Archive for Listening to your body/your self
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Kate
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One of the loudest arguments against buying organic foods is the cost! Organic is so expensive compared to…what? Ordinary food? And what are we getting with ordinary, cheap food? And why is organic food so much more expensive?
First, a tiny bit of history. Back in the 40’s and early 50’s your budget was very simple: 25% for housing, 25% for food, and 50% for everything else. Today we are complaining that food costs too much, and yet it is only 7.5% of the household budget. Hum-m-m-m-m…
The big food producers, the agribusinesses, have almost taken over. They have access to the government subsidies and use all that our technology can provide. In the mean time, the very chemicals designed to “improve” the soil and increase production have, instead, diminished the health of the soil to the point where it is almost dead. Production is down, nutrients in our food is down (it now takes 30 bowls of spinach to add up to the vitamins and minerals found in one bowl of spinach in the 50’s), and we are basically ingesting a huge load of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and ‘manufactured’ nutrition.
Cheap food is almost completely without nutritional value, and we go away from the table hungry. Our bodies are not satisfied, and we want more food. The more of the manufactured food we eat, the more weight we are carrying and the more we want because we are still hungry!!
You remember the old saying: “You get what you pay for”? Organic food costs more because ounce for ounce it has more in it. [There are other reasons, of course, but I’m just pointing out one piece to this enormous puzzle.] So ask yourself: do you go out and buy the cheapest clothes, the cheapest car, the cheapest tools? Why not? Because they are really not as good? Because they won’t last and aren’t really a savings in the long run?
Since food, good healthy food, means the difference between being healthy and being sick, maybe it’s time to rethink where you really want to spend your money. You need and eat much less food if you have local whole foods. You feel better and have a better attitude with really good, nourishing foods. I have read that up to 80% of the people who are depressed in today’s society simply need to take all the trace minerals that are missing from factory foods to feel better again.
Give it a try, a two week try. Right now is the season of bounty. Farmers markets are bountiful with wonderful fresh foods. Put the money you would spend on factory foods into what is on sale and organic. Experience the marvelous feeling of being full and well nourished! Fill up your mouth with things your taste buds will notice and enjoy!
Bonne Appetite!
Posted by:
Kate
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As everything ‘heats’ up in a world preparing for change, I have had some deep questions about my own role in this. There are many ways I could help, or teach, or present others with options for a healthy future. As various ideas arose in me, I would explore them in my heart and mind to see which ones really caught fire. Some were close to that ignition point – just not quite there yet.
Recently I took a road trip to New Mexico to visit three different sets of friends. First I connected with a dear girlfriend from my childhood in Santa Fe. Much to my surprise and delight we were more natural and at ease than ever before. Even though more than forty years had passed, we had a very ‘in the moment’ relationship together. Yet, to me, it was also rooted in our childhood, in the Earth, at my roots. This stirred me deeply as the love and the warmth between us was so very real.
This warmth and love has happened with other best girlfriends from childhood, and it has re-grounded me to a past that is suddenly alive and well in the present! This is a sea change for me, and adds a depth to my presence I didn’t know I was missing! This has connected me back to the Farm, the Earth, and childhood in a positive, nourishing way.
Next I went to hang out in the loving presence of three Sisters Of Honua, my beloved Spirit sisters. We Sisters of the Earth are connecting, communing, and supporting one another for the sake of our Mother Earth and all my relations. Here, after the drumming, during the night, a fire started burning in me, a fire I had no words for yet.
Two hours North, I stopped and parked on the other side of a juniper, on the other side of a ranch gate, and waited for my friend to come get me. She arrived before I got the gate pulled closed over the rough, rutted ground. [There is no way for my low-slung ride to navigate the road to her home.]
Finally, after much bumping and twisting around on dusty roads, we could look down into a small valley and see the donkeys, a horse, the river, and the beautiful buildings she and her husband call home on the range! A year ago I built a labyrinth for her on this land and I knew we were going to walk it again in the moonlight as it was to be a full moon that night.
While waiting for the moon to rise, my friend pulled out an album and a DVD . Her sister had put together the story of part of the Suffragette Movement, the part their Grandmother played in giving Women the vote. We immersed ourselves in that story, really experiencing what our Grandmothers did, what they endured, and what it was all for. It was truly inspiring! I wanted to join them, to stand on their shoulders and make a difference in my world.
There it was! The fire in the belly had words, and it went like this. One of the wisest advisers President Obama lost was his Grandmother! He has missed and still needs that counsel of wisdom in Washington. Now all the Grandmothers need to speak to him and to all leaders everywhere! We have something to say that needs to be heard!
The time has come to speak our truth: about the food, about the water, about the seeds and the lands and about the children and grandchildren of our lands. We Grandmothers, and supporters of the Grandmothers, and supporters of Mother Earth need to SHOW UP in force. We need to BE WILLING to stop the madness. We need to TELL THE TRUTH from our hearts. We need to say to all the powers that be: “I will only accept the best from you!”
If not now, Women, then when? For if we cannot speak out now to stop the poisons, stop the killing, and start healing ourselves and our home there will be no tomorrow to do it in. This is the Grandmothers Wake Up Call! This is the right time for peaceful action. We have our Grandmothers shoulders to stand on. This is when we shine in all our power, so that there is an Earth to pass down to the next seven generations, and humans to live on it. This is why we are here at this moment on this Earth, our home!
I propose we meet in all the capitols of all the lands on Earth Day, April 22, 2012. I see us walking, riding, pedaling, flying, and car pooling to our capitols. I see us pushing baby carriages, pushing each other in wheel chairs, riding on floats, dancing great daisy chains, and singing our way to the capitols. Let us make a huge noise for life, joining together heart to heart in community to get this house cleaning done once and for all.
Roll up your sleeves, Ladies! It’s time to have some serious fun! And don’t forget to ask all those wonderful men in our lives along for protectors. The more the merrier!
Posted by:
Kate
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I am one of those fortunate people that never lost touch with being able to find out what foods my body wants. I feel part of this is great genetics; part of this was being raised by a Mom who used portion size and dish size to indicate what a normal amount of something was; and part of this was having a Dad who changed what he ate and the amount he ate when the activity changed. The last part was trusting my inner knowing to decide on foods and amounts that suited me in the moment.
This is evident in some patterns and habits I have that seem to be quite different from most of my friends and acquaintances. If I am hungry and can’t find anything in the refrigerator or cupboards that interests me, I drink a glass of water or have a cup of herb tea. I take this as a sign to fast for the moment. When all I want is one item for a meal, I go with that, even if it seems a bit odd – like a whole bunch of kale or a grapefruit or two. Since I sometimes only want a bite or two of something and at other times I want a lot, I figure it all balances out.
Seasons also bring changes in what foods I want and how much! In fact I will gain roughly 10 pounds by January. In cold climates in winter, I want root crops, stews, meat, and hearty soups. I love the tougher greens (collards, kale, and turnip greens) as well, fermented foods (sour kraut), and have more good fats as the weather gets colder and the ground freezes. My warmer clothes reflect these body changes and also allow for an extra layer under them when needed.
Ah, spring! As the weather warms, I start craving fresh greens, lighter fare, and also start shedding the winter weight. Summer brings mostly raw veggies and fruits, salads, more salt and much less fat. Off comes the weight, and my summer clothes are a size smaller than the winter ones. This has been my pattern for as long as I can remember – except when I lived in Tucson, AZ. There is no deep chill building to a freezing winter in Tucson, and lo and behold, no weight gain either! After realizing that, I haven’t worried about ‘winter weight’ again.
Another trigger for changes in diet for me is the amount of physical activity I am doing that day. When I am getting up early to work as a landscaper/garden maintenance laborer for 8 hours outside, I have 2 eggs, 2 pieces of sausage or bacon, fruit, yogurt, coffee and even a piece of toast. Without the protein I am starving by 10am! Lunch is big as well however supper is quite small. When I am not doing hard physical labor, my breakfast is yogurt and fruit, and I usually only have two meals a day.
I believe we were all born knowing what we need, how much, and when; I also believe that many of us can re-invigorate this inner sense by being very conscious of what we put in our mouths and what our unique physique requires. We may have gotten the idea that we had to learn what was good for us, and why, so that we would eat the right things at the right time. I believe instead this ‘education’ has confused a normal, organic knowing each of us is born with. Inner dialogue with your body is a helpful tool to cultivate and it will give you a better personal idea of your own requirements for food, rest, and relaxation.
