Soul food

Food is sustenance and we need it to function on earth. Some people believe we don’t necessarily need food, and that we should be able to survive by accessing energy instead. Although I am sure this could be true, especially in the future when we will be more advanced, I must admit I am still quite enjoying the food experience. For me and many others, eating is more than surviving, as food fills many other needs.

Soul eating is different from the human physical eating because it feeds our soul. Soul foods always have some emotional attachments. For example, the stew our mum used to make or the cakes we loved as a child.

Some soul food can come from past lives. You may have a love of Thai or Mexican cuisine, and this love may come from a previous life in those countries. People are drawn to foods they have enjoyed in other lives. In general, foods they dislike can originate from these past connections. Maybe you spent a lifetime only eating potatoes and very little else, so this experience could have put you off potatoes forever.

Soul food feels familiar and comforting. People may think soul food means sweets and take away, but I think it is not the same for each person. The reason soul food is relevant is the effect it has on our digestion. Soul food goes down easily. Its energy feeds our energy body, and, even if those chips or chocolate are nutritionally poor, they will support the soul. Soul foods soothe us like other foods don’t. That is why people tuck into ice-cream and salty nuts when they are searching for comfort. Carrots and eggs may just not do it. I don’t advocate eating lots of junk food. Nevertheless, sometimes no other food will do. Stop punishing yourself and see that by eating these foods you are truly soothing your soul.

Soul food can be signs for us. Food can alert us to what is happening on a deeper level. When you see yourself reaching for some foods be observant. If you are eating loads of “kiddie” food, maybe your little child needs more healing. If you are trawling through stormy waters when dealing with your childhood, let yourself eat like a child. Buy yourself an ice-cream in a cone and know you are feeding the child within.

Soul food has many layers. Some are good, while others are signs for us if we choose to look. I noticed I ate soul foods when I was trying to suppress anger. It was a total revelation to me. As a child I was not allowed to express anger, and I had used food to hold my feelings down. In the past, it was a necessary crutch, but now I can be angry and express it.

Once we embark on the soul food trail much learning can occur. Some foods are purely comforting, while with other foods, its role is to suppress deeper emotions. Our soul talks to us each day. Learning to hear our inner voice will bring many understandings, and if we look behind our choices, maybe we may uncover the truth. Anger, fear and loss consistently underpin soul eating. I found that once I recognized my patterns my soul could begin to heal.