Secrets from My Macrobiotic Kitchen with Julie S. Ong

Eat better. Live better. Love better.

Category Archives: intuition


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Are you having a secret love affair?

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
~Harriet Van Horne


You already know about the advantages of eating healthy— a stronger immune system, reduced risk of many diseases, physical fitness, and so much more. But did you know you were born with an inner guidance system for preparing life-enriching foods? The world’s best chefs already know this. When you build a connection with food and trust your inner guidance system, the process of healthy cooking will naturally fall into place.

Here a some tips for bonding with your food and strengthening your intuition to create delicious, healthy meals:

1. Experiment.

Organic food is delicious all on its own. The simple process of steaming some organic carrots can really bring out their flavor. However, if you are entertaining or just in the mood for something different, flex your creative muscles and change a dish up. You can use additional ingredients- like sauces, herbs, spices, and condiments— to enhance the food’s natural flavors. Condiments can also help to balance a dish, enhancing flavors and boosting the energy.

2. Use all of your assets.

You may want to try time-honored family recipes to get in touch with your cultural roots. However, don’t get locked into just following those recipes over and over. As your creativity expands, you can create new dishes centered around your family’s culinary heritage.

By making some mistakes along the way, you’ll learn to balance ingredients in a meal and how to make substitutions. This is an empowering process, and it allows you to make more informed decisions instead of just following someone else’s advice or instructions. You might prefer the dish to be more spicy, less spicy, or seasoned differently. When you cook without a recipe, you can adjust the seasonings and ingredients to make it your own. You can infuse a meal with your unique flair by trusting your energy and intuition.

3. Start a love affair.

One of the easiest ways to incorporate healthy cooking into your life is to develop an intimate relationship with food. Really make it a love affair— get truly passionate about healthy food. For example, incorporate one new vegetable or whole grain into your meal plan each week.

It’s sort of like getting to know someone you’ve just met. At first, it’s a little scary, because you don’t know how to behave around each other. And then after you spend some more time with them and you get to know each other, you start to build a mutual trust and feel safe around them. Eventually, you can’t imagine life without them. The same concept can be applied to your relationship with food. In the beginning, it will be a little scary, but after a while, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without your vegetables and whole grains.

As you build a love affair with food, you’ll not only make better tasting dishes, you’ll also develop an all-encompassing confidence that you can take with you out into the real world— your job, your relationships, and anything else that requires truth and intuition.


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The Kitchen as Sacred Space

The aim of life is to live, and live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.
~Henry Miller

Cooking is a spiritual process. In fact, the traditional method of food preparation involved only intuition, not written instruction. Those who derive true delight and fulfillment from the act of cooking have made a conscious and passionate commitment to exploring their creativity – to embracing their uniquely brilliant ideas instead of blindly following the advice of authority figures. By entering into this process of self-discovery, you’ll connect with your creativity not only in the kitchen, but in all realms of day-to-day life.

Today, we’ll explore how to transcend the expectations of society, and to turn obstacles into opportunities so you can tap into unlimited creativity.

Preparing food with a deep connection to the Earth helps to open the body and soul to a higher level of happiness and awareness. When you bring this truth and balance into the kitchen, which is the heart of the home, it ripples throughout all you do, feel, and think. You learn to free yourself from the inside out by fueling your body, mind, and soul with the love you infuse into every dish.

Here are 3 amazing secrets to accessing your creative side in the kitchen. Once you learn and implement them, you’ll embrace a simpler, less-stress life.

1. Treat the kitchen as a sacred space.

The kitchen is a sacred place to tap into your intuition through the process of “allowing.” You were born with an inner guidance system for preparing life-enriching foods. The world’s best chefs already know this. Instead of poring over lists of ingredients and instructions, just go with the flow and allow the process to unfold naturally. At first, it can be rather scary, but eventually, you’ll find that your timing and intuition get better with every dish. Instead of using measurements, your inner guidance system will tell you the right amount of spices and herbs and seasonings to add. Soon, everything will fall into place.

2. Expand beyond recipes.

Relying solely on recipes can eventualy become sort of a crutch, keeping you from trusting your intuition. When you use recipes, you’re not using all of your assets. As you become more comfortable in the kitchen and trust that everything will turn out okay, you will develop an all-encompassing confidence that you can take with you out into the real world—your job, your relationships, and anything else that requires truth and intuition.

3. Create your masterpiece.

As you make mistakes along the way, you learn to balance ingredients in a meal and how to make substitutions. This is an empowering process, and it allows you to make more informed decisions instead of following someone else’s advice or instructions. You might prefer the dish to be more spicy, less spicy, or seasoned differently. When you cook without a recipe, you can adjust the seasonings and ingredients to make it your own. You can infuse a meal with your unique flair by trusting your energy and intuition and create a masterpiece.

Cooking is about so much more than just following recipes. It’s a process of growth that takes practice. The more you do it, the better you’ll get, and eventually it will become second nature. By not limiting yourself, you’re taking an opportunity to grow, to expand your potential, and to live life to the fullest.


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What’s your sign?

There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.
~Friedrich Nietzsche

Want to know the secret to natural healing? You may not realize that you already have the power to heal within you. When it comes to your body, you may overlook or brush aside external signs or indicators that your body is out of alignment with the natural order. Becoming more aware of your outer, as well as inner, guidance is the first step to dissolving energetic blockages to healing.

Physical indicators can be important clues you can use for guidance or direction on your path. An indicator or sign is something that shows what your current conditions are, where you are going, and how far you are from the goal. Highway signs, for example, tell you the distance yet to be traveled to reach a certain city. In your body, indicators appear as energetic balances (such as relaxation) or imbalances (such as tension) of physical health.

One way to reach your goal of a healthy body is to use physical indicators as guidance. When you are receiving guidance from your body, you will notice:

  • Your body will have a feeling of relaxation.
  • Your body will feel more energetic.
  • Your skin will be soft and elastic.
  • Your eyes will be bright and clear.
  • You will have a smile on your face.
  • You will look and feel younger.

Disease is a messenger that can help guide you to better health. Guidance, or physical indicators, that can show you where energy is blocked in your body may include:

  • Weakened immune system
  • Tension in the body
  • Physical illness
  • Deficient energy or stamina
  • Bloating or swelling
  • Discolorations on the skin
  • Pain

Intuition, often called “the still small voice within,” is an ever present and trustworthy source of power, security, and comfort. What signs are you receiving? The following exercises can help you become more aware of your body’s wisdom and allow energy to flow:

  1. Close your eyes. Slowly scan your body for areas of tightness (tension, tiredness, pain, etc.).
  2. These areas of tension are guidance. What is this tension telling you?
  3. Ask yourself: “What do I truly want, in my heart, and how do I perceive it will bring me happiness and peace?”
  4. Breathe deeply and open your heart to receiving this message.
  5. Bless this message. Tell the tension that it is heard and that you are there with it.
  6. Describe any changes in your body after receiving guidance.

Use these exercises regularly to help you embrace your body’s wisdom. The best times to do them are when you are less active, such as during rest, upon waking, and just before sleeping. Preventing illness before it manifests by listening to your body’s guidance is the key to a life of freedom, happiness, and peace.


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Intuitive Cooking

If you cannot face directly your sexuality, you will never discover your true spirituality. ~White Tigress Manual

Yoga is suppression with awareness; tantra is indulgence with awareness.
~Osho

Intuitive cooking is a sacred union with universal energy. By cooking according to the seasons, you revitalize your life by attaining that subtle balance of nutrients and energies that nourish you, body and spirit, and connect you with the natural world.

Here are three ways cooking nourishes your connection with the Divine:

1.  Cooking connects you with the present moment.

Ancient yogic practitioners reached union with source energy by embracing the present moment through connecting with their body. You can also learn to cultivate your connection with the present moment by using your senses when cooking. Touching, smelling, and tasting your food as you prepare delicious meals enhances your mindfulness spiritual practice.

2. Cooking awakens your intuition.

Cooking according to the seasons helps you strengthen your connection with nature and universal forces. These universal forces are also known as intuition or inner guidance. Through cooking, you connect with your senses, which are a profound resource for awakening your intuition to heal from the inside out.

3. Food preparation is a sacred ritual.

As you use your loving intention (guided by intuition) to improve the quality of food, this healing energy removes blockages in the energy flow through the body. Benefits include:

  • Improved sexual health
  • Greater emotional stability
  • Radiant complexion
  • Higher levels of immunity
  • Fewer doctor trips

And more abundant joy!


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What is your desire?

“The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man.”
~ Madame de Stael

“Love is the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.”
~Robert Frost

What is the sexiest organ in the body? You would be surprised to know that it is the brain. This is because the ability to imagine intimate scenarios and fantasies can be more stimulating than the sexual experience itself. Even the desire to be close to your lover activates endorphins in the brain. If you want to increase the energy of this organ, stay tuned for three simple additions to your meal plan that can enhance your sexual desire.

With more nerve cells in your gut than in the central nervous system, the intestines and brain are intimately connected. Often referred to as the second brain, the intestines can provide guidance (“gut feelings”) for the answers we are seeking. To nourish the lower half of the body, include these three simple basics:

1. Whole Grains

Whole grains contain the all vital energy of the plant, which nourishes all levels of mind, body, and spirit. Energetically balanced, whole grains are grounding and help center your whole being from the inside out, achieving peace and harmony. Thus, including whole grains in your regime not only nourishes your sexual health but also the quality of your relationship.

2. Brown Rice

Brown rice is the specific whole grain which has complete balanced carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and minerals. Its stabilizing energy helps ground the core of the body (hara region) and supports organs in the lower part of the body like the reproductive organs.

3. Pressure Cooking

Cooking also transmutes healing energy into your food. Pressure cooking whole grains like brown rice adds warming, strengthening energy which further nourishes the lower region of the body, like the intestines.

The word desire comes from Latin, meaning “from the stars,” pointing to the hidden spiritual forces behind our desires. So, amping up the energy of your brain and intestines increases not only your sexual desire but also enhances your connection to your intuitive power.


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Food as a Mirror for Personal Growth

Learn to let your intuition—gut instinct—tell you when the food, the relationship, the job isn’t good for you (and conversely, when what you’re doing is just right).
~Oprah Winfrey

But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that’s just fabulous.
~Carrie on Sex and the City

Who is your significant other? The answer may surprise you. Your relationships include your relationship with nature, people, pets, career, money, food, and anything else with which you form an attachment. How you experience these relationships is a reflection of the greatest relationship in your life–your relationship with yourself. Because eating is an everyday ritual, your relationship with food is an important reflection or mirror of your relationship with yourself.

Your life experiences are based on your perception of these events. It all begins with your view of yourself. Are you living authentically or are you living by other people’s beliefs? You can find the answer to this question by looking at your relationships. Are your relationships supportive? Do they have healthy boundaries? Or do your relationships bring up inner fears? By deconstructing your stories or limiting beliefs behind your fears, you can find out more about yourself and how to listen to your inner voice instead of following other people’s stories.

Your relationship with food can also reveal limiting beliefs about yourself. If you choose foods that distort thinking, such as alcohol, this may suggest that you want to avoid facing your fears. Mindful eating without distractions allows you to focus on the present moment and nourish your inner voice. Then you honor and respect not only the food you are eating but also yourself.

Healthy Relationship Tip

To connect with your partner and yourself on a more profound level, follow this exercise:

3 Appreciations

  1. Sit crossed legged in front of your partner. Say three things you appreciate about your partner.
  2. Your partner says three things he or she appreciates about you.
  3. You say three things you appreciate about yourself.
  4. Your partner says three things he or she appreciates about himself or herself.

This exercise allows your partner to hear how you value him or her. You also hear how your partner values you, and you both hear how you value yourselves.


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Are you ready to awaken the healer within?

Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains.
~Diane Ackerman

You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.
~Alan Alda

Ah, morning! The fresh smell of dew on the grass and the musky odor that comes out of the earth when the sun comes up! What smells entice you into nature? Cultivating mindful awareness of your sense of smell helps you strengthen your relationship with nature and universal forces. These universal forces are also known as intuition or inner guidance. Your sense of smell is a profound resource you can use to awaken your intuition for healing from the inside out.

Connecting with inner guidance may be new for you. You may have learned to shut your body down, instead of savoring what your body is doing and being guided by it. Mindfully focusing on your sense of smell can help you notice your energy shifting. This process can help you awaken your intuition.

  1. While seated, ground yourself by placing your hands on your abdomen. Scan your body for areas of tension. Tension may appear as tightness in shoulder muscles.
  2. If your body is holding tension, your mind and emotions will reflect this. What emotions are you feeling (for example, sadness, oppression, anxiety)?
  3. What thoughts are you having?

For contrast, smell your favorite herb while you focus on your body, thoughts, and emotions. Finally, do the exercise again, but this time without smelling the herb. What did you notice in your energy as you did the exercise before, during, and after smelling the herb?

Practice awakening your intuition through your sense of smell and notice how your energy shifts. As you begin to listen to your inner guidance, universal energy will flow through you as the natural healing process unfolds.


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Developing Intuition

Development of intuition means trusting your inner voice instead of protecting your ego. When you forget to listen to your inner voice, you can get depressed or sick. But when you listen to your inner voice, who is your guide, you are at peace. If you trust that the universe is abundant and will bring what you need, your heart can be joyful and open to whatever comes.


Meditation and studying scriptures and writings of spiritual leaders open the door to choices that support your well-being, instead of succumbing to temptations or mindlessly following the advice of others. You want your choices to reflect who you are and to open doors of opportunity for further growth.

Life need not be a struggle; it can be easy to listen to your intuition and be joyful. You may become distracted when you get caught up in the struggle to survive. However, suffering is a matter of perspective. You can clean the lens through which you see the world and release mental blockages to receiving universal energy.

Receiving universal energy requires you to become strong physically, through eating an energetically balanced diet of macrobiotic foods. Doing what you love also fills up your energy reservoir, while working under other people’s rules depletes your energy. When you make your passion your life work, everything you do connects you with your source. You cultivate more than enough love to give. In this way, your life becomes a prayer and a gift to the universe in gratitude for the abundance in your life.

As you see yourself as an important contributor to universal flow and a teacher of truth, you live from our authenticity. Your life becomes a joy, rather than a struggle to survive. You see the process of death as a transformation from physical to spiritual energy, as appearances changing form. This awareness allows you to devote your time to creation, rather than to the ego’s game of survival of the fittest.

Your body is a tool you can use to spread the message of truth. Your mental, emotional, and etheric fields form the matrix on which the physical body can materialize, so the body is a reflection of our thoughts and energy. You can develop your connection to the energetic field by engaging in things like eating a macrobiotic diet, taking a walk in nature, and wearing organic natural fiber clothing.

You can also improve your compassion towards others. You can do this by focusing on the aspects that you like about them and being grateful that they are contributing to the positive energy of the universe. Then the boundaries that separate you from people with whom you feel resistance are dissolved; you see them as spirits on the same path to the absolute source. It is when you focus on protecting your ego and see yourself as better than others that you lose your direction, blocking the universal flow. Disassociating yourself from the ego and focusing on your higher self can help you see beyond illusions to the truth in others. You can also ask their higher guides to help them become aware of their issues and limitations that arise from the need to defend their ego.

As you develop your awareness of your energetic field, you can be open to supporting the body’s ability to heal itself. This involves cultivating trust in inner guides that not only give you advice, but also help facilitate energetic healing. This inner guidance is the link to universal energy, which can show you the means to heal from within. In this way, your own inner guidance can help release emotional or mental blockages in the aural field so that healing can proceed.

Recipe for Success: Engaging Your Inner Guidance with the Use of Inner or Spirit Guides

This is another very helpful activity that will give you greater insight into your inner or spirit guide. Simply follow these steps and keep your journal close by.

  • Close your eyes.
  • Relax all tension in your body.
  • Imagine yourself in front of an ornate door that is perfect in height, weight, and width. It may be carved or even have a stained glass window. The handle is at the perfect height and feels good in your hand. Around the edges, a glorious light is shining through. The iridescent light is the perfect temperature and is calling you.
  • Grasp the handle and open the door.
  • If you were going to fill a job position, what do you need help with? Ask your inner guides to appear to you one by one. They may appear as physical beings, as a thought, or as light. You may see them, sense them, or feel them.
  • Write down what you sense for each of your inner guides. Ask your guides for support as you make choices along your journey.

Now answer the following questions in your journal:

  1. Did you feel any body sensations?
  2. What are your emotions?
  3. Which guides are on your team? Be sure to include a Bliss Guide on your team. A bliss guide is someone who helps you have more fun and allows your work to be fun, because none of us plays enough.
  4. List the names and characteristics of your guides.

A Helping Hand

As you already know, every person has an internal voice (no matter what we call it) that dictates what is right or wrong, good or bad, just or unfair. This voice is what carries you through the bad times and leads you to the good. While it is imperative for everybody to follow their own choices, sometimes you need to lend yourself a helping hand. If you are having a hard time letting your inner voice ring strong, you may want to consider getting a spiritual life coach. Sometimes it just takes a bit of coaxing to make your inner voice come out, and in the end, your inner voice is the key to your life’s success.