Summer rolls for a glorious warm day! The crunch of the cool veggies is the perfect counter point to the warmth of the day. A moment of balance...

ME is helping me to notice when my body says "enough" - the next step is being able to trust what I hear/feel and be able to stop at enough.
Have some experimenting to do with the moments inbetween ME.
Interesting learning about my relationship with eating and the fears and habits surrounding it. I want to explore where and when these messages came from and how and why I allowed them to become part of me.

At the moment the concept of "enough" in sharp focus because of ME practice. Am very happy about this. Today I played a little game with myself based on this concept. Had a small package of cookies and ate 2 then asked myself if that was enough and decided - yes! Then - would have been enough - and the answer is yes! Finally - would no cookies have been enough - yes! Because of a lack of mindfulness I never had a concept of "enough" so nothing ever was enough. Progress!

Lunch sushi with a twist. Made the experience! Having to eat with my fingers helped.

Just realized that ME = a concept of "enough". I have been reflecting on Cath's post about "overdosing on everything right now..." My first response was, "That's obviously not me." Now I think just the oppositve. Obviously, there is something I am avoiding! Only now do I realize that in many respects I've spent a lifetime doing that - off and on - probably more on than off...everything done to excess... but as Pavel wrote later, "There is no overdosing without an attempt to self medicate, self medicating is an attempt at self care...etc." I am thinking that for a variety of reasons I never had a a real/true concept of "enough" until ME which is a big part of the problem of everything to excess.

never noticed until now that sliced banana chunks look like spinal vertebrae
never fails: when i pause to look at what i am about to eat i notice something new

These days I have been a rebel--mindfully mindless in my approach to living: mindful that I have been mindless in relationships, eating, work ethic, mindful that I have been mindfully pissed off at the world--a day of complete and rebellious mindful rebellion (even against being mindful) has me back on the mindful task---new mediation cd, green tea, one last screw the world, back to mindful living

Fresh juice. Fruit in liquid form. Morning sun reflects off the golden juice.

standing outside
eating an apple, watching the night sky
sweet

Noticed how differnt cane sugar and honey smell and yet how simlar they taste (when added to tea). Nose knows more subtlety than tongue.

Thanks for the encouragement Arunas. This morning ME kicked in again - prepared a simple breakfast of yogurt, coffee (Mexican shade grown, hmmm), and 1 slice of toast. I stood at the toaster and was about to pop the usual 2 slices of bread in the toaster - after all - that is what I have always done. Then ME required a quick evaluation about what I really wanted - 1 slice of bread is quite enough this morning! After this little exercise I wonder if the course of my life would have been different had I learned the practice of mindfulness at a very early age. Perhaps that is what teachers and parents mean when they say, "Pay attention." But that and "Focus." are different than mindfulness practice. Right now I am trying to pass this knowledge along to my two children - it will be awhile before I am successfull. Maybe the best teacher is being mindful. This kind of thing should be taught in schools from a very early age!

Sussan, I'm glad to read your last post. This is it !

At the moment agitated about work issues such that I want to do something, anything to distract myself - eat, drink - whatever - however, ME demands a different response from me so I will just sort of ride through the discomfort...interesting...once you have knowledge and you are attentive to that knowledge you can't just dismiss it as if it never existed.

Dinner tonight was a moment. I went with what I truly wanted, hummus and tabbouleh with fresh pita. Eating what I truly want allows me to focus on the food. Otherwise it is simply fuel that i shovel in. Amazing meal of moments!

Dinner of deep orange smoked sweet potatoes and deep green kale - unusual combination and preparation of food but delicious. Kale - a vegetable with a taste that defies description - bitter? No. Tart? No. ...

Discovering which foods make me feel spiritually nourished as well as energetic: Fiber One cereal, peanut butter, fruit, fresh greens and veggies, water. Tuna (canned or fresh). Olive oil.

Can very much understand what you are going through, Cath. I have continued to do the same thing. As Pavel says, we're trying to self-medicate. Now I just allow myself to do it, and choose to eat the above foods instead. And I feel 100 times better!

And a great side effect of healthy "overdosing" - no unwanted weight gain.

Anna W - welcome to Mindful Eating Tracker. Congrats on your progress!

Cath: there is no overdosing without an attempt to self-medicate; an attempt to self-medicate is an attempt at self-care; thus, there is no overdosing without an attempt at self-care. Glad you are trying to take care of yourself - "through food, computer games, tv." Good start!
Be well and, if necessary, seek local help.
Any mindful eating moments you wish to share?

Overdosing on everything right now: food, computer games, tv. Obviously there's stuff I'm avoiding....

Great conversation on "The Lotus Effect" book going on in the forum. Join us. Some terrific material on pages 28-30 of the book.

One of the greatest things about travelling for work is the regional foods - it's also the worst thing about travelling! However, I was able to leave New Orleans yesterday without doing too much damage through ME. Before I left I had it on my mind that I just absolutely had to go to my favorite candy shop for pralines. I mindfully reminded myself that I didn't need to do that, they would be there whenever I get back to New Orleans, etc., and left without going to that shop!

By the way, the cake that I mentioned in my last post that I snacked on for 2 days - that was just ONE slice - all 7 layers of it! Let me tell you - if there is great food to be found out there - I will find it! Operative concept: ME!

That which I thought was impossible has finally occurred - I threw out part of a red velvet cake - my favorite! I was in Augusta, GA and went to this great restaurant. One of the things they feature is unbelievable homemade desserts that look like they came out of a Dr. Suess book. I mean, come on, who makes a 7 layer red vevlet cake? Well - I could not resist - took it to my hotel room and snacked on it for two days. Then by the third day I was sick to death of it but decided to take the leftover along on my trip to Atlanta. After all, who knows, maybe there would be a famine between Augusta and Atlanta! Finally decided, ENOUGH, toss the rest of that cake. You don't need it, you will never miss it, and there is more where that came from - and believe it or not - felt better after I tossed the leftoevers. So that's the end of this Dr. Suess story!

Yesterday I cooked myself a hot meal for the first time in a long time (my mom usually does it... maybe not such a good thing). It was poached salmon and steamed broccoli... so fresh and wholesome and healthy and satisfying! Feeling comfortably full and peacefully in control, I then did something with my father and his behavior made me angry and annoyed. But instead of just realizing this right away and experiencing the anger, I felt a sudden urge to eat ice cream and yogurt, my soothing foods. It wasn't until I had completely stuffed myself with this extra food that I realized the reason I did it. At that point I finally felt the anger I had ignored before, except then I was angry more at myself than him because of the overeating episode. Oh well, at least I'm making progress, since I have a better understanding now of what motivates my behavior.

Porridge with raspberries, blueberries and nectarin yoghurt - I never knew porridge could be this good! Everything is so exciting and uplifting, the colours, the textures, the temperatures - this is not something I could eat without paying attention to it, it demands attention.

"Mindless during, mindful post." Great line, Tony. Mindfuilness-in-retrospect is better than no mindfulness at all. Glad you are back on (mindful) track.

Eating healthily. Weight leaving body. Birthday of relative. Structure seems to dissipate. Now sick to stomach beyond what I can remember. Mindless during, mindful post. Glad mindful returned.

Glad for you, Max. Sounds like you are making good use of mindfulness know-how. Congrats!

It is continually amazing to me how mindfulness carries into all aspects of life. My exercise has become more mindful, as well as my eating. My interactions with people, too. I am so grateful to Pavel for having written this book and shared it with the world. My "mindless eating zombie" is permanently awake.

"deeper conversation with food right now and I am doing most of the listening."
great line, manchestergirl.

good for you, Susan.
novelty awakens the mind (since novelty = pattern interruption)

Yesterday had a fabulous meal at an Ethiopian restaurant in Atlanta - talk about mindfulness - every sense almost felt as if it were on overdrive...almost over stimulated - because the foods was so different than anything else I had ever eaten - the spongy, slightly sour bread eaten with the spicy sauce, the use of interesting spices, and so on. Nothing was taken for granted, every mouthful was an adventure. I felt incredibly alive...interesting experience. Perhaps more meals should be like that.

a recent illness has taken my mindfulness in a new direction - not only am I aware of the food as I prepare it and eat it, but now I am very aware of the effects it has on my body, both good and bad. It feels like a deeper conversation with food right now and I am doing most of the listening.

Listening to relaxing jazz while eating my salad today. Trying to simulate a restaurant environment.

to have a sip of water when i am thirsty... what a privilege!
to bite into an apple when i am hungry... what a privilege!
to mindfully be... what a privilege!

breakfast of consciousness.

watching my roommate cook chili while eating this salad. Interesting to eat and cook or watch something be cooked at the same time.

Fresh salad greens; spinach, romaine, garden tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, all tossed in a light balsamic vinaigrette. Cool and soothing.

Asking myself why I go through the trouble sowing and planting all those vegies myself- there is so much faszination in careing for the plants, helping them when they suffer and at the end enjoying the results. Seems to be an evolutional drive inside me. Had chives and spring onions from my garden and enjoyed them so much.

Thanks, Pavel; this book has really opened my eyes about eating. I am having such fun working through the exercises, and am really glad to have taken the step to use the Mindful Eating tracker now :)

Welcome aboard, Max! Thanks for sharing your mindful!

Chocolate, Russel Stover, a brownie egg. Delicious, rich, sweet and dark in every corner of the mouth. A pleasant aftertaste of cocoa and rich flavor.

Fresh spring onions from the garden. Mindfulness at its best: finding the onion, pulling the onion, cleaning and then eating. Offering thanks for the miracle that is nature.

Sorry Pavel - sometimes your posts make me giggle...hmmmmm...swallowing a fly...how many calories...is that the same kind of problem as how many angels can dance on the head of a pin??? Mathematical equation for this anyone? Could also be one of those questions asked of many different people, what would a Zen Buddhist say about this, a Catholic, a Baptist, etc.

...snack of chocolate covered coffee beans...sweet...bitter...but delicious nonetheless...that is life in a nutshell I suppose.

Good points, Susan.
Great mindfulness idea, KS.

an unexpected mindful eating moment on the run: swallowed a fly while jogging in the woods. (how many calories is that? by the way)

In need of mindfullness so I cut up my sandwich in to bite size pieces and focus on each bite. One at a time.

Sometimes the craziness of life interrupts my ability to be as mindful about anything, including mindful eating. So it is somewhat comforting to have a place like this to be mindful, to reflect on mindfulness, if only for a moment. Sometimes it seems like mindfulness is much like a small child tugging at my skirt begging for attention - all the while I am distracted by so many things that are nowhere near as important.

Like you Arunas, I am a beginner with all of these things. But I am like a sponge with everyone and everything around me. It would take many lifetimes to absorb all that I want to. So I very much appreciate other perspectives and experiences. It is such a relief to see others having the same kinds of emotional eating experiences. Gives one hope...

Hi Susan,

first - I'm not an expert regarding these things..... And as Suzuki says : "Zen mind - beginners mind". Today I had emotional eating episode too, and ..... thats ok !!! It was super high fat, high calories apple cake...... I thankfulkl for this expiriece becouse these impulses enriches my practice...

Emotional eating today - afterwards I always question why I did that - I had a red velvet cupcake - my favorite type - just 1. When I do that I walk away minimally satisfied. If I had been mindful at the time I could have selected something more satisfying to do like listen to music. Sometimes I eat from an emotional perspective when I am in a celebratory mood - the result is quite different.

For all who are interested - good opportunity for discussion if you are presently reading one of Pavel's other books. Am currently reading "The Lotus Effect." Click on "Forum" to get to discussion page. Arunas - where did you go? You have some great insights on this book...

on the deck, watching a cloud be torn to pieces by strong wind,
i smell baked beans - sweet barbecue smell from somewhere unseen - filling even as a smell...
cloud's now totally torn to white wispy shreds