Mindful
eating is an essential practice in my spiritual tradition. Zen master Thich
Nhat Hanh teaches us a new way to approach food and eating.
Mindful
eating is very pleasant. We sit beautifully. We are aware of the people that
are sitting around us. We are aware of the food on our plates. This is a deep
practice.
Each
morsel of food is an ambassador from the cosmos.
When
we pick up an apple, we look at it for half a second. We look mindfully to
really recognize the piece of food, an apple. We should know that this is an
apple. We identify it with our mindfulness: "I know this is an apple. "
It only takes a fraction of a second.
When
we are mindful, we recognize what we are picking up. When we put it into our
mouth, we know what we are putting into our mouth. When we chew it, we know
what we are chewing. It's very simple.
Some
of us, while looking at an apple, can see the whole cosmos in it, can see the
sunshine in it, can see the earth in it. It has come from the whole cosmos for
our nourishment.
You
may like to smile to it before you put it in your mouth. When you chew it, you
are aware that you are chewing an apple. Don't put anything else into your
mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the apple in.
And
when you chew, chew only the apple, not your projects or your ideas. You are
capable of living in the present moment, in the here and the now. It is simple,
but you need some training to just enjoy the piece of apple. This is a miracle.
Eating an apple consciously is to have a new
awareness of the apple, of our world and of our own life. It celebrates nature,
honoring what Mother Earth and the cosmos have offered us.
Eating an apple with
mindfulness is a meditation and can be deeply spiritual. With this awareness
and insight, you begin to have a greater feeling of gratitude for and
appreciation of the food you eat, and your connection to nature and all others
in our world. As the apple becomes more real and vibrant, your life becomes
more real and vibrant.
Savoring the apple is mindfulness at work. And it is
mindfulness that will help you reconnect with yourself and become healthier in
mind, body and spirit now and in the future.
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