Natural wisdom

Some time ago my mother, who suffers from IBS, probably a consequence of having had 5 children by the time she was 26, went to a specialist for allergy testing. The usual culprits turned up in the test results: alcohol, coffee, bread, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. which my mother then immediately cut out from her diet. Her IBS cleared up almost instantly and she remains clear – it only flares up if she eats one of these “bad” foods, either accidentally or out of weakness. Her insights at the time interested me. She pointed out that although she loved the taste of all the “bad” foods (and was literally addicted to coffee), whenever she consumed them something in her body knew she was doing the wrong thing. And what she found amazing upon recollection was that that something in her body knew before she had even put the food in her mouth. That protecting bodily wisdom is quite apart from the senses which at best just give information about how things are, and tell you little about how they will affect your health and well-being. Our culture and environment are full to the brim with things that are attractive but unhealthy, and we are programmed by that culture to let our senses override any other concerns, often even moral and ethical ones as well as our own natural wisdom. The trouble with the senses is that unless they are kept in check by a groundswell of connectedness, which is basically what our bodily wisdom is, they are not, in the long run, good for us. Selfishness brings only short term gains.