In the Information Age, ignorance is not an excuse for bad habits. There must be more to it than simply having knowledge. In my two-part column on Rejuvenation, I shared a lot of information that may seem out of reach to most people. I may not be the picture of health that I have been in the past, but I have known many people who looked amazing but could teach absolutely nothing about genuine health. Some must dig deeper to find fulfillment.
Since knowledge does not equal action, there are certain inherent risks in not walking the talk. If I hadn't digressed from my divinely-appointed dietary destiny and fed myself additional junk food for the past three years, I doubt I'd ever have cultivated the compassion that I have in the meantime. I've always wanted to help people, but first I must help myself.
Since I always want to say good-bye to junk permanently, I have clung stubbornly to it and put off the big changes. But, in our denial, weeks turn into months and months turn into years. We may be aware of all sorts of processes, but we over-eaters often go about eating 'on auto-pilot'.
Though we each have a unique frame of reference, we all have food issues, perhaps because we either did not get enough nourishment as infants, or we were told we're nothing too special, so why should we treat ourselves like royalty when it comes to our food choices?
I find myself, in these tumultuous times of social awakening, a harbinger of self-love. I am also, simultaneously, in the process of learning to really love myself. The only successful path, for a 'carb addict' like me, is to surrender.
Without over thinking it, we must simply put good food into our mouths as an act of self-nurturing. A great master can tell you everything he knows and he'd be wasting his breath if you, the student, didn't listen to or obey him. We must do for ourselves what nobody else can do for us. 1) Find good food 2) Put into mouth 3) Chew 4) Swallow. Repeat daily for life.
According to great sages, eating nutrient-dense foods allows us to think better, feel better and more easily use the body as a super-conductor of divine light.
With any discipline of study, it takes years to acquire information and it also takes years to integrate what we know within a practical setting. But it's never too late to introduce new information to your body. Nutrient-dense foods contain information because nutrients themselves are specialized forms of consciousness intrinsic to vibrant health. Living foods contain information about the world that you actually cannot get from any other source and certain foods offer an experience like no other.
Some foods don't give us as much of a taste experience as they provide an after-affect. Sprouts, in particular, have activated enzymes and amino acids, minerals and chlorophyll that make some people feel lighter, as though they are floating.
The most humble foods, like hemp, berries or sprouted seeds, for example, are the most impressive foods to those who actually consume them regularly. Adding in fresh sprouts to your diet is a very affordable and easy way to rev up your metabolism and as my husband says, 'change your taste buds'.
It's quite easy to grow your own sprouts in your kitchen, yielding large volumes of yummy, crunchy salad-and-sandwich-enhancing goodness for just pennies, with minimal work space or time. I buy my seeds from health food stores but you can sprout almost any legume or raw seed, including grains. I like salad and sandwich blends, including alfalfa, clover, mustard, broccoli and onion, but I also really enjoy sprouted lentils, which are high in protein and very easy to grow.
Water 'activates' all life. All seeds, including nuts, are in a dormant state and are coated in an enzyme inhibitor to ensure survival. Once a seed has been soaked, it becomes activated and begins to grow a tail, thus making it edible for humans.
I grow small-seed sprouts in a jar with cheesecloth held on to the lid-end by a rubber band, which acts as a rinse filter. I rinse them at least twice a day and then leave them at a 45 degree angle for drainage. For larger seeds, grains and legumes, I use a colander and also rinse twice daily. People use all kinds of creative ways to grow sprouts. But remember, it's easier than gardening because there's no dirt involved and it can be done with minimal indirect sunlight.
Some sprouts, like lentils or wheat berries, are tastier with short tails, but usually with alfalfa and sandwich sprouts you want them to have just turned green when you harvest them. To harvest, all you do is rinse the sprouts in a larger container that allows you to slough off the husks. Dump those, drain the sprouts and serve or store. It's important to consume the sprouts within about four days, though, as they lose nutrients after that.
Sprouts are the most integrative foods for anyone embarking on any improved lifestyle changes because they are the most cost-effective way we can practice nurturing ourselves. Growing some of the best food ever, at home, with such ease and then getting to feel the self-love in your belly might just be how to get across the chasm to self-empowerment. We can float across together!
