Food as a defence against this reality.

Once upon a time long, long ago in the Caveman era food was literally a matter of life and death. If you could not hunt and gather food effectively you would simply perish. Food at this time in Mans evolution was simply about survival. Maybe on a rare occasion the Caveman got lucky and found some wild honey. Food then became a treat or maybe just an amazing and unusual sensory experience. Food at this time was rarely a “Just for Fun” experience.

Now fast forward a couple of million years and we have a scenario that is very different indeed. Food is no longer just about survival. As Man has evolved in complexity regarding his own consciousness and relationship with his environment so too has Mans consciousness about food and his relationship with food.

I am going to take you through a journey today using the Ayurvedic model of the Chakras to explore our relationship with food and to show how in many ways we use food as a defence against this reality.

Base Chakra:

The Base or Root Chakra is Chakra number 1. The main issues here are Survival, Genetics, Physical Requirements, and Tribal Issues (aka Family issues), Grounding and a Will to Live.

The positive aspects of this chakra are that if we eat in a way that works for us we may not only survive but thrive. Our Physical, Mental and Emotional bodies can be supported.

If this chakra becomes imbalanced our behaviour around food could be either a cause or a symptom of this imbalance.

For example part of our food requirements are driven by genetic requirements. So if my ancestors ate large quantities of meat during their evolution it is very unlikely that I would thrive on a vegetarian diet.

Food can be used as a defence against this reality if we do not fully like being here or being fully present. Let’s face it, sometimes this reality sucks and if we could take the edge off our experience by not being fully present sometimes we take this option.  Anorexia is an extreme example of food used as a defence against this reality. Deep down the person does not really want to be here or at the very least they do not wish to be present to some aspect of reality that they are not handling well.

Solar Plexus Chakra:

Our issues around the third chakra or solar plexus have to do with the Mind. You see the third chakra is the chakra of Personal Power and Self Will. So all issues pertaining to discipline are relevant here. If I have absolutely no discipline around my food choices and I don’t put any thought into my food preparation, sourcing and selection for example the food I eat may become an abuse of my Body. If I shovel in any old thing mindlessly the eating of food becomes an aggressive assault on the self. For example the binge eating of Bulimics or the post contest pigging out are all examples of using food aggressively against the self. The liver is located in chakra 3 responds very negatively to binge type eating.

The bodybuilding contest diet with post contest binge eating is a classic example of persons struggling with an under developed or imbalanced third chakra. The individual with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Dieter, or Obsessive Compulsive Disciplinarian) is also stuck at a third chakra level of development. They are overusing their Will and typically think that “Mind Power” or Mental Discipline in some way makes them a superior species. It doesn’t by the way; it just keeps you stuck as a limited version of yourself.

Sacral Chakra:

The Sacral Chakra is chakra 2 and this is located between the Belly button and Pubic bone. The name of this chakra in Sanskrit is Swadhisthana and literally translates as the “Sweetness of Life”. Biosignature practioners know this zone to be associated with both blood sugar regulation and carb intake. This chakra has to do with Desire, Soulfulness and Passion. If chakra 3 is all about control then chakra 2 is all about completely losing control or surrendering to the passion of the moment.

There is a great clip in the “Matrix Reloaded” where the character The Merovingian explores the principle themes of this Chakra. He creates a program of a delectable desert for an attractive female he has his eye on (all sacral chakra themes….)

“And this is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it. We fight to deny it, but it is of course pretence. It is a lie. Beneath our poised appearance, the truth is we are completely… out of control.”

If you never “let go” and indulge in some pure hedonistic pleasure with your food you are literally going against the nature of the universe. Candice Pert PhD ,illustrated this brilliantly in her book “Molecules of Emotion”. In it she explains how each cell in our body is wired for bliss. In subsequent work she goes on to elaborate:

“It’s like we’re designed to make choices around pleasure. The very highest, most intelligent part of our brain is drenched in receptors to make us use pleasure as a criterion for our decisions. So it’s okay to feel good – God is good.”

The frontal cortex is the most advanced part of our brain and it is linked to decision making. It contains the opiate receptors that Candice Pert discovered. So basically the pursuit of bliss is an evolved one. So the smug individuals espousing the value of perpetual discipline, restraint and sugar free living are actually less evolved and less conscious than those that choose to indulge from time to time.

However if we choose to use food as the only route to bliss this approach will also backfire.  If you are eating to suppress emotions for example and you try to stuff your feelings with food it can only end in tears. Chakra 2 is the seat of the emotions and if we refuse to feel those emotions moment to moment then the back log catalogue will need to be addressed eventually. Food as a defence against feeling our emotions will eventually cause disease.

So in order to arrive at the perfect nutritional plan one needs to strike a balance between eating for survival, using our minds to select foods we know can assist our well-being and eating for the sheer pleasure of it. All polarised thinking around food:

Red meat is bad

Sugar is evil

Carbs are the spawn of the devil etc.

Is using food as a defence against this reality. You can’t fight evolution. Why not embrace it and maybe food can be a friend on your journey.