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Intro
The principle without the technique is useless, the technique without the principle is dangerous. George Ohsawa
I've always felt like a closet cult member telling someone that, "I'm macrobiotic." I could have said: "Hi, I'm part of the "Humu-Humu clan," and it really wouldn't have made any difference.
The general consensus about macrobiotics is that it's a debilitating vegetarian diet followed by food fanatics who end up anemic, frighteningly lean and blisteringly arrogant. They think they have answers for everything, do a lot of chewing and speak in a language exclusively their own. And, nothing could be further from the truth. Well, on second thought...there might be some truth there.
Most people are grossly misinformed about the meaning of macrobiotics. Books from the mid-50's still in print make the outrageous claim that the most common debilitating diseases can be cured in ten days by exclusively eating brown rice.
This really doesn't help the issue. We're told that it was a translation problem, that the word cure really meant to "change the direction of" as in to move toward a healthier direction, but this is not spelled out. To new ears, the claims and excessive dietary emphasis in most macrobiotic books seems a bit over-the-top and one sided. In this author's opinion, it is.
The "suggested dietary recommendations" pie-plate template advises 5060% of dietary fare consist exclusively of whole grain, which for a western culture (whose idea of whole grain is bread and crackers), seems foreign, impractical and, considering common tastes, agonizingly bland.
Yes, you can chew until your eyes cross and whole grains do become slightly sweeter, but this is a matter of established sensitivity more common to long time grain eaters. Between those that have zero interest in macrobiotics and those that are just itching to leap into a strict regime, there's a whole population of individuals in need a gradual transitional approach.
Beyond all the dietary writings of macrobiotics, the cookbooks, the food products, the diseasereversing claims and the general pre-occupation with healing, are some sound principles that have been ignored or misunderstood. I often explain macrobiotics to be a philosophy of dynamic living.
It provides foundational information about how we can better care for ourselves and recover from many debilitating conditions, achieve greater mental clarity, develop greater intuitive perception and help us to reframe the way we look at life.
The principles of macrobiotic philosophy are essentially, Natural Laws of Life and Change, common to many religions and spiritual movements. Once the insight from these principles is grasped, it can help make our lives more meaningful, adventurous and amusingunless you're married to your E-Z chair.
On the back of many macrobiotic magazines in the early 1970s was a list of "macrobiotic principles and theorems" that always seemed intriguing, yet were abstractly described. The odd times these principles and theorems were written about, usually failed to offer a simple, non-jargoned explanation of their meaning and application.
Typically, they were cryptically described in archaic Asian phrasing, as well as in terms better known to physics majors. Many of these principles have become new age philosophical colloquialisms; adages that roll off the lips of many, but seem to be understood by few.
Over the years, from study and life experience, I began to witness them at work in my personal and professional life. These sagely whisperings from traditional cultures command observation and respect. Their roots extend far beyond the writings and musings of Ohsawa, Aihara and Kushi.
In these principles, you can hear the echos of the Old and New Testament, of Talmudic scholars, Buddhistic precepts and essential Taoism, as well as the inspirational works of Lao Tzu, Ishizuka, Kibara, Hufeland, Gurdjieff, Ouspensky, Russell, and so many more that share credit for their existence.
The evident repetition of these principles, over a span of time, makes them distinctively universal, because their core teachings all lead to the same lesson; that God, nature, the Universe and all aspects of creation are simply, One.
In several interviews recently, I've used the term, "Macrobiotic Principles," explaining that I'd rather say I'm attempting to live by macrobiotic principles than simply label myself as "macrobiotic." Subsequently, a number of emails called me to task to elaborate.
Before you are 30 macrobiotic principles. The payoff for learning these principles and being able to identify them, is the gift of living a great life (macro = great / bios = life).
Thirty principles, a great life...not a bad deal. Off-the-cuff, here they are:
1. Everything Changes
Surely, you know this... but it's worth repeating: Everything Changes. The condition of our health, physical tension and emotional conflicts are constantly changing . Everything is temporary, so nothing really remains stable; Whether it be in regard to structure, tendency or function, Everything Changes . This is an axiom. In nature, things are growing, or in a state of decay. Our friendships, work, passions, moods, fashion, good fortune, bad fortune, philosophiesanything else you can think of are all subject to the cycle of change. Bank on it. The Life Cycle itself is one of the most dramatic Law of Change illustrations. A tiny seed, compact and full of life, grows a sprout, which continues to expand and grow upward until it reaches its limit, at which time it turns to seed. Then, the seeds drop to the ground and the cycle is repeated. Life is full of such cycles. The Moisture Cycle is another example: The heat of the sun causes water to evaporate and rise. When it reaches the limit of its ascent it condenses and it's heaviness, as rain, brings it falling back to earth. Mountains change into sand misfortune into fortune, ideas change into creation. The arms of the law of change have infinite reach. Everything in our life, at any time, is subject to change. Now, doesn't that irritate you? This means we coexist with instability. Constantly. So, you cannot really control anything. Attempting to control things (something especially important for 'perfectionists' to remember), can only be fleeting and ultimately frustrating. Remembering this principle increases the worth we have for each moment and gives us added value for life. It allows us to be more engaged in the moment, more focused on the larger picturebecause we can actually see it. Everything changesparticularly the attention you will give to all of the principles mentioned below. Some will resonate with you, some will not. At a later time, based on your developing perspective (the benefit of a healthy maturity), others may take greater importance. Understanding the law of change gives us patience and faith when it's needed most: in times of challenge. Of all phenomena, there is only one thing that resists change. That, is change itself. This is considered, by traditional folk wisdom to be the only absolute.
2. Nothing is Identical
This is good to know if you have a history of dating and are still soliciting telephone numbers from strangers. There exists nothing identical to anything or anyone else. Your new lover might look like your Ex, but you won't find a carbon copy. Frankly, why would you want to? No two things can be "the same," it is said. Therefore, everything in this world has its own uniqueness. No two snowflakes, autumn leaves, fingerprints, mountains, rivers, animals, both sides of the human face, even 'identical twins,' are alike. There will always be differences, no matter how subtle. Even if two thingsfor arguments sakeare exactly alike, the fact that they are "two" separates them because they occupy different points in space and/or time. Nature has a sense of irony. While all physical objects are composed from atoms and molecules, the amount and combination of them in each will be unique. Knowing this might win you a lot of pub bets.
Consider this: If everything is really in a continuous process of change, then obviously, nothing can really be identical, anyway. Right? Does that make sense? My inner cynic says, 'who cares, why is it relevant and who are you to make gross evaluations?' But, I can ignore that voice. I'm sure knowing this principle can serve some purpose. Like when you reorder your favorite dish from your local restaurant and it tastes nothing like the last time. It helps cushion disappointment. The origins of this principle is also common to many sacred texts from various ideologies. One recent find in my research was from The Madhyamika School of Buddhism: Nagarjuna (second century A.D.), founder of The Madhyamika School of Buddhism, presented his Middlath ("The Madhyamika"Doctrine of the Middle Way) with the following statement of what he considered to be the Eightfold Truth of Buddhism: "Nothing comes into being, nor does anything disappear. Nothing is eternal, nor has anything an end. Nothing is identical, nor is anything differentiated. Nothing moves here, nor does anything move there." I rest my case. If it's good enough for Nagarjuna, it's good enough for me. Nothing is identical.
4. Everything in the Extreme, Changes to its Opposite When I began to long distance track as a teenager, this was the first lesson. Run too fast on a long training run and you may reduce your body's ability to transfer oxygen. You suddenly feel your muscles weigh a ton and you have to restor fall down. "Pacing," a key approach in racing strategy, is actually about recognizing and minimizing extremes for the benefit off greater endurance.. At 16, I did my first fast, complete abstinence from food, and ended it six days later by eating everything that wasn't nailed down in my kitchen. Everything in the extreme, changes to its opposite. A cigarette burns hot, contracting as it reduces in size. At the extreme point of reduction it suddenly cools and becomes expansive ash. Everything in the extreme, changes to its opposite. In the early 60s we all went mad for tab shirts, thin ties, tight pants, pointy shoes, short greased hair. By 1965, we were taking fashion cues from Carnaby Street, wearing bell bottoms, square-toed boots, wide polka dot ties and growing our hair. Let's also not forget the American mullet hair-do. What ever happened to that? How can you not look back and wonder, what were we thinking? But, there you have it--one extreme changing to another. Happens all the time. Here's another example: When I officially started macrobiotics (1969-70), I was enrolled at Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Winter quarters as a clown college student (a very handy diploma to have
on your office wall). When I decided to try Ohsawa's recommendation for fasting on grain, as opposed to nothing, I diligently consumed brown rice, tamari (natural soy sauce), gomashio (a condiment made from sesame seeds and sea salt that were ground together) and twig tea for 18 days. Initially, ten days was the recommended course of "experimenting," However, being of sound body and fanatic mind, I thought I'd eat this way forever. Felt great, had no cravings and couldn't sleep more than 5 hours, at the most, so it felt natural and easy for me. At least, doing "#7", you got to eat. At some point, 18 days into it, someone in the arena stuffed a banana in my face at a performance rehearsal and its taste literally possessed me. The sweetness was overwhelming. It kicked in my craving center and all I could think about was sugarand my need to have more, immediately. I ran outside, jumped on someone's parked bicycle and sped to the grocery store about a half mile away. Once inside the market, I grabbed a large pack of chocolate chip cookies (packaged in three columns), a quart of milk and headed for the curb. I ate the cookies, nearly a column at a time, guzzled the milk and then, sitting on the street curb with my legs half in the street, lay back on the sidewalk to ease a sudden abdominal cramp. Apparently, I feel asleep (or went into a chocolate chip coma). My comrades from rehearsal eventually caught up with me and later described the scene: "Man, you were laying half in the street, passed out snoring, with milk spilling and cookies all over the place." Reactively, for the next several weeks, I suddenly became Party Boy, or, as friends nicknamed me: The Human Garbage Disposal. "Go ahead and dare me!" became my new diet motto. This was a simple, yet hard earned lesson in everything in the extreme changing to its opposite. Which, is probably why traditional wisdom calls moderation the hallmark of good health. If we are moderate, we have more control. In some circumstances, extremes are necessary and can have their own healing component. But during such times we need a good understanding that can bolster our will, as well as practical techniques that will keep us from bouncing between extremes.
compliments the drink by making it less extreme as an alkaline remedy. This makes the medicine more effective because it is slightly less extreme. Think of the Tao symbol with one sheath of black and one sheath of white, yet within each is a bit off the other. I once had a philosophy teacher who described it by saying, "...in the overwhelming bright light of day we have the small shadows of scattered tree and rock, and during the deep black of night, we have the dim glimmering light of distant stars." Meaning, each duality contains a little of the opposite. Recognizing opposites is the path to wholeness, because their balance produces the neutral state of one. This is why the Tao was called a 'monism.' However, nothing is exclusively of solely one entity. There's a little of each in both entities. If you statically classify something as "yang" or to use a physics term, ruled by centripetal force, you are merely saying that the amount of yang in this exceeds it's opposite (centrifugal force, or yin) quality. You can't say someone is, "all strength." They must have some weakness. The degree this weakness is visible differs for everyone, but in some amount, it's always present. The philosophy of opposites can be easily misunderstood, because speaking in terms of fixed classifications usually leads to dogmatic thinking. Its laws are not truly understood. There are always layers and depths to our superficial perception. To think in terms of black and white minimizes the unique complexity of how opposites interact and the layers between them. Between black and white, there is an entire universe of gray.
Most of us have little idea about the origins of our food, how it is grown, how concentrated or refined it may be, or what kinds of nutrition it contains. The majority of people are primarily concerned with taste. Just like children. Several years ago, I pulled into a small gas station in northern Iowa around midnight. I went inside and waited for the cashier to key my gas fee into her register. She was a young woman of tremendous girth with bad skin and the warmth of a Mason jar. Not once did her eyes meet mine. But, I noticed she was chewing. Vigorously. Whatever was in her mouth required major effort. This is the exchange we had: "What are you chewing?" Continuing to stare at her register, she points to a cylindrical plastic container that holds, "Bubba's Hearty Beef Jerky." I pick up the container and read the ingredients. My naivete' is showing; I am shocked. Aside from dried beef, there is an entire paragraph of chemical names as part of the ingredients, with sugar being the second ingredient after meat. "Wow, do you know what's in this? It's all chemicals!" Now she turns to me; an isolated side rotation of her neck almost robotically. She tilts her head down as if peering over imaginary bifocals and shrugs her shoulders helplessly as she manages to utter two words: "Tastes good..." For most human organisms, excessive fat, animal protein and concentrated sweetenersour modern staple foodsmight be temporarily satisfying but in excess, can be potentially deadly except for my neighbor who is 91 and looks like he lives on baked scrap leather. He tells me he, "eats everything." Worse, he even enjoys it. Imagine that! But I've seen him eat. And they guy lives on garbage. But, he eats like a bird. No, not a vulture. A sparrow big difference. He takes the "minimum." And, somehow, it works for him. Ohsawa was an advocate of eating the minimum; staying slightly hungry, keeping active. If you have strong passions and things that you want to do in life, this comes naturally, because your are feeding a bigger appetite. But, if you are bored by your current life, what's the incentive to suddenly discipline yourself? If we're discussing the volume of food we consume, I think it would be essential to explain what some of the culprits are that make us want more food. Yep! There are actually a number of reasons that drive overeating cravings. There are some accepted psychological reasons for food obsessions and addictive eating that cover the gamut from self-esteem and social issues to the immediate impulse of using food as a way to get stinking numb. However, my contention is that if we remove the physical reasons, the psychological become so much more easy to handle. Maybe not entirely heal, but at least begin to feel a motivating clarity by witnessing positive physical change. Consider the volume of food that you eat. If you put the pinky sides of each had together and cup your hands, as if scooping water from a stream, this hand shaped bowl is equal to the size of your stomach, only with a top cover. Consider the amount of food you had in your last meal and visualize that amount. Isn't it bigger than the little bowl your palms create? It's surprising to think about how much we eat. More frightening to think about is what we actually absorb. The problem, in a nutshell, for people who are always overeating is not knowing what are the responsible factors for such a monstrous
appetite. Here, based on a chapter in my book, "Nature's Cancer-Fighting Foods" (Prentice HallPenguin-Putnam Books) are five possible reasons for overeating: 1. Low Blood Sugar - Contrary to popular macrobiotic recommendations, I don't believe the solution for low blood sugar lies simply in making a "sweet vegetable drink." It's a nice soup base, but throwing away the fiber (vegetable matter) defeats the entire purpose. It is the fiber that will regulate the blood sugar. Consuming only the liquid can slightly elevate blood sugar, but, then you have an equal lowering later on. For someone with noticeable blood sugar irregularity, it might be best to make a soup with these vegetables and either eat the whole vegetable in the soup, or make it into a puree'. Additionally, don't go more than four hours without, at least, eating a small meal. Fasting long periods throughout the day promotes low blood sugar and late night eating. In this tired state you may find yourself desiring coffee, sugar, tobacco--any familiar stimulant to get you over the energetic hump. 2. Excessive Salt or Animal Protein - Too much salt will not only make you want sugar or more fluid, but can stimulate overeating. Salt can have a depressive effect on blood sugar and a marked tightening effect on tissue and muscle. Like those old sailor's, who look like they eat small children for breakfast and have very crinkly faces, traditionally called Old Salts; presumably after living on the water, breathing salt air and no doubt eating a good share of it. Salt excess can be alleviated by either an abundant amount of fluid (for dilution), citrus, or simple sugar (for neutralizing). Sugars have the opposite reaction in our body: they promote inflammation. While it's busy fanning the fires of inflammation, Sugar finds time to annoy and paralyze our busy immune system while it discreetly robs minerals from the bodies different storage sites. Biological mutiny. 3. Inactive Lifestyle - Becoming more regularly active can increases your sensitivity to the subtle, and not-so-subtle, effects of overeating. Your active condition offers a more reliable barometer of good health and your physical limitation. I'll never forget a conversation I had with a running partner named Arty ("Hi, I'm Arty from Nu Yawk"), as we we taking a long run one early Sunday morning, prior to a track event. Nine miles into our run, he had a burst of thundering gas. No one said anything. About one-half mile later, he turned to me and said: "Wow, took 9 and 1/2 miles to get rid of that. What if I had sat on the couch all day? I'll tell you whut woulda happened: One night at 2 AM my head would suddenly explode...thank God for long dirt trails..." Such were the intimate exchanges we'd have on a training run. It made me realize that we have the ability to condition our bodies and control our health so much more than we imagined. For most people the only control they have dietarily is the use of stimulants or depressants; they're tired so they drink coffee or have a cigarette. They're all keyed up, so they'll have an alcoholic drink. Beyond these extremes, few people really know how to influence their health, mood and energy level with food. Physical activity can be a great neutralizer. Challenging your physical limitations might mean to walk longer distances, stretching in more advanced postures, hiking to increase heart rate or lifting weights to solidify bone mass. In a toned, active body, it's easier to exercise discipline because you know what works best for your body. Exercise also increases your will. 4. Poor Digestion - There could be an infinite number of related digestive conditions, but most of them are aggravated, if not caused, by long time acidity. This can come from: inadequate chewing, meal time tension, the need for fermentation with meals, a lack of enzymes to digest properly, parasites, etc. So, we often end up attempting to compensate by volume. Calm mealtimes, a bit of pickle with your meal, less volume, thorough, but not obsessive chewing and a bit of tea after the meal all insure good digestion.
5. Nutritional Deficiency - Lack of nutrients, good quality protein, oil, salt and the five tastes of salty, sweet, bitter, sour and pungent all conspire to foster overeating if we don't include these into our daily diet. A fixed template of a circle divided into percentages can only go so far? While you can use that initially, it takes consistent experimenting to find your balanceand this is a never ending research project because there are always different ways to balance excess and because your condition is constantly changing. 6. Emotionality - There are many emotional factors that are the basis for overeating or binge eating. If you feel that this is a component to your overeating, first, remove the dietary imbalance factors mentioned above that may be pushing you in this direction. Second, accept that your overeating needs to embrace an emotional perspective and either seek support or do some research to better understand more about these factors. Generally, we can easily anesthetize ourselves with the sensory pleasure of different foods, such as sugar, or by overeating. Stuffing your face literally shuts off the emotional center, at least temporarily, and insulates us from thinking. Sometimes, this can be a good thing. However, this soon wears off and we are no better for a solution. There are a number of books that can provide more insight, including, Geneen Roth's, "Feeding the Hungry Heart" and Jane R. Hirschmannn's, "Overcoming Overeating."
friendly, maybe because it's more common, or because people are more fearful, but a bit more camaraderie would be a big shot in the arm for a more recognizable and "friendly" movement. We all need friends. Make friends.
about it for a moment and then her light bulb seemed to go off: "So, if I lust after this guy in my office who seems like Don Juan incarnated and makes all the right moves with romancing me, sending little presents, writing sweet poetry and slow dancing by the water cooler, then, after several dates discover he's a cross-dressing, inarticulate, stingy, germaphobe who hates womenis this a big front, bigger back issue?" Everything grows in proportion. "Not you get, what you see," a popular teen expression, underscores the lesson of front and back.
I heard a speaker recently say that our face is "public property--how much effort does it take to smile at others?" Smiling, offering warmth and practicing in all things, kindness, is a form of active gratitude. Writer and popular American radio show host, Dennis Prager wrote a very inspirational book called, "Happiness is A Serious Problem." In the book, Prager explains that the most common factor happy people seem to share is a deep sense of reverence and gratitude. They have no expectations, so whatever happens they are genuinely surprised and grateful. I'm not sure it's possible to be a modern person existing in a large metro area and live with absolutely no expectations, however, I suspect that the degree of attachment to expectations is the real issue. It's all right to have expectations as long as you maintain a frame of mind that really feels it's equally all right for those expectations to not happen. I have a friend who is a devout Christian Scientist. His motto is, "prepare for the worst, expect the best."
16. Ecology
Herman Aihara was fond of this principle and included it in his teachings to remind us that our original sustenance and nourishment comes from the soil. "Body and soil, not two," says an old Japanese proverb. The soil produces the vegetation that feeds the animal kingdom as well as humanity. We eat from our locale to become more attuned to our bodies as well as the elements. An ecological perspective is also a social onewe live with a no-waste principle and realize that the way we manage our environment is reflective of our personal condition. It is one of many growth mirror's for us. Being ecologically minded is just not a trait that we mechanically demonstrate, it should be something that we feel; a concern for what we use and do not use and a concern for where it comes from and how we can replace it.
17. Self-Challenge
Develop the appetite to turn your weaknesses into strengths. Challenging ourselves builds discipline and will. Challenging our ability to care for ourselves was an integral part of Ralph Waldo Emerson's 'Self-Reliance" theory. I find goal making one particularly effective way of doing this. Every New Year's Day, under the categories of health, finance, creativity, relationships, work, emotional character, education, environment (home) and spiritual practice, I list numerous goals for each category. Every month I do a brief assessment of what I'm doing toward realizing these goals as the year evolves. This monthly accounting keeps me motivated. And, positive results usually add even more incentive. The idea is not to simply produce, but to discover amusement while challenging our selfimposed limitations. What I do not accomplish, I re-list the following year if it still has appeal. How we feel about ourselves, deep inside, is the most primary relationship we have. Feeling accomplished, versatile and having a sense of personal pride enhances our self-image.
represents flowing freedom and perfect naturalness. If you think about it, humor has a watery quality that we can be most receptive to by "going with the flow," allowing ourselves the mental flexibility to be open and taken by the imagery of the comic, or the comic irony of a particular situation. In foolishness or silliness, there is a sense of the sublime. Embodying this principle offers us a secret power in being able to lift our spirits at almost any given moment. And, it brings us to experience child-like qualities of our vulnerable, spontaneous and joyful self. Feeling or expressing something humorous is a novel way to experience 'being in the moment.' Recall when you've really been amused or laughed aloudwere you thinking about your mortgage tax that's due? Were you thinking about your childhood and your cruel stepfather with his martial punishments? How about your overbearing bosswas he on your mind? Truth is, it would be difficult, because humor invites you into the present moment and then locks the door. Now, you're face to face with joy. And, it engages 100% of your intention (unless the humor is really bad). Experiencing this and being mindful of it will help you become more consistently present in everything you do. Humor can give us new ways to view uncomfortable circumstances, thereby becoming a coping tool. There are many events that occur in our lives that we really have no control over. For some, this sense of powerlessness can be grounds for frustration and depression. By developing a humorous outlook we find ways to minimize these situations to our best advantage. We must learn to laugh at ourselves a well as with others. Obviously, humor does not cure all, but a sense of humor has a unique way of helping you navigate through life's daily disappointments and upsets. It doesn't really change anything for the long haul, but it usually makes everything instantly more tolerable and sometimes can give you a new way to reframe your situation. Humor, the Vitamin "H" of good medicine, is free, can be shared, and most definitely can be contagious! Can't ask for much more.
Our personal growth parallels this movement; we get better, we get worse, we get better, we get worse. Growth is rarely linear. No one just, 'gets better.' Often, it's getting worse that becomes our best teacher and enables us to recover. This give us a point of measurability toward seeing a larger picture.
In the days before the importation of foreign foods, people were confined to eating foods that grew within their locality, just like animals in the wild. A larger percentage of the foods we import are not suitable for everyday fare because they grow in climates more suited to their nutrition. In warmer climates we tend to eat foods that are higher in simple sugar content, large leaf greens, less whole grain and less animal protein. As we go further north into more harsh climates, we discover the need for more salt, less sweet foods, more grain, vegetable stews, perhaps a small amount of animal protein for certain individuals, etc. These foods inspire warmth and offer more concentrated energy, as opposed to the more cooling effect of raw foods, fruits and spices. I remember when I lived in British Columbia during the mid-70s, there was a growing vegetarian movement. Many of these young people attended my local lectures, as we ran a macrobiotic center. They were interested in the cosmology, but not the food. Their diets were strictly raw and fruit oriented. Fruit shakes (now called 'Smoothies'), fruit puree's, dried fruit, and nuts were their staples. For fat, they'd eat more oily dishes and nuts and nut sauces seemed to be an integral part of every dish. During the summer months and fall months, they'd migrate to the interior of the province to work as fruit pickers for the short summer season. However, at the first hint of BC's harsh interior winter, they'd flee to California. Since they were vegetarian and not particularly fond of salt, aside from vegetables, there was very little of any strong alkaline substances in their diet and their bodies simply couldn't tolerate the cold. If we make our blood more summery, that is, filled with more sugar, it's more difficult to adapt to colder weather. If the local birds had access (and appetite) for dried mango, pineapple juice and plenty of cider, all they'd want to do in the fall is watch television and eat potato chips, instead of building nests, accumulating food and miscellaneous bird errands. When I lived in my first study house in Boston during the early 70s, we used to have several house members that would constantly complain of the cold. While the rooms were indeed, cool, "cold" was relative to each individual. Eventually, it came to light that the complainers were the ones slipping out late at night and stuffing their faces with cheesecake. Then, they'd return home and raise the heat. Imagine that! Sneaky people, they were. Then, our household head put a sign on the wall above the thermostat: "Change your blood, not the thermostat!' That showed them good. Considering I was one of the complainers, it was an embarrassing, but memorable lesson. Sometimes, it's not possible to select locally grown food and in that case foods grown in the same latitude can suffice. Make imported foods for the odd specialty dish and enjoy them as something you do for variety.
Sometimes those little pleasures, even a mouthful, can be "medicinal," providing a soothing homeopathic effect and literally stopping the craving instantly. For people on a healing path, the concept of a Pleasure food category might be premature. I encourage them to reframe how they think about feeling deprived of their favorite goodies and realize that as a part of their healing, they are no longer eating. Instead, they just happen to be taking very tasty daily medicine for a brief period of time to assess its value. Consider it an "experiment." Sometimes, I'll ask a client on a healing regime who is having cravings for unhealthy foods, if they feel "deprived." If they answer yes, I will ask them, "what's the bigger deprival?" The bigger deprival is not satisfying your sweet tooth for 7 minutes, but life, itself.
necessary to take a vow of silence, play special music or act like you're involved in a ritual molar crushing activity.
27. Use the Five Tastes, Textures and Colors in Food Preparation
The five tastes are: Biter, Sweet, Sour, Salty and Pungent. Using these tastes in your daily food preparation can create a greater sense of variety and sustain more balance and satisfaction in your eating. What really makes Fish and Chips appealing for most people is what they put on it: sodium (salty taste), ketchup (sweet taste), vinegar (sour taste--common to Brits and Canadians), salsa (pungent taste) and cole slaw (cooling taste to balance pungent flavors). The western diet is so filled with tastes that you cannot blame someone who initially sits down for their first grain and vegetable meal and asks, "don't you use any spices?" Different tastes, colors and textures offer a whole new world of variety and make the food more palatable. Eventually, you'll find that you might prefer simple tastes and don't have to doctor everything you eat with a myriad of tastes, but for certain occasions, medicinal dishes, introductory meals, etc., this can be invaluable. The one taste that I find people miss most when eating a grain a vegetable diet is the crunchy taste. Ever order Chop Suey in a Chinese restaurant? It's a kind of gooey dish with cooked vegetables in a thickening (corn starch, arrowroot or kuzu) sauce. What makes this dish fun and satisfying is the dried noodles that they give you to add at your own discretion. This is a good example of texture use. Soup with oatmeal is not the greatest combination, because their textures are similar. but soup and bread is the yin and yang of texture. After eating pot-cooked brown rice with steamed vegetables for a number of days, someone new to whole food eating, will kill for a piece of bread. Textures are necessary. Sometimes, you may just be looking for a texture in your meal. Colors cater to our sense of psychological appetite. If it looks pleasing on a plate, your appetite can increase. Plain lentils in a brown bowl is not very appealing to look at. It might look like something you'd find in a roadside toilet. But, there's hope! Using a colored bowl, a garnish of parsley and carrot and voila! You've dressed it up with more visual appeal. This can make a big difference to someone first attempting to eat grain and vegetables.
Ohsawa was fond of this principle. I think this is a very undervalued principle. Quantity is not always related to overeating. Quantity also refers to nutrient excess; such as too much fat, protein or carbohydrates. Frequently, people place excessive importance on quality of foods. Often, in telling me about their current health, a client will say, "Basically, I eat really good food..." Or, I'll hear, "I eat super well!" These comments usually refer to the quality of their food; they buy it in health food stores, it might be organic, imported, etc. However, that's not the real concern. Once, I had this well known client from the entertainment world. He had been diagnosed with an inflamed pancreas and balked at my suggestion to refrain from smoking marijuana. His face turned red scrunched up, like a kid whose toy had been taken away and after a moment's thought initiated this dialogue: "You know how much I pay for an ounce?" - "I'm really not concerned." "But it's the most pure Northern Cal home grown--it's got so much resin, I could throw it against the wall and it'll stick..." -"That's not the point. THC resins exist in the primo brand that you smoke just as it does in what we used to call during the 1960s, cheap 'headache pot' from Mexico. Quality is not the issue, here. It's concentration of nutrientor in this case, resins. It'll still hinder immune function and promote inflammation." Another time, I advised a former construction worker who was anemic and listless to stop eating fruit. He had a four acre back yard and all kinds of fruit trees that he carefully tended. "But, you don't understand," he pleaded, "they're all organic and we use the best water and soil..." and he went on and on. Finally, attempting to use a metaphor that he could relate to I said, "If I told you that right now, I'm going to hit you over head with a 2x4, but because I like you I'm not going to use knotty pine, and instead, I'll be using some fine polished spruce wood, would that difference be a consolation?" He looked at me like I was crazy (and apparently I did sound crazy) and then laughed. "Guess it really wouldn't matter, would it?" Now we were both laughing. It's not about quality, I explained. Quality should be a givenget the best whenever possible. But, be mindful of nutrient quantity,--this is what makes a big and significant difference in trying to create balance.
talk to you, but there is a voice that says, 'you might want to add more miso to that..." to me, cooking is really about self-communion. Preparing food for friends is an inspiring way to share some of yourself. Learn to select healthy quality foods and prepare them a variety of ways. You don't have to be Graham Kerr, galloping around his kitchen set with a ladle held high, but at least be willing to learn basics, make some foultasting cooking mistakes and develop your abilities in the process. Even cowboys know how to make a good pot of beans... And that Ain't the Last of Them... There you have it: 30 principles for macrobiotic living. Are there more? Of course. They will continually be reinvented. And, why not? Everything changes.
During the past thirty-five years, Verne Varona's lectures, workshops and media appearances have motivated thousands of people to take better and more conscious care of their health. His book, "Nature's Cancer-Fighting-Foods," published in June 2001, (Penguin Books), is currently in its tenth printing and is used as a text-book in a number of academic health and wellness institutions. Currently, Verne is directing a documentary film about natural disease reversal. He lives in NY State and has an active counseling practice. Email: vernevarona@earthlink.net.