Mindfulness has become the zeitgeist of the 2000s — and for good reason. As the volume of information and opinions available to us grows, it is easy to become mindless about everything going on around us. We are in the information age, and it has become a significant distraction in our lives.
For those familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, our most basic needs are physiological. We can’t focus much energy on anything else until we have food, shelter, and basic survival needs met. Once those are secure, we move on to safety needs — personal and financial security, health, and well-being. Beyond that, we begin to address psycho-social needs: love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
It’s easy to see how we can become mindless about basic needs once we start focusing on higher levels. At some point we eat simply because we are hungry — so we can get back to feeding our psycho-social needs. We give less thought to what we are eating, how much we are eating, and the impact our food choices have on the world than we do to our next social media post.
The Center for Mindful Eating (TCME) offers brochures and guidelines to help us create a greater awareness about the food we eat — accomplished by “allowing yourself to become aware of the positive and nurturing opportunities that are available through food selection and preparation by respecting your own inner wisdom.”
Some of the basic tenets of mindful eating include:
- Being aware of your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations in the present moment.
- Freeing yourself from reactive, habitual patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.
- Using all your senses to make satisfying and nourishing food choices.
- Acknowledging responses to food (likes, dislikes) without judgment.
- Becoming aware of physical cues to guide your decisions to begin and end eating.
You don’t need to become rigid about food or start a regimented diet. Becoming compulsive or controlling about eating is not mindfulness. In fact, mindful eating doesn’t require any special diet or book. You don’t have to create a meal plan or download complicated recipes. It’s not a weight loss plan, a cleanse, or even a significant change from how you already eat. It’s about developing a stronger awareness of what you are eating, how much you consume, and the source of the food you eat. You will naturally find yourself moving toward healthier choices — and you may decide to transform your lifestyle. But it will not and should not be hard work or involve sacrifice.
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