According to Thomas Moore, people struggling with disordered eating behaviours often have an imbalance between spirituality and soul – an over focus on spirituality and an under focus on soul.
Spirit is big and looks forward and upward. Spiritual people like to explore the answers to big questions such as afterlife and morality. The soul is quite different. The soul is interested in the past, preserving, connecting, grounding, Soul connects us to other people, to our homes, land, place.
Both are important—equally valuable—and the challenge is to be able to take care of both at the same time. Our culture privileges spirit more. Our culture tends to shame soulfulness. Because the soul needs pleasure. Earthly pleasures. Food, sex, cooking, the body, other bodies, the earth.
If one becomes afraid of the body, afraid of food, afraid of sex, afraid of fat – the soul doesn’t get nourished.
So the path to recovery from imbalanced eating behaviours can come from going deeper into the soul, deeper into pleasure, especially the pleasures of being present in everyday life. Growing food, mindfully preparing food, sharing food with others are wonderful ways to nourish the soul.
Focusing on behaviour change on the surface doesn’t cut it – not when our deep deep hunger for soul just keeps collapsing into food.
More about this by checking out Thomas Moore.
