BANQUET OF LIFE

BANQUET OF LIFE
By Mary Cook, M.A., R.A.S.


Our earliest experiences with nourishment have a significant effect on our desire to live and ability to thrive in life. How we are fed as infants and children stimulates blissful or stressful feelings. How long we must wait to be fed, following hunger pains, and to what degree we absorb, digest and make use of necessary nutrients, are important factors in our sense of safety and comfort.

The emotional and mental aspects of eating are of vital significance to overall health. Children readily absorb the mental and emotional energies of the people who feed them and live with them. Feelings of anxiety, apathy, depression, fear, haste, pressure, or resentment, interfere with healthy nourishment. The depth and maturity or lack thereof, of the bond between caretaker and child, influence the child’s sense of trust, well being, and feelings of acceptance and belonging in the world.

The earliest natural highs are seen in babies who have just been lovingly fed. When the person feeding the infant tenderly holds the baby, is focused in the present moment, feels grateful and loving, and realizes their deeper spiritual relationship, the satiated infant enters a state of pure bliss. This is the real meaning of comfort food, when body, mind, heart and soul are clearly seen and nourished.

In adulthood, we typically try in vain to find this state. We may seek it through alcohol and other drugs, food, sex, cigarettes and countless other compulsions. We fail to find authentic benefits because the focus is solely on hedonistic pleasure. In contrast, natural euphoria is stimulated by positive alignment of body, mind and spirit. It is not the external substance or gratification alone, but a holistic experience that awakens spiritual consciousness. It is the inner feeling of divine love and unity that must be aroused, not just the pursuit of or attachment to a loved one.

Most of us have a memory of looking forward to a favorite meal in a beautiful setting, then losing our appetite due to an event provoking emotional distress. If we eat under these circumstances, we fail to enjoy it, and our bodies have difficulty absorbing, digesting and using the nutrients provided. Additionally, if we are acutely depressed and either unable to eat or overeating, a calm, compassionate conversation with an understanding person can help us resume a normal appetite.

The tradition of saying grace prior to meals, gives us the opportunity to prepare ourselves to accept and appreciate what we have to give and receive. It allows us time to release negative energies, whether physical tensions, or stressful thoughts or emotions. We can express gratitude to God for all of our blessings. We can allow ourselves to feel His love opening our hearts, the way that the sun opens a flowers’ face.

It is wise to consider what we bring to our tables. Eating fresh, wholesome foods in clean, pleasant surroundings is nourishing. Yet greater comfort comes from the joyous and peaceful fellowship with our Higher Power, family, friends and the world in which we reside. When we gratefully reflect upon the bounty of the earth and the privilege of our interdependent relationships, our interactions will be mutually beneficial. How well we serve one another and take precious care of who we truly are, vastly affects our conscious awareness of divine presence.

We must clear space within us and in our lives, in order to fully receive what Heaven and earth offer. We cannot come to the banquet with stuffed bellies. We cannot receive blessings when our hearts are full of fear. We cannot raise our consciousness with willful, self-centered minds. We cannot be healthy if our spirit is forgotten, in the busyness of living. Pain signifies something within us either desiring healing or spiritual development. It is up to us as adults to respond to stress with peaceful, positive solutions.

Each day we are invited to a banquet of life. Let us gather fragrant flowers and sweet thoughts for one another. Let us provide nourishing foods and loving embraces. Let us listen to the birds sing, and to the whispers of our souls. Let us give back to our planet and to plants and animals for all that they give to us. Let us rediscover what feeds our bodies, minds and spirits, and celebrate and fulfill our sacred trusts with each other. In these ways we rekindle an intrinsic state of bliss that was created within us.

WWW.MARYCOOKMA.COM Mary Cook has a Master’s degree in psychology and is a registered addiction specialist, with over 33 years of clinical practice and 29 years of University teaching experience. She is a writer, a national speaker, and has a private practice in San Pedro, CA. Mary is available for telephone and office counseling, consulting, guided meditation, speaking engagements and in-service training. Her book “Grace Lost and Found” will be available March 1, 2010. Please see website for further information. Contact her at 310-517-0825.