“Give thanks for being nourished and provided for.” -Marc David
The final week of The Slow Down Diet is about focusing on the sacred — the everyday rituals that can help us infuse our experience with meaning and love. In my experience, being present to the sacred naturally requires awareness and mindfulness. But before we talk about the sacred, let’s talk more about stories.
Notes from Week Seven
The last entry, I encouraged you to re-tell your stories, as I would be re-telling some of my favorites. You may remember:
Find the hope and the gift — it’s there. There are lessons you couldn’t have lived without, there are avenues you wouldn’t have pursued had it not been, there are countless blessings, I promise.
The process of working through The Slow Down Diet has been fascinating. And timely. I had a shock this last week – I was gravely disappointed with something that happened and many old stories related to my body were front and center, clamoring for my attention.
As a person who has historically tried to avoid painful feelings, my initial response was to ignore what was happening. To simply move on, and look immediately for the positive side of a really crappy situation.
But the fact is, the circumstances really require some grief and time. I took some time to just go into it, to sit with it, to be fully present with the sadness. And I’m certain there is more time needed, which I will absolutely allow myself, despite my desire to move away as quickly as possible.
I point this out ONLY to illustrate that re-telling a story to look for the blessings and gifts is useless if you haven’t actually moved through the painful emotions of grief, fear, anger — whatever emotions are present. Of course, it’s a fine line, isn’t it? Some people are really prone to getting “stuck” in their story and have difficulty moving past it.
Regardless of whether you are a person that is prone to trying to escape negative feelings or whether you are person prone to getting stuck in them, the process is the same– experience and process the feelings fully first, then, re-write your story and look for the hidden gifts and blessings. Which part is difficult will be determined by your natural inclination. If you “flee” your pain, sitting with your emotion will be difficult. If you “fondle” your stories, re-writing your stories will be challenging. And you know, this is true in ALL areas of our lives — including our bodies, our relationships, our businesses.
After moving through the initial wave of emotion, I was able to find some glimmers of perfection in what happened and know with great clarity that more blessings related to this are definitely on the way.
The Metabolic Power of the Sacred
“Invoke the presence of the Divine into your meals and in your relationship with your body.”
-Marc David
The final week of The Slow Down Diet encourages a focus on ritual. Creating meaningful rituals for ourselves that nourish us, body and soul.
I can say with great certainty that rituals “just for me” have gone by the wayside since my daughter was born — and it’s not her fault. I can change that, and after reading this chapter, I am inspired to do so. I was thinking back to some of the rituals that I used to have that just lit me up and made me feel well-cared for and connected to the divine.
- Meditating regularly, at sunrise, with a cup of coffee or tea next to my meditation cushion is something I haven’t done regularly since Clara was born. When I do it now, the tone of my day is set with love, intention and care for myself. I want this in my life again.
- Gratitude at meals is something that I’ve practiced intermittently for years. I love focusing on where my food comes from and how grateful I am for all the elements present on the table and my gratitude for all the people at the table with me. This is something that I’ve tried to incorporate into our family ritual, and it just hasn’t landed. It may be time to simply do it myself and see if, by example, Clara and Erick follow suit. And if not, it won’t matter, because my meals will be infused with connection and gratitude.
- One thing I have kept alive is my ritual of yoga and meditation — though I would love to have it be at a “set” time of day. I love the ritual of rolling out my yoga mat, setting out my beautiful singing bowl, and lighting my favorite incense. Then, I am ready to set my intention — to offer my practice.
Some other rituals that the book suggests are rituals of beauty and hygiene — allowing for reverence and gratitude to be present when we are grooming ourselves. I love this idea and may try it and see how easy it is to incorporate into my days. The other that was very appealing to me was rituals of cooking — offering gratitude during meal preparation. Lately, I am not enjoying cooking, so that may be a way to reignite my interest and love of cooking and nourishing myself and my family.
I was reflecting on the number of sacred rituals that I’ve created for my business and how easy they feel: weekly blogging, updating my finances and reviewing them each week, my quarterly business review and re-focus process, even my weekly review is truly a sacred act. I find it fascinating that it’s so effortless with my business, but for myself? It can be a challenge.
What kind of rituals would you like to bring into your life, or, into your business, for that matter? How does your relationship with your body mirror (or not) the other areas of your life?
Practice with ritual this week, and I will, too. Next week, I’ll wrap up the Slow Down Diet.
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