Nato (pronounced nah-to) is ultra fermented soybeans essential delicacy in Japan and slimy odorous (as sharp miso) but mega good for you, protein-rich in molecular amino acids and beta carotin. I had a discussion with a vegan/nature worshiper/surfer originally from N. Carolina deep in the oasis forest of Iao where we swim, and after meditating on the granite cascades of the spring hungered for the bodily and mindful benefits of this food. Our chosen nutrition lifestyle is like mortal abstinence: we are both in a spiritual journey, his more nomadic geopolitical (freedom from capitalistic attachments living freely day by day elevating his "home" to a universal vibration); mine, on the other hand, is more religious (in the sense a personal search guided by the philosophy of Buddhism and poetics, achieving intellectual and creative evolution). And yes, we both believe these pure sources from plants and traditional techniques as food can pave the way. In Hawaii, saimin is staple yet I craved a version of my own using nato, whole red peppers, brussel sprouts and curly parsley absorbed in ginger-coconut broth, I am not making a noodle soup but a creamy rich luxurious dish toothsome with a mucilaginous spicy/smoky/miso-ey/earthy kick. When I eat something this good my brain cells excite and smile, and my internal writing soldiers ready for battle, so to speak. I burn my mind reading (and composing poems) always, a "candle burning at both ends" (evoking Edna St. Vincent-Millay), as my imaginative fuel is astral and so I need all the help from nature's foliage primary takers of solar energy. Another corollary health topic we discussed at the oasis was fasting. "As you start growing, new dimensions open in your being," so let the Tao lead the way. This ancient Chinese teaching builds on in you the superstructure of your destiny, therefore a cleansing is necessary for the operative soul. The image of the universe below (with a poem caption) represents this "fruition" I'm talking about using only thoughts or words or meditational power. Please read it.
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| Concerning the universe/the city of God,/we know very little./It was cooked for a long time/over a flame. -- Eugenio Montale, The Paris Review (Art by M.T. resin over painting) |
The meager monarch butterfly traverses a longitudinal migration riding electromagnetic
wind for a few thousand miles. The Buddha is a lotus flower floating only on pond. There is a poem I pray whenever I'm in Iao that fills me as I'm there intentionally without food despite my cold spring swim upstream and rock climb to the grotto oasis to meditate, and I found that prayer at a trail marker adjacent to opening of the cascade pool. "Grant me the knowledge from above/concerning the hidden wisdom of songs./Grant, grant/us these things."
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