Meals and the “Stop” exercise

I have been very well taken care of here. They are providing me with three meals a day if I so desire, but I have only needed two. They are willing to fix anything that I would like, but I have chosen to eat Indian meals.

I usually have morning chai- tea, one or two biscuits, and maybe a banana. For breakfast, I have two scrambled eggs, subji – vegetables, and chipati- bread or paruta and water. For lunch, I am presented with rice, dahl, subji, chipati, and salad – usually cucumbers and some grilled vegetables and water. It is all very delicious. I usually have enough lunch left over that I save it for my dinner, which I have yet to feel the need to eat. Sometimes I have a mango with lunch or after class in the afternoon. I am also offered lots of other food (sweets) and drink (juices and sodas). It is all very scrumptious.

After my first breakfast here, the comment was made that I eat fast. Maybe its an American predisposition or maybe it is related to eating with my hands or maybe just the new situation. Regardless, I have tried to work on slowing down and paying attention to the food that I am eating. Thus, the stop exercise.

I have noticed that when eating with my hands, my moving center appears to run away with me. Meaning that I eat so fast I hardly realize I have eaten. Part of that might stem from the physical aspects of trying to get the food from the plate to my mouth. There's a tendency to want to do this quickly, so as not to drop any of the food. Switching to using a spoon, though, I've noticed that I tend to move just as quickly and start shoveling the food. Taste is a factor because when I've tasted one delicious bite, I find my hand reaching quickly for another.

So, to practice, I periodically “stop” during the eating of my meals. I observe my bodily tensions and what my body, my thoughts, and my emotions are doing at that moment. I take time to savor the food. I've come to realize how nourishing and sustaining this food is for me.

breakfast - subji, roti, bindi and aanda

lunch - aloo, dahl, chawal, subji, roti