184 the rice diet renewal
animals and disease - promoting, environment - polluting foods
that evolved due to the greed of agribusinessmen and politicians.
Passion and consciousness are two very powerful places to come
from. When we awaken to, and live with, the understanding that
every choice we make in our lives can come either from passion
and consciousness or from indifference and habit, we have entered
the arena where we can heal at the roots of the lives we have thus
far created. We all have the freedom to choose consciously or to
react or respond habitually without true awareness — in this present
moment and in the next moment.
Actualizing and maintaining the weight, health, and lives we
desire requires a dieta , a lifestyle that nurtures our physical, men-
tal, emotional, and spiritual needs. To heal at this level requires
examining each aspect of all that sustains us — of everything that
we consume, from our new insistence on eating organic, locally
grown foods, to consciously choosing literature, arts, and commu-
nities that empower our senses and inspire us to actualize our true
purpose in life.
What Are We Consuming?
In many ways, it comes down to our becoming aware of and respon-
sible for what we consume — from the food on our plates to the
fuel in our cars, to the lifestyle choices that affect our bodies, our
neighborhoods, and our planet. There are many, many levels of
awakening to our consumption, but we ’ ll primarily hone in on our
consumption of food, consumption of natural resources , and how we
spend our time , three of the most valued and infl uential commodi-
ties in our honest pursuit of integrity. Although these categories
overlap in many complex ways, focusing on them will help us get a
handle on this multifaceted, complicated, and insatiable tendency
of most human beings to overconsume. We will again look at the
extent and depth of our gluttony and the transformative alterna-
tives, through a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual lens.