Falling in love with life. What doest that mean? Well, it's become Connie's mission at this point in her life. So let's explore that.
First, let's look at what prompted it. It was her 2-month long bout with shingles, which was extremely painful to where she couldn't sleep at night. When she could fall asleep, she had to be sitting up, meaning she couldn't sleep in the bed.
She basically lived on the couch. She had no energy, she lost the use of her right arm and hand due to pain, and was immersed in the experience 24/7 for two full months, really not knowing if it would ever end.
But rather than be overwhelmed by the condition, she knew there was something to learn from it. And this is what came out of it.
Join us to learn more.
Reflecting on her experience with shingles she sees that there was an invitation in it to surrender to living not just on the physical plane, but to evolve into living more of her love. Living more from her heart, from her inner wisdom, closer to what you might call the Divine.
Relating to life more from her heart is like falling in love with all of life. Seeing oranges on the counter, meeting people throughout the day, preparing food, whatever it is, relating more from the heart has her falling more in love with whatever she's relating to.
From the recognition that there was more to be learned from the shingles than relating to pain and inconvenience, she sees how everything that arises in our lives comes with an invitation to meet it openly, without labeling it as right or wrong in some way. How Rumi's poem about finding the field beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing is not about some spiritual experience, but available in the simplest of interactions each day.
And how does this relate to food and health? First, it's in that field of love, when we're relaxed and at ease that we heal best, both physically and emotionally. So we have better health.
And, when we're in that field of love, not resisting what's arising in our lives, we don't experience the emotional reactions that can have us turning to food to try to change that feeling. So we develop a healthier relationship with food.
Falling in love with life may seem like a big project, but when you think about it, it's as simple as seeing life through the eyes of love, through your heart, and not resisting what arises.
The recipe this week is a Creamy Wild Rice Stew made with mushrooms, carrots, red pepper, and leeks. It's a delicious, hearty stew, just right for this time of year as the days get shorter and colder.
To your Amazing Health,
Connie and Bill
Creamy Wild Rice Stew (Serves 4-6)
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 8-12 oz mushrooms, sliced
- ¾ cup uncooked wild rice or wild rice blend
- 2 leeks, thinly slice the white parts, discard the green
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Red bell pepper, diced
- 2 carrots, sliced in thin rounds
- 2 tablespoons no salt seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon Mrs. Dash extra Spicy
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons dried sage, crumbled
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 cup cream sauce (recipe below)
Add veggie stock, wild rice blend, leeks, onion, garlic and mushrooms in a large pot. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until rice is tender.
Add red pepper and carrots and cook another 8 minutes.
Now add the cream sauce and all the seasonings. Stir well and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve.
Cream Sauce
- ¾ cup cashews
- 1½ cups filtered water
Add cashews and water in a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 60 seconds.
NOTE: This makes more than 1 cup of sauce needed for the recipe, in order to have enough volume to blend well. You can store the extra up to 5 days in the fridge