MINDFUL EATING or BREAKFAST REFLECTIONS

I was reading an article about how the "Serenity Diet" can change your body shape with your mind. Researchers UCSF, were examining the link between mindfulness and abdominal fat (the most dangerous kind) in overweight women. The findings indicate that meditative techniques can change how you eat—so food becomes a choice rather than a habit. Here is one of the training exercises:

Take ten minutes to eat three raisins. Examine their texture and color. Notice how they feel in the palm of your hand; notice how they smell. Eat them slowly, one by one, chewing patiently to savor the flavors. You are cultivating your ability to eat with awareness: When you focus your attention on your food, you derive more pleasure from each bite and ultimately eat less.

With this in mind this morning, I decided that I would head out to the back deck with my bowl of hot cereal and mug of Mexican coffee, sans lap top (I am usually multitasking while I am having breakfast) and just savor each bite while enjoying my back yard. Thinking that maybe I could stahl or slow the middle-age spread that I am experiencing. (Now who am I kidding. . . MIDDLE AGE? That's factoring that the average life span is 120 yrs.) I had taken a couple of bites, slowly enjoying the flavor and texture, when I noticed that things were literally humming. In minutes, I had forgotten my meal and was walking around the yard, enjoying the beauty of this spring day. The apricot tree was in full bloom and was buzzing with life! I realized that I am so enamored with the fall leaves and color, but now as things are starting a new cycle with buds and baby leaves, it is just as beautiful in a different way. Needless to say, about an hour later, I did finish my breakfast with new appreciation of not only my meal, but my surroundings. Can't say I noticed any earth-shattering change in my body shape, but my mind felt great!!

It's being here now that's important.
There's no past and there's no future.
Time is a very misleading thing.
All there is ever, is the now.
We can gain experience from the past,
but we can't relive it;
and we can hope for the future,
but we don't know if there is one.