Food For Thought - November 1
soul food
november 1, 2019
The Four Rabbinim
One night four rabbinim were visited by an angel who awakened them and carried them to the Seventh Vault of the Seventh Heaven. There they beheld the sacred Wheel of Ezekiel.
Somewhere in the descent from Pardes, Paradise, to Earth, one Rabbi, having seen such splendor, lost his mind and wandered frothing and foaming until the end of his days. The second Rabbi was extremely cynical: “Oh I just dreamed Ezekiel’s Wheel, that was all. Nothing really happened.” The third Rabbi carried on and on about what he had seen, for he was totally obsessed. He lectured and would not stop with how it was all constructed and what it all meant….and in this way he went astray and betrayed his faith. The fourth Rabbi, who was a poet, took a paper in hand and a reed and sat near the window writing song after song praising the evening dove, his daughter in her cradle, and all the stars in the sky. And he lived his life better than before.
Women Who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D
welcome
I hope what you receive invites peace, creativity, joy, laughter and connection in your own life, a chance to live better than before.
Please know that wherever you are on the journey of self-discovery or professional development or as a spiritual sojourner, you are at exactly the right place to begin and also to keep going. Because all of us are in the work of growing up no matter how well or poorly we are doing at attending to the job on any given day.
WHY AM I IN YOUR INBOX?
When I was twelve years old, a battle with depression and thoughts of suicide threaded a needle of interior work in my life that has been weaving ever since. Parker Palmer says, “There is no way out of ones’s inner life, so one had better get into it.”
That’s what I’m here to do: walk beside you as you get into it.
WHERE ARE WE GOING
This journey is both practical and mystical - two handed change, I like to call it. One hand holds the deliberately developmental work and the other holds the abstractions like love, freedom, grace, surrender, consciousness, the very spirit of God. We hold both and so on the one hand we do the work, develop habits and disciplines, write SMART goals and create action plans (most of the world loves and affirms this part of the process) and on the other hand we relax into the mystery, hope and often anxiety-inducing-stress of the ambiguity and paradox of waking up (maybe the tiniest bit more difficult for some of us). Pete Rollins says it this way: “Grace is the opposite of self-help. Grace is where you realize I don’t have to do anything. But in the realization of not having to do anything, everything changes.”
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
What you will get from me is a buffet of food for thought: content that has moved or provoked me to deeper thinking and better living and a guided practice: a practical tool for this growing up thing. And to close, a word from our sponsor, the woman who brought me into the world. You may refer to her as Yaya.
Food For Thought:
You’re going to want to listen to this: Rob Bell’s The Last Guru with Pete Rollins. I’ve played it three times now because oh my holy mind blown. But it comes down to this from Rob, “Our presence with one another witnessing to the contradictions is the empowering gesture we give each other.”
On my nightstand is Oprah’s Book Club pick, The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This riveting novel tells the story of Hiram, born into slavery on a Virginia plantation. While he does have a photographic memory, Hiram cannot garner a memory of his mother. “For memory is the chariot and memory is the way, and memory is bridge from curse of slavery to freedom.”
In my work bag is The Four Agreements. I’m reading this one for the second time because its truths are the kind that need to sink into the deep deep place. “There are thousands of agreements you have made with yourself, with other people, with your dream of life, with God, with society, with your parents, with your spouse, with your children….If you want to live a life of joy and fulfillment, you have to find the courage to break those agreements that are fear-based and claim your personal power.” - Don Miguel Ruiz
Did you know that your nose has a powerful memory? It’s true. Of all our senses, the nose knows memory best. This is in part why aromatherapy at bedtime can be a powerful reminder to your brain that it is night night time. Here’s one of my favorites called Pillow Potion.
This is my favorite food for fall. And frankly, for all year round. “The sweet tuber is rich in antioxidants as well as heart-healthy minerals. In addition, the nutrients in oriental sweet potatoes may help you lose weight, banish depression, improve your vision and control glucose levels.” How can one food taste so good and do so many good things for you?? I mean “may banish depression??” Holy sweet potatoes. I cut mine in half or quarters, rub them down with coconut oil and cover with sea salt. Bake at 425 for about 45 minutes with flesh sides down. Will start to golden brown at finish. May drizzle with agave if I’m really feeling it.
Guided Practice
A good place to start is noticing. Self-awareness is critical to the growth process but general awareness precedes this in true practice.
Right this minute, wherever you are, can you take a moment to notice your surroundings without placing judgements of good or bad on them. What is the texture at the tip of your fingertips? What sounds do you hear? Is the AC or heat running? How does the temperature feel to you? Roll your shoulders back and ask yourself, are these clothes comfortable for me? Is your back slumped or is your spine straight? What’s the rhythm of your breath? Are you aware of it? What is it like for you if you take one deep breath with a six count in and a six count out? Is anyone in the room with you? Can you look at their face and notice a detail you might not have spent much time thinking about before? If you were to smile at them, how do they respond to this non-verbal affection? If you are alone, what is that like for you? Look around the room - what provokes gratitude in you right this minute? Now close your eyes. Take one more deep breath and receive this moment as a gift you gave yourself. You are inherently divine, worthy and beloved.
Throughout your day, as you move in and out of meetings, the Starbucks line, at the dinner table, keep giving yourself the gift of noticing without judging. *“Touch, taste and smell your way to the holy and hidden heart” of your life.
Jesse Ihde, ACC
*Frederick Buechner
“I love you like fresh meat loves salt.”
-Yaya
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