Letter of Appreciation

I am writing this letter to express my deep appreciation for macrobiotics. When I first began macrobiotics I was so taken by the philosophy I lived and breathed it; the excitement it had hold over me cannot be described. If it weren’t for macrobiotics I would not have reached the next level I am at now. And I am deeply grateful for all that it has done, for Ohsawa, and for those who continue to work its cause.

But now it is time to acknowledge the dogma that surrounds macrobiotics. In order for the world to embrace the philosophy and turn around the reputation it has garnered great changes are needed. It has taken me a full year to finally understand what that nagging feeling I had in the back of my mind was trying to tell me.

And at last I understand. That life is about more than just eating clean, balanced foods. That the mind is more powerful than we know, and if our thoughts are negative and depressed, obsessed about what we’re eating, we indeed might create cancer for ourselves.

If we can change the philosophy’s emphasis, putting the emphasis on happiness--basically the power and state of our mind in relation to our higher self--along with a culinary delight of natural foods, I think we have the answer to ‘saving the world.’ By combining the philosophy with the emerging principle of the Law of Attraction we might well be on our way.

I was once so strict, macrobiotically, that I now jokingly refer to it as MacAttack. There was one point (not too long ago) that I was ‘so macrobiotic’ I was afraid to drink water, eat popcorn as a snack, eat fruit, eat anything; ate only brown rice for the longest time, admonished people for incorrect uses, techniques, food; and lastly, thought food was the be-all and end-all to every cause, creation, thought, deed, behavior--you name it--created in this universe.

Now, I am happy to say that I can eat popcorn, enjoy my mom’s homemade salsa and guacamole, happily eat seafood with my family, drink water again, indulge in quality desserts, eat out in restaurants, and no longer make a fool of myself with family members, lecturing about the panacea of food, or feeling myself righteous in their presence. Now I understand and recognize the spiritual sides of ourselves and how that has been creating our every experience since the beginning of time.

I urge long-time and beginning macrobiotic people to read Physical and Nutritional Degeneration by Dr. Weston A. Price, as well as the astounding book, Excuse Me, Your LIFE is Waiting, by Lynn Grabhorn. By having this fear of food--and believe me, if anyone’s had it, it’s been me--we are putting ourselves at such a disadvantage, we aren’t even aware of it. It has truly taken for me to step outside of myself and see clearly, for the first time since I started this journey, what it has all been about.

Macrobiotics, spread open your wings and expand your boundaries. You will be much happier for it. Only then will you become the universal, guiding principle that you have always sought to be. You will have fulfilled your destiny. It is time for new thinkers, new ideas, and change, change, change. Let us seek to understand our universe even more and embrace new ideas.

If we can expand ourselves outside the realm of food and embrace the new ideas of change, feeling, and the power of our minds, macrobiotics can truly create a new reality, one that will facilitate a new beginning in the times to come.