The population of bacteria within the gut is known as a microbiome. Of course, there are microbiomes throughout the entire physiology, but here we are focusing on the microbiome in the digestive system – predominantly the gut. Oftentimes when we eat, we feel like we’re eating for ourselves. However, an interesting approach is to eat for your entire population, i.e., yourself along with your microbiome. When you’re doing this, you can even feel into the entire microbiome within your gut. You may feel like that’s just your imagination, but interestingly enough, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you’re putting attention onto the entire population, yourself along with your microbiome. In so doing, you become attentive to the greater dynamic of your digestive process.
Ayurveda has recognized for thousands of years that the health of the digestive system is a major determining factor to the health of the entire physiology. Even body builders say that it’s all about digestion. Scientists now believe not only that this is true, but also that autoimmune diseases are rooted in a microbiome imbalance.
I don’t think it’s really all that hard once you feel into the microbiome and put your attention on it. Next time you eat, why not try it out? You may find that how well a meal sits with you is largely determined by how well it fits with your microbiome.
Reading this makes me wonder about the microbiom of our consciousness. When things just don’t sit well for us, with us. I’d like to know more about this subject.
Love the diagram. The microbiome, gut health has been in the news quite often for some time. When awareness is put on the correlation between what one ingests and how one feels, what food we choices we might change. The light of awareness heals, as you’ve said before.
Dear Very Curious,
Things cannot sit well with us for essentially two reasons. Firstly, it is not in harmony with life, with our true nature, with what is life supporting. Or, secondly, it is not in harmony with our distortions… our wrong thinking or emotional issues. Anything that does not sit well with us is a result of one of those two things or a combination of them. All too often, we conclude something is wrong if it does not sit well with us. However, wisdom dictates that we reflect and ponder and do our best to determine what is really our ‘truth’ versus what may be our issues or distortions.
Interesting that this would pop up on my computer screen as I’m busy filing quarterly reports while drinking my tea of digestive support herbs and cramming peanuts in my mouth . . . . Thanks again!!
I was recently diagnosed with a chronic infection, and learned that chronic infections can outnumber our cells 10:1! So that our food choices, cravings, and behaviors can be the microbes expressing themselves and getting what they need to keep replicating…which may explain why it is so hard sometimes to do the life-supporting thing.