Mindfulness is not limited to meditation. Eating is a source of nourishment, enjoyment, socialization as well as an opportunity to be mindfully present. Below are some questions regarding eating and its incorporation into a spiritual practice that I was asked recently. A short version of this discussion appeared in Femina magazine. http://health.femina.in/featured/can-you-meditate- your-way-to-perfect-weight I hope you find this food for thought. Floyd
1. How is mindful meditation beneficial?
Mindfulness Meditation is a practice that brings our awareness and attention to the present moment. Often the mind wanders away from what we are attending to in the here and now. It is the nature of an untrained mind to do that. Mindfulness is the quality of mind that “remembers” to come back to the here and now. In a sitting meditation practice this “remembering” occurs when we “wake up” and realize that our mind has moved off into a story, a fantasy, an emotion, wishing for a different past or a more exiting present or future.
It is the remembering aspect and the returning the mind to the present moment that is Mindfulness. So that this quality of mind is one that can operate in all our conscious mind moments when we are present with what is happening in this moment. Since the present moment is the only moment that exists (the past is gone and the future has yet to arrive) it is quite beneficial to be here for the only moment that exists. Don’t you think so? For example, anger arises and the mind is carried away and resides in anger, or resentment. If we practice mindfulness there can arise a moment when there is awareness that “anger has arisen” or “anger is like this” and we bring our attention to the unpleasant physical sensations in our bodies and notice its impermanence (the rising and falling away of anger) or just drop the anger altogether. In either case (sitting meditation or life situations) we try to train ourselves not to engage in any judgments or commentary about the whole affair. That is just more thoughts on top of thoughts. “Be here now” is a famous quote from Ram Das in the sixties. It still applies!
2. Would you say that mindful eating is an offshoot of mindful meditation?
The object of mindfulness meditation is to take the mindfulness practice off the cushion and into our life- into every aspect of our life. We sweep nothing under the carpet. This is a practice of complete honesty. At the same time and just as important we refrain from making judgments about our self or others. All aspects of our lives become objects for mindfulness and attention. Our mindfulness becomes part of our path to peace. They are inseparable. So rather than mindfulness of eating being an off shoot of mindfulness meditation it is part of the entire canvas of our spiritual practice. We are all different so that there are now 7 billion paths of practice to peace and clarity- one for each of us. We are so often in such a hurry that when we eat we aren’t even aware what we are eating. We put food into our mouth and already we have the next spoonful or handful of food positioned to go into our mouth even before we are finished chewing the last bite. We may have eaten an entire meal and were never present for a single bite. The following is an exercise for mindful eating. After we put some food in our mouth, put down the eating utensil, and empty our hands of food and simply chew the food. Pay attention and notice the taste, the sensation, and
texture of the food. Swallow the food. Your mouth is now empty. Notice this too. Now pick up the next bit of food and repeat the same exercise. What you will notice is that you will eat much slower, eat less, and actually enjoy the food much more. And you’ll be able to remember what you just ate. The object of this exercise is not to increase our eating pleasure; it is simply to be mindful of what we are doing while we are doing it.
3.What do you think of mindful eating as a means to losing weight and keeping it down?
Our bodies require nourishment. When discussing mindfulness with respect to eating we should use a broader brush than just using mindfulness to lose weight (although it can be part of a weight loss program). I live in a very wasteful country. Every year American food waste represents the energy equivalent of 350 million barrels of oil. That’s enough energy to power the US for a week. So if we are mindful of eating and if we care about the happiness and well being of all beings we should be mindful about wasting food. Wasting would include eating
more food than we need to keep our bodies healthy. The more excess food we produce (to indulge our overeating) the more greenhouse gases are emitted since agriculture represents about 7% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Mindfulness might also include the quality of food we eat. Is it healthy food? Are we causing harm to other beings by eating certain foods? So the question about weight loss becomes embedded in a much larger pattern of mindful behavior. If we are mindful about what we eat, how much we are eating, the kinds of foods that we eat and the effects of our food habits on other beings then mindfulness certainly can be part of a weight loss program with much wider social and ecological impacts. If every time we eat we are mindful of these more global questions I think we would change our eating habits for the better. We all need to be better aware of the ecological impact, and nutritional value (or lack thereof) of the foods we eat.
4. What are the benefits of mindful eating?
The benefits of mindful eating are the same as for mindful speaking, walking, and all our
daily activities. When we are mindful we are present for this moment which is presenting itself to us. If we practice mindful speech we will think about our words before we speak, during our speaking and after we speak. Just think how many fewer problems we would have created for ourselves if we had been more mindful about speech. So mindful eating is another way we practice. Can we be mindful about what we eat (or purchase) before we eat, while we are eating and reflect afterward about whether we ate mindfully. By bringing mindfulness into our eating habits we are creating clarity and vision that enriches the quality of our life.
5. How do you think one should achieve mindful eating and how can one practice it in social occasions?
The exercise I’ve provided above is one way to achieve mindful eating. In almost all cultures eating is a social activity. Food is a part of celebrations in almost all countries. When food is abundant in a country there is frequently less strife and political upheaval. The enjoyment of food is part of the socializing aspect of food. Even business and matters of state are conducted or concluded with a meal. So we need not regard food as a necessary evil. Food is meant to be enjoyed. That’s why we have so many taste buds on our tongue. But food can be so much more that a sense pleasure in social situations. Sharing food is an act of generosity. And generosity is a spiritual practice that benefits the giver and the recipient. Social occasions are also opportunities to practice gratitude to those who shared food with us. Gratitude not only to the people who shared
the food but also to those who grew the food, transported the food, and even those beings who may have given their lives so that we may eat.
6. Are there any downsides to the practice of mindful eating? Any thing that one needs to be cautious about?
There are no downsides to mindfulness. But one should be mindful about moving to extremes. The search for a middle way isn’t only about moderation in our habits although that is part of the path. It is avoiding being pulled away from our mindfulness by craving, hatred, anger, and resentment. It is having the courage not to look away from our unmindful habits and be willing to suspend judgment and let go of self criticism. It is our willingness to open our hearts and offer loving-kindness and compassion for our self. To paraphrase Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj; the mind abyss is only crossed with an open and accepting heart. May you be well, happy and peaceful.
