WHO DO YOU KNOW ME AS? (Will You Grow & Evolve Along with Me?)
Do you know me as a “foodie”, a natural foods event caterer, or a cookbook author and cooking instructor? Do you know me as a nature intuitive or a self-healer? Do you know me as an eco-visionary, a storyteller, and a curriculum content creator? Do you know me as a mom and a mother’s helper? Do you know me as a channel, an empath, or a social change agent? The person you know me as, I believe, will determine the extent to which you might rely on me and my educational tools to help you and your family thrive in today's world.
Who Many People Know Me As
For the past 35 years, many people, including some of my long-time friends, and even my husband, have regarded my professional occupation as "cookbook author." If we attend a social event together, I can expect any one of them to make another person's acquaintance with me by saying things like: “Candia has written cookbooks and offers nutritional counseling” or "Candia makes the most amazing smoothies, nut milks, and plant-based entrees." While I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the acknowledgments given, I sometimes feel they are digging into my Akashic records. In other words, they are looking at my pet projects from the distant past, rather than talking about projects I've been "cooking up" for quite some time now, which are very future-focused, because of the increasingly serious ecological health issues they address. Issues, that is to say, such as WHY there's not a person or living thing walking the face of the planet today that isn't dealing with one form or another of environmental illness, and HOW we must pave a new path forward if we are going to heal.
My Mission Today Is Flourishing in New Ways
While I can't deny that food is one of my "love languages" (or that my website URL (www.ecointelligenteating.com) reflects my passion for it, what I'd like my friends, family, and community to know about my professional occupation today is that I have grown and evolved into what I call an "Eco-Mentor." As an Eco-Mentor, my true passion is helping people to nourish wellness in their bodies and the Earth. This passion has fed my desire to create as many educational tools as my mind and imagination can dream up to help people in this process.
In a Nutshell: My Role as an Eco--Mentor Entails the Following:
Guiding people to reawaken their innate eco-intelligence and accept the love they deserve and the love the Earth deserves.
Helping them to nurture the parts of their being that make them whole: their bodies, minds, hearts, and souls.
Helping them to nurture the parts of the earth’s being that make it whole: plants, insects, animals, ecosystems, and the greater cosmos.
Providing them with insights about how these parts are designed to work together for optimal wholeness, and why being in a healthy relationship with all of these parts is the KEY to their health, happiness, and ecological well-being,
Teaching them a holistic way of living that supports them in being mindful of their needs and the Earth's needs.
Are You Living Mindful of Your Body’s Holistic Needs?
Are you living mindful of your body’s holistic needs? Are you nourishing the relationships that make you whole? Are you treating your body with reverence? Are you seeing and appreciating the interconnectedness of your body and mind, and creating a place inside of you for your heart and soul to dwell peacefully? When you set out to nurture and nourish the parts of you that are designed to foster your well-being, you’ll likely discover that some of them are suffering from neglect. This revelation, though it may not be surprising, allows you to STOP doing the things that are hurting these parts, and START doing the things that might heal them.
Things You Can Do to Live More Mindfully of Your Body’s Needs
Spend more time in nature to reduce your stress and anxiety.
Eat living foods that keep your human ecology system clean, instead of eating dead, processed foods that pollute it.
Explore Nature’s Pharmacy for remedies that (unlike drugs) address symptoms of health imbalances, rather than cover them up.
Develop more social connections with supportive and uplifting friends and family members, and set healthy boundaries with “energy vampires.?”
Allow yourself time to rest and recharge. Engage in activities that bring you joy, relaxation, and inspiration, such as reading, gardening, or listening to music.
Devote more time to reflecting on the people and things you are thankful for.
Include a daily spiritual ritual in your daily life such as meditation.
Adopt a “radical prayer” practice, which involves praying persistently, while trusting that a higher power in your life will act in a powerful way to help you change unwanted circumstances.
Are You Living Mindful of the Earth’s Holistic Needs?
Are you living mindful of the Earth’s holistic needs? Are you nourishing the relationships that make it whole? Are you treating the Earth with reverence? Are you seeing and appreciating the interconnectedness between every living thing in the cosmos, and doing your part to create a peaceful and healthy dwelling place for all living things? When you set out to nurture and nourish the parts of the Earth’s terrestrial body that are designed to foster its well-being (as well as your own), you will no doubt discover that certain parts are suffering from neglect and/or abuse. This revelation, though not surprising, allows you to STOP doing the things that are hurting these parts, and START doing the things that might help to restore and heal them.
Things You Can Do to Live More Mindfully of the Earth’s Needs
Spend more time studying nature’s beauty and power, and use what you observe to reflect on your beauty and strength.
Develop a heartfelt connection to the land, the air, the water, and the sunshine, and think about how these parts of nature cooperate to carry out the biological processes that sustain life.
Reflect on all of the sentient life forms you are thankful for, and make a conscious choice to avoid harming them with toxic consumption habits that don’t consider their needs.
Be a consumer of organically raised foods, instead of foods doused with toxic chemicals, and in doing so, take a stand to protect the welfare of animals, insects, and plants.
Join or support an organization whose mission involves saving the environment or an endangered species.
Give back to a community of people that has lost something inherently valuable.
You might agree, that we must do a lot of inner and outer work to restore balance and harmony to our bodies and the earth. And as this newsletter/blog suggests, it will take more than conversations about food and recipes alone to help restore this balance. While I will never neglect to share the important roles that food, farming, and nutrition play in creating personal health and planetary transformation, you can expect me to shine a brighter light on the relationships that also play vital roles in creating it! Our ability to be healthier and create a healthier planet depends on the strength and integration of the parts that make us whole.:)
Candia Lea Cole
Founder, Eco-Learning Legacies
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