Saumya Interview 2 2

I would like to share an interview with my friend Saumya who has read my book, Divine Nourishment/A Woman’s Sacred Journey with Food. This is part 1. I have to share this in little bite size pieces so it’s not too big of a file for this blog. If the first part intrigues you come back for the second helping. It could be delicious.

Fall is a time of letting go and cleansing. The season relates to the colon and lungs in Chinese Medicine. Their imbalances get magnified in the fall. Not only is it a good time to cleanse the colon, but allowing the grief that is stored in our lungs and respiratory system is cleansed through the grieving process. We have a tendency to shy away from grief in our culture. It is an uncomfortable emotion for many. Grieving loss is the same as valuing and honoring. Being a plant spirit person who seeks the guidance and wisdom of the plant kingdom I reflect on something I was told in one of my plant explorations. “If you can’t grieve, you can’t love. To the depth you can grieve is the depth you can love.” When you value and honor someone or something it is part of the honoring to grieve its loss. Holding onto the grief and stuffing it away in the shadows keeps us at arms length from deep love.

This season has so much to offer to support us to embrace all of ourselves and the world around us. On the pure physical level it is an ideal time to cleanse the colon and remove the old sludge from our bodies. On the emotional level it is a wonderful time to go inward and feel our grief. Let it move us into a deep cleansing of our soul. Ritualize it and make it sacred. Let it rip. Go for it. Feel the sweetness that pure grief has. Feel how honoring it is of what we are grieving. It will prepare you for planting the seeds and growth of our ever changing life adventure.

I have a good colon cleanse and herb tea tonic in my book that supports you to align with this season and embrace the support that is available this time of year for our human journey.

My attention naturally begins to turn inward as the weather cools and fall begins to take hold. What have I harvested from the last year’s cycle of efforts? How am I honoring myself and my loved ones. What do I need to let go of in order to nourish the shift from self rejection to self honoring? Am I living a life that honors who am? Am I taking steps every day to bring the Divine Feminine within myself out of the shadows? These questions always seem to arise when I enter this season.

I woke up today with the recognition that yesterday was one of those perfect days that honors who I am and the life I strive to live as a manifestation and expression of Mary.

I actually woke up feeling a little off. It was a beautiful day, so I put on my hiking boots, strapped on my fanny pack with my harvesting tools and headed out the door for a walk. A walk in the woods on the mountain where I live is a sure way to brig me back to myself. I meandered along the creek and found a huge wild blueberry bush bursting with ripe blueberries. I gathered the berries as I created all kinds of dishes in my head that blueberries could star in. I continued down the road and because we have had a wet summer the bounty of mushrooms growing on the mountain is quite abundant. I gathered what I knew for sure was edible, plus what I thought was a chantrelle, but not 100% sure. If chantrelles are growing in my neighborhood I’m more in heaven than I thought. I stopped by the neighbor’s house and we got out our books to key it out.Yes, a chantrelle!

I continued up the road toward my home and found an elderberry bush full of ripe berries. I have been waiting to make my winter flu remedy from the berries, so this was the day. I stopped and gathered the berries, as many as I could possibly get from one bush.

When I got home I made my flu remedy with the berries. I went out to the garden and picked ripe tomatoes and herbs and made a delicious tomato sauce. I prepared a wild mushroom risotto with the mushrooms gathered on my walk, topped with my garden tomato sauce and served it with steamed collard greens which I bought from a local farmer. I shared my very local meal with a friend and we oohed and aahed over how delicious and nourishing it was. Grounding myself in the wild gatherer in me, eating the foods that live with me on the mountain, whether in my garden or out in the wild and sharing it, making my medicine is honoring who I am when I am left to my own soul’s needs. I realized that when I am off and feeling overwhelmed the best remedy is to just stop and take time to be me. It will bring me back. What a concept. I have discovered yet another good reason to honor myself and let go of what doesn’t serve that. Can I trust that life will support me when I devote myself to being me as I bring the Divine Feminine within myself out of the shadows of my own psyche and let her live in a place of honor in my life? Well, this is my experiment. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. I welcome dialog with anyone who is doing the same experiment.

We are easing our way toward fall here in the mountains near Asheville. I can feel the shift in the air, the energy in my garden, and the essence of my inner journey begin to take on the flavor of the season. I continue to marvel at how my spiritual focus, emotions, and physical desires shift as the season does. Hopefully late summer will raise her head again before fully dropping into the fall season. I still have a little more work to do with her before feeling complete for the year.

Some of fall qualities is harvesting our fruit from the efforts put forth in the previous cycle. As we revel in that harvest we are encouraged to let go of beliefs, patterns, etc that keep us from growing into more of our true self. Right along side having to face the chains I have put on myself in response to a culture that is — what can I say, “doing its best,” I am reminded of how important it is to honor and value myself so that I can shift the energy and focus from what I consider my shortcomings to what is so wondrous and courageous. Oh my, we are not suppose to be so bold as to recognize those parts of ourself. We have been told it is vain, self centered and egotistical. It is not humble enough to recognize our beauty, courage, strength, and awesomeness.

What I have had to admit to myself recently through this journey of offering my book is that if we can’t do that for ourselves we can’t do that for others. The result of that is an unconscious holding back of ourselves and our loved ones from blossoming into their fullness with gifts to share.

Fall provides the ideal energetic container to get in touch with what holds us back, and what we need to honor in ourselves, others, and the world around us. The mingling with the energy of late summer supports us to hold ourselves close to our heart with compassion as we explore this territory. It is very helpful to ground ourself in the late summer energy of the Divine Mother so we feel held as we begin our journey inward.

As we travel through fall I will share some seasonal recipes that support this part of our yearly journey. In my book I list many herbs, spice blends, fall cleanse and deeper understanding of how to embrace these fall qualities within ourselves.