Savor the cookie of consciousness

Many of us, in the west, devour life unconsciously like Cookie Monster chows down cookies. What we’re often left with is a bloated, but unsatisfied feeling, a bunch of life crumbs and the desire for more ‘cookies’ because we weren’t conscious enough to enjoy them the first time around.  And, like Cookie Monster, we’re virtually insatiable — always looking for the next ‘cookie’ instead of being happy with what we have at the present moment. 

The way we eat is a perfect example of how consciously we live our lives.  Do you sit at the dinner table, and focus on just your meal or do you park it in front of the television and let your dinner pass you by while you’re focused on reruns?  When you eat lunch, do you inhale your food like it’s your last meal just so you can get back to work or do you make a daily appointment with yourself for lunch?

Practicing awareness when we eat is one of the first steps towards living consciously.  When you take a bit of food, do you notice all of the flavors, the texture, the temperature and how your body responds to it?  Probably not, unless it’s so hot you burn your tongue.   When you eat a cookie, do you relish the greatness of the experience or do you become Cookie Monster?

The next time you sit down to a meal, try making an occasion out of it, like you would a trip to the ocean when you allow yourself to fully experience the waves, salt and sand.   Bite by bite, slowly appreciate and focus on your food as if you were digging your toes into the sand for the first time.

Simply becoming aware of each of the moments that we usually string together in a blur, begins your step into a life of living deliberately, consciously.

Nama-yum.

– Your Charmed Yogi

 

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(Photo: Google Image Search)