The Tao of Food

It seems that more and more people in the West are becoming open to exploring philosophies like Taoism. Many first time visitors to this very blog arrive here as part of their online quest. If you're looking for a book to read on the subject, I'd suggest one I recently checked out from my local library, "The Tao of Food" by Richard Craze and Roni Jay.

Ostensibly, it's just another in a long line of cookbooks. It features 70 recipes and discusses subjects like food preparation. But don't be fooled by the apparent topic. Woven into the fabric of the text is a really good thumbnail sketch of the history and influence of Taoist thought.

...the message in the Tao Te Ching is not obscure -- it is there for anyone to decipher according to their understanding of the text. In brief, it says there is a way -- the Way (Tao means "way" or "path"). The Way is constant, even if everything else is in flux, and if we follow the Way we will have a long and enjoyable life; if we don't follow it we encounter problems, ill health, and unhappiness. There are no rules, no precepts, and no religious practice involved with the Tao; the aim is to enjoy life and effortlessly accept the world around us.

One of the key topics the book addresses is -- surprise, surprise -- food. One of the points that is repeated more than once is that what we put into our bodies has a lot to do with how we feel about ourselves and how we relate to the world. Spend your days eating a lot of processed junk and the flow of energy within and from you becomes stagnant. Eat a balance diet, one featuring a good mix of yin and yang foods, and the energy flows throughout your body and from you out into the world.

In essence, we all must eat to live, yet we too often eat without being conscious of what or how we do it. This book will help teach you about eating consciously AND how to tap into to the flow of Tao.