Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum
Raw Paleo Diet to Suit You => Instincto / Anopsology => Topic started by: Wattlebird on January 04, 2012, 04:46:25 pm
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It is a joy to come across you folk.
I arrived at this way of eating not having studied the writings of 'instinctive eating', but rather (it) came about quite naturally as an end result of a spiritual quest several years back.
Originally, my quest was driven by self-enquiry and the myriad questions about life and existence that collectively come together under the query 'who am I?'.
Many months later, after devoting hour upon hour to meditation and solitary contemplation, the quest came to a conclusion of its own one day with the attachment to the question(s) (and answers sought), effortlessly relinquished.
And so it remains.
In addition to this 'surrender', physiologically the body underwent changes such as heightened sensory sensitivity.
And this takes us back to 'instinctive eating', and the common ground I discovered that I seem to share, as contained within the writings of Iguana, GCB, and others here on this forum, namely:
* a food may be very appealing in taste or smell sometimes, then on other occasions the same food may be quite un-appealing.
* the 'attractiveness' in taste or smell of a food can change quite markedly even while eating a particular food in the one sitting.
* although one might expect to overindulge in a particular taste - which could be say sweet, or it could be bitter, sour or whatever - but a natural thresh-hold kicks appears to kick-in.
* pronounced 'reliance' on sensory response, rather than an overly intellectual approach to eating, and whether a particular food is largely considered healthy or not healthy by others.
* preference for 'simple' food tastes and smells, and by 'simple' not meaning that eating an unadulterated vegetable, fruit, nut, shellfish, etc can be defined as 'simple' at all, but rather processed, modern meals layered with all manner of ingredients camouflage and alter the ingredients therein, and could be defined as 'complex'.
* an almost primordial sensory response dominates and whether a food looks appealing or not within the modern, cultured framework of 'seeing' (or taste, smell or touch), is largely irrelevant.
No doubt there is much other common ground also.
Its great to have the opportunity to share. Thanks.
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Awesome! Glad you made it here!
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Welcome, Wattlebird, and thanks for your comments ! We'll certainly have more opportunities to talk.
François
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Respectful bow of meeting and recognition to you Wattle. Yes, when meditating on the subject of food honestly and openly, those are the conclusions. It's hard to believe for me that some people don't perceive that the taste, smell, feel and desirability of a food can suddenly change one bite to the next or that something that some people say is bad can be good at certain times and vice versa. Isn't it amazing that there is a group of people who have keyed in and have been practicing together for many decades?
Welcome.
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Dorothy, thank you for your kind words.
It is a pleasure to make contact with you.
Regarding meditation, I have found working with folk over the years, that a few of the really dedicated meditators, come to a point when life itself ( all of the 'good' and 'bad' facets) becomes the meditation.
Meditation no longer becomes something one does, but (it) is happening all the time regardless, no matter circumstance or setting.
Physiologically these folk undergo a permanent change.
Some of my scientist friends explain this in terms of certain neurological pathways that have been activated.
Actually this correlates closely with ancient vedic teachings about kundalini.
Even folk that do not undergo the changes mentioned above, but still meditate regularly, experience benefits from regular practice that extends into everyday activities.
Because we humans tend to live in the head so much, constant thought processes dominate and subtle signals from the body go unheeded (or neurological pathways dictate otherwise).
Not so with some of the meditators, many of whom have 'moved' from the head into the heart and the inherent intelligence acts with remarkable effectiveness. (and beauty).
J
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Hi wattlebird,
I never practiced meditation, but when I began to eat a raw food diet, listening attentively to the sensory signals during a meal and respecting the "instinctive stop" seemed like meditation to me. I tried to detect sensory signals which prevent me from having unpleasant symptoms (i. e., digestive troubles, diarrhea etc.) when I follow them, and finding these signals required a meditation-like state of mind in my case.
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Hi Hanna
good for you: thats wonderful.
for what its worth, meditation knows no bounds: 'It' is 'there' regardless.
kind wishes, J
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I´m afraid that many people do not (consciously) perceive such sensory ("instinctive") signals simply because they never had massive health troubles whenever they ignored such signals and therefore were not forced to observe them. However, if they never learn to respect or even perceive such signals, they may get into troubles when eating a raw food diet in the long run.
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A conversation I had with a dear friend yesterday further illustrates the changeable, and individual nature of smell.
Manure - sometimes and often can - smell more agreeable than the fragrance from certain flowers (and of course manufactured perfumes).
Now this can seem almost heresy to some, that cow poo is more attractive than Chanel no. 5, but nevertheless it can be so.
Perfume, is after all, meant to be desirable and beautiful while manure foul and disgusting. Culture, background, upbringing, pervading beliefs, etc may dictate as such, but direct sensory awareness can - and does regularly - indicate otherwise.
Hanna, I agree.
Pervading beliefs may 'say' one thing, but with conscious awareness, direct sensory vibrations may be quite different.
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I just LOVE the smell of the chicken coop. Earth.
Chanel no. 5 makes me want to vomit. Fake.
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welcome! looking forward to learning more about you :)