ninth guideline - eat as locally and organically as possible

The Angels understand how difficult it can be to make healthy food choices. As Karen's post so eloquently pointed out, we're a world of people on the go. As much as so many of us WANT to slow down and take time for ourselves, it's not always that easy.

However, food - like anything organic - has an energy vibration, and the higher that vibration, the more holistically nourishing that food is going to be. thus, fruits, grains and vegetables grown and harvested in a manner that respects the land, the water and the air, as well as the people who do the work, and animals who are raised humanely and slaughtered with respect for the process have a much higher vibration inherently than mass-produced, mass-engineered and mass-packaged meat and produce.

Everyone needs to decide for themselves how locally they wish to eat - here in New England as winter closes in, I'm indulging in the last of our local harvests, but I am planning on continuing to eat bananas. On the other hand, Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, is an inspiring account of her family's decision to eat only locally raised foods for a year.

Whatever decisions we end up making, the Angels wish us to be mindful of the effect our choices have on the wider world around us all.

eighth guideline - eat like a baby

... nourish your Self every three hours.

babies come with remarkable sound alarm systems that let everyone know when they need to be fed. in the process of learning more socially acceptable ways to signal others when we need to eat, we lose the fundamental connection between feeling hungry and knowing its time to eat.

frequently, in our busy lives, we feel hungry but suppress the urge, because it's not "time", it's not convenient, or it's not congruent with fitting into our skinny jeans. for me, as for many women, NOT eating was more of a problem than overeating. i can literally "forget" to eat for hours.

when i finally stopped to take a look at what i was doing to myself, i realized i was treating myself in a very mean way. i was literally putting my own needs so far at the bottom of my daily list of what was important, i was forgetting them. of course i needed to eat, i realized, i had just got really good at ignoring my body's own signals.

consequently, when i asked the Angels how often i should eat, or when i should eat, They gently suggested to "eat like a baby." as They explained it, all the needs of the baby i once was still exist. feeding myself on an "infant schedule" or every three hours reminds me to take care of myself. it provides opportunities throughout the day for me to stop and do something kind, something nourishing and necessary for myself. it also helps me stay mindful, not simply of the state of my body-mind, but of those of the beings and circumstances around me.

on the other hand, for those of us for whom not knowing when to stop is an issue, eating every three hours allows for more opportunities to pay attention to the signals your body sends when it has had enough. for some people, just knowing that they "are allowed" to eat again in less than three hours helps. One friend decided she didn't need to spend more than 20 minutes eating out of every three hours. Soon she was paying attention to the kind of food she was eating in those 20 minutes. Eventually, she began to make the choice, more often than not to eat a healthier alternative. Now, she's feeling better, eating less in total volume and making much kinder, gentler choices.

The Angel Way for Moms (in a hurry!)

I've really been struggling with the balancing act these past few weeks. My girls are at two different developmental stages and my mind is persistently split in two directions.

We always seem to be on the go, even on the days that I don't plan to go anywhere or to take a trip to the library. We're eating on the road, in between activities, and I'm not enjoying, not even tasting, most of what passes my lips. I'm not use to this and I don't like it. Even when I choose healthy foods, I'm totally out of synch with the process of honoring and enjoying-- and I rarely feel satisfied by anything. (Thank heavens I can stay away from sweets with ease or I'm sure i'd have packed on the pounds). I miss the colors of summer, the fruits of the season; i am struggling to get a daily rainbow in my diet, when I was eating 3 a day! As a result, I'm gettting run down, sick and tired more often.

The other day, my three year old says to me "Mommy you need to eat more rainbows so you can have a healthy body and not be so fussy." 

So, how do we Mom's eat the Angel Way-- even in a hurry?  I'd love to hear from you and I'll be back with some ideas of my own, as well as Annie.

KMR

seventh guideline - everyone needs a little cushion

the Angels want us to understand this literally as well as figuratively. everyone needs a little cushion, in terms of resources - of all kinds.

according to the Angels, fat is not bad. fat serves important functions within the body. it helps regulate our temperature by keeping us warm, it helps provide cushioning in between our joints. the intake of fat signals our bodies that we are full. this is one reason low-fat foods can make us eat more calories.

just as with sweets, its not the fact we want to eat fatty foods that's the problem - it's the kind of fat we eat. fats like those found in olive oil, dairy products, and nuts are preferable to the artifical kind like margarine.

the Angels urge us to take the time to understand why we crave the foods we do. if you find yourself craving foods that are high in unhealthy fats, perhaps you may wish to examine if there are areas in your life where you might feel the need for a bit of "cushioning." (you can read about how food cravings can be a signal of other energetic issues or needs in the post entitled Here's An Example...)

there may be other ways to "feed" this need than with food. for example, creating a rainy day fund by putting aside every five dollar bill you get, might be one way to create another kind of "cushion" in an area where most people would like to have extra padding. or, another area where many people can feel squeezed is time - so scheduling more time between activities may be another way to create a "cushion."

as we begin to make these kinds of connections and observations about our lives, we may become more aware of why we make the choices we do about food. by becoming more aware, we can learn to make the healthier, nourishing choice more often than not.

sixth guideline - everyone needs a little sweetness in their lives

frequently we crave sweets because we crave sweetness in our lives, and the taste of sweet is the easiest way to get it. each person's individual health needs have to be taken into consideration - diabetics, for example, need to monitor their blood sugar very carefully - but very few people can or should eliminate sweets altogether. and considering that most people enjoy sweets, why should we?

another point to consider is that advertisers who want to turn "sugar" into the enemy ignore the fact that sugar is what our bodies turn all our food into, in order to use the energy from it. to constantly claim that "sugar" is bad for us runs counter to the wisdom of the body.

that said, it's important to be aware of the kinds of sweets and sugars we choose. the more natural the sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup, the better. however, even simple white cane sugar is preferable to artificial sweeteners of all kinds. your body knows what's real and what isn't.

the Angels on empaths (and brown foods, too)

Empaths are getting a lot of press lately. Lately everyone I know is claiming to be one, or know one, and one even showed up on this season's Ghost Whisperer. (I used to love that show - used to being the operative phrase.)

An empath is someone who is extraordinarily sensitive to the feelings of others AND is able to transmute those feelings into something better. you leave the presence of an empath feeling better about yourself or your life, often for some reason you can't quite name. Empaths - at least evolved ones - don't spend a lot of time being afraid of anything. The reason for this is that their natures are like deep sea sponges saturated with so much divine love and grace it spills over to everyone.


Such evolved empaths are still relatively rare. However, ALL people have the ability to develop their empathy skills - empathy, after all, is a fundamental part of our human nature. children who fail to develop empathy turn into serial killers, narcissists, and sociopaths. part of the Big Waking Up as the Angels sometimes call the process we are all going through is that more and more of us are aware of our empathic abilities.

Newly aware empaths will sometimes turn to foods - specifically brown foods* full of cushioning fats and softening sweets - to create a natural buffer between themselves and a world they feel too intensely. This is why many lightworkers, especially as they begin to develop their abilities, develop some extra cushioning. Women at menopause typically put on a few extra pounds for many reasons, and among them is that psychically, a woman is entering her most sensitive time of life.

The energy of brown foods is grounding. There are many indigenous cultures that believe that infants, until they're weaned or turn a certain age, aren't fully "human" and may not even give them names. What this reflects is that until a child eats "brown" food, his energy body is not fully anchored into his flesh.

Just as under our skins, we have a kind of spider-man suit called the fascia which holds us all together, there's a similiar layer of energy that connects the energy body into the physical body. This layer is directly nourished by brown foods energetically, so eating brown foods literally grounds us into our own flesh. (No wonder eating too many of them will make us fat faster than any other kind of food!)

Thus, all evolving empaths must learn to fill themselves not with brown foods or other people's emotions but with an awareness of the Divine Love that emanates from the spark of Spirit within all of us. When a sponge becomes saturated with clean water, it can't pick up much of anything else from anywhere else. That's how evolved empaths are meant to move in the world - as sponges, but so saturated with awareness of love that their very presence affects any negative people around them.

An evolved empath is able to shift and lift the energy all around her, and is not brought down by the presence of negative or sad or depressing people. Such a person might never ENJOY such people's company, but she is not affected personally.

Therefore, it's especially important for empathic people to pay close attention to the brown foods they eat and to eat brown foods with awareness of the kind of energy they contain. Wholesome grains and starches provide not just fuel for what we do in the world, but also energy to nourish the connection between our physical bodies and soul-bodies as well.

another example.. of nourishing the chakras

this afternoon, i hosted a dear friend for lunch. although i'd made plans with her a while ago, on saturday, my friend's mom died. although the lady in question was in her 90's, and my friend was as well-prepared as anyone could be, my friend's entire energy system was reeling under the hit. so, mindful that her root and heart chakras were experiencing the brunt of the loss, i prepared this meal for us to share. a few tweaks here and there and it could easily become vegetarian or even vegan:


butternut squash-apple soup:
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
6 cups cubed peeled butternut squash
2 apples, peeled and chopped
1 box (32 oz) vegetable broth
2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
1 cup light cream

in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray or rubbed with olive oil, saute the onion and garlic in butter until tender. add the squash, apple, broth and thyme. bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 - 50 minutes until squash is tender. using a potato masher, mash the squash and apple. add a tablespoon or so to the cream. heat the cream in the microwave for 30 - 45 second. add to soup slowly. once you add the cream, do not allow to boil.


grilled bacon, tomato and sweet basil sandwiches:
lightly toast four slices of bread. layer broad whole basil leaves, tomato slices and one and a half strips of oscar mayer prepared bacon. brush outside of bread with olive oil and grill in 2 -3 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat until the outside is brown and crispy and the basil is wilted.


apple-almond crisp:
peel and slice four granny smith apples. arrange in buttered pie pan. top with a crumb mixture of 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup oats, 1 stick softened butter, 1/2 brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon. sprinkle 1/4 cup slivered almonds over all and bake at 375 for 25- 30 minutes. serve warm with whipped cream, creme fraiche, or clotted cream.

to complete the rainbow, and soothe the entire soul, i served lavender tea.

fifth guideline - eat brown foods with Awareness

brown foods include grains and starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes. these foods have an earthy, grounding vibration, and these are the foods many of us turn to when we are feeling lost, ungrounded, or in need of comfort. these are also the foods that turn up disguised in other foods in different ways and some where you might least expect it.

the Angels repeatedly emphasize that no food that comes from the Mother - as They refer to our earth - is bad food. however, brown foods are frequently abused foods in that they are broken down into chemical components, and then added to other foods in ways they were never intended to be added. it's estimated that over 70% of the foods in the center of the supermarket aisles contain either high fructose corn syrup or msg disguised as "natural flavor." gluten, derived from wheat, is added to so many foods that many people are developing sensitivies to it.

thus, the Angels encourage everyone to eat a healthy amount of "brown foods" every day - we all need their stabilizing, grounding, boundary-building energy, as well as the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients they offer. however, the Angels urge us all to be aware of how many places those brown foods can be found, and thus, how easy it is to eat far more than we may think we are.

do the Angels want us to be vegetarian?

this question came in via google, and it's a good one. it doesn't have a simple answer.

in my meditations, the most important thing that comes through is that the Angels want us to love our bodies, to treat ourselves with compassion and kindness and gentleness, and then, from that place, treat others with the same kindness, gentleness, compassion and respect.

it's much easier to love your neighbors as yourself when you understand what it truly means to love yourself.

the short answer to the question is no - the Angels recognize that just as there are cultures where vegetarian or vegan cuisine may be more the cultural norm, there are also those where meat is the preferred or most common source of protein and other nutrients. the Angels also recognize that some people, for example, young girls and young women, may crave red meat and the nutrients it contains. for these people, it's hard to be a vegetarian.

on the other hand, just as the Angels would like us to treat ourselves with compassion and love, They would also like to see us at some point extend the same respect to ALL natural forms, including animals, plants, and the planet itself on which we all live.

as you follow the Guidelines, you may find, as i did, and as many others who have incorporated them into their lives, that you are naturally drawn to eating more vegetarian meals. for one thing, you become more sensitive to the energies contained within the food itself. it is dismaying and possibly even painful for sensitive people to ingest foods that contains the vibrations of fear and pain. it is no secret that the "food industry" treats livestock like widgets, and that many of the animals we eat spend their lives in pain and horrible distress. on the other hand, plant foods that've been genetically modified and otherwise manipulated, don't feel so great either.

so what's a sensitive, spiritually minded person to do? eat with awareness. at the very least, make a ritual before each meal to silently thank the people who worked to raise, bring and prepare the food, and, if applicable, the animals who gave their lives so that you may eat. then, if you really want to honor the Angels and all creation, do something to make the world a better place, no matter how small or insignificant your action may seem.

one grain at a time, say the Angels, ants move mountains.

here's an example...

of how food and cravings can be connected energetically to something else.

just yesterday i was having lunch with my friend ruth. in the course of our conversation, she described a situation in which she Listened to Guidance, and made a business decision based on what she felt she was being Told to do. unfortunately, the other people involved weren't up for the Challenge (not unlike my own former business associate) and backed out, leaving my friend holding the proverbial bag containing merchandise worth over $700. as a result, she was questioning herself, questioning her relationship with her Guides and Angels, and questioning her ability to pay her bills for the next month.

then she asked me why she might be craving fresh yellow corn, right off the stalk.

last night i ate six ears, annie, she confided. why in the world might i do that?

the answer is in the situation she described. my friend works hard to cultivate her relationship with Spirit, and tries to Listen as best she can. her solar plexus chakra - the seat of identity and boundaries and personal power - suffered quite a hit. when i pointed out the connection, ruth immediately saw how her sudden craving for fresh yellow corn is linked to this sudden blow to her energetic center. by doing other things to help balance and heal this essential part of her energetic body, ruth felt confident she would be able to alleviate - or at least control - this sudden craving.

not all cravings have such clear connections, but on reflection, many of us might find we crave things that can be traced to needs that are more metaphorical than physical.

fourth guideline (part two) - and "white-light" food at every meal

"white light" food, i wondered, when this message first came to me. what is white light food?

the Angels explained that white-light foods are complete protein foods. just as white light contains all the colors of the spectrum, white-light foods contain all the basic building blocks of all the body's structures. the analogy They showed me was that to neglect to put enough complete-protein foods into your body while feeding it every thing else, was like putting gasoline into a leaky gas tank in a car. yes, you can make the engine run but you're making an awful mess and wasting a lot of gas. better to fix the tank first.

in order to make more of itself, in order to repair and heal the tissues of the body, the body needs its raw materials. these are found in complete protein foods, which include meats, eggs, and dairy products. however, combinations of grains and legumes and nuts, such as rice-and-beans, create complete-proteins out of plant proteins. it is perfectly possible to use the Angel Guidelines to create a vegetarian or vegan diet.

one of my health issues this summer uncovered the fact that my gall bladder meridian was inflamed, and one of my challenges this fall has been to incorporate more vegetarian proteins into my diet and to eat less meat. however, i continue to eat a white-light food at every meal, such as yogurt, eggs or a combination of plant proteins.

fourth guideline: eat a rainbow every day and a white-light food at every meal

this guideline is probably the single most important to help us understand exactly what it is we "should" be eating. if you do nothing else good for yourself in a day, the Angels urge you to consider eating at least one "rainbow" - ie, a food in one of each of five colors - a day.

the reason is because colorful foods - fruits, veggies, herbs and spices - all nourish and restore not just our physical bodies - they also help to balance and refresh each of our seven chakras. (the Angels are talking about the natural colors of foods... not those artificially added! rainbow skittles don't count!)

examples of red foods include raspberries and tomatoes, orange foods include peaches and carrots. yellow foods include things like bananas and parsnips and yellow onions; green foods include broccoli, spinach and limes. blue/black/purple foods are harder to find and include eggplant or aubergines, purple onions and lavendar. try to include one of each color at least once a day. if you are feeding small children, it can be fun to encourage them to "eat a rainbow."

i find it rewarding to see how many complete rainbows i can fit into my daily diet. the most i've ever been able to do was four - and that was on vacation in hawaii. the more i eat, however, the better i feel, and most days' menus include at least two full "rainbows" for me. even when im not as careful about sweets, fats or brown foods, i find that the more "rainbows" i eat, the better i feel in general.

"white-light" foods are how the Angels describe complete protein foods. i'll share more about this, and why the Angels feel these foods are so important, in the next post.

guideline three: begin slowly

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and ants move mountains one grain of sand at a time. undoing lifetimes of conditioning and beliefs is not easy, and doesn't happen overnight. we are amazingly resistant to change - including, and perhaps especially, beneficial changes.

initially, the Angels cautioned me to eat with the kind of mindful awareness the guidelines encourage no more than one or two meals at a time. the next step was to do it for no more two days at a time.

why only two days, i wondered.

because, replied the Angels, infinitely kind and patient, eventually you will want to eat this way on the third day of your own volition, not because We ask it of you.

the first practical step therefore, to incorporating the guidelines into your life is to simply begin to pay attention to the food you eat right now. begin to keep a journal of not just when and what you eat, but how you feel - before, during and after each meal. don't try to be "good" - the more honest you are in your assessment of yourself, the easier it will be to make the changes eventually. to some extent, the food journal is a kind of self-portrait. don't be afraid of it - no one else ever has to see it. you may be surprised by what you see - i know i was.

one of my favorite...

substitutions for meat as a white-light food is an egg. i love eggs - and one of my favorite ways to serve them for dinner is as a frittata. i like to add potatoes, onions and spinach as a base, but i know a lot of people who are way more creative than that. served with a root-veggie roast like i had the other night, and i can complete my rainbow by adding either black olives, or drinking lavendar or blackberry tea.

what are some of yours?

guideline two: men are like raindrops, women are like snowflakes.

no, this doesn't mean men are all wet :). what it means, in terms of figuring out how to nourish ourselves, we need to keep in mind that men vary across a much narrower range of what's considered normal than women do. it's easier for men to get the correct amounts of nutrients because their bodies remain far more static than women's bodies do across their lifetimes.

one of the most frustrating things for me personally that i experienced on my journey was how different i seemed to be from everyone else i knew. i understood why i'd be different from my husband, but i didn't understand why my mother, my sister, my friends all seemed to have such differing physiologies. why do we all react so differently to things that are supposed to be good for us, i asked the Angels one day.

because you ARE different, They replied. you and every woman differ across a much broader spectrum in terms of dietary needs. and no two women are exactly alike. in fact, karen found in some of her research that what makes one woman peppy and energetic, can make another feel sluggish.

this is why the Angels urge us all to go slowly, to pay attention to the signals from our wise body-minds, but most importantly, to recognize how uniquely special each of us truly are, and therefore, how deserving of loving nurturance.

Days without Rainbows

Recently, I found out just how lousy it feels to not follow this divine and loving way of eating. Last week I went out for Girl's Night at PF Chang's. My first night out with the WomYn Folk in a long, long, long time. We decided  to order and share appetizers... there were 9 of us. We ordered a nice wine, too. The lettuce wraps were wonderful, the steamed shrimp and veggie dumplings, too. I didn't overindulge but the small amounts of other things I ate-- like the spring rolls the egg rolls and what i thought would be green bean veggie chips (green beans wrapped in tempura batter--translation frided)-- by the end of the meal I felt well, yucky. Kind of oily and sluggish (and I did not even finish the wine.)  Despite having eaten fairly well throughout the day, prior to our night out, this one meal left me feeling hungover the entire following day. I craved fruits, water, and healthy grains. In fact I ate fruit and yogurt for breakfast, three pieces of fruit and tea with crackers for lunch, and a large salad with egg whites for supper. And more tea.  By mid afternoon I felt clearer, cleaner and more energetic. By bedtime, I felt like "me" again.

You see... as your bodymind comes to love The Angel Way... you realize you can't go back to your old ways .... even visiting those less than loving and healthy ways for a special night out will affect your energy, mentally and physically. WE all have these days without Rainbows .... but let them be few and far between. Your bodymind and spirit will thank you for it.  Peace -- KMR

first guideline - what you eat, is up to YOU

the first guideline sets the tone for all the others, and puts the responsiblity for nurturing your Self - your whole Self - squarely into your hands. one of the most remarkable aspects of the whole process was the way in which the Angels never said i "had" to do or eat anything. They made it abundantly clear that the foods i ate, the manner in which i chose to eat it, and the method of preparation was completely up to me. as perfect emanations of the Divine Source of All Things, the Angels bow to our free will.

however, what the Angels wish everyone would understand is that the choices we make about what and how we nourish ourselves, reflect key attitudes, beliefs and needs. if we are not aware of the full spectrum of what we're seeking nourishment for, we may make choices that not only reflect this lack of awareness, but may also be less than beneficial in the long run. we can learn to nourish our entire energy body, so that we feel nurtured, supported, balanced and whole in every aspect of our beings.

as the Angels see it, every time we eat, we have an opportunity to show our Selves how much we love, honor and value our Selves.

root-veggie roast

there's nothing i love more on a rainy autumn sunday than something hot and nourishing from the oven. tonight's dinner included this root-veggie roast which includes red, orange and yellow chakra foods:

1 red apple, cut into chunks
1 small yellow onion, sliced
4 carrots, sliced into thin rounds
4 parsnips, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup butternut squash, cut into chunks
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbs maple syrup

toss veggies with olive oil and maple syrup. cover and roast for 30 minutes at 425. remove cover, stir veggies, and roast an additional 15-20 minutes.

how many rainbows did YOU eat today? :)

the ten guidelines - revisited

Over the next ten days, I will post a guideline a day and talk a bit about each one. here they all are - not in the order I received them, but in the order Karen and I (with some angelic guidance) decided they made the most sense:

1. What you eat is up to you.

2. Men are like raindrops, women are like snowflakes.

3. Begin slowly and be gentle with yourself.

4. Eat a Rainbow every day and White-light food at every meal.

5. Eat Brown foods with awareness.

6. Every body needs a little sweetness (in their lives.)

7. Every body needs a little cushion.

8. Eat as organically and locally as possible.

9. Eat like a baby – nourish your body every three hours.

10. Keep a diary and plan how you will nourish yourself.

adventures in veggie-land

as i mentioned in my previous post, health issues of my own forced me to take a closer look at my diet this past summer. i've always been a meat-and-potatoes kind of girl - my favorite dinner is prime rib and baked potato with extra butter. i dont eat my favorite dinner very often, but i WAS eating a lot of meat - nearly every night for dinner and at least six or seven other times a week for lunch or breakfast.

when my chiropractor told me, during an accpuncture treatment, that my gall bladder meridian was inflamed (that's the meridian that runs through the nerve involved in morton's neuroma), i decided it was time to change my diet.

for a long time now, i've been feeling the tug toward a more meatless diet. i've resisted because i really like meat. however, the more i follow the Angel Guidelines, the more sensitive i've noticed myself becoming to the vibrational energy in the food i eat. in meat that's been commercially - corporately - processed, there's a lot of residual pain. i prefer to eat meat that's been humanely raised and slaughtered, but that kind of meat is more expensive. so by cutting back on the amount, i can more readily afford the kind of meat i prefer to eat - meat that has a much clearer vibration.

the challenge for vegetarians and vegans, according to the Angels is to include a "white-light" food - ie a complete protein food at every meal. in the last few weeks, i've been experimenting with various vegetarian alternatives to the complete proteins found in meat. here's one of my favorites:

pasta n' peas rainbow primavera

2-3 tbs olive oil
1 small green onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 small green squash
1 small yellow squash
2 carrots, sliced in thin circles
3 cups fresh spinach
3 tbs fresh chopped sweet basil
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup of pinenuts
1 small bag frozen baby peas
1 box small shell pasta

in a skillet, preferably seasoned cast-iron, saute the onion and garlic until transparent. add the carrots and the squashs, saute a few minutes more, then layer in the spinach and the basil. allow the bottom layer of spinach to wilt, stir to combine, and add the peas. when the spinach is thoroughly wilted, add tomatoes and pine nuts. saute briefly until tomatoes are heated through and peas defrosted. meanwhile, prepare pasta according to directions on box. when pasta is ready, combine with the vegetables. garnish with black olives if desired for a true rainbow... or enjoy with lavender or blackberry tea. i've also substituted forbidden rice and french lentils for an alternative "white-light" combination.