For those too young to know or too old to remember, Merle Haggard recorded a hit single in 1969, called “Okie from Muskogee.”
The heartland of America loved this song — probably still does. And when I say “heartland,” I don’t mean the part of the country where Muskogee lies. The heartland is a human tendency. It’s in all of us, whether we care to admit it or not. Haggard’s anthem had little to do with drug use. It was a reflection of the enormous resistance to change, which was stimulated by the monumental cultural events of the late 1960s. Mind altering substances are not required (nor even desirable) for an elevation in consciousness, but they accompanied, and in many cases, were instrumental in initiating the huge, ongoing cultural shift in consciousness that began in the sixties. They were part of what was then required to jolt this country out of the comfortable naiveté one could call the American Dream. The “heartland” resists such movement with a vengeance.
What on earth does this have to do with dietary energetics and oriental medicine?! Please bear with me, and I’ll try to tie it all together.
In most traditional medicines, what we eat is often the first place one looks when disharmony reveals itself. Diet is primary. We relentlessly exert its influence several times a day — day in, day out. Food, second only to our attention and attitude, is the most consistently influential element in our lives, and its effect is always present.
This importance goes far deeper than is generally realized. Just as where one puts one’s attention first thing in the morning sets a matrix for the entire day, so too, does the first thing we put in our mouths set the pattern of our energy level until we go to bed. For instance, if it's sugar (i.e., any simple carbohydrate), we're likely to be crashing all day — never to catch up. The nuances of our choices are endless and often profound. And that brings us to choice, which is the crux of our discussion.
Although dietary modification is certainly not an integral part of mainstream medicine in this country, most of the people who arrive at my door know, at least at some deep level, that what they're eating is not the foundation of good health. Since the beginning of my practice I have been blessed with clientele who, either consciously or unconsciously, are ready to make significant change in their lives. Many of them feel they have tried everything there is to try — without the result they are seeking. They are sincere, motivated individuals. Within this group exists a continuum, which ranges from those who do not yet suspect that what they are eating is contributing to their experience, to those who are convinced that they are eating at the pinnacle of good nutrition. In fact, few are truly eating well.
But I'm getting sidetracked. My point is that it's crucial to understand that the food we eat either does or does not support us, and that the alteration of our choices is a primary tool for healing, as well as for enjoying our full potential of all bodies (physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual). It's in the alteration that we run into a buzz saw. It is here that we encounter the "heartland."
I'm continually astounded at the intensity of emotional and sensory attachment we have to food and the rituals surrounding it. These attachments are the buzz saw. They are the resistant voice of the heartland. Regardless of our best intentions, the attachments we have are going to put up resistance — subtle, or not so subtle — to letting go of their pleasures in exchange for the promise of a higher experience.
Here's the rub. Our attachments will resist surrendering their pleasures, until they have actually tasted the higher experience. If one has never experienced the wellbeing that comes with having made the correct choices, if one has never experienced smooth, centered, and buoyant energy all day long, how is one going to find the motivation to turn a deaf ear to the whispers (or screams) for "comfort" foods? What are we going to do when the "heartland" is gleefully singing, at the top of its lungs, "We don't drink spirulina in Muskogee!"?
How is the sedentary person going to find the inspiration for exercise, when one has never experienced the exhilaration of a strong body in which blood and qi are moving vigorously? Our attachments will always resist change for the higher good. They always support the status quo, regardless how pathetic and miserable that may be.
In all honesty, any such undertaking can be challenging. It can be humbling. The process is often slow and incremental. There may be setbacks. Frustrations. But with resolve and consistency, if we're sincere, the task can be accomplished, step by step. It helps to have a health care provider who continually points to the light at the end of the tunnel, offering guidance and inspiration when needed.
So how is it, you may ask, that intelligent, well-meaning individuals who are sincere in achieving a high level of health are many times missing the mark in their dietary choices? The answer brings us, at last, to dietary energetics.
Just as herbs have energetic qualities, so do foods. Understanding of the energetic nature of food is even more vital than being aware of its chemical composition. Please let me explain.
Across the street from Frank’s Cleaners is a billboard which caught the attention of my disbelieving eyes. In my more sensitive days, it would have made me physically ill. These days, it’s merely interesting:
Clearly a distortion of a questionable truth, this advertisement vividly illustrates the shortcomings of giving our attention to the quantitative value of food. And just what is meant by “carbohydrate”. How can a word, which defines everything from white sugar to brown basmati rice to fresh, organic chard, bring meaning to any conversation? Yet it is wielded with great authority by proponents of all the latest fad diets, as if grasping its significance were truly profound.
It’s no wonder we are so confused about “what diet to follow.” Trust me, the authors of the diets are more confused than anyone else! The difference is that they believe in their confusion.
Anytime you hear someone espousing a particular diet or food as being good for everyone, rest assured you're listening to someone with extremely limited understanding of the subject. Nothing is good or bad for everyone. Food choices are to be based on one's individual constitution, one's current condition, climate, time of year, etc., etc. In other words, tailored to you and your specific situation. And that diet is not written in stone. It should change as conditions change.
Quantitative values of foods' chemical components will never offer the information required to make intelligent choices about what to put in our mouths. A much deeper understanding of food and its consequences is required in overcoming the "heartland" and achieving your health goals.
As you can imagine this is a journey, but well worth the effort. The topic is huge, and few sources provide reliable information. The best way to learn the energetics of food is to:
These recommended books can be purchased in our office, or if you prefer, the links below take you to amazon.com for immediate purchase online.
Classics include:
(3rd Edition)
Recipes for Self Healing
The Energetics of Food: Wallchart
Once you feel comfortable with the basics, consider the following additions:
Okay, this page is getting really long, and you still don't know what I mean by energetics. The above sources will bring you decades of discovery and improved health, if you're working with a DOM.
But what about now?
Let's take a break and put some examples on separate pages. Here, we'll look at three common ways that nearly all Americans are damaging their health through ignorance of these ancient principles.
Then we can come back and look at why I chose to combine Merle's song with spirulina...
Aside from being a precise fit to the meter of Merle's song, spirulina epitomizes the principles at play in this discussion. Spirulina is one of several micro-algae commercially available as a food. Its remarkable qualities as a superfood present a unique paradox among both foods and herbs.
On the one hand, spirulina is 60 - 80% protein — protein which is four times more digestable than beef! Juxtaposed to its substantial tonification power is the fact that micro-algae contains far more chlorophyll than any other food. Without going into all the benefits of chlorophyll, this means that spirulina is also cleansing. (Incidentally, "tonification" and "cleansing" are both energetic qualities, and they represent the opposite ends of a spectrum.)
Other foods and herbs are generally either tonifiying or cleansing, not both. If we eat too much tonifying food, energy starts to stagnate and congeal. If someone who is weak indulges in cleansing foods, it will further deplete them. I know of no other substance that embodies both these qualities — tonifiying and cleansing — and it does them so well!
Spirulina is one of two foods of choice fed to populations experiencing famine and malnutrition. People in this condition are unable to digest the foods most of us eat, but spirulina is easily absorbed into their system and is highly nourishing. I've only touched on the components and benefits of spirulina and the other micro-algae, but hopefully this is enough to suggest that this is a food that should be welcomed by a culture whose excesses and weaknesses are about to bring the health care system of our country to its knees.
Spirulina has no unpleasant taste, it mixes easily in smoothies, it travels well and can bail one out of situations where decent nutrition is nowhere to be found. Yet it is the most resisted food I introduce to my clients. Why? I hear all sorts of reasons. The most common is that it tastes "bad," which simply isn't true.
To the best of my perception, people reject spirulina because it's GREEN. Recently a woman actually said to me, referring to spirulina's dark green color, "But this color isn't really found in nature, is it?" It's also different from the foods to which we're addicted — and it isn't sweet. Some very big name producers of nutritional products refuse to remove the cleverly concealed sugar in their protein drinks, or "medical foods," as they call them, because they believe that people won't buy them without the sugar. Maybe they're right.
So, I'm in the position of educating, cajoling, trying to break the force field of poor diet and the stubborn heartland in us all. Some of my client's are clearly singing under their breath, "We don't drink spirulina in Muskogee!" but I can hear them. And I believe that the higher will prevail.
2616 Mesilla NE