The Spirituality of Flaxseed

Anyone who knows me knows of my less than ideal eating habits. Twix for breakfast, Nutella croissant for lunch and coffee Haagen Dazs with hot fudge for dinner. Apple cake was my fruit of choice and I didn’t even know how to cook a vegetable. My three year old had a better diet than I did. Exhaustion was my constant companion and I eventually resorted to iron infusions to get me through the day. 

Three years ago on the advice of a rabbi I switched to a completely plant based diet. Disciplined as I am, I pretty much starved the first few days until a nutritionist taught me how to eat; what and when, and introduced me to the joys of flaxseed and almond flour (sarcasm). 

Gone was the burnt-on-the-bottom mac and cheese and in came the edamame and Ezekiel bread. Duncan Hines has become Simple Mills and I now live in a world where pasta is made from chickpeas and cream cheese is made from almonds. The joy of eating has long since left me.

However, the daily b12 injections and midday naps are a thing of the past and I look forward to my daily cup of tea with coconut sugar (it grows on you!). I feel mentally lighter and physically cleansed. I feel released. I don’t have cravings and I don’t waste energy thinking about food, I’ve enjoyed the same breakfast every day for the past three years. 

I chuckle that it was a rabbi who caused this change, although that’s so on point with who I am and what our religion teaches. We often believe spiritual health begins and ends with our souls and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Our souls need our bodies to tether them to this word, to challenge them and enable spiritual growth. The oft said comparison is to that of rider and horse. The rider directs the horse and yet, without the horse, the rider can go nowhere. Each needs the other to reach its destination.

Our physical selves are the reason we are here, to elevate and utilize this life to reach heights even the loftiest of angels can’t. We were gifted the physical world to overcome it, to allow for choice and mission and accomplishment. To enable our spiritual rise, we look after the temporary homes of our souls, our bodies. 

The foods we eat, the right foods, become elevated and infused with G-dliness when used as a tool to serve G-d. Our subconscious is directly affected by the foods we eat, influencing both our intellectual and spiritual potentials. When we exercise to keep ourselves strong and in good health to enable us to do mitzvot, that hour of exercise becomes a way to serve G-d. When we rest to recharge to better take care of our families, that rest becomes spiritual. Our intentions have the power to lift the mundane to the spiritual.

The fusing of body and soul is strong and holy. The well being of the body allows for the well being of the soul. For one to be healthy, the other must be as well. So while I still abhor salad, and you probably won’t ever catch me eating cauliflower and I may never understand what a wheat-berry is, I’ll happily lunch on falafel wraps and lentil soup. Feeding my soul tastes better than any Godiva could!