The word “Zen” means knowledge or a skill usually recognized while in a state of meditating or deep thought. Zen is the way or path to enlightenment that we all strive to achieve in our lives. Zen is usually attributed to the Buddhism faith and the principals of simplicity even
photo credit: Dan4th in food and diet of the Buddhist followers.
Today many people are seek the enlightened diet or a way of the peaceful eating of food that not only provides nourishment but also a spiritual sense of well being. Instead of being rushed out the door with a bagel in one hand and a coffee in the other our way of eating has become a nuisance that gets in the way of other tasks.
We cannot sense this realization by eating Twinkies which gives the body a sugar high. However, we are bombarded with TV ads that suggest nirvana is a McDonald’s hamburger or a session at an “all you can eat buffet” diner. Let us look at the Zen Diet, which dates back to Diets for Health in the late 1800’s where extensive research built the foundation of many diets of today.
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The Zen Diet dates back to Dr. Ohsawa’s guidelines of Ying and Yang that is the two forces of the body, which produce opposite effects, one being the yin, which is passive, silent, cold and dark representing the female. The Yang is the active, hot and heavy attributes usually give a male characteristic in Chinese philosophy.
All diets should include fresh, healthy ingredients such as fresh salads, breads and fruits eaten in season and purchased locally at your area farms. Food should be natural, and unprocessed with no chemical preservatives. There is nothing more satisfying that a large salad with your favorite vegetables and a crush of fresh bread from the oven. Eating healthy can be as simple as picking fresh raw vegetables from your backyard garden.
Keep Your Diet Simple:
The more you process foods the less nutrition is obtained and the more time it takes to prepare your meal. A fresh salad for instance does not need energy to cook it and a staple in everyone’s refrigerator should be a fresh supply of your favorite greens. Avoid processed, canned, dyed, or sugared foods which have an access amount of salt which is used as a preservative. Chemical fertilizers in our foods also affects your health in a negative way, chemicals are not needed in our food.
The Spirituality of Eating Food:
Any nutritionist can tell you that eating food can be a spiritual experience and that you have heard the term “your body is your temple”. So much of our self worth is either enhanced or detracted from by how we view our bodies. A microbiotic diet is very closely related to the Zen Diet in that it assumes that you are spiritually aligned with your food and the planet. The Macro Diet and the Zen diet assume that you are eating very low amounts of sugar, diary and meat products and are more of a vegetarian plant based human spiritual being. The macrobiotic zen diet also includes grains such as rolled oats, buckwheat, millet, barley, rye and brown rice.
If your “body is your temple” and you treat it with great regard then eating the very best nutrition possible, is your diet plan. When you adopt the following phrase either when you are shopping for food, or eating out this must be your mantra:
“every morsel of food that I eat must be of value to keep me healthy and give my body the best nutrition and I will not eat foods that do not do keep me healthy”.
If you truly believe this phrase and repeat it over and over again, you will make the right choices for a healthy diet. This mantra will filter out all the junk food that you could possibly want to eat, and will gear you towards healthier choices. You will avoid skipping breakfast because you want to help your body stay healthy. You will make your own homemade bread because it is fresher, healthier and tastes hundreds of times better than store bought bread.
You will grow a healthy life giving garden in your backyard or in pots to grow herbs or vegetables to keep you satisfied and adds real nutrition to your meals. There is a way of Zen thinking that becomes a spiritual giving to yourself and to adopt this way of thinking will change how you really feel about food and diets.
TAGS: The Zen Diet, The Spirituality of Eating Food, Keep Your Diet Simple, Buddhist, Buddhism faith, healthy diet, diet, The Zen of A Super Healthy Diet, Ying and Yang, the Macro Diet, Macrobiotic Diets, grains, vegetables.
