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Mindful Eating as Food for Thought ( New York Times)

DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
edited February 2012 in Buddhism Today
TRY this: place a forkful of food in your mouth. It doesn’t matter what the food is, but make it something you love — let’s say it’s that first nibble from three hot, fragrant, perfectly cooked ravioli.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/mindful-eating-as-food-for-thought.html?_r=1&hp

Comments

  • Lady_AlisonLady_Alison Veteran
    I have a problem with food in that when I am stressed or have anxiety or worse, a fight with friend or spouse...I don't eat.

    It's dangerous, I have dropped 15lbs in onemonth because of a bout of depression.

    Thanks to meditation and mindfulness, when I eat....I do nothing else.
  • Lady_AlisonLady_Alison Veteran
    Good article, cookie monster.

    :)
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited February 2012
    Remember once on retreat seeing monks come into the dining hall and giggle amongst themselves. When I asked what was funny one said that everybody was eating like Zombies. Ea.t..i...n.......g m.i..n...d......f........u.........l............l.............y.

    ed. the point was that "awareness" is not speed dependent. Slow, fast. medium.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    This is true, @RichardH, but for the most part, people eat either too quickly, or they eat with distractions (TV, mostly)...
    Slowing your eating not only aids better digestion, but also makes you aware of what the food tastes like, as it breaks down in the mouth.

    That's where digestion starts, and saliva is a digestive fluid.
    Many people need to drink while eating in order to lubricate their food, because they don't give the salivary glands enough time and stimulation in chewing, to generate adequate quantities of saliva to aid digestion.
    Water is a poor substitute, but it also helps fill the stomach....

    Really, that wasn't aimed entirely at you, and i didn't mean to come over as patronising.
    but eating slowly has far greater benefits than just being purely meditative....
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    No argument here. Most people are rushing headlong while eating..lost in their heads.
    ..and there are physical reasons to eat without being in a hurry.

    In that retreat situation things were generally slow and unhurried, so eating too fast was not an issue. The zombie eating, zombie walking back for more food, and zombie picking up of fork and knife, was an exaggerated slowness for sake of being mindful. I understood that exaggerated slowness as helping get off the thought train in order to "stop and smell the roses", which is true, but the pointing out that awareness is not dependent on speed (or content etc) was also a helpful nudge at the time. I still think it is.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Actually, I can imagine how hilarious it must have looked.
    somewhat contrived, even...

    I'm hoping our mindfulness can fall somewhere between the two!
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    Me too.

    Still working on it..... :o
  • RavenRaven
    I read once (can't remember where) that the full flavour of your food is in the first 6 bites. If you take your time and are mindful of those first bites, it can be a total foodgasm. Yes, eating is for survival, but we can also enjoy it
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    Many people go about the act of eating in a disfunctional manner. As people have posted above there are many points to the digestive system, but everything starts at the mouth. Your salvia has amalyse (cannot spell for my life), in it which breaks down the food particles. So you should chew your food for a long period of time, also biting in itself obviously helps break it up into a mush which is a great help for your stomach.

    I use to to eat so fast, I could have been one of those 'athletic eaters' who compete. But now a days I slow down as I realize how important it is. Ajahn Brahm says that him and his monks always eat in total silence and focus on the notion of eating as this connects the mind to what the body is doing, which subsequently will help the whole digestion process.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited February 2012
    Leon, how are you doing with the sugar avoidance? Anything sweet, honey, anything, and the candida will feed off it again, and you'll be back to square 1. Simple carbs (=refined carbs) and even popcorn will set you back. Only 3 more days to go, you'll feel better at the end of the week!
  • Lady_AlisonLady_Alison Veteran
    Listen to me, leon. Give in, give in, give in to krispy kreme crack and sexy cookie dough ice cream...the precious...

    Lol....no seriously...how the hell are you? Didn't yell at your girl, did you?
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