在冥想中，有道基本練習，冥想者盤腿或平穩地坐在椅子上，配合呼吸，觀想腳掌或身體緊貼着地板的位置都長出樹根，樹根穿過冷硬的地板，進入濕潤柔軟的泥土，緩緩往下生長，直至到達這大地的深深處，根與溫暖的大地母親接結，一切情緒、心念、身體的感受，得以釋放，心回歸當下，澄明安靜，同時亦獲得大地的滋養。每次冥想或靜觀，我都會接地。某天約了朋友，才見面她便說感到不適，整天感到魂不附體、沒法腳踏實地，頭也痛得厲害。我讓她坐下，放鬆身體，腳板完全平放地上，然後開始引導她作接地冥想。兩、三分鐘後，她感覺踏實多了，頭痛也減輕。
大地就是如此溫柔而療癒的。
這個秋天陽光份外和煦，我來了幾場即興野餐，在草地上吃吃坐坐，看天放空，躺平讀書，也有腳踏着青草，和朋友進行靈氣治療，身處大自然，善用大地的能量。人在這片土地上活着、學習、體驗，多少是依靠大地的能量才可生存 —— 栽種在泥土上的蔬果植物、吃草或榖物的牲口、大樹釋放的氧氣等等，大家相生相依。生長在泥土之上的蔬果，看着讓人感到生命的力量和奇妙，我卻偏愛長在泥土內的根莖類蔬菜。紅蘿蔔、白蘿蔔、番薯、芋頭、蓮藕和百合我自小愛吃，長大後也喜歡吃紅菜頭（金菜頭更好吃但不易買）和牛蒡，薑及蒜也時常在料理中用上。根莖類蔬菜大多是儲藏營植物養份的器官，因此比綠葉蔬菜香甜。後來讀到食療相關的文章，說不同種類的食物有不同療效，而根莖類植物便是 grounding 的食物。
世界絢麗，它們卻在黑暗的泥土裏靜靜的往內而生、向大地之中去鑽，成長過程緩慢謙遜，也讓人感到安心。我們雖然看不見成長的過程，但隨時間慢慢過去，以及大地的無聲潤澤，在泥土以下，根莖扎穩，最終會在陽光中看見漂亮的碩果。
鹽麴甜薯炊飯
材料：
紫番薯（我用的是紅春香） 250克
日本短粳米 1.5合 / 270毫升
水（煮飯用） 250毫升
鹽麴 2 茶匙（或海鹽半茶匙）
黑芝麻 適量
做法：
In meditation, there is a basic practice called grounding. The meditator sits cross-legged or on a chair with straight back and feet on the ground, and then starts visualising roots growing under the soles or body parts that touch the ground. The roots grow through the cold and hard flooring, into the soft and moist soil and, slowly, reaches the core deep in the earth, connecting to mother earth. All your emotions, thoughts and physical sensations are drained away, released and diluted. While receiving the nourishing energy from mother earth, our mind returns to the present, clarity and stillness. I always include this grounding practice in my meditation and awareness practice. One time when I was going to meet a friend, upon our meetup she said she was unwell, feeling spacey and ungrounded, and her head was aching too. I asked her to sit down, relax and have her soles on the floor, and guided her through a grounding meditation. Within two or three minutes, she felt much grounded and headache was relieved.
The earth is just so tender and healing.
The autumnal sun was particularly warm and mellow this year that I went on impromptu picnicking for several times. On the lawn, I ate, lay, spaced out into the sky and read. Since we were in nature, I stood on the green and practiced reiki healing on friends, making the best use of the energy of the earth. We live, learn and experience on this land, and our survival is based greatly on the energy from the earth — fruit and vegetables grown on the soil, livestocks eating grass and grains, trees releasing oxygen and so on. We live with each other. Looking at the fruit and vegetables that are grown on the soil, I see the energy and magic of life, yet root vegetables grown in the soil always have my heart. Since little, I have always enjoyed carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes, taros, lotus roots and lily bulbs. Growing up, I acquired the love of beets (golden beetroots are even more delicious but they are hard to get) and burdock. Ginger and garlic surely are always used in my cooking. Root vegetables are the storage organs, yielding a sweeter taste compared to leafy greens. I only learnt about the healing properties of different food when I read on dietary therapy — root vegetables are grounding.
In this bright and beautiful world, they, silently, grow inwards in the lightless soil, into earth at a slow, humble but assuring pace. We cannot see its growth, however, as time passes by and with quiet nourishments from mother earth, we know fruition with strong roots will eventually be unearthed from the soil.
Sweet Potato & Shio Koji Rice
Ingredients:
Purple sweet potato 250g
Japanese short grain rice 270ml
Water (for cooking rice) 250ml
Shio koji 2 teaspoons (or substitute with ½ teaspoon of sea salt)
Black sesame seeds To taste
Steps:
Jo Liu
It’s raining outside, crisp and bleak. Three chubby sparrows took shelter on my balcony and I gave them the baguette bits left on my breakfast plate but they flew away. I stayed in, played Damien Rice on vinyl and made apple crumble. Repeat.
Instagram: foodialoguehk
