Guiding Principles For A Healing Table (The Healing Table Series Part 2)
So, here are a few principles — and a few practical tips — to guide you in building your healing table. (Confused? If you haven’t read part 1 of this series, you’ll want to. I promise it’s worth it.)
Read slowly. This just might change everything for you.
The healing table is a place of meeting.
The healing table is not a piece of furniture, and it is not a means to an end. It’s not simply about getting food into yourself so you survive until the next meal.
The healing table is where people meet, look in each other’s eyes, and share a meal.
It’s a place of love. It’s a place to honor each other and the food we are given and the time on this earth we are given to share all of this.
The healing table is a place of intention.
Sit down with purpose. Eat with intention. Inasmuch as possible, have a beginning and end to your meal.
And eat slowly. We’re so used to eating between activities that half of us barely chew our food anymore. Slow down. Give your body a chance to do things at a more normal pace and in the right order.
Something that helps you slow down: start a conversation at the table. You can start with, “How was your day?” but I encourage you not to end there. There are many deeper, more interesting questions we can ask, especially of those we love. Find a real and maybe even complex question and ask it. Try to engage everyone at the table.
If we are talking and digesting more than food, we will naturally eat more slowly. The atmosphere will be much better. And the happiness that comes from good conversation with people we care about will only increase our body’s acceptance of the food.
(Click here to continue on to PART 3 for more principles for a healing table!)