Food is often
an afterthought in our busy and rushed world. Personally, I have experienced so
much delight in slowing down, simplifying my life, and paying attention. Like
eating. Can there be an experience more rich and sensual than eating? I think
not. These are the qualities that allow eating to be an exceptionally effective exercise
in mindfulness.
In the last two
blog articles, we talked about the value we receive when we are mindful in planning, shopping, and preparing food. This article will stretch us a
bit further as we explore the sensory experience of mindful eating.
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| Shopping mindfully is good preparation for mindful eating. |
Eating is not
simply about taste. In fact, as an exercise it engages all of our senses: seeing,
smelling, tasting, touching and even hearing. I mean, we hear ourselves chewing
and swallowing, right? (!e even hear ourselves making pleasurable sounds when
we’re in a state of food bliss). Eating is
simply luxurious. Granted, we are not often attentive to the splendor of this
experience because we are lost in our thoughts, judgments and habits. But hold
up there a moment. What happens when you eat something for the first time,
something with an interesting or unusual flavor, texture, or smell (Indian
foods come to my mind, because I only enjoy it on occasion.). What happens is
that we notice. Our awareness is brought
to the newness of the experience. We are engaged in sensory stimulation and our
brain is providing feedback via a flush of dopamine into our pleasure center!
It’s just
human nature that as we eat more of a novel food, we become habituated to it – our
senses are still stimulated, but we no longer pay attention. So, technically, our
attention becomes habituated. That really sucks because then we miss out on the pleasure of eating. A sad state of affairs when we there is a plethora (yes,
a plethora) of phenomenally pleasurable foods that grace our tables!
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| Novel foods pull our attention with their taste. These cape gooseberries surprised me with their savory sweetness. |
One thing I
have done to cultivate an appreciation of food is to spend a few moments with
each bite staying in the experience – letting
my senses be at the forefront of my attention. I first learned this in a
workshop many, many years ago. I think I was 18 at the time. Yeah – decades ago
- I’m no spring chicken (Now I am a mother hen). This may have been one of those
life-altering experiences that changed my eating habits and initiated a life-long passion
for healthy eating.
Want to give
it a try yourself? Cool. I thought you might. After all, you are an adventurer
like me, right? It’s super easy and fun. But first you need to set an intention
(remember that from the article Mindfulness in the Kitchen?). What will your
intention be? I think mine will be “My actions are purposeful and my attention is in
the moment”. Choose whatever works for you.
I think it’s
easiest to start with a food that you enjoy – but its best if you select
something healthful. Nevertheless, the most important thing for me is choosing
something with high sensory output. Depending on my mood, I might choose granny
smith apple slices, chocolate, clementine slices, chocolate, almonds (one of my
favorites), chocolate, herbal tea, cheese – you know… good stuff. Prepare a few
bites of your chosen food as you will be experiencing something different with each bite.
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| Prepare a food that will allow you to be in the moment. |
Step one: Stimulating
the sense. With your intention in mind, allow your attention to rest on the
food item. Using your visual sense, carefully examine what the food looks like –
the shape, the colors, the way it catches light. If you notice your brain
categorizing, labeling or judging, just gently let those thought pass out of
your mind (I like to imagine thoughts floating away like clouds) and simply
experience the pure visual cues. Next, close your eyes and use your sense of touch to
feel the weight and the texture of your food item. Again, let thoughts pass. With
eyes still closed, smell the food. Be in the
moment with the scent for a little while. When you’ve smelled to your satisfaction,
you can open your eyes. Are you drooling yet (This happens to me, especially
with oranges! Go figure.)? If you do start to drool, it’s just your anticipation
of taste. So notice it and let go of your thoughts.
Step 2: The
gustatory experience. Set your intention. With attention on your sense of taste, put the food item
in your mouth. Allow your taste buds to respond to the flavor. Be in the moment
with the flavor. If your attention is pulled to the texture, simply bring it
back to the flavor – as often as needed. Notice that there is an instinctual need
to swallow. As you swallow, notice if the flavor changes in your mouth. When
you are ready, take a breath, pause, and then put the second piece into your
mouth. This time, put your attention on the texture of the food. Notice how it
changes as your chew. Again notice your swallowing instinct. Finally, take a
breath, pause, and put a third piece in your mouth with your attention on the
mechanical movements of your lips, tongue, and cheeks. If possible, make these
movements deliberate. If you cannot do this, simply observe (no thoughts!) and
experience.
As you’re
going through this whole process, allow yourself to notice that when your
attention is fully in one sensory experience, like smell, your other senses
actually become secondary and the sense you're focused on becomes primary. You
can notice this as you consciously change from one sense to another.
I haven’t
tried it (maybe I’m a wimp), but I imagine doing this activity with very spicy
foods would offer some very interesting results! Are you game?
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| I won't try it, but peppers might offer fascinating insights! |
So, when I do
this exercise, I like to cultivate gratitude for the experience. After all,
this is a short, intense meditation that brings me back into my centered self
and lightens my mood for several hours, if not for a whole day. It reminds me
to be mindful when I am eating a meal with my family (and it gives me a little mental boost to get through washing the dishes), it remind me of the incredible abundance
that this Earth offers us, and it reminds me of the pure joy in simple things –
things that are available to each of us all the time (when we’re not too busy
to notice).
Beyond that (because
I am a little obsessed with physiology and neuroanatomy), it delights me to
visualize of my body using the nutrients (am I not enchanted by the most mundane
things?). I envision new cells being built, cellular debris being carted off by plasma, neurons firing properly, and toxins being removed. In essence, I
visualize a healthy and robust body working well. What is cool about this is
that this helps keep me focused on eating healthful foods and keeps me actively
learning new information and applying behaviors that maintain good health.
How does this exercise improve your mindfulness? It works
just like other mindfulness exercises. Together, they strengthen our ability to
focus or to let go when we want to. It puts us in the driver’s seat. My goal is to
live deliberately and not be controlled by my busy monkey mind. So a regular
practice of mindful eating, along with an arsenal of other mindfulness tools, gives
me a greater mind control (for lack of a better word). Mind control – just what
the world needs more of.
I call this mind control my “mindfulness muscle” (like any
muscle, it needs regular exercise to stay at peak fitness!). As that muscle has
gotten stronger in me, my relationship with food has changed. Not only do I have better
health, mentally and physically, but I’ve watched my lifestyle adapt too. Now we
grow food in our garden, we raise hens, we shop locally, and we try to purchase
foods that have a smaller ecological footprint. Doing these things does make me
feel better about myself (Yes, there’s some ego at play in all that), but I
also experience more compassion toward my fellow companions on this planet.
To note: I have to credit Jon Kabat-Zinn for his book “Full
Catastrophe Living” in which he describes the process of mindful eating used
with workshop participants at the Oasis Institute/Center for Mindfulness which
he co-founded over a decade ago. I liked very much how he presented the experience.
Granted, my first experience of mindful eating was way before I even knew who JKZ
was, but reading his book was a wonderful reminder of a very cool way to introduce
mindfulness to newbies. It was the impetus behind these posts on mindfulness
and food.
