Peace and mindfulness activist Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” Sounds soothing? It really is if you give it a shot but how often have you experienced food like this?
We saw earlier at the Fountain, how our brains are over-stimulated with the current media epidemic, with countless shows to follow, and hundreds of notifications to check. But the truth is that most of this burden has been put on us by our own choice either because it helps us stay relevant in the groups we desire to belong to or to make us feel alive because we feel being alive is only about experiencing something new, filling up the silence at its first sight.
Filling Ourselves Mindfully
We have experienced the value of awareness across many missions in Kosma, but what does it mean for our food habits? Let us think about a usual meal of yours. How do you normally eat? Are you present with your meal alone or is there something to accompany it, like a TV show, a book, a podcast, or talking to someone? While a meal might seem like a great time to catch up with things in our busy lives, remember, life is simple, but we make it complex. Such mindless eating not only increases our chances of over-eating but also keeps us from being immersed in any of the multiple things we are doing.
Overeating is not only a cause of obesity but also the reason why many times our meals are followed by a feeling of uneasiness, mood swings, or lethargy. The long-living Okinawans from Blue Zone follow an “80 percent rule” (Hara hachi bu). This rule says you should stop eating when you feel 80 percent full. How to know when you reach 80%? Eat mindfully:
Eat at 3/5: Rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 5 before you eat, 5 being the max, and eat only when you reach 3
Stop at 4/5: Rate your fullness on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being a slight struggle to eat, and stop eating when you feel like 4
Refine the senses: Repeat the process. As you practice, your self-awareness about meals will grow and you will get better at knowing and mastering your body’s rhythms
Let’s Go Deeper
You are what you eat. But what do you eat? Is it merely a piece of matter with some flavor that gets you energy? We disagree.
Our lives are deeply interconnected and our relationship with what we eat also changes how our body responds to it (now scientifically proven if you are skeptical). Thich’s classic Peace is Every Step, has a section titled “Tangerine Meditation.” Here, he observes how the amount of our enjoyment of eating Tangerine depends on our level of mindfulness. Here is an excerpt:
If you are free of worries and anxiety, you will enjoy [the tangerine] more. If you are possessed by anger or fear, the tangerine may not be very real to you.
One day, I offered a number of children a basket filled with tangerines. The basket was passed around, and each child took one tangerine and put it in his or her palm. We each looked at our tangerine, and the children were invited to meditate on its origins. They saw not only their tangerine, but also its mother, the tangerine tree. With some guidance, they began to visualize the blossoms in the sunshine and in the rain. They saw petals falling down and the tiny fruits appear. The sunshine and the rain continued, and the tiny tangerine grew. Now someone has picked it, and the tangerine is here. After seeing this, each child was invited to peel the tangerine slowly, noticing the mist and the fragrance of the tangerine, and then bring it up to his or her mouth and have a mindful bite, in full awareness of the texture and taste of the fruit and the juice coming out. We ate slowly like that.
And one of our favorite ways to connect with food can be absorbed from Kahlil Gibran’s words:
And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart,
“Your seeds shall live in my body,
And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”
We would love you to try mindful eating at your next meal. Rate your hunger, start with gratitude like Thich shows for tangerine and stop when your fullness reaches 4/5. The more you practice like this, slowly you’ll start becoming one with your meals and get the most out of each morsel.
Remember, there is nothing that you are missing out on while eating. Life is happening right in this moment.
Slow down. Rejoice 😊