Book 1 (My Opinion, Your Choice) - Chapter 3, Part 1

Food and eating, in my opinion are both representative of a few different concepts. On a higher level they are representative of life as an overall experience, a visit to a restaurant with the menu of experiences, the fellow diners at the other tables, and the smells of other dishes. We look at our menus, and as the waiters bring out other people's dishes, we get a chance to look and decide what looks and smells appetizing. Once we pick something and taste it we may find that we like it and will keep eating it, or that it is not to our taste and send it back. The restaurant choice determines the clientele, as well as the cuisine, so if you went to an Italian restaurant don't be too surprised by the lack of sushi. Though with the universe filling in the past in a seamless manner, it may turn out that you weren't even aware as you walked in, that the restaurant is an Italian-Japanese fusion, and in the corner is a sushi bar you had not noticed. On a lower level I believe the same way the body requires food, and reacts to it, so too does the soul or whatever you'd like to call your consciousness. “You are what you eat” may be an even more profound statement.

When we eat food, we taste the different tastes and decide which ones we like, and which we don't. The next time we eat, we pick the food we enjoyed and avoid the foods that we didn't. Perhaps this may be equated to the various experiences in our lives (attracted by the Law of Attraction), and depending on the “taste” we continue to attract the ones that taste good. Some give us indigestion. Some poison us. Some leave us hungry for more. Taste is a personal preference, but for the sake of this example I'll say that everyone prefers sweets, is tolerant of sour flavors, and dislikes anything extremely spicy. We want the sweet cake, but what if the waiter serves up jalapeño peppers? The slice of lemon isn't so bad compared to a mouth on fire. That cake looks really good, but if we don't know how to ask for it and chances are that we may get the peppers, what do we do? We make a face and keep eating the lemon. We sprinkle a little sugar on it to make it more bearable, maybe even somewhat enjoyable, yet as we think about it we can taste the sourness even now. Now as we remember the feelings of that unstoppable burning, eyes watering, inability to breathe or think until the spicy particles of a pepper are swallowed or washed out of our mouths, the sour lemon is getting sweeter by the second. The cake is forgotten as a myth and an unachievable hope, but not so long ago we were eating it. How many decisions in our lives are based on the same concept of fearing and avoiding a greater displeasure? What would taste a little better than what we are eating right? What do we want? What would make today more pleasant? What can we do to change right now? What would be just a little better than this dry, old, tasteless cracker? Waiter, I would like an orange.

To be continued...