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Sky Reaching for the Wild Reaching for the Sky Wild Time by Roger Green | any people think that some foods are ‘good’ and others are complementary, interdependent and always changing. There are no ‘bad’, but this is not the understanding of macrobiotics. One fixed values, nothing is absolutely yin or yang. of the more common mistakes some people make is to Yang is heaven's energy, the power of the cosmos that spirals in substitute one type of dogma (religious, political, educational, scien- towards Earth; yin is Earth's energy as it spins and sends its force out tific, etc) for another, using macrobiotics as a belief system. This to the universe. Yang is warmth, strength, discipline, vitality. Exces- creates a fearful and rigid experience where ‘good-bad’, ‘right- sive yang is caused by red meat, eggs, or too much salt and causes wrong’ connotations are confused with ‘yin-yang*. Fearing food in Tigidity, eccentric behaviour and anger. any form is definitely a lowering of our human status. Yin foods are cooling, cleansing and relaxing. Excessive yin can We can use anything to see our relationship to the changing be caused by honey, sugar, chemical additives or alcohol, leading'to universe. All these things originally came from nature, from ele- weakening, dispersion or loss of will. If you eat the extremes of one ments, from the invisible, on back to infinity/God. In other words, category you probably enjoy the extremes of the other. If you eat meat everything comes from infinity, materialises here and then retums. (yang) you most likely enjoy sugar (yin). Macrobiotic cooking When we eat we should never fix or create a concept of ‘good-bad’; emphasises the middle ground of grains, beans, veges, fruits, seafood otherwise we create mental cages to lock ourselves in. and poultry, with which the human body and spirit find it easier to maintain balance. Cooking nourishes humanity and is truly a supreme Seasonal Changes = Planning a Menu Macrobiotics teaches about making balance from the combinations of what we eat and our everyday activities. We live in a four season Allthe vitamins, minerals and proteins we need are readily available climate and many people make conscious dietary changes to corre- in adiet of unrefined whole foods, especially when prepared accord- spond with this. When winter changes to spring our bodies are ready ing to yin-yang principles. A meal starts with your selection of beans, to loosen up and expand a bit and can ingest more food that gives us greens, and vegetables from your supplier - this is a good place to upward energy - leafy green vegetables, Chinese cabbage, sprouts, practice your intuition. Vegetables that are small and compact (yang) and lighter quality grains like corn, barley and couscous. With have more medicinal effects and taste sweeter. Organically grown summer we enjoy salads, fruits, and perhaps longer rather than shorter food is ideal. Grains and beans that have been grown in the southern grains. hemisphere are the wisest choice. In autumn and winter our lives start to show a more inward When planning a menu first visualise it; who it is for (e.g. what tendency - we need more strong roots and vegetables that draw does a sick person need?) and what colours andcombinations you will warmth into the body - carrots, pumpkin, parsnips, buckwheat etc. If use. Go by your appetite but don’t just limit yourself to a sensory level we eat too many tropical fruits at this time we really feel the cold. - eat for the development of your true self. Wash the vegetables well — and determine the cutting style. Layer veges in groups for conven- Wh at' S = Give your food love - this is the greatest component of any meal. . People’s needs differ according to their physical constitution, age Y 1 n & and daily activities, geographical location and seasonal changes. In the 20th century it’s easy to use many different kinds of vegetable due 9 to the development of modem transportation. 200 years ago there Yang e wasn’t so much mental illness or cancer because people were living what the Japanese call Shin-do-fuji - "body and soul are one’. Our Ir our condition is too yang grandparents were eating seasonal and organic vegetables. we may feel tense, con- We're free to eat whatever we wish; nothing is forbidden except gested or uptight. If too ignorance and carelessness. Macrobiotic philosophy teaches that yin, we may feel too loose, although humanity continually proves itself capable (at a price) of drained of energy, eating whatever it wishes, our health and vitality improve the more ‘spaced-out’. If well-bal- completely and directly we draw on sustenance from the vegetable anced we can take in what kingdom. But the macrobiotic diet is not a strict vegetarian regimen. neaviiiny (Ur tic OnKyY Wild Time by Roger Green M any people think that some foods are ‘good’ and others are complementary, interdependent and always changing. There are no ‘bad’, but this is not the understanding of macrobiotics. One fixed values, nothing is absolutely yin or yang. of the more common mistakes some people make is to Yang is heaven's energy, the power of the cosmos that spirals in substitute one type of dogma (religious, political, educational, scien- towards Earth; yin is Earth's energy as it spins and sends its force out tific, etc) for another, using macrobiotics as a belief system. This to the universe. Yang is warmth, strength, discipline, vitality. Exces- creates a fearful and rigid experience where ‘good-bad’, ‘right- sive yang is caused by red meat, eggs, or too much salt and causes wrong’ connotations are confused with ‘yin-yang*. Fearing food in Tigidity, eccentric behaviour and anger. any form is definitely a lowering of our human status. Yin foods are cooling, cleansing and relaxing. Excessive yin can We can use anything to see our relationship to the changing be caused by honey, sugar, chemical additives or alcohol, leading'to universe. All these things originally came from nature, from ele- weakening, dispersion or loss of will. If you eat the extremes of one ments, from the invisible, on back to infinity/God. In other words, category you probably enjoy the extremes of the other. If youeat meat everything comes from infinity, materialises here and then retums. (yang) you most likely enjoy sugar (yin). Macrobiotic cooking When we eat we should never fix or create a concept of ‘good-bad’; emphasises the middle ground of grains, beans, veges, fruits, seafood otherwise we create mental cages to lock ourselves in. and poultry, with which the human body and spirit find it easier to maintain balance. Cooking nourishes humanity and is truly a supreme Seasonal Changes = Planning a Menu Macrobiotics teaches about making balance from the combinations of what we eat and our everyday activities. We live in a four season Altthe vitamins, minerals and proteins we need are readily available climate and many people make conscious dietary changes to corre- in adiet of unrefined whole foods, especially when prepared accord- spond with this. When winter changes to spring our bodies are ready ing to yin-yang principles. A meal starts with your selection of beans, to loosen up and expand a bit and can ingest more food that gives us greens, and vegetables from your supplier - this is a good place to upward energy - leafy green vegetables, Chinese cabbage, sprouts, practice your intuition. Vegetables that are small and compact (yang) and lighter quality grains like corn, barley and couscous. With have more medicinal effects and taste sweeter. Organically grown summer we enjoy salads, fruits, and perhaps longer rather than shorter food is ideal. Grains and beans that have been grown in the southern grains. hemisphere are the wisest choice. In autumn and winter our lives start to show a more inward When planning a menu first visualise it; who it is for (e.g. what tendency - we need more strong roots and vegetables that draw does a sick person need?) and what colours andcombinations you will warmth into the body - carrots, pumpkin, parsnips, buckwheat etc. If use. Go by your appetite but don’t just limit yourself to a sensory level we eat too many tropical fruits at this time we really feel the cold. - eat for the development of your true self. Wash the vegetables well — and determine the cutting style. Layer veges in groups for conven- Wh at' S = Give your food love - this is the greatest component of any meal. . People’s needs differ according to their physical constitution, age Yin & and daily activities, geographical location and seasonal changes. In the 20th century it’s easy to use many different kinds of vegetable due 9 to the development of modem transportation. 200 years ago there Yang e wasn’t so much mental illness or cancer because people were living what the Japanese call Shin-do-fuji - "body and soul are one’. Our Tfourcondition is too yang grandparents were eating seasonal and organic vegetables. we may feel tense, con- We're free to eat whatever we wish; nothing is forbidden except gested or uptight. If too ignorance and carelessness. Macrobiotic philosophy teaches that yin, we may feel too loose, although humanity continually proves itself capable (at a price) of drained of energy, eating whatever it wishes, our health and vitality improve the more ‘spaced-out’. If well-bal- completely and directly we draw on sustenance from the vegetable anced we can take in what kingdom. But the macrobiotic diet is not a strict vegetarian regimen. we need, then focus and The shape and relative number of our teeth, the body's gateway, direct our energy outward tells us much about the order in human nutrition - 20 grain-grinding again. This flows well with teeth, eight cutting and four fish and meat cutting teeth - a total of 32 the give and take of life. teeth. The general rule for human diet is this: 5 parts grains, 2 parts Yang is the tendency to veges, 1 part animal. gather - yin the tendency to Guided by the structure of the digestive system the macrobiotic disperse. Opposites are not diet centres around grains and vegetables. The animal foods we need separate or exclusive, but are the lower levels of life and ones that have been least domesticated imes Seven - Summer 1989 ' Time complementary, fixed values, not Yang is heav towards Earth; yi to the universe. } sive yang is caus Tigidity, eccentni: Yin foods ar be caused by hor weakening, disp: category you pro! (yang) you mos emphasises the n and poultry, wid maintain balance Ph All the vitamins in a diet of unrefi ing to yin-yang p greens, and veg‘ practice your int! have more medi food is ideal. Gri hemisphere are t When planni does a sick perso: use. Go by your a ~ eat for the deve and determine tl ience. Give you meal. People’s nee and daily activit) the 20th century | to the developm wasn’t so much: what the Japane: grandparents we, We're free t ignorance and ¢ although human eating whatever completely and « kingdom. But th: The shape ar tells us much alk teeth, eight cutti teeth. The gener: veges, 1 part ani Guided by t diet centres arow are the lower lev: 1 any people think that some foods are ‘good’ and others are L//9) ‘bad’, but this is not the understanding of macrobiotics. One of the more common mistakes some people make is to substitute one type of dogma (religious, political, educational, scien- tific, etc) for another, using macrobiotics as a belief system. This creates a fearful and rigid experience where ‘good-bad’, ‘right- wrong’ connotations are confused with ‘yin-yang*. Fearing food in any form is definitely a lowering of our human status. We can use anything to see our relationship to the changing universe. All these things originally came from nature, from ele- ments, from the invisible, on back to infinity/God. In other words, everything comes from infinity, materialises here and then retums. When we eat we should never fix or create a concept of ‘good-bad’; otherwise we create mental cages to lock ourselves in. complementary, interdependent and always changing. There are no fixed values, nothing is absolutely yin or yang. Yang is heaven's energy, the power of the cosmos that spirals in towards Earth; yin is Earth's energy as it spins and sends its force out to the universe. Yang is warmth, strength, discipline, vitality. Exces- sive yang is caused by red meat, eggs, or too much salt and causes Tigidity, eccentric behaviour and anger. Yin foods are cooling, cleansing and relaxing. Excessive yin can be caused by honey, sugar, chemical additives or alcohol, leading'to weakening, dispersion or loss of will. If you eat the extremes of one category you probably enjoy the extremes of the other. If you eat meat (yang) you most likely enjoy sugar (yin). Macrobiotic cooking emphasises the middle ground of grains, beans, veges, fruits, seafood and poultry, with which the human body and spirit find it easier to maintain balance. Cooking nourishes humanity and is truly a supreme Seasonal Changes Planning a Menu Macrobiotics teaches about making balance from the combinations of what we eat and our everyday activities. We live in a four season climate and many people make conscious dietary changes to corre- spond with this. When winter changes to spring our bodies are ready to loosen up and expand a bit and can ingest more food that gives us upward energy - leafy green vegetables, Chinese cabbage, sprouts, and lighter quality grains like corn, barley and couscous. With summer we enjoy salads, fruits, and perhaps longer rather than shorter grains. In autumn and winter our lives start to show a more inward tendency - we need more strong roots and vegetables that draw warmth into the body - carrots, pumpkin, parsnips, buckwheat etc. If we eat too many tropical fruits at this time we really feel the cold. A\tl the vitamins, minerals and proteins we need are readily available in a diet of unrefined whole foods, especially when prepared accord- ing to yin-yang principles. A meal starts with your selection of beans, greens, and vegetables from your supplier - this is a good place to practice your intuition. Vegetables that are small and compact (yang) have more medicinal effects and taste sweeter. Organically grown food is ideal. Grains and beans that have been grown in the southern hemisphere are the wisest choice. When planning a menu first visualise it; who it is for (e.g. what does a sick person need?) and what colours andcombinations you will use. Go by your appetite but don’t just limit yourself to a sensory level - eat for the development of your true self. Wash the vegetables well and determine the cutting style. Layer veges in groups for conven- ience. Give your food love - this is the greatest component of any meal. People’s needs differ according to their physical constitution, age and daily activities, geographical location and seasonal changes. In the 20th century it’s easy to use many different kinds of vegetable due to the development of modem transportation. 200 years ago there wasn’t so much mental illness or cancer because people were living what the Japanese call Shin-do-fuji - "body and soul are one’. Our grandparents were eating seasonal and organic vegetables. We're free to eat whatever we wish; nothing is forbidden except ignorance and carelessness. Macrobiotic philosophy teaches that although humanity continually proves itself capable (at a price) of eating whatever it wishes, our health and vitality improve the more completely and directly we draw on sustenance from the vegetable kingdom. But the macrobiotic diet is not a strict vegetarian regimen. The shape and relative number of our teeth, the body's gateway, tells us much about the order in human nutrition - 20 grain-grinding teeth, eight cutting and four fish and meat cutting teeth - a total of 32 teeth. The general rule for human diet is this: 5 parts grains, 2 parts veges, 1 part animal. Guided by the structure of the digestive system the macrobiotic diet centres around grains and vegetables. The animal foods we need are the lower levels of life and ones that have been least domesticated What's Yin & Yang? by Roger Green