If you are not at home in your own body, the temple of your soul, then being “at home” anyplace will be difficult. You can surround yourself with beautiful things but things do not make a house a home. You can adorn your body with jewels and project the image of someone who loves her(him)self, but deep down how you really feel will be known—your body will know it and so will your soul.

How do you see yourself? Do you love your body for the Divine creation that it truly is? How do you treat your body? Your answer may lie in the answer to another question: How does your body treat you? A body that is loved takes care of itself—that is, you—mind, body and spirit. In Inner Tapestry, we examine many ways to nourish the whole self. This month, I invite you to learn about Eating... the Angel Way, a divinely inspired approach to caring for your body, and in so doing, your mind and spirit.

My sister-in-spirit, Annie Kelleher, is a novelist and intuitive medium whose angelic guides have been conveying to her messages for the care and feeding of the human body, mind and spirit. You met Annie in an article I wrote for Inner Tapestry in 2008. You might recall how, some years ago, Annie made the life-altering decision to leave an abusive marriage and begin anew with four children, while waking-up spiritually and psychically to finally acknowledge her ability to communicate with Angels and other energies. To deal with the stress that comes in the wake of confronting abuse and enduring a painful divorce, Annie exercised—relentlessly—in ways that left her feeling powerful and in control, but not loved.  The angst from the divorce eased and, shortly after her fortieth birthday, Annie’s motivation to exercise vanished, but she continued to eat anything she wanted. The pounds crept on.

She tried various diets and exercise regimens month after month, year after year. Nothing fit nor worked for her. Annie knew she didn’t want a diet—she didn’t want deprivation. She wanted a way of life that would allow her to indulge in foods she enjoyed, avoid foods she didn’t like, and would leave her feeling nourished, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Recently, Annie realized she had come a long way on her healing journey, but physically, she was stuck. One day, about two years ago, Annie was peeking in her fridge for something to eat. Frustrated, she asked The Angels, “Would you please tell me what to eat?” To her surprise, They responded.

Annie shared the Angel’s nutritional guidance with me. Having a professional background in the health sciences, I was a little skeptical. As I examined the messages, I was immediately struck by the validity of these divine guidelines, that we call, Eating… The Angel Way. There is strong nutritional science support for the guidelines. In the following excerpt from our work with the Ten Angel Way Guidelines, Annie shares what the Angels say about how to be at home in your body – your whole body.

Over the years, I have undertaken serious study of various spiritual traditions and acknowledged the angelic messages I received as my intuitive practice progressed. Early on, I received a message regarding how I was “squandering” my health by not paying attention to my food choices and by neglecting to exercise. I knew I “should” eat right; I had no idea what that really meant. I wanted to feel nurtured and nourished, and to experience my body in a loving, self-accepting way.

The Angels response to my call for help about how to nourish my body did not come all at once, of course. With the gentleness I’d been seeking, They patiently began to guide me. Many months, I received information from the Angels regarding what and how I should be eating. It took me some time to understand the content of Their messages and to put the guidelines into practice. Like most people, I was resistant to change, no matter how much I knew I needed it.

The Angels teachings are rooted in love and an appreciation for our bodies that many of us do not have for ourselves. One of the first messages I received was how saddened the Angels are that most of us do not appreciate the unique miracle of creation that is our physical form. The one thing the Angels lack is the experience of life in a body. They assured me, being able to manifest in the appearance of a body is not at all the same thing. They would like all of us to see ourselves as the beautiful and unique manifestations of the Divine that we are.

The Angel Way Guidelines bring us back into that place of loving delight for our bodies and our need for nourishment that we had when we were infants. Bombarded as we are by advertising and approved images of what we “ought” to look like, most of us find ourselves at war with a very necessary part of ourselves – our appetites. We have been told that our appetite is something to be “controlled” and “not trusted.” We are encouraged to pursue a culturally approved ideal and made to believe something is wrong with us if we don’t fit that ideal. Yet, our appetite kept us alive when we were at our most helpless, spurring us to signal our caregivers that Baby needed to be fed. Without a healthy appetite hard-wired into place, infants would die.

The relationship we have with our bodies is a microcosm of the relationship we have with our Earth home. The Angels emphasize that our world is in serious need of healing. With these simple, easy-to-follow guidelines, the Angels provide a tool to help us heal. In order to heal our world, we must first heal ourselves, including our relationships with our bodies, and the ways we nourish ourselves – mind, body and spirit.

The first Angel guideline is “What you eat is up to you. Each of you is a unique human being blessed with the ability to make choices.” Like so much of what we do, what we choose to eat reflects key attitudes and beliefs we hold not so much about food, but about ourselves. In his book, The Spectrum, Dr. Dean Ornish writes at length about the choices available to us—a spectrum of foods, ways to exercise and care for our bodies and minds. He also discusses the unique biochemistry of every person, which means that each person has unique nutritional requirements unlike anyone else.

The second, third and fourth guidelines are more direct answers to my initial question, “What should I eat?” The Angels encourage us to see foods not simply in terms of physical nourishment, but also as energetic nourishment as well. The term “energetic” is used in two ways. First, as most of us know, food provides energy to fuel our bodies. The higher the quality of the food we choose, the healthier we are. Today, scientists and nutritionists advocate that we eat the most natural, wholesome, organic quality foods that we can afford to buy. As Dr. Ornish, and Dr. Mark Hyman (author of UltraMetabolism) explained in interviews with Karen, the more biologically natural a food is, the easier it is for the body to acquire nutrients it needs from the food.

“Energetic” also refers to the spiritual energy centers of the body – the chakras. The color of a fruit or vegetable, or grain, for example, indicates what chakra it helps to fortify, rebuild and balance. An orange isn’t just good for us physically – it’s also good for the second chakra.

The Angels stress the importance of complete protein in our diets, which they refer to as “white foods.” Just like white light, protein foods contain all the nutrients necessary to rebuild the biological fabric of the body. The Angels also emphasize that, as you become more sensitive to the vibrations in foods, you may develop a preference for humanely raised and butchered meats and plant-based proteins. The vibration contained within the food we ingest affects our energy vibrations, as well. Since following this regimen, many of my sisters-in-spirit have noticed they feel “clearer” and more energetic on a psychic-spiritual level.

Grains and starchy vegetables receive special consideration because these foods are the most exploited by our culture. Grain and grain by-products are found in all sorts of foods.

Consequently, most of us eat far more grain-containing products than we may think. Gluten sensitivity and other allergies related to grain-based foods are on the rise. The Angels encourage us to eat whole grains with awareness for how much we consume and the type of grains we choose.

Like many of today’s leading nutrition experts, The Angels advise us to pay close attention to labels and to eat the best quality foods available to us. Reading labels raises your awareness of the choices available to you so that you can choose the healthier food or treat as often as possible. The Angels do not ask you to deprive yourself. Not even Dr. Ornish wants you to give up chocolate. He (and the Angels) recommends a bite or two of the highest quality organic dark chocolate to satisfy any chocolate lovers' soul!

The remaining guidelines offer gentle suggestions for incorporating The Angel Way into your life. The Angels never made a suggestion that in any way took away my ability to choose for myself. In fact, the Angels suggested that to begin, I follow the guidelines for just two days at a time. They assured me, after just two days, I would choose to continue eating The Angel Way of my own free will. Not because They wanted me to, or because I “knew I should” eat this way, but because I liked how eating, the Angel Way, made me feel.

...The Angels were right.

The Angel Guidelines – Scientific Support

The Angels acknowledge that there is more nutrition and wellness information available now than ever before. While this is a wonderful thing, it also can be very confusing to apply the knowledge to ourselves. All of the Angel Way guidelines coincide with sound nutrition practices. I don’t mean trendy diet tips, either. I am referring to scientifically supported principles for what to eat and how to eat. For a reading list, please contact Annie or Karen.

Annie Kelleher is the published author of 11 novels, a Reiki Master and an intuitive medium. She works out of The Purple Rose in Tarriffville, CT. Annie is currently writing a book on this subject with Karen M. Rider. If you are interested in learning more about the Eating the Angel Way program and guidelines, please contact Annie at 860-658-9888, ext 1.