Food = Love

Food is so deeply symbolic, and it carries an energy vibration with it. When we consume food that is prepared by angry people, I believe we consume that energy and it becomes a subtle part of ourselves. When a meal is prepared with love, it is infused with that higher vibration, so to speak, and we reap the benefits.

Daniel and I have been giving a great deal of thought to Andrew's history with food, eating and meal times. As an infant he didn't have bottles, rather he was fed water-buffalo milk on a spoon. He wasn't just deprived of the warmth of skin contact through breast feeding, but he was also denied the instictive act of suckling. We don't know how much nourishment can be offered on spoons, nor how much time was spent on each feeding. It sounds time-consuming! It's very possible that he was used to going hungry. After that, at a larger orphanage (Bal Vikas) he was one of many children and they were all lined up, while handfuls of food were impersonally stuffed into their mouths by hand. Some of the kids, including Andrew, were yelled at and hit during meal times. Andrew was occasionally sent to the director's office during meal times, and he was beaten there for whatever reason. Food equaled lack, cruelty and fear. He was also locked in a dark room overnight and denied food for many hours. When we first met him you could see every rib, and we saw bones sticking out that we never knew about. Bottom line, food does not equal love in Andrew's mind. Not yet, anyway. All the negativity surrounding food, both through experiences and energy vibration have prevented him from making that connection.

Because of all this, Daniel and I are implementing a strategy to help him make the connection. The connection that food nourishes, and that food is love itself. It comes from our Mother (Earth), and then the mother (me) gives it with love to her children. We will be outwardly demonstrating this to Andrew. I'll tell him how much I thought about him while preparing the food, that my heart was happy, and that love and happiness is inside the food. We'll both be blessing the children's plates in front of them, and when they eat the food, they'll be eating our love. It sounds almost simplistic, but it's so real and powerful. In addition, we'll be giving him a lot of physical reinforcement while he eats. With his sensory integration problems, touch helps him integrate and process information. We'll offer lots of hugs, back & shoulder rubs during meal times. We'll see how this goes, and do it as long as it takes.