I want to share how OVERWHELMED I am by the respond from my last post. I was VERY surprised. I was concerned that I might be judged or misunderstood but found people to be the exact opposite. I have learned so much just through this experience. I felt loved in a place where I was feeling down about myself and some of my current choices. It felt GREAT to know that even in my humanness and weaknesses that people would still LOVE and ACCEPT me. I have had a hard time loving and accepting this part of myself. It is SO WONDERFUL to think that if others can love and accept me in these choices, then I definitely can love and accept myself. I think want to thank EVERYONE who responded and send words of support and compassion. I can’t truly express in words how much it meant to me. So….thank you my fellow brothers and sisters!!
Chris and I needed to take a last minute trip back east to purchase more cars for our little business. I have had time this morning to ponder and pray upon a few thoughts I had during and after reading my scriptures. I was reading in The Book of Mormon in Alma 29 where Alma is rejoicing in the Lord and the power of repentance and redemption. There was a particular scripture which spoke to my Soul and I wanted to post it here for you. It can be found in Alma 29:4-5.
“I ought not harrow up in my desires, the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desires, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that He allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
Yea, and I know that good and evil come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.”
I have read this scripture I don’t know how many times but this time it struck me. I firmly believe that we create our current situation throughout all of life. Whatever we see in our present existence is what we have choose for ourselves, whether to learn from or find joy and happiness in. I say, “to learn from” because I have found that once I choose to become a true disciple of Christ, by recognizing the need for utilizing the repentance process on a daily basis, I no longer feel the desire to be stuck in my unhappy state. If I choose to look at my unhappy state and long for the desire of my Creators LOVE in my life, then I choose to look at that situation as learning ground of how I have moved away from what the Lord would have me be.
I was reading on in chapter 30 about Korihor and who he was. As it states, he was the anti-Christ and was preaching to the people that there was no Christ. I found it interesting at the end of the chapter, that Kohihor is given the sign he requested by being struck dumb and then others are motivated to make any changes that need be to once again turn their hearts to Christ. As I was praying on this matter, I was questioning the Lord about why, it seems, fear must be used to aid in bringing about a change of heart for his sons and daughters.
I was outside on the lawn of our hotel smoking our pipe. I was looking around at the beautiful trees and listening to the sounds of life all around me. It wasn’t long ago that I realized that of all the living species on earth, human beings are the only ones who do not inherently follow all of God’s laws. All other life obeys His will for them and follows the measure of their creation at his command. It isn’t until humans become involved in the change or even derangement of God’s makings that we find His laws might then be thwarted by that particular species.
As I pondered this idea of fear, some of my first thoughts were that of the AMA or even our government. Over the past several years, I have come to understand that fear is a VERY good tactic to control the masses. A great example of this would be Adolf Hitler and the control he took over people and countries because he instilled fear into their hearts.
I must just say that as I have learned how to better ponder and pray upon questions and ideas that I might have, I have found the EXTREME and UTTER little I actually know. But…I believe that there are MANY things in our current lives that can be used for good or bad. An example of that would be television. There are MANY educational and uplifting shows that can be watched on TV but as we know, we can also become addicted to it and waste away our lives spending and over abundance of time in front of it when we could be doing something more productive. The computer is the same way.
I believe God uses fear to aid in our motivation of turning our hearts to him because we choose to be taught in this manner. It states in a later chapter in Alma 32:16-17.
“Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.
Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety: then we shall believe.”
I can tell you that up until the present moment 99% of the time, I have been “compelled” to be humble. Just like the verse in chapter 29 tells us, we choose what we want and how we want to learn in this life. If we choose to learn by being “compelled” or by “being afraid”, then God will use this tactic because he LONGS to have our hearts turn to Him. Throughout all of the Book of Mormon, God is “compelling” the people because of their hard heartedness and wickedness and inability to truly repent. This is why, in my opinion, God uses SO much fear throughout the scriptures. We are choosing to learn this way instead of using faith and repentance to bring about the connection with God, which I believe is inherently inside all of us.
Alma goes on in the next several verses discussing what faith is and how it is NOT the perfect knowledge of something and how we apply it in our lives. He is teaching what we need to look for and gives us exactly what we will see in order to find the good in something. These next few verses are some of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon. They have helped me SO MANY times when I find something which I think is good but need help from the Lord to discern if it truly is or not.
Alma is discussing how faith is like a seed that when planted and is a good seed will grow and flourish but we must FIRST experiment upon the teachings of what the good is, in order to find the truth of it or not. He states in starting in Alma 32:27-28
“But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to Swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves-It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to Enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to Enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be Delicious to me.”
Now the COOLEST part about this scripture is that what the Spirit of the Lord does in regards to the feelings and sensations we receive, actually spells the word SEED!! My sister learned his technique on her mission and passed it along to me. Thanks Kimmy!! This is how I remember when I am wanting to know the truth and goodness of something new I might be searching to understand.
S=Swells within our breast
E=Enlargeth our souls
E=Enlightens our minds
D=it becomes Delicious to us!!
The part I find quite interesting about that scripture is that it almost sounds like we might fight something that might be good by “casting it out.” I was wondering if we might do that because we feel afraid. Here again we have fear playing a part in our learning and progression. The way I see it, our current knowledge and understanding or even one step further, our misguided judgments might make it harder, if not almost impossible, to see the good and truth in something. We then would hinder ourselves on our path to light and wisdom which would bring us closer to God.
Again, this takes me back to our own creative power in our lives. I believe that there are no mistakes, only paths to or from our Creator and his infinite LOVE!! We can choose to disregard something that might be good and of God because of our own present understanding. I have found that sometimes when I find something to be good but have turned away from it, it is because good brings out the light of God within us all. Sometimes we hold ourselves back from His light for fear of his acceptance and LOVE!! I do believe, and have recently gained faith in, the fact that God LOVES us all no matter what choices we may be making. His only desire for us to relearn how to FULLY connect with Him and be always FULLY conscious and present with all our choices so they will only reflect his LOVE in all things.
As I am learning how to really repent and seek forgiveness in my life, I have found that in order to truly let God’s love and acceptance in, I must first let go of the negative emotions, beliefs, and energy that have kept me from His love. I have found this can be painful at times. This is why, I believe, there might be times when I can recognize on some level, that something might be good but turn my heart and understanding from it. Because if I recognize and
see the goodness in it, then I might just have to “let go” of a something negative which I had believed was really serving me. But….as I learn to let go of it and repent for it and then place it at my Savior’s feet, my heart and my mind become more open and responsive to the good and truth I maybe didn’t see before.
I hope what I have written here makes sense. I am sure not all will agree but I feel the information I have received here, for me, is of God and I felt inspired to share it with you all.
So….onto the diet situation. I have been pondering and praying A LOT about my current diet choices. I am still deciding exactly where I am at and what is best for me, at the present moment. I am actually learning that I was still eating a raw foods diet, MOSTLY out of fear. I do believe the raw food in my life is truly a gift from God. I am finding that even though it is a gift, when life becomes hard, like is has been lately, and I may fall off the bandwagon, all my faith that God will still keep me healthy and strong goes DOWN the drain. Why wouldn’t he? Am I not striving to be a true disciple of Christ and fully utilize the atonement on a daily basis?
I believe that God knows where I am at and understands the need to completely decipher my present choices and beliefs. I also believe that God LOVES me enough to still take care of me even when it seems I am making choices that might go against my education on a certain subject, like raw foods. I have known for years that there are SO many other factors that play into our health other than just physical but…it seems this insight is just barely creeping into understanding.
So….since I am on this trip, I have decided to put off the green smoothie cleanse. I am planning on doing one within the next week or so. For those who were interested in doing it with me, keep me posted of when might work for you!!
You know, I will be real honest, I am really having a hard time finding the desire to go back to 100%. I still drink green smoothies everyday and actually don’t eat anything cooked (if I do eat anything cooked that day) until dinner time. Like the other day, I ate some of my powdered green drink with apple juice for breakfast, then for lunch I had about a quart and a half of green smoothies, and then dinner was a sprouted wheat tortilla with olive oil, chopped spinach, soaked dulse, sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil. I must admit, it was DELICIOUS!!
I figure when the time is right for me, I will feel it and just jump back on the bandwagon of 100% raw again. But…I am learning how much I dislike the labels we give each other. It prevents us from really feeling the love and strength of others because of our judgments. Once the labels are placed, our mind instantly places that person a little box that holds back or even makes stronger any deep connection we might make with that person. Depending on if our judgment of that label is “good or bad”. I have found that the closer I strive to understand the life of my Creator, the more my heart softens and I understand others choices. I find there is no box I put them in, just openness in trying to understand who they really are and love them in that place. I hope that I can get better and better at this. I find life is MUCH more peaceful when God’s grace works with me in this manner.
I hope this doesn’t disappoint anyone that I have still eaten some cooked food. Some of the responses I had about the last post were similar to my same feelings about not being a strict with their raw diets right now. Others just felt that they were also going through so much emotionally, that staying on an all raw diet was just too tough for them at the moment. I have one friend who can feel how raw food really opens her up and she finds it is too much emotionally. She feels much better when she incorporates some cooked to keep her a bit more balanced at this time in her life. This is why I feel it is VITAL that when we decide to incorporate more raw foods, especially if you are considering an all raw diet, that emotional processing and energy work play a large part, along with the physical changes. I hope everyone understands that I ABSOLUTELY believe an all raw diet IS the healthiest way to eat. I am sure that in the near future I will feel more of a need to move back into that space of eating all raw. I am just having FUN with life right now and doing what I can to let go of control and fear and finding the faith I need to own who I really am and what I stand for. My hope is that I can stand for PEACE and LOVE and GENTLENESS and UNDERSTANDING with ourselves and others. I have found that as I have made these dietary choices, it has made it easier for me to truly decide why and how I want to apply raw foods in my life. I do feel very blessed to be going through this and am striving to gather in all the wisdom from my friends, like all of you, so I can know that I have made a conscious and LOVING choice with whatever I put into my mouth.
It
is such a blessing that I am married to a VERY balanced man. He has helped me SO MUCH to put these things into perspective. When I get down on myself for what I had eaten or am feeling like a failure, he helps me see the reality of the situation and understand that life IS NOT about food. Life is about finding God, joy, peace and LOVE!!! Do I believe that eating organic food directly from Mother Earth, with it’s high vibration, can assist us in receiving all of those things, of course!!! But…Chris helps me understand that what I am eating is still FREAKISHLY healthy!! That I can be gentle with myself and let myself feel loved, at times, when I need to feel it through eating foods that I might not normally eat. I find it interesting though that whenever I eat anything cooked, my heart is just SO MUCH MORE grateful for it then it would have EVER been in the past. I shouldn’t say it is just with cooked foods but all foods.
I was talking with a friend on the phone the other day who has been going through similar issues. She has found she is finding so MUCH joy in all the organic, local produce. She was telling me how she was getting all kinds of SCRUMPTIOUS foods from her garden and from local farmers. She couldn’t believe that by being conscious of this choice to be more conscious of where her food was coming from, really filled her heart with LOVE and SERENITY for Mother Earth and God. She is seeing all the gifts in these foods that they are giving her. I was so happy for her. She is moving through some deep emotional issues also and feels just seeing the beauty in all around her, helped her find the peace she is looking for. I must say, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with her. I am grateful for our conversation. It uplifted my spirits and I also thanked God for these gifts.
I think I have officially just babbled this whole post. It may not be as exciting as the last but I hope everyone will still comment. I just LOVED that so many stepped forward and really shared their deep feelings about themselves. WE were all vulnerable and in that space we all found that we truly are all the same. We are all ONE!! We are connected through the power of LOVE!!!
Abundant peace to all,
Rachel
Your last blog got me thinking about this quote
“Perfectionism is one of the hardest forms of abuse”
We are all searching for compliance to things we know are good for us – like 100% raw. But the adversarial way is take a good thing and tweak it to the point of using it against ourselves
Not all of our eating is just emotional – sometimes, it is a call for a nutritional shift . .the Word of Wisdom does say that wheat is for man – and “meat” in times of winter and famine (“meat” in the Bible dictionary refers to a meal consisting of grains)
Your body might be asking you to get ready for winter – the seasons are changing – and your body might be asking for some fats or Vitamin b-12 found in grains
Something like that . . .
you will know as you ponder it, study it out in your mind and ask what is right . . . you know the process – anything that leads you to good is good!
I find the just “Go with the cravings” has allowed my heart to stay open to what God has in store for me – not what I want for myself
because I need to be less tweaked and rigid with what I find I “think” I need -and then ask what I need to learn from this – or “What is the raw substitue for what I just craved? or just ate?”
I’m with you in theory – the closer to a complete raw diet, the better, but the learning curves of life are not meant to be so rigid –
That compelling ourselves or others is the determining qualifier in the scriptures as to what makes a meat-eater or non-meat eater “of me” or “not of me” (see D and C 49 and D and C 89 – both the meat eater and no-meat eater can be seen as a sinner, but it is the heart, the forced compelling of others and self – in a ritualistic way that to me is the sin
Both are presented and I think it is the compelling that is the sin – not the eating of meat or not)
That is why the “fear” of the scriptures gets so many people to swing black or white on an issue and them miss the point all together
– that fear of God is respect for Him and His the principles that have natural consequences and we want to know the rules of the game – that certain choices will lead to certain things and turning this way will present a dead end, or that way will allow more freedom . .. etc
The ritual of saying that I will be and am “100%” sets us up not to learn from our cravings.
I’m sorry if I have contributed to this place in women who ask me what percent of raw foods I eat and I tell them – setting themselves up to compare or put themselves down or try to motivate to be like me if it’s not their time or priority.
You can eat 90-99% and still be a raw fooder -It has to do with your heart –
I think a raw fooder is someone who is earnestly striving to eat as much raw foods as possible with an occasional learning curve of cravings!
When I say, after a diversion “What did I learn from this? and the idea pops in my head “Seasonal” I know it is truth if it is simple, merciful and learning curve worthy. It doesn’t always mean we are fallen or disappointing. We are here to learn and again, sometimes there is no other way! The eating of the forbidden fruit was crucial for their progress! Eve submitted herself to the will that there was no other way – a tough call, but a non-forced call.
Up until this time, the adversary had motivated with set rigidity in prinicple . . .FORCE ALL TO DO WHAT IS REQUIRED . . . not find out for yourself why and what it is that is required
I don’t think we need to disobey to learn, but the Word of Wisdom is quite lenient on it’s spectrum of learning curve – for the weak and weakest of saints – of which we all are!
Ramble ramble – love Ruth
Wow Rachel Wow! Thank you so much for your thoughts! They ring so true to me! You know I really don’t think God wants us to be afraid he wants us to his feel love and peace but if we must be compelled, I do think that fear is a very effective tool for him!
I love that you seem so humble and grateful and just want to do what he would have you do!
Thanks again for being so inspiring and following your heart and for making me think!
Lots and lots of Love, Tammie
Rachel,
loved the last two posts. I have found many of the same principles in my life recently, particularly how helpful alma 32 is in applying truth to our lives. I love that you are following the spirit and your body concerning your food choices. That is the difference between Worshipping the true and Living God and making food your God. As Chris says, this life is about coming unto Christ, if food helps great, but it is not the only path to spiritual enlightenment. As proof, I don’t think any of the prophets or Apostles are raw foodists 😉
Thank you for sharing your journey with the world. I think it is wonderful that we have the opportunity to learn from each other on this path of life. You have been a tremendous influence for good in my life, and I thank you for all that you have taught me about food and spirituality. I couldn’t have had the beautiful birth experience that I did with out you.
Kara
Thank you everyone for all your wonderful words of wisdom. I sure appreciate the kindness and love. I understand what each of you is saying and am grateful to take it all to heart. I have been on the path of learning how to really listen to my body for the past 7 years and I wouldn’t take a second back in regards to what I have learned. Some has been a VERY physical trial and error experience but it has all been for my personal understanding and growth.
You are right Kara, that food is not the only path to gaining more spirituality but I have found that it can help us find a closer connection with God merely because we feel better and have the needed energy to fully serve Him. In this place, I can feel His love and my connection becomes stronger.
A friend of mine once used the analogy of a radio which has static and you cannot fully hear what song is playing. Does this mean the song isn’t playing just because we can’t hear it clearly? No, it just means that our reception is bad. Once you figure out why the song isn’t coming through clearly and fix the problem, you can then more clearly hear it.
I feel our diet is just one way we can remove the “static” of what we can’t hear and by taking care of our internal “temple” and “cleaning house”, we can then FULLY hear the “song” that is coming through from our God.
You are correct that there are no prophets or apostles in the Mormon church who eat an all raw diet but there are MANY spiritually enlightened people throughout history whom have advocated the healing and healthy benefits of a raw diet.One being Gandhi. He spoke of his quite often in many of his writings. Also, Reed Benson, Ezra Taft Benson’s son is in my ward and I remember asking him once a few years back about his father’s diet. He stated that his father truly believed that eating whole foods that were unadulterated and as raw as possible were the healthiest way to eat them. I know of several quotes by him in regards to this particular subject. So…there have been a few prophets that have made a few statements that specifically speak of the value of healthy foods in our diet.
For me, I am so grateful for the spiritual knowledge I can glean from the prophets and apostles within the Mormon church. They do speak truth but…they are speaking to the masses and must teach what we are ready to hear and apply in our lives. If eating a raw diet was announced over the pulpit, I think it might be a bit much for most members of the church. Lessening our meat intake as members seems to be hard enough.
Please understand me that I am no in way stating that the prophet would ever advocate that an all raw diet should be eaten, I am only putting things into perspective. When we decide to take the choices of someone we admire or even “put on a pedestal”, and apply them so thickly in our own lives, we then might be at fault of truly using our Savior and our God for finding answers. Even our prophet asks us to pray over everything he and other leaders in our church may preach.
I hope you can understand my words here. I just felt I might explain some thoughts in regards to the prophets and apostle comment because I can’t even tell you how many times I have heard it. This is one of the MANY reasons people give for not eating a raw diet. I have found it to be merely an excuse to take responsibility for our own bodies and health.
Kara, thank you for your loving words about your birth. As I have said in the past, I was honored to be able to participate and ANYTHING that you felt made your birth what you wanted was because of the love of others, prayers from God, and your OWN inner knowing that you are a daughter of God and with His grace ANYTHING is possible. I love that you are my friend and feel that I am a better person for knowing and loving you!!
Much love to all of my dear friends,
Rachel
Just want you to know Rachel, that I really appreaciate your scriptural insights. You have incredible faith. And I Just got done e-mailing Jinjee Talifero about the Law of Attraction perfectly fitting in with LDS belief systems! (Did you read her article in Pear Magazine? “New Age Christian”)