A field of grains blowing in the wind appeared on my nighttime dream screen-the distinct answer to a daytime quandary. After facing a potentially serious illness, I searched for a healthy eating plan.

Then, I saw the image from my dream on a flyer promoting  a natural foods cooking class.

The class revolutionized my eating habits-and pointed the way to what I call the Divine Eating Plan. The instructor evoked the Bible as the supreme nutrition manual; the Garden of Eden, a model for vegetarianism and healthful eating.

The plan: A diet of grains, legumes, and vegetables and fruits, specified amounts of protein, a simple program based on the premise calories are what count in weight loss, and a spiritually-oriented procedure for stemming food addictions and overeating.

Finding this time-tested eating “formula” connected me with the abundance of the earth and the Source of that abundance. That was 20 plus years ago. The result: decades of health and comfort and surety about food, diminishing the turmoil of a hunger-filled sector of my life.

In this era of mandatory sustainability, vegetarianism and vegan eating mean better health for the planet, too. The 2006 United Nations Food & Agriculture Report called raising livestock for human consumption the most serious ecological problem affecting global warming, exceeding even the hazards caused by automobile emissions. That’s right, eating a vegetarian diet is more environmentally conscious than driving a hybrid.

According to the report, the grain or corn fed to one cow would feed ten people. In addition, feeding livestock requires huge amounts of fossil fuels/oil (contained in fertilizer, yuck) and water, wasting valuable resources. For example, it takes 2,300 to 5,000 gallons of water to yield a pound of beef, something impossible to sustain in an era of record draughts. The waste products of farm animals pollute rivers and poison our drinking water. Antibiotics and chemicals shot into the animals humans consume can cause resistance and worse. (Source: San Francisco Vegetarian Society’s Global Warming & Your Diet, http://www.sfvs.org)

My field of grains dream led to a healthy “diet,” appropriate for me. Instead of jumping from one fad diet to another, ask your dreams for guidance about the eating plan for you (and, of course, check with your health practitioner). All of us benefit when each of us eats well.

C Joyce Lynn 2009