Macrobiotics in practice

I have seen many people change their way of living - their dietary practices - to what we call a macrobiotic practice. What strikes us as interesting is that most people are delighted by the sheer simplicity of what they find. We are living in a very complex, artificial, modern world and it is very easy to ignore something as subtle and understated as the earth.

The ancient Chinese have an interesting way of putting it. They used to say humanity and earth are not two, that is to say, we are one organism; anything which has a bearing on one, will automatically influence the other.

Right now, we are witnessing global, ecological and human health problems and this merits our closest possible attention, in terms of the relationship of humanity to the earth that sustains us. Ancient philosophers called the earth our mother and indeed, it is a humbling relationship. We are like children and we can choose everyday to actively engage in that relationship.

We can choose the foods which the earth is offering us in abundance, in the whole unrefined, unpolluted state - not passed through animals, not passed through factories but taken just as mother nature and the seasons intended them to us. This is a very creative way of establishing a relationship with the soil because ultimately human health depends on the health of the soil.

Every time a person makes a choice about the food they eat they are casting a vote on the health of the soil, the health of the rivers, the health of the oceans and the health of the planet. Without this, our own health is hard to achieve.

Macrobiotics is the key to creating a healthy inner environment as it investigates the causes of health rather than of disease, and applies these lessons in creating a healthy way of living based on a foundation of healthy food.

It is a very simple, creative and subtle relationship that people start to establish, when they begin to practise macrobiotics.