Great topic Mary! I've been gradually coming to the conclusion that most of us suffer from 'low grade food disorders'. I start from myself with that of course - never been underweight nor overweight, but can certainly under certain stress conditions be susceptible to bouts of 'food abuse' of varying intensities. When the food disorder is 'low grade', I think it goes unnoticed for decades. I also work pretty hard to stay fit and healthy and have tried many of the 'systems', including a several years of 'almost' vegarianism (quite a long time ago, and 'almost' cos I allowed myself a piece of fish or chicken every couple of weeks or so), and more recently the new fad for keto, which I still do cyclically, and find really beneficial. Then I do off-cycles, and then sometimes the off-cycles degenerate a bit!
Certainly agree that personal choices are rapidly becoming moral obligations for the rest of the world to follow suit. Part of the state of 'mass psychosis' that is still sweeping the world. Those who eat meat (like me - since time has taught me that I flourish much better that way - even though I have reservations about the killing part - and especially the inhuman farming methods part) are becoming 'bad people', like all the other growing list of things for which some seek to make everybody except themselves 'the bad people').
What is 'healthy' definitely varies from individual to individual. And I increasingly think that just one's relationship to food - how much we eat, when, with what attitude, enjoying food etc, can make as much differnece as the WHAT that we put in our mouths. The most important part about the what, is 'keep it close to nature'. As a nutritionist on a video I watched awhile back said, 'vegan, paleo, keto, carnivore, they're all good, so long as you eat real food'.
As for lab-grown meat, seems to me that nobody with a trace of objectivity and intelligence can fail to have noticed that every time we move food further away from nature, the consequences are very negative. I'm looking at you 'philanthropaths'.
Food is a really big deal. Great that you that you have shone a light on it Mary! And I might dare to predict you'll get a big response on this one - it will touch a chord with a lot of people!
Thank you for bringing particles and waves of light to this complex and vital topic. Love the idea of opposing sides ultimately sitting down together at the table of harmony.
I feel like this was written for me. As I’m going through my own nutricional journey, especially having been a pescatarian for the last decade, I’m now very consciously thinking about food in more ways than just being ethically against factory farming. And it’s not just about what you eat. It’s how you eat and when and with whom and your disposition at the time of eating… the quantum level of food is barely even tapped as a concept.
Lovely read and I’m sure I’ll be keeping this in mind as I move forward. Thank you.
Oh, Mary. Yours was the first email I saw this morning and I had to laugh. I've had a post languishing in my Dashboard for months now titled "Food Dogma." It's something that is constantly on my mind. I'm so tired of the vitriol and righteousness. Now, I can just share yours without fretting over mine. :)
I agree with everything you wrote 1000%. Those of us who have been on long healing journeys (I mean, who isn't/hasn't these days?) know this topic oh-so-well. When I was a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, our teacher told us one day that there was a new eating disorder label called orthorexia nervosa - the obsession with healthy eating. He asked us to raise our hands if it resonated. I swear, the entire auditorium filled with better-health-seekers raised our hands. I have relaxed SO MUCH since those days. Potato chips are still my favorite occasional junk food (potatoes are good for us, right??)
I just love you, Mary. Let me get that off my chest first.
So many topics! To start with one, I have this nagging guilt that telling my BiL about the health impacts of the vaccine just before his diagnosis gave him cancer. One of the tenets of The Four Agreements is 'watch your words.' Words are spells. And if you cast a spell on someone with your words and they accept it, they fulfill it. I don't know what to do with that, but there's something in it I can't dismiss. And it does make me careful about 'hitting' people with truth bombs, especially after decisions have been made and they can't take them back. Here's my episode on The Four Agreements: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/the-four-agreements.
And yes on Foodogma. In my brief foray into online dating, I did a meet n' greet with a macrobiotic and carnivore in the same weekend. Macrobiotic, I found, tells you each bite needs to be chewed 50X, I think it was. It restricts your fruit to 2-3X a week, I believe, and even limits water. But that guy made me salmon, and it was delicious. The meat-eater I ended up seeing again but try flirting over steak with suet chunks, no alcohol, no other food, no coffee. And this being during the pandemic, nowhere else to go!
I have another one on why I think vegans and animal husbandry share the same value system: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/animal-husbandry-is-the-new-vegetarian. One of my points is that Foodogma (to use your brilliant word) has ruined eating in community. Putting on dinners is what I'm most known for. I had a thing I did called Food in the Hood. If my websites hadn't gone belly-up, I could have shown you menus, photos and causes for a hundred dinners I did with up to 100 people at one called Killer Women & Carbon Cowboys on regenerative ag and animal husbandry.
The bane of my experience was catering to all the Foodogmas, particularly vegans. If we lived in the real world, meaning a world without slavery, all food someone else gave would induce gratitude. These are forms of consumer ethics and, to me, that's just being holier-than-thou.
So I really commend your article and I have to say, it's delightfully written. Your turns of phrase are always such a surprise. If you do wade into abortion and want a nuanced, third paradigm view, here's this one: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/roe-v-redux-leak-or-squirrel.
Love this and very timely. Been noticing the same in terms of extremes in the food world, and I love your explanations on our possible unconscious attempts at balancing.
If anyone asks me what I think about this topic, I'll direct them here with a 'what she said'.
"With all of the known and unknown variables that are at play when we talk, think, and argue about food — how can anyone tell anyone else that their way of eating is right or wrong, better or worse?"
That's it, we all figure it out ourselves. Never hurts to bless and say thank you to food either!
PS - I got mac n cheese in my cupboard too and let's not forget the dark chocolate. :-)
I love the particles and waves metaphor (I used it myself in a very different context here: https://thecassandracomplex.substack.com/p/particles-and-waves). It makes sense that your mental state when consuming certain foods would affect how the body processes them. I've felt that with certain powerful plant medicines -- to use an extreme example, mindset has a huge effect on the potential healing powers of psilocybin (magic) mushrooms ... you kind of have to have faith that they can help you for them to help you.
A revelation I had in spring 2020 (while on mushrooms, I'll admit) was that the healthiest way to eat was to look for "fractal" foods (see my link above for an explanation of fractals). Processed and refined foods lose their "fractalness" (can't think of a better word right now) during processing. I think about this in relation to avoidant restrictive food intake disorder and autism ... many autism activists online talk about how one of the reasons they like their highly processed "safe" foods is that they are the same every time, whereas every apple or blueberry or bite of steak is a little bit different.
It's not a perfect metaphor but I've found it useful.
I've never thought of food as particle and wave, and love that you brought up the carrot as an example, along with the yin aspect of EMF. I find that many people who come to me with electrical illnesses or EMF issues are often cold, especially in the hands and fingers. I think it could be the body's way of trying to retain warmth at the mitochondrial level (particle) but looking at the wave aspect you put forth here makes total sense.
As far as taking selfies when eating our food, we're treating our food as strictly particles with no wave., only radiowaves that impact our metabolism and can make us obese or too thin:
RE: "With all of the known and unknown variables that are at play when we talk, think, and argue about food — how can anyone tell anyone else that their way of eating is right or wrong, better or worse?"
and "Does food have to be emotionally charged, too? Can’t we all just eat whatever the hell we want and get on with it?"
Regarding eating meat. I am not opposed to eating meat myself but since I strive to cultivate the majority of that which I eat at home (and I live in an urban suburban setting) raising animals is not viable for me right now.
Also, for hundreds of kilometers in all directions around where we live the forest has been chopped down (and the wild life populations decimated) in the name of “progress”, so hunting is not really a viable or ethical option for me either.
Thus, for now, I eat a mostly plant/fungi based diet (trading with an Amish farmer nearby for eggs and dairy occasionally).
Another part of my decision to not eat meat currently is I have known a few guys that worked at slaughterhouses and I witnessed the toll it takes on one’s heart and mind (one of them became an alcoholic and the other transformed into a very angry and depressed person).
The hazards are psychological as well as physical. One paper on the psychological harm suffered by slaughterhouse employees in the US noted that abattoir workers "view, on a daily basis, large-scale violence and death that most of the American population will never have to encounter."
There’s even a form of post-traumatic stress disorder linked to repetitive killing: Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS). Symptoms can include depression, paranoia, panic and dissociation. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28506017/
Another study noted relatively high levels of anxiety, anger, hostility and psychoticism among slaughterhouse workers. Symptoms can also include violent dreams and some workers seek treatment similar to that used to help war veterans.
Perhaps some people can handle that type of work better than others, but these guys were nice people that were enjoyable to be around and the experience of ending life, all day everyday as a day job, being exposed to intermittent instances of suffering and horrible sounds/sights when the process goes wrong, really took a toll on them.
They receive relatively poor pay and I have also read the suicide rates of slaughterhouse workers is inordinately high, thus, I do not feel right outsourcing that emotional, mental and physical cost onto other human beings either, so if I was going to eat meat, it would only feel right to me if I was to do the killing my self, as to only burden myself with the emotional trauma of that act so I can eat the meat, and not outsource it onto another.
I will not judge other people for outsourcing that cost onto other human beings (who have to do the killing so that they can eat meat) but I am personally not willing to put that psychological burden on someone else to serve my own selfish preferences.
My recipe book is mostly vegetarian (I included a couple family heirloom recipes from my grandparents that include meat) but I do not preach about vegetarianism or veganism in my book as I think we have enough "us vs them" show downs happening already. Rather, I invited people to make each choice through the lens of people care, earth care and future care (the permaculture design ethics) and that applies for diet as well. Thus, for me, unless I am the one killing the animal myself, eating meat would violate the people care ethic.
Thanks again for writing this and inviting discussion.
What if there was a mechanism that allows for the experiences and environmental stimulus of one being (whether plant, animal, bacteria or fungi) to be interpreted and encoded into the genetic fabric of a completely separate organism which stimulates a shift in epigenetic expression (influencing what phenotype is expressed on the macro level) in real time?
Thanks for sharing your experiences, thoughts and insights on this matter.
When I read "All extremism is marked by singleminded and passionate belief in the ideology involved." I immediately thought of this Charles Eisenstein quote from his Climate book:
"The addiction to fighting draws from a perception of the world as composed of enemies: indifferent forces of nature tending toward entropy, and hostile competitors seeking to further their reproductive or economic self-interest over our own. In a world of competitors, well-being comes through domination. In a world of random natural forces, well-being comes through control. War is the mentality of control in its most extreme form. Kill the enemy—the weeds, the pests, the terrorists, the germs—and the problem is solved once and for all.
Except that it never is. World War I—the “war to end all wars”—was followed by another, even more horrific, soon after.
This pattern of thinking is called fundamentalism, and it closely parallels the dynamics of two defining institutions of our civilization: money and war. Fundamentalism reduces the complex to the simple and demands the sacrifice of the immediate, the human, or the personal in service to an overarching ulterior goal that trumps all. Disciplined by the promise of heavenly rewards or hellish punishments, the extreme religious fundamentalist shuts down his humanity in service to what his religion/church says God wants. Disciplined by economic exigency, millions of people sacrifice time, energy, family, and what they really care about in pursuit of money. Disciplined by an existential threat, a nation at war turns away from culture, leisure, civil liberties, and everything that is of no utility to the war effort.
This is the mentality of sacrifice to an all-important end. If we agree that the survival of humanity is at stake, then any means is justified, and any other cause—say reforming the prisons, housing the homeless, caring for the autistic, rescuing abused animals, or visiting your grandmother—becomes an unjustifiable distraction from the only important thing. Taken to its extreme, it requires that we harden our hearts to the needs in front of our faces. There is no time to waste! Everything is at stake! It’s do or die! How similar to the logic of war.”
Yes! My niece's son suffers from type 1 diabetes. His dad is hispanic and we are part. Her son's blood sugar is way more manageable when he eats for his heritage, which means good Mexican food. No processed evil...and I think of that many times. I picked up a can of cream of chicken soup the other day and looked at the ingredients. Bleck. I changed my life by getting rid of bags, boxes and cans in my diet. Lost 65 lbs...Well put and a much overlooked aspect of our health. I love how walnuts are good for your brain, and they look like a brain....and many more examples like that. Appreciate your thoughts and words Mary!♥♥
Hi Mary, I don't really have anything to say about "food", but I'd like to add something to your last line in the article about sitting down "with the rest of humanity at Mother Earth’s table as we “break bread” together." I read a recent piece by someone named Gareth Higgins regarding moving the needle forward with those we are not in conversation with presently. He suggests that we try to the fullest extent possible to find someone who is most different from us, who might mildly disagree with us on some issue, or who actively can't stand the ground you walk on and open a dialogue. Start by making a commitment to non-violence (!), and then asking each other what some of the things might be that we could do for the common good that have nothing to do with our political differences. What's happening in our neck of the woods that we'd like to change for the better?
Of course, sharing food often plays a role in most get-togethers. I remember when the Rev used to write about promoting "potlucks". It always used to make me groan. I'm not "into" potlucks. I pretty much do that every night, but we call it a "crap shoot". But the general idea is still a good one, or even brown-bagging it. The point is to start somewhere, challenging as that is to me. Tell you what, you go first!! LOL
Belief... I’m happy you included this topic in your beautifully written piece. I think there is much to be discovered regarding the positive effects of belief – a placebo, if you will. From my own experience, I think I have had so much success in keeping MS at bay because I hold strong beliefs in the science behind my chosen lifestyle. However, I would be in a different place today without that fundamental belief in what I’m doing. The same can be said about the opposite effect – a nocebo effect. If you lack total belief and commitment, failure is waiting just outside the door...
Terrific, Mary. How we select food and diet regimens for ourselves is very much akin to how we select addiction recovery/prevention regimens. Consequently, I always preface my remarks on addiction recovery with the suggestion that those who seek it are better advised to pursue whatever they think makes sense for them.
Glad also that you mentioned Annemarie Colbin. Can't begin to tell you how much I learned from her about food and healing and the power of grace. I met her as a student and graduate of her Manhattan cooking institute, the Natural Gourmet, in 1993-94. While there I not only had the opportunity to learn from her, but we also sat and talked together on numerous occasions. It was my only formal education, and I am forever in debt to her insight and generosity.
In the end, my thoughts on food and diet and the rhythmic attractions of life and art seem very similar to yours. Would love to discuss them with you at length some day. Please keep up the good work in the interim...
I work at an organic food market stall and these conversations come up all the time. 2 thoughts in addition to your post:
- Exercise versus nutrition: After reading Outlive by Dr Peter Attia, it seems that exercise (for those who can) offers much greater health benefits than nutrition alone. Of course both exercise and a generally healthy diet is best.
- Food for sharing: It occurs to me sometimes that certain special diets (the ones we impose on ourselves by choice rather than by necessity) might introduce social barriers. I mean, the fussier the person, the more difficult it becomes to share a meal with them.
Great topic Mary! I've been gradually coming to the conclusion that most of us suffer from 'low grade food disorders'. I start from myself with that of course - never been underweight nor overweight, but can certainly under certain stress conditions be susceptible to bouts of 'food abuse' of varying intensities. When the food disorder is 'low grade', I think it goes unnoticed for decades. I also work pretty hard to stay fit and healthy and have tried many of the 'systems', including a several years of 'almost' vegarianism (quite a long time ago, and 'almost' cos I allowed myself a piece of fish or chicken every couple of weeks or so), and more recently the new fad for keto, which I still do cyclically, and find really beneficial. Then I do off-cycles, and then sometimes the off-cycles degenerate a bit!
Certainly agree that personal choices are rapidly becoming moral obligations for the rest of the world to follow suit. Part of the state of 'mass psychosis' that is still sweeping the world. Those who eat meat (like me - since time has taught me that I flourish much better that way - even though I have reservations about the killing part - and especially the inhuman farming methods part) are becoming 'bad people', like all the other growing list of things for which some seek to make everybody except themselves 'the bad people').
What is 'healthy' definitely varies from individual to individual. And I increasingly think that just one's relationship to food - how much we eat, when, with what attitude, enjoying food etc, can make as much differnece as the WHAT that we put in our mouths. The most important part about the what, is 'keep it close to nature'. As a nutritionist on a video I watched awhile back said, 'vegan, paleo, keto, carnivore, they're all good, so long as you eat real food'.
As for lab-grown meat, seems to me that nobody with a trace of objectivity and intelligence can fail to have noticed that every time we move food further away from nature, the consequences are very negative. I'm looking at you 'philanthropaths'.
Food is a really big deal. Great that you that you have shone a light on it Mary! And I might dare to predict you'll get a big response on this one - it will touch a chord with a lot of people!
XOX
Thank you for bringing particles and waves of light to this complex and vital topic. Love the idea of opposing sides ultimately sitting down together at the table of harmony.
I feel like this was written for me. As I’m going through my own nutricional journey, especially having been a pescatarian for the last decade, I’m now very consciously thinking about food in more ways than just being ethically against factory farming. And it’s not just about what you eat. It’s how you eat and when and with whom and your disposition at the time of eating… the quantum level of food is barely even tapped as a concept.
Lovely read and I’m sure I’ll be keeping this in mind as I move forward. Thank you.
Oh, Mary. Yours was the first email I saw this morning and I had to laugh. I've had a post languishing in my Dashboard for months now titled "Food Dogma." It's something that is constantly on my mind. I'm so tired of the vitriol and righteousness. Now, I can just share yours without fretting over mine. :)
I agree with everything you wrote 1000%. Those of us who have been on long healing journeys (I mean, who isn't/hasn't these days?) know this topic oh-so-well. When I was a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, our teacher told us one day that there was a new eating disorder label called orthorexia nervosa - the obsession with healthy eating. He asked us to raise our hands if it resonated. I swear, the entire auditorium filled with better-health-seekers raised our hands. I have relaxed SO MUCH since those days. Potato chips are still my favorite occasional junk food (potatoes are good for us, right??)
You did this topic proud, Mary. Thank you! 🥔🥔
I just love you, Mary. Let me get that off my chest first.
So many topics! To start with one, I have this nagging guilt that telling my BiL about the health impacts of the vaccine just before his diagnosis gave him cancer. One of the tenets of The Four Agreements is 'watch your words.' Words are spells. And if you cast a spell on someone with your words and they accept it, they fulfill it. I don't know what to do with that, but there's something in it I can't dismiss. And it does make me careful about 'hitting' people with truth bombs, especially after decisions have been made and they can't take them back. Here's my episode on The Four Agreements: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/the-four-agreements.
And yes on Foodogma. In my brief foray into online dating, I did a meet n' greet with a macrobiotic and carnivore in the same weekend. Macrobiotic, I found, tells you each bite needs to be chewed 50X, I think it was. It restricts your fruit to 2-3X a week, I believe, and even limits water. But that guy made me salmon, and it was delicious. The meat-eater I ended up seeing again but try flirting over steak with suet chunks, no alcohol, no other food, no coffee. And this being during the pandemic, nowhere else to go!
I have another one on why I think vegans and animal husbandry share the same value system: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/animal-husbandry-is-the-new-vegetarian. One of my points is that Foodogma (to use your brilliant word) has ruined eating in community. Putting on dinners is what I'm most known for. I had a thing I did called Food in the Hood. If my websites hadn't gone belly-up, I could have shown you menus, photos and causes for a hundred dinners I did with up to 100 people at one called Killer Women & Carbon Cowboys on regenerative ag and animal husbandry.
The bane of my experience was catering to all the Foodogmas, particularly vegans. If we lived in the real world, meaning a world without slavery, all food someone else gave would induce gratitude. These are forms of consumer ethics and, to me, that's just being holier-than-thou.
So I really commend your article and I have to say, it's delightfully written. Your turns of phrase are always such a surprise. If you do wade into abortion and want a nuanced, third paradigm view, here's this one: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/roe-v-redux-leak-or-squirrel.
Thank you.
Love this and very timely. Been noticing the same in terms of extremes in the food world, and I love your explanations on our possible unconscious attempts at balancing.
If anyone asks me what I think about this topic, I'll direct them here with a 'what she said'.
"With all of the known and unknown variables that are at play when we talk, think, and argue about food — how can anyone tell anyone else that their way of eating is right or wrong, better or worse?"
That's it, we all figure it out ourselves. Never hurts to bless and say thank you to food either!
PS - I got mac n cheese in my cupboard too and let's not forget the dark chocolate. :-)
Beautiful job, Mary.
I love the particles and waves metaphor (I used it myself in a very different context here: https://thecassandracomplex.substack.com/p/particles-and-waves). It makes sense that your mental state when consuming certain foods would affect how the body processes them. I've felt that with certain powerful plant medicines -- to use an extreme example, mindset has a huge effect on the potential healing powers of psilocybin (magic) mushrooms ... you kind of have to have faith that they can help you for them to help you.
A revelation I had in spring 2020 (while on mushrooms, I'll admit) was that the healthiest way to eat was to look for "fractal" foods (see my link above for an explanation of fractals). Processed and refined foods lose their "fractalness" (can't think of a better word right now) during processing. I think about this in relation to avoidant restrictive food intake disorder and autism ... many autism activists online talk about how one of the reasons they like their highly processed "safe" foods is that they are the same every time, whereas every apple or blueberry or bite of steak is a little bit different.
It's not a perfect metaphor but I've found it useful.
|Good Morning Mary!
I've never thought of food as particle and wave, and love that you brought up the carrot as an example, along with the yin aspect of EMF. I find that many people who come to me with electrical illnesses or EMF issues are often cold, especially in the hands and fingers. I think it could be the body's way of trying to retain warmth at the mitochondrial level (particle) but looking at the wave aspect you put forth here makes total sense.
As far as taking selfies when eating our food, we're treating our food as strictly particles with no wave., only radiowaves that impact our metabolism and can make us obese or too thin:
https://romanshapoval.substack.com/p/thelightdiet
RE: "With all of the known and unknown variables that are at play when we talk, think, and argue about food — how can anyone tell anyone else that their way of eating is right or wrong, better or worse?"
and "Does food have to be emotionally charged, too? Can’t we all just eat whatever the hell we want and get on with it?"
Regarding eating meat. I am not opposed to eating meat myself but since I strive to cultivate the majority of that which I eat at home (and I live in an urban suburban setting) raising animals is not viable for me right now.
Also, for hundreds of kilometers in all directions around where we live the forest has been chopped down (and the wild life populations decimated) in the name of “progress”, so hunting is not really a viable or ethical option for me either.
Thus, for now, I eat a mostly plant/fungi based diet (trading with an Amish farmer nearby for eggs and dairy occasionally).
Another part of my decision to not eat meat currently is I have known a few guys that worked at slaughterhouses and I witnessed the toll it takes on one’s heart and mind (one of them became an alcoholic and the other transformed into a very angry and depressed person).
The hazards are psychological as well as physical. One paper on the psychological harm suffered by slaughterhouse employees in the US noted that abattoir workers "view, on a daily basis, large-scale violence and death that most of the American population will never have to encounter."
There’s even a form of post-traumatic stress disorder linked to repetitive killing: Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS). Symptoms can include depression, paranoia, panic and dissociation. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28506017/
Another study noted relatively high levels of anxiety, anger, hostility and psychoticism among slaughterhouse workers. Symptoms can also include violent dreams and some workers seek treatment similar to that used to help war veterans.
Perhaps some people can handle that type of work better than others, but these guys were nice people that were enjoyable to be around and the experience of ending life, all day everyday as a day job, being exposed to intermittent instances of suffering and horrible sounds/sights when the process goes wrong, really took a toll on them.
They receive relatively poor pay and I have also read the suicide rates of slaughterhouse workers is inordinately high, thus, I do not feel right outsourcing that emotional, mental and physical cost onto other human beings either, so if I was going to eat meat, it would only feel right to me if I was to do the killing my self, as to only burden myself with the emotional trauma of that act so I can eat the meat, and not outsource it onto another.
I will not judge other people for outsourcing that cost onto other human beings (who have to do the killing so that they can eat meat) but I am personally not willing to put that psychological burden on someone else to serve my own selfish preferences.
My recipe book is mostly vegetarian (I included a couple family heirloom recipes from my grandparents that include meat) but I do not preach about vegetarianism or veganism in my book as I think we have enough "us vs them" show downs happening already. Rather, I invited people to make each choice through the lens of people care, earth care and future care (the permaculture design ethics) and that applies for diet as well. Thus, for me, unless I am the one killing the animal myself, eating meat would violate the people care ethic.
Thanks again for writing this and inviting discussion.
Have you heard of a new field of study called Nutrimiromics?
I wrote about it a bit a while ago here:
https://gavinmounsey.medium.com/nutrimiromics-ff69f1f908b7
In the post I ask questions like:
What if there was a mechanism that allows for the experiences and environmental stimulus of one being (whether plant, animal, bacteria or fungi) to be interpreted and encoded into the genetic fabric of a completely separate organism which stimulates a shift in epigenetic expression (influencing what phenotype is expressed on the macro level) in real time?
Thanks for sharing your experiences, thoughts and insights on this matter.
When I read "All extremism is marked by singleminded and passionate belief in the ideology involved." I immediately thought of this Charles Eisenstein quote from his Climate book:
"The addiction to fighting draws from a perception of the world as composed of enemies: indifferent forces of nature tending toward entropy, and hostile competitors seeking to further their reproductive or economic self-interest over our own. In a world of competitors, well-being comes through domination. In a world of random natural forces, well-being comes through control. War is the mentality of control in its most extreme form. Kill the enemy—the weeds, the pests, the terrorists, the germs—and the problem is solved once and for all.
Except that it never is. World War I—the “war to end all wars”—was followed by another, even more horrific, soon after.
This pattern of thinking is called fundamentalism, and it closely parallels the dynamics of two defining institutions of our civilization: money and war. Fundamentalism reduces the complex to the simple and demands the sacrifice of the immediate, the human, or the personal in service to an overarching ulterior goal that trumps all. Disciplined by the promise of heavenly rewards or hellish punishments, the extreme religious fundamentalist shuts down his humanity in service to what his religion/church says God wants. Disciplined by economic exigency, millions of people sacrifice time, energy, family, and what they really care about in pursuit of money. Disciplined by an existential threat, a nation at war turns away from culture, leisure, civil liberties, and everything that is of no utility to the war effort.
This is the mentality of sacrifice to an all-important end. If we agree that the survival of humanity is at stake, then any means is justified, and any other cause—say reforming the prisons, housing the homeless, caring for the autistic, rescuing abused animals, or visiting your grandmother—becomes an unjustifiable distraction from the only important thing. Taken to its extreme, it requires that we harden our hearts to the needs in front of our faces. There is no time to waste! Everything is at stake! It’s do or die! How similar to the logic of war.”
( above quote from: https://charleseisenstein.org/books/climate-a-new-story/eng/prologue/ )
Yes! My niece's son suffers from type 1 diabetes. His dad is hispanic and we are part. Her son's blood sugar is way more manageable when he eats for his heritage, which means good Mexican food. No processed evil...and I think of that many times. I picked up a can of cream of chicken soup the other day and looked at the ingredients. Bleck. I changed my life by getting rid of bags, boxes and cans in my diet. Lost 65 lbs...Well put and a much overlooked aspect of our health. I love how walnuts are good for your brain, and they look like a brain....and many more examples like that. Appreciate your thoughts and words Mary!♥♥
Hi Mary, I don't really have anything to say about "food", but I'd like to add something to your last line in the article about sitting down "with the rest of humanity at Mother Earth’s table as we “break bread” together." I read a recent piece by someone named Gareth Higgins regarding moving the needle forward with those we are not in conversation with presently. He suggests that we try to the fullest extent possible to find someone who is most different from us, who might mildly disagree with us on some issue, or who actively can't stand the ground you walk on and open a dialogue. Start by making a commitment to non-violence (!), and then asking each other what some of the things might be that we could do for the common good that have nothing to do with our political differences. What's happening in our neck of the woods that we'd like to change for the better?
Of course, sharing food often plays a role in most get-togethers. I remember when the Rev used to write about promoting "potlucks". It always used to make me groan. I'm not "into" potlucks. I pretty much do that every night, but we call it a "crap shoot". But the general idea is still a good one, or even brown-bagging it. The point is to start somewhere, challenging as that is to me. Tell you what, you go first!! LOL
xox
Belief... I’m happy you included this topic in your beautifully written piece. I think there is much to be discovered regarding the positive effects of belief – a placebo, if you will. From my own experience, I think I have had so much success in keeping MS at bay because I hold strong beliefs in the science behind my chosen lifestyle. However, I would be in a different place today without that fundamental belief in what I’m doing. The same can be said about the opposite effect – a nocebo effect. If you lack total belief and commitment, failure is waiting just outside the door...
Terrific, Mary. How we select food and diet regimens for ourselves is very much akin to how we select addiction recovery/prevention regimens. Consequently, I always preface my remarks on addiction recovery with the suggestion that those who seek it are better advised to pursue whatever they think makes sense for them.
Glad also that you mentioned Annemarie Colbin. Can't begin to tell you how much I learned from her about food and healing and the power of grace. I met her as a student and graduate of her Manhattan cooking institute, the Natural Gourmet, in 1993-94. While there I not only had the opportunity to learn from her, but we also sat and talked together on numerous occasions. It was my only formal education, and I am forever in debt to her insight and generosity.
In the end, my thoughts on food and diet and the rhythmic attractions of life and art seem very similar to yours. Would love to discuss them with you at length some day. Please keep up the good work in the interim...
I work at an organic food market stall and these conversations come up all the time. 2 thoughts in addition to your post:
- Exercise versus nutrition: After reading Outlive by Dr Peter Attia, it seems that exercise (for those who can) offers much greater health benefits than nutrition alone. Of course both exercise and a generally healthy diet is best.
- Food for sharing: It occurs to me sometimes that certain special diets (the ones we impose on ourselves by choice rather than by necessity) might introduce social barriers. I mean, the fussier the person, the more difficult it becomes to share a meal with them.