Now it is time to talk about what nutrition really is. What is your definition of nutrition? If you look it up chances are the definition will be something about food and eating it.

There are two descriptions of nutrition that make sense to me and have changed the way I look at what I eat and most importantly how I act.

The first is from The Integrative Nutrition Institute of New York, which talks about nutrition coming from two places; food and life. More specifically they break it down into the following;

PRIMARY NUTRITION = Spirituality, Career, Physical Activity  & Relationships

SECONDARY NUTRITION = Food

Their philosophy is that if we fill up on primary nutrition, our cravings and need for food, or secondary nutrition, will diminish to more natural urges.

My other favorite definition of nutrition comes from Dr. Gabriel Cousens who explains in his book “Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet” that nutrition can be thought of as; all types of energy available to us.

Dr. Cousins states “…nutrition is what we absorb into our overall body, mind, and spirit from the different density levels that have precipitated from our cosmic force.” And he adds that these density levels, or energy sources are;

1. Cosmic energy, universal consciousness, God, etc.

2. Sunlight (least dense energy)

3. Oxygen

4. Sexual energy

5. Earths geomagnetic fields

6. Food (most dense energy)

 

We absorb these energies through various locations (portals) in the body, most importantly¹;

1. Crown of the head

2. Seven chakras

3. Nose (oxygen)

4. Mouth (food and oxygen)

5. Eyes and skin (sun)

6. Sexual organs

7. Feet or any other part touching the earth (earth’s geomagnetic fields)

The functioning efficiency of our energy receiving areas/portals is directly related to our mental, emotional and spiritual health. Furthermore, the more “in-tune” these components are, the more energy/nutrients we can assimilate into our system.

Because meditation creates harmony within, it has been said that “meditation is the key digestive process through which the life force is taken into the system. ¹“

DON’T WORRY, this is not a philosophical speech! Rather an educational piece on the many possibilities for improving health. If you’ve made it this far, you are definitely interested in improving your health and that is what this journey is all about; learning as many different ways to be healthy as possible and choosing which ones feel right for you.

I encourage you to keep an open mind and practice all of these components for at least one month. Our weaknesses often lie in the shadows of our doubts.

Here is a summary of the two definitions of nutrition.

Primary Energy	Secondary Energy
Sun Fun Love Family Career Friends Oxygen Sexual energy Earth’s energy Physical activity Spirituality/God/etc.	Food
70-90% Total Energy Source	10-30% Total Energy Source

The main issue people face with food and energy comes from focusing on food to fulfill a lack of energy. This lack of energy or hunger for fulfillment is however usually stemming from inadequate energy from the primary nutrition components, which leads us to fill up on secondary nutrition, food!

Three keys to reaching an ideal body weight and being healthy are:

1. Making sure our primary nutrition is taken care of

2. Education about eating right

3. Commitment and discipline towards eating to live, not living to eat

 

Goal # 1 = Increase Primary Nutrition!

Write down three things from each energy source (primary and secondary) that you want to work on. Use the examples listed here to get an idea of where you need the most work.

Have fun with this, it can have long lasting effects which encourage new and healthy habits for the future.