The idea of transubstantiation in the Catholic Church is something that seems kind-of odd to me. Presumably, the food actually becomes the body and blood of Christ. I don't want to critique this idea as much as explore some ways to expand it.
When I've taken communion before (in a Protestant setting, since I'm not Catholic), the thing I've noticed about it is how much attention we pay to the small piece of bread and wine or grape juice. Then I wondered what effect it would have if we could do that all the time.
When we eat, we are also literally taking in something that isn't us - it's the body of something else (plant or animal) In some ways, we could look at this as a spiritual exercise like communion. Each bite is both a gift from God and part of the body of God (in the sense that God is part of all creation).
This notion can be modified to fit with Pagan, Buddhist, or even atheist/agnostic belief systems. Communion is about being part of a community (same root word) through the ritual of eating something together. When we eat anything, it brings us into a kind of "communion" with all beings on earth.
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