Salt of the Earth. Spirit of the Air.
Why do we abstain from Salt during our dietas? Why do we make certain agreements before, during and after diet?
Recently, a friend reached out and asked “Is it necessary to give up salt during dieta? And if so, why?"
I will share from my own experience:
When you abstain from salt for a significant amount of time… and then when you eat it again, your body kind of goes, “Ooooh wow!! I’m back!!” And it feels REALLY good to have that salt again, and there is a sense of pleasure and relief...
There is something about salt that brings us back into ourselves… It is GROUNDING.
Which makes me think of the old expression “SALT OF THE EARTH."
Salt is a key mineral that has always been an ally to humanity… Before modern refrigeration, it preserved our foods & meats... And so, in a way, we give up that comfort… We give up that “Earthiness” in the hopes of moving deeper into the realm of Spirit, which I would associate with the element of Air.
When you are in a diet, you become “weaker” in a beautiful and poetic way…
This weakness helps us get out of our own way so that the dieta process can blow in like the wind organically, on its own...
Depending on how deep you want to commit to the diet process, you are asked to abstain from things that are obvious like salt, sugar, oil, pork, alcohol & sex... However, some Dieteros choose to fast from food for days and some from water too… Some Dieteros fast from speaking and interacting with others as well.
Dieting is not particularly comfortable and it is in the sacrifice that you offer your sincerity to open the possibly of learning from the plants.
We willingly make agreements in our diets. Some of them will make sense to our western minds... And some of them won't.
Obviously - *and this should go without having to be said* - Don't ever agree to something that crosses your morals, ethics, boundaries, or common sense but for the most part, as long as the agreements are ethical & sincere, I don't think about them so much…
Choose to focus on what you could gain from your diet, not what you will give up…
Salt is a small price to pay… When we water our plants, we do not water them with salt water... Entering into a dieta is like Cultivating an Internal Garden.
If you are dieting it is most likely because there is something you need, something you want to heal, or something you want to learn…
There is a moment where we have to admit to ourselves that we don’t know so much about the process… And we will learn “WHY” certain things are through own direct experiences in the diet.
Most of dieting starts to make sense only after you’ve completed quite a FEW diets… And even then, you will continually learn new things.
My guidance would be - Do what your teacher says. All of it. Don’t cut corners... Do it with your whole heart, do it happily… And if you can’t, or if you don’t want to, then don't diet… It’s that simple.
It's good to remember that entering into a diet is YOUR OWN CHOICE. And if you don't want to, you could always go for “treatment” or a period of “cleansing” which is sometimes referred to as “Payanti.”
To conclude, I feel that dieting is a privilege in which we are let into a special world that is not our own. We pay a small price of discomfort in exchange for everything that’s on the other side of that...
Written with love + care by
Amaru Ñan Warmi / Zihuakoatl Zitlallinikue
How do you feel about giving up Salt during dieta? What other sacrifices have you made to get the most out of your diet?
If you’d like to share your thoughts or contribute to this conversation you can do so on IG: @GuidedByGrandma
First meal after dieta is sooo good!!! The food finally has a little bit of salt, and the lemon water finally has a little bit of sugar. You always “cut” your dieta with something strong. In this case, they gave me a little bit of alcohol (first time that was offered to me… It’s the red liquid in the small glass) and also a bowl of chopped onions in lemon juice… After weeks of no salt, sugar, oil, spice, the tiniest bit of flavor explodes onto your tastebuds grounding your body back into this reality!
