| Choices
Let food be your medicine and
medicine be your food.
Hippocrates
For
the week beginning October 1st, 2004
 IS
FOOD REALLY MEDICINE? Think for a moment about the purpose
and properties of food.The purpose offood is to give you strength,well
being, and energy. But there are all kinds of foods.The wrong foods
can harm your body and put it at risk; the proper ones can heal, as
well as guard you from aging and illness.
Do you remember a time when your doctor or other health professional
recommended a dietary change? What did you do? Some just find another
doctor – which only works in the short-term. Eventually, the consequences
of your food choices will catch up with you.Your body is not a mechanical
device, but an integrated organic miracle that is perfectly tuned to
work with the natural environment.
Become more aware of your body’s reaction to the foods that offer
natural medicine and health.
•
What benefit do you get from “natural”
food? Add one or more of these medicine
foods to today’s diet.
Community
My wife broke our dog of eating at the table –
she let him taste it.
Pat Cooper, comedian
For
the week of October 5th
DO
YOU EVER go to a potluck only to find that eating spirals out
of control and you taste a little of everything? Or do you get upset
because the food is not what you consider healthy or appropriate?
If you struggle with food and diet, potluck dinners can be good practice
for learning how to discriminate between the food you desire and the
food your body really requires. It can also help you witness your limiting
and judgmental views of yourself and others. Is the food you bring to
the potluck consistent with your typical dietary choices? Or do you
reward yourself by bringing treats and make this meal an exception?
At such times, it is useful to state an intention beforehand: “I
intend to stay mindful of what food my body really needs. And though
I may be tempted, I will be mindful of my desires and emotions, too.”
•
State your intention before any mealtime
gathering to stay mindful.
Community
To bring a person into your house
is to take charge of his happiness for as
long as he is under your roof.
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin,
French gourmet and lawyer
For
the week of October 12th
DO
YOU EVER have guests over for dinner or a cup of tea? This
ancient ritual of hospitality and sharing of food and resources is thousands
of years old. In some cultures, shared meals are a form of currency
through which lifelong bonds and friendships are formed.
The next time you invite people to your dwelling to share food, think
about how you can be mindful toward your guests. First, you can accomplish
this by respecting and honoring guests with your full attention.Use
kind speech that expresses what you genuinely feel – but only
if it is beneficial and not self-serving. Lastly, listen to your guests
by letting them share their unique stories – of their families,
lives, or work.
In another sense, how you nurture others reflects how you nurture yourself.Naturally,
remember to share your mutual love of food and drink.
•
Invite guests over for a dish of
hospitality and mindfulness.
Departure
Plenty sits still, hunger is a wanderer.
South African proverb
For the week of October 19th
HOW
CALM DO you feel after your meal? Do you feel like the edge
has been taken off your hunger? Or do you still feel unsatisfied and
restless?
It is useful to be mindful of your appetite after eating. If you are
still restless, for example, then this could be the result of drastically
restricting your food intake to lose weight. I believe that losing weight
does not mean forcing yourself to eat very little. Moderately eating
healthy foods and being mindful of your eating habits still allows you
to feel satisfied after mealtime.
Also, if you typically overeat, then even normal meal portions may leave
you feeling dissatisfied and hungry. In this case you can (1)
slow down your eating by breathing between bites, (2) chew
more frequently, and (3) mindfully focus on the aroma, texture,
and taste of food so that you are fulfilled by it, instead of just being
filled up.
•
Be mindful of whether you are restless
after mealtime, and take action to get
fulfilled rather than just filled up.
Community
A café is not a filling station for fueling the human
engine with a quick shot of caffeine; it is a way
station where travelers may dawdle for ten
minutes or three hours as their dispositions and
appointment calendars demand.
Joseph Mazo, author
For the week of October 26th
DO
YOU EVER take the time for a leisurely meal with others? Or
do you usually eat in front of the computer? Is your only purpose with
eating to fuel your engine so you can get moving again? The emphasis
on efficiency and multitasking in our culture has sapped mealtime’s
power to bring people into touch with others.
Drive-through espresso stands, fast-food restaurants, and convenience
stores may feed you with a quick shot of energy, but they do little
to fulfill you with human contact – which is another important
purpose of food.
The point here is not to make every meal a social event. Rather, it is
to acknowledge the need to slow down, digest the world around you, and
find community through the most natural of means – food.
•
Make the intention to meaningfully speak
with someone as you eat a meal.
© Meal
by Meal by Donald Altman
published by Inner Ocean Publishing,
All Rights Reserved, 2004
|
Donald
Altman MA, counseling psychology, is an award-winning writer,
former Buddhist monk, and author of several critically reviewed books
about mindful and spiritual living. His books include "Living
Kindness: The Buddha's Ten Guiding Principles for a Blessed Life,"
"Art of the Inner Meal: The Power of Mindful Practices to Heal
Food Cravings," and most recently "Meal By Meal: 365 Daily
Meditations for Finding Balance Through Mindful Eating." For
more information on Donald's workshops, speeches, and counseling services,
please see his website: 