I have to confess I have been on a journey of self search and self realization for some time now. It started and is still unfolding as a gradual awakening- mostly to reality, of becoming a little more conscious of aspects of myself, of how all is interconnected and one does not live as an isolated self sufficient cell. It started as a quest journey of inner peace and in recent years it began to manifest more on the outside.
Part of this meant becoming aware and still learning, most times in shock, of the impact that I, as a random individual can make in the community, society and the world as a whole, the place of all living breathing beings.
A good part of this journey is represented by my relation with food and mindful eating is what I would like to focus on below. In Ayurvedic philosophy happiness is simply defined as Food, Exercise, Relationships. All 3 are equally important and happiness comes from finding the subtle balance between the 3.
To go more into detail on this, Peace starts on your plate.
“The doctor of the future
Will no longer treat the human frame with drugs,
But rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”
~ Thomas Edison ~
Take a moment to look into your life and the choices you make.
Myself, I was unaware and living in oblivion of nutritional education, sustainable lifestyles and mindful, responsible consumption for too long.
Perhaps it helps and motivates to know that our bodies have a cellular memory. What we eat makes the cells in our bodies. For example, the skin renews itself every 35 days and it does it from the food one consumes.
Practicing mindful eating can give a boost in terms of channeling your energy, focus, passion, productivity.
- Feeling sleepy during the day? Are you eating too much? Not chewing the food finely enough will cause the stomach to work hard to digest the food. The blood flow and energy will concentrate there.
- Or perhaps eating too little? Estimate the amount of food that you need to eat – eat enough and eat healthy to sustain your physical body. Eat food that is rich in nutrients and that is alive, it will make your body and mind feel vibrant and strong.
- Not eating enough or in excess, not getting the right nutrients into your body will eventually cause deficiency, illness, feeling lightheaded, distracted or worse.
Mindfulness- this ability of ours to observe quietness, stillness or anything else happening in the mind or body can enrich our experience of reality in so many ways.
Mindful eating is one of them.
It pertains to the senses and more sensible aspects of oneself and it comes in handy in aligning the mind and body into balance.
What did I gain from it?
Health, more energy, passion for cooking and slow food, for exploring flavors, eating local (it is really great when you travel), to reuse and recycle.
I also started to focus more on self care, express gratitude and ask for forgiveness from my body, to practice loving kindness meditation beginning with myself.
Mindful eating is not a diet, but it can be an invitation to consider and pause for a moment over your choices in terms of food and how it makes peace with yourself, the environment or how it works against you, your community and supports economic structures that are clearly failing.
“Awareness is like the sun,
When it shines on things
They are transformed.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~
In today world we have access to an abundance of knowledge and research.
Here is a small portion of it should you like to learn more of the topic:
http://www.foodisforeating.org/#thefacts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeNeBOm21fY
http://ralphsmart.com/tag/vegetables/
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/10-best-food-and-health-documentaries/
