Satisfaction and the Mindful Eater

If the last blog post made you worried that mindfulness was just a boring technique to distract you from the pleasure of eating, think again. Many people actually enjoy food more when they practice mindful eating. When you notice the subtle tastes and smells of food, eating starts to become a truly satisfying experience.

Don’t believe me? Let’s try an experiment. Grab a single raisin, if you have one available. If not, another small piece of natural food could be used, such as an almond. Now, before you place the raisin in your mouth, see what it smells like. Try to imagine the raisin hanging from a vine as a grape and how it dried up underneath the hot sun. As you place the raisin on your tongue, notice the immediate taste and try to see what bouquet of flavors emerge. Be mindful of how the raisin feels in your mouth and against your teeth. Whenever the raisin starts to lose your interest, you may swallow it but notice what it feels like as it goes down your throat and into your stomach.

Now tell me, was that a satisfying experience? Was your attention captured and your senses fully enlivened? That is how enjoyable mindful eating can be. Don’t worry, you don’t have to spend a whole minute on each bite. But by paying attention to your senses you will likely find yourself enjoying your food more. And what if you suddenly relapse into normal eating? Do not criticize yourself, you’re simply human. Just try to bring your brain back onto manual control and allow yourself to become fully aware of what you are eating once again.

Bon appétit!

1 Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Mindful Eating

Mindful eating refers to the practice of remaining aware and attentive to feelings of hunger and fullness, to thoughts about food and eating, and to the sensations of smell, taste, and texture. Mindful eating does not begin when you put a bite into your mouth. It is an ongoing practice that you can do any minute of the day.

Try it right now: how does your stomach feel? Do you notice any discomfort? Any pleasure? Have you thought about food since you started reading? Do you want to eat right now?

Do you have any lingering tastes in your mouth? Can you smell any food? What does your mouth feel like?

These sorts of questions are characteristic of mindful eating but mindful eating is not about having the right answer to these questions but simply being attentive to the signals that your body is sending and whether your brain is sending a different signal. For example, many people continue to eat after they are full. They either eat too quickly for their stomachs to send the message that they are full or they simply do not pay attention to these signals. Mindful eating means paying attention to what you are sensing and feeling so that you can eat the amount of food that your body needs.

Hebrews 12:11: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Dieting

Nearly everyone tries to diet at least once in their life. Some try it once a week. We hear the message so many times that we eventually break. What’s the message? Something that amounts to: “You are what you eat.” Suddenly we face an existential crisis as we worry that we are becoming a Lollipop Kid. The message can even be put in spiritual terms: treat your body like the Temple of God. Yet, the message does not convert into real change.

The problem is not that we need to learn more about how to lose weight. We have all the information that we need. Sure, sometimes we hear conflicting messages: Eggs are cholesterol bombs! Eggs are a great source of protein! But, for the most part, we know when we are eating the wrong things. Unfortunately, all that knowledge translates into very little lifestyle change. Even if we discipline ourselves and do eat a little bit healthier, we often still don’t lose any weight because we continue to eat too much.

Why do we lack discipline in our eating patterns? I think there are two psychological keys to being able to resist the temptation of unhealthy eating: (1) Having a good support system and (2) Shutting off auto-pilot eating. For right now, I want to skip the support system issue, since it is always a good idea to have support in the things you take on. Instead, I want to focus more on the second point – how to turn off the auto-pilot. In my next two blogs, I want to introduce the idea of “mindful” eating at a basic level and then I will discuss how mindful eating can actually make eating a more satisfying experience.200

Imitation

Did you know that one of the great things that make humans unique is our ability to imitate? Sure, other animals can imitate sounds (like parrots), basic movements (like apes), and songs (like whales), but humans take imitation to a whole different level.

Children learn how to talk on phones, put on make-up, and even to misbehave by imitating adults and other children. And we don’t finish imitating when we reach grade school. To become musicians we imitate Mozart, to become physicists we imitate Einstein, and to become chess grandmasters we imitate Kasparorov.

Being natural born imitators means that we have a responsibility to find the right person to model ourselves after.

No wonder Paul encouraged the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” Paul knew that the Corinthians needed someone holy to imitate, so that they might be more like Christ. Sometimes we need to look for that sort of person, who is actively imitating Christ and whom we may imitate in turn.

Look around you. Perhaps you know someone with a loving spirit and strong character. Pray that you might be more like him or her.

Dr. Curtis Lehmann

OC Christian Counseling

Breathe

Pause a second and pay attention to your breath. You are breathing every minute of your life and yet, most of the time, you don’t even notice. As you notice your breath right now, thank God for giving you that particular breath, allowing you to live.

There is also a spiritual practice that you can utilize any moment you become aware of your breath. As you exhale, simply confess your dependence upon God and any sin that is troubling you. Then, as you inhale, accept God’s forgiveness and allow God’s spirit to come into your mind, heart, and soul. Breathe in. Breathe out. Be thankful.

Dr. Curtis Lehmann

OC Christian Counseling

Inviting God Into the Moment

Right now, I would like you to take a minute to focus on what is around you, something other than this glowing screen. Perhaps you might see something new. Invite God into this moment. Ask God what He wants you to notice around you. Pray about what you see around you, even if the object seems trivial, and see what this opens up.

You may start praying about a water bottle but then finding yourself thanking God for clean water and praying for those who lack access. Simply tell God whatever grabs your attention and ask him to speak to you through that object. You may be surprised to find God can speak to you through even the most mundane things in your life.

Being Present

Have you been spending your day rushing from one thing to another? Sometimes we tend to fly through life so quickly that we hardly notice we are missing wonderful things. In the next few days, I would like to lead you in a few meditations meant to help you reawaken your awareness to the world you live in.

Look for the nearest window. Open the blinds or actually step outside if you need to or want to. Focus on something natural, something alive. It might be a flower, a tree, a bird, or even just the grass. Allow yourself to marvel at God’s creation. Imagine God creating that life with a stroke of a brush or with a sculptor’s chisel against clay. Notice any so-called imperfections in that life. Then notice how even the imperfections can be beautiful. You may even want to thank God for bringing that life to your attention. For the rest of your day, see if you can notice God’s creation this way again.

Dr. Curtis Lehmann

http://occhristiancounseling.com/staff/dr_curtis_lehmann.html