within the living system.
FOOD REFLECTS OUR CREATIVE CAPACITY
To accept or reject aspects of our relationship with food is not only inevitable, but is expected and important for our personal growth. But to do so without knowledge or awareness of this primal connection places us in a seemingly helpless, victim stance; a stance that denies our immensely creative power. Alternately, with conscious and thoughtful reflection, we can fully participate in creating the conditions for living a meaningful and joyful life.
Food has an inherent sensuality that offers itself to be experienced, whether growing in the garden covered with soil and detritus, rinsed and waiting patiently on a cutting board, or melting in our mouths. This sensuality is our direct link to others, to nature and all the cosmos. It is through our appreciation and use of our corporeal form that we experience that connection directly.
FOOD OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR
TRUTH AND MEANING
Imagine for a moment that food is a conduit between the subconscious and the conscious. Imagine that it has the power to entice deep truths and existential meaning to arise from participation with it. Heightening your conscious awareness by drawing out your spiritual nature through your relationship with food is a way to honor your soul, to provide an interdependent framework for individual meaning, and to encourage greater presence and an embodied sense of belonging. Ultimately this awareness leads to a greater capacity for sustainable choices, personal accountability, fulfillment and respect for all forms of life.
These are some of the many reasons to study food for personal growth and transformation.
