The Natural Flow Of Nourishment
We can trace the patterns of natural nourishment of the mind and body to the life-affirming qualities of source consciousness, particularly the three inextricably linked primary qualities of love, understanding truth and beauty. We find that all the basic nourishment requirements of the human body and mind are those that are immediately focused on the beauty (health) of its individual physical form, on the love (of the society of other living beings) in its relational being, and its meaningful orientation to the understanding of its (transcendental) context. Not coincidentally, the natural paths of nourishment are the basis of the three significant industrial sectors of human society, art (beauty), service (love) and science and learning (understanding truth). It is in these sectors that, one way or the other, we pursue our careers which are the basis for our economic survival. Thoughts and actions naturally arise that lead us in both practical and creative ways along these worldly paths of nourishment that reflect the qualities of consciousness that we essentially are.
However, as we focus on life's experiences and forget we are consciousness, we identify ourselves as a separate physical entity, and this natural flow of activity becomes distorted. Instead of perceiving the natural flow of nourishment that takes us towards and meets our needs as part of one whole beautiful creative expression, we perceive a world where the environment is separate from us and is potentially always a threat. We lose sight of our connection to our eternal nature and sink into the fear and lack of being mortal. Our mind and body, which previously naturally guided us calmly towards balanced nourishment, fall into antagonism with each other. The mind fights to escape the senses of the body as it would an approaching tiger, creating an explosion of negative emotion that draws our attention away from healthy, nourishing activity. We cover up the resulting psychological pain by pulling in pleasurable experiences that mask it. Thus, our inner darkness exhausts the world's natural channels of nourishment.
Eventually, we may realise that we cannot find the happiness we seek in the materiality and relationships of the world. At this point, we are thrown back to the only other possibility, which is to look for it within, where we find it through the recognition of the unlimited consciousness we are. From here, we can see the courage to look inwards at our pain, embrace it compassionately, and allow the child that is our body and the adolescent that is our mind to heal. Calmed, our children can once again help guide us on the path of natural nourishment, the worldly expression of our life-affirming nature.
