tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post5976209048762001288..comments2023-08-09T03:21:13.354-05:00Comments on Letters from Gehenna: The World on a Slant: A Theology of LunchDw3t-Hthrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-85333122336112830452010-07-25T03:18:02.242-05:002010-07-25T03:18:02.242-05:00When you break it down to fundamentals, the ka is ...<i>When you break it down to fundamentals, the ka is a repository of life energy, creative power, all that stuff. Where does our energy come, in a deterministic biological sense? From what we eat. "May your ka be fed", that offering liturgy, applies to us here largely in the material world, consuming material things. While my ka is fed by gifts of love and caring, my ka is also fed by lunch, and denying that goes into weird, unpleasant places.</i><br /><br />Kay, I'm really loving the synchronicity here, and I think Bast is looking out for me, because I literally found <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=pf4hAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA480&lpg=PA480&dq=how+to+chew+natron&source=bl&ots=55JQYUAdqf&sig=zMJcRUebuNEBchXMatGG1QcLPTg&hl=en&ei=xTNKTMyfIIKCsQO1yvFI&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CDAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=how%20to%20chew%20natron&f=false" rel="nofollow">this</a> just yesterday. It goes over conceptions of purity in Kemet. Namely, this part comes to mind:<br /><br />"The purification of the offerings possessed the same significance as the other purificatory rites As already seen V 3 the water used in lustrations and libations incense smoke and food and drink offerings were endowed with mysterious reconstructive powers. The soaking in the liquid therefore and the fumigation added to the already existing virtue of the food and when the formula of presentation was recited the combined qualities were imparted simultaneously to the god's or dead person's soul."<br /><br />Now, of course there are actions taken to purify things, but one point that is raised is that the food <i>itself</i> is pure because of its nutritive properties. That is to say, feeding the ka is accomplished by literally feeding it with food. Same goes for purity; the Egyptians believed physical cleanliness helped to make one pure. I kind of think of it as being able to shine a bit brighter once the dirt has been scrubbed off. Nobody likes a stinky guest.Christina SLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16481384854445558310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-30672278898529555722010-07-24T02:16:16.283-05:002010-07-24T02:16:16.283-05:00Oh and forgot to say, as a fat person, when I turn...Oh and forgot to say, as a fat person, when I turned my perspective from losing weight to "staying as reasonably healthy as possibly in the circumstances" it really was a huge weight (geddit!?) off my mind.Rosemary Cottagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12204378986946967049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-5161910615338771612010-07-24T02:15:03.105-05:002010-07-24T02:15:03.105-05:00The whole "eat real food! Also organic, local...<i>The whole "eat real food! Also organic, locally grown, etc.!" thing is ... okay, it's a nice idea, and I'm not going to knock it. But it needs to be done in a way that isn't catastrophically tone deaf on issues of class.</i><br /><br />Oh, hell yes! (And the number of people who don't seem to grasp that my "local" farmers' market is two unreliable bus rides away and taking a small child who is toilet training on two unreliable buses is really not easy and no, I can't afford to run a car and even if I could I never passed my test because of anxiety issues so put that in your pipe and smoke it okay?) <br /><br />So much policing goes on though doesn't it. <br /><br />I mean, at the same time as I love the idea of hospitality and offering of food etc, sometimes it also seems to boil down to "you should all eat together as a family and never snack in front of the telly" which, well, that's nice, if you have a big family and there aren't just two of you and one of you is three and you are tearing your hair out trying to get them to <i>enjoy</i> a yummy stew and sit and discuss the day when really the smaller one wants to watch Ben 10 and snack on some fruit and chocolate buttons ... and that sometimes, that's okay too, because isn't motherlove sometimes actually letting the smaller one do the things that make them happy? <br /><br /><i>But making sure people have access to ingredients, facilities, and the basic training in order to cook?</i><br /><br />And the <i>time</i>, don't forget the time, because sometimes the only way I get to cook a "proper" meal is to sit small child in front of the telly (zomg using the telly as a babysitter!) and I think people forget this too. Including me, I mean, I used to feel so awful if I gave B processed food from a packet (even though I grew up on that, lol) but then I realised, it's not just about the food, it's about something more, isn't it better for both of you to sit on the settee together eating pot noodles or some toast because that takes five minutes to make, rather than one of you cooking a meal while the other is in front of the telly, which the smaller one turns their nose up at anyway... <br /><br />*sigh* <br /><br />I digress. But I love this post. :-)Rosemary Cottagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12204378986946967049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-53913670797187856062010-07-20T22:37:39.839-05:002010-07-20T22:37:39.839-05:00Now I want to bake cookies.Now I want to bake cookies.Aqua, of the Questionershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03729823323134474391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-20733126325483587512010-07-20T12:16:23.227-05:002010-07-20T12:16:23.227-05:00One of the things that drives me nuts re: the clas...One of the things that drives me nuts re: the class issues around food is that in many places it's far more access-driven than cost - there are places in cities where there just aren't decent grocery stores without an epic bus trip.<br /><br />One of the things that I found interesting about <i>Reclaiming the Commons</i> when I read it (damnit, the draft of this post that I lost had a reference to this book and I forgot that until just now) was that they sent large piles of the community farm food into Boston.Dw3t-Hthrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-50190408931261873882010-07-20T12:13:39.139-05:002010-07-20T12:13:39.139-05:00(Comments entidified as per your request, gelfling...(Comments entidified as per your request, gelfling.)Dw3t-Hthrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-19069020418019133382010-07-20T12:06:55.718-05:002010-07-20T12:06:55.718-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-79590417528005249132010-07-20T12:06:08.455-05:002010-07-20T12:06:08.455-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-2760966211407927992010-07-20T12:05:40.461-05:002010-07-20T12:05:40.461-05:00You know where I stand on local / organic type foo...You know where I stand on local / organic type food things, so I won't go into that specifically - plus it's not really the point of what you wrote. I did have a few comments, though:<br /><br />1) The connection of ma'at to what you eat does resonate with me. For me, supporting local farmers is not just about eating food that's tastier (to me) or travelled less distance, or might be healthier - it's also about feeling like I'm supporting things that are important to me. It's a personal way of tying my internal environmentalism and other values to things that are actual and real and, well, nourishing. :)<br /><br /><br />2) From the class perspective - I know that at least some farmer's markets around here accept food stamps, which can be helpful, although of course you need to be able to have the time to get to the farmer's market, which may not be close by or at a time you can get off of work.<br /><br />One of the things that really bothers me is the assumption (not by you, but by our culture) that healthy, locally grown food is something that is unrealistic for poorer people. And this is not just farmer's markets or going berry picking and such, but also the ability to grow vegetables yourself. I think there's been somewhat of a resurgence of home food gardens, but I'm not sure how much of that is confined to more middle classes that were shocked by food prices during the recession. <br /><br />(I'll digress for a moment and wish that useful practical skills such as how to grow your own food would be included in standard public education. I was exposed to some gardening when growing up, but not in school and not enough to feel confident on my own.)<br /><br />Also, one of the reasons I push my parents to eat more locally produced food is because they -can- afford it (and my dad at least is fairly environmentally focused, so it does line up with his values), and this is a way for them <br />to support their local community as well. <br /><br /><br />3) From reading the link you posted - um, yeah. I've been working on switching my brain from "eat this stuff so that I'll lose weight / won't gain weight" to "eat / don't eat this stuff so that my health will improve", which is a -huge- difference for someone who once did Weight Watchers. And it's really hard to explain to people that I don't want a cookie or something else with sugar in it (or wheat, or whatever) not because I'm afraid that carbs will make me fat, but because it's one way I'm trying to help my body heal, or not get anxious, or whatever.<br /><br />But even with that, there can be a little voice that says "Are you sure you want to use that much olive oil? It makes the asparagus taste great, but it might make you fat...", even though I say I no longer care. (For me, the worst little voices are about fat and salt.) Or tasty crispy chicken skin. :)<br /><br />-gelflingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-58021885478185480162010-07-20T06:36:00.928-05:002010-07-20T06:36:00.928-05:00I see food as a connection between cultures. You c...I see food as a connection between cultures. You can come to understand a culture through their food, their social customs when eating...ok not understand them entirely, but at least come to a common ground with them. The Laotian man who owns the Asian market in Savannah barely speaks english, but when I start asking about this vegetable or that sauce, he lights up and we have a conversation that ends with a shared handful of sesame candies and a sack full of brand new culinary experiences. When I visit Elelta, she always has a brewed cup of spiced tea for me, and when she's here I fix her a glass of minted iced tea. When there's food involved, disagreements become discussions. It's hard to fight over a platter of fried chicken or a bowl of tibs.Rootietoothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804816032287310463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-86508070455470397242010-07-19T17:46:59.528-05:002010-07-19T17:46:59.528-05:00I love this piece. It's a pretty good descrip...I love this piece. It's a pretty good description of the way I feel about food as well. And, YES, by all means, a Twinkie is not the end of the world. I still lean in favor of less processed foods, but there was a time (not all that long ago) when I went a little overboard thinking 100 % from-scratch food could stop me from being sick. That wasn't healthy for me, and I spent all my time cooking, and anyway... I try to keep to anti-inflammatory foods as much as possible, but I'm also not willing to make huge lifestyle changes for something that didn't even help my health. I don't like soda very much, but recently, I needed some quick caffeine in the middle of the day, so, yeah, I had a soda. As you say, not the end of the world. But I do like sweet tea the way we have it in the South, and I have that fairly often.<br /><br />And this just made me laugh out loud: <br /><br />"I certainly can't afford, y'know, artisinally farmed pastured organic non-GMO pesticide-free antibiotic-free free-range hand-raised grass-fed dry-aged locally-grown ethically butchered non-pasteurised heirloom cruelty-free cageless durians. Certainly not all the damn time."Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13802639814234250619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-62698058964001775992010-07-19T15:54:37.763-05:002010-07-19T15:54:37.763-05:00You have CR leanings? My liege is kinda CR. :)
H...You have CR leanings? My liege is kinda CR. :)<br /><br />Hall peace isn't native to my religion but I think that way, so I figure my ancestors won't mind my nicking it.Dw3t-Hthrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-75349090559944394762010-07-19T15:50:26.546-05:002010-07-19T15:50:26.546-05:00oh wow. Loved this. 'peace in our halls'.
...oh wow. Loved this. 'peace in our halls'.<br /><br />Yes.. I've leaned towards Celtic reconstructionism before, and this is a big thing, along with hospitality.... <br /><br />I think hospitality - the offering of food to another being a sacred act - pretty much still exsists (think of workman. it's a social faux pas not to offer tea or coffee) and is instinctual.<br /><br />The latest theory as to why homo sapians survived and neanderthal (better adapted, stronger, better technitians) didn't, is because homo sapians developed a cultural identity as a whole, irespective of tribial devisions - there was shared music, art, religious concepts... people helped each other out, rather than just competing for resources or ignoring each other.<br /><br />I think the hospitality urge must come from that...mamacrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484565827023574347noreply@blogger.com