dieting... the angel way

some people come here looking for a diet, in the sense of losing weight. some people who try the angel guidelines WILL lose weight, because they are carrying more weight than they need or is healthy.

but the Angel Way guidelines are not a "diet" in that sense.

the Angel Way guidelines represent a diet in the most general sense of the word, in that they address what the human body needs for nourishment. but the Angel Way guidelines are more than simply a diet... they can assist you in shaping a lifestyle that will enable you to make healthier - and hopefully more palatable and easily assimilated - foods.

the Angels don't tell you what to eat... at best, They offer suggestions. the Angels never negate or in any way attempt to take away your free will. what the Angels do offer is a way to understand how the choices you make about the food you eat reflect how you truly feel about yourself.

it's only when we really feel love for ourselves - as evinced by a willingness to make the healthier choice most of the time, and forgive the unhealthy choice the rest of the time - that our relationship with this most critical aspect of ourselves can be healed. in our culture, food and body image present difficult challenges for just about all of us, even those of us in relative physical health. it can be very hard to know what to eat in order to feel healthy, it can be harder still to truly allow ourselves to nourish ourselves with this tangible form of love.

for the Angels, all acts associated with eating and food preparation - right down to the raising of the vegetables, the picking of the fruit, or the slaughtering of the animal - are opportunities to show love. This love is shown not just in the form of sharing with those who don't have food, or aren't able to cook it, but in how we raise our foods, in how we treat the people who pick it or prepare or bring it to us, and in how we treat ourselves by what we do and don't choose to eat.

someone asked me yesterday if i thought the Angel Guidelines would "work" for everyone. i don't think "work" is the right term - but in the broadest sense, yes, if applied and followed, they WILL "work" for everyone - just in very individual ways. no two angel-guideline followers are going to have the same diet or eating habits or food preferences. or, a vegan and a meat-eater may choose a similar rainbow-salad, but the "white-light" food accompanying it may be quinoa and forbidden rice for the vegan, and cold sliced beef filet for the meat-eater. a vegetarian may choose cheese. someone on a heart-healthy diet or with other health concerns might choose salmon. someone who wants to lose a couple pounds might choose a hard boiled egg or cottage cheese.

however, the Angel Way guidelines aren't just about WHAT you eat, but how you eat it, prepare it and plan for it. i find it helpful to visualize each chakra as i eat each color, and to imagine myself being filled with clear white light as i eat my "white-light" foods. "brown" foods help me feel grounded, present and fully integrated into my surroundings, engaged with those who surround me, and yet not be over-run or overtaken by others' emotions, or beliefs. limiting the amount of processed or artifical foods helps both my physical body and my energy body feel clean.

have i lost weight when i've concentrated on eating like this? yes, but only when i've exercised at the same time. at fifty, my metabolism needs the boost. one benefit of getting older generally, is that ive become very aware of how much of a conscious choice i've so far gotten to make - and i've become much more aware that i need to make careful conscious choices in order to keep it that way as long as possible!

this is why the first Guideline is "what you eat is up to you."