In the Indian tradition there is a symbol
which illustrates this concept: the Śiva-
liṅga. The Śiva-liṅga is an erect phallus,
and its symbolic significance goes far
beyond genital connotations. You find it
on the altars of temples all over India.
If you take a close look at a Śiva-liṅga,
you will notice that the phallus actually
rests on a yoni, meaning a female
generative organ. This symbolises that it
is only on the basis of its opposite polarity that the male force can
be strongly established.
11.8 You are what you eat
There is one field where the art of tuning in will give you
particularly quick and spectacular results: eating. Tune into the
foodstuff while it is on your plate and in your mouth, and your
meal will turn into an unexpectedly intense experience. Some
vegetables, such as carrot or beetroot, and some fruits, such as
lemon, are endowed with energies that will literally explode in
your mouth. Instead of the process being localised only in your
digestive tract, it is as if your whole body was participating and
receiving vibrations from the food. As a by-product, you might
find it easier to reduce your consumption of junk food.
By tuning into the foodstuff and observing your reactions to it, it
becomes possible to accurately work out a diet that is right for
you, without a dogmatic attitude. It also becomes clear that the
state of consciousness in which you ingest the food may have as
much influence on your system as the quality of the food itself.
This dimension seems to be completely missed by most modern
systems of nutrition. If patients suffering from cancer, allergies
or parasites go to see a naturopath, they are immediately given
lists of foods that they should or should not eat. But not much is
said about the way the food should be eaten.
Take a group of people eating exactly the same food. Some will end
up with intestinal parasites and some won't. To the clairvoyant
eye, it appears that it is sometimes when the mind is ‘parasitised’
that the digestive tract tends to retain parasites. In astrology this
connection is symbolised by the fact that the sign Virgo and its
planet Mercury are the rulers of both the mind and the intestines.