How many of us struggle with our relationship with food?  We are told that obesity is a major health issue in the USA.  Of course there are many reasons for this, but how can we address the emotional component of this love/hate relationship we have with food and our bodies?
Food, love, mother, and nurturing weave together to create a nest in our hearts. The comfort and security of home are invoked by certain smells, tastes, textures and the combination of these that occurs when we are eating dishes that brought us happiness as children. Ask ten people what they would want for their last meal on Earth, and you would  likely get ten different answers.  Most would  choose foods that evoke a memory of feeling at home.   I have many inner children.  These are the Committee members that show up in my SoulCollage(R) deck , or the ones that show up in non-dominant hand drawings for example.  Several years ago, I had the idea of asking each of my  inner children (those for whom I had created a SoulCollage(R) card) what they like to eat.  This began an ongoing project of creating my Soul’s Cookbook out of an actual vintage cookbook.  I painted and collaged the cover (see image).  I allowed the younger parts of me to cut out images of favorite foods from vintage magazines and let each of them direct me as I glued and painted on the pages of the old book.  So far, my cookbook features lots of cookies, cakes, peanut butter and jelly, pancakes…all things I no longer allow myself to eat!  Choosing, cutting and pasting the images of these favorites  is fun and satisfying. I can feel  those yearnings that live within me  and I sense that they are honored when I create a page for them in my book.  It is almost as good as eating the forbidden foods…the cravings are awakened, but also fulfilled.  I remember where I was, who I was with, and how old I was when these tastes and smells brought me happiness and so a deep memory is felt and sensed.  (See Marcel Proust’s immortal memories evoked by madeleines in “Remembrance of Things Past“)
This altered book project is ongoing.  I will be sharing the pages, and some recipes, in future blog posts.  Hopefully, you will be inspired to try it!