eating mindfully -- an excerpt from a book I'm currently reading

[Guest guest]

In a quest to find some mental balance and clarity, I purchased the book Meditation for Dummies, by Stephan Bodian. I would like to appropriately cite page 260 from his book because I thought it was interesting but does anyone know if this is allowed or is it copyright infringement? The title of the meditation is called, "Enjoying your meal with mindful eating."

[Guest guest]

It's not copyright infringement if you're not going to make any money off of it. In other words, if you want to put a page of a book on here, and say where you got it, that's fine. If you want to put the page in a book you are writing and then sell the book, it's not fine and you need written permission. Make sense? It's not okay to reprint someone's whole work, though. It's a fuzzy line.“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”~ Walt Disney

Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

[Guest guest]

Ok thanks. Below is an example of a meditation you can do while you

eat from Stephan Bodian's book, " Meditation for Dummmies, " on page

260. I found it interesting and maybe you will too...

" Enjoying your meal with mindful eating

Did you ever finish a meal and wonder what happened to the food?

You can remember enjoying it at first, and then suddenly you notice

that your plate is empty, and you can't recall a single bite in

between. Perhaps you spent the time talking with a friend or

reading a newspaper or worrying about your bank account or your

relationship.

Here's a mediation to help you be mindful of what you're putting

into your mouth. Not only will you enjoy your food as never before,

but mindful eating with facilitate your digestion by reducing any

tension or stress you bring to the table. (You probably won't want

to eat as meditatively as this all the time, but you can still apply

a little mindfulness to every meal, no matter how informal.)

1. Before you begin eating, take a few moments to appreciate your

food.

You may want to reflect Zen-style on the earth and the sunshine that

gave life to this food and the people and effort that brought it to

your table. Or you can express your thanks to God or spirit – or

simply sit silently and feel grateful for what you have. If you`re

eating with others, you may want to hold hands, smile at one another

or connect in some other way.

2. Bring your awareness to your hand as you lift the first bite of

food to your lips.

You can experiment with the custom in certain monastic traditions of

eating more slowly than usual. Or just eat at your usual speed, but

be as mindful as you can.

3. Be fully aware as the first morsel of food enters your mouth and

floods your taste buds with sensations.

Notice the tendency of the mind to judge the flavor: " It's too

spicy or salty, " or " It's not what I expected. " Notice any emotions

that might get stirred up: disappointment, relief, irritation, joy.

Be aware of any ripples of pleasure or warmth or other physical

sensations. Enjoy your food!

4. If you talk while you eat, notice how the talking affects you.

Do certain topics cause you to tense up or give you indigestion?

Does the talk take you away from the enjoyment of your meal, or can

you have both?

5. Stay mindful of each mouthful as you gradually eat your meal.

This part is probably the hardest because most people have a

tendency to space out once they know how their food tastes. But you

can continue to enjoy the taste freshly, bite after bite. (If you

get distracted, you can stop and breathe for a moment or two before

starting to eat again.)

6. To facilitate your mindfulness, you may want to eat in silence

every now and then.

It may feel strange or uncomfortable at first, but you may find that

a quiet meal can provide a nourishing respite form the pressures of

life. "

[Guest guest]

I think that is GREAT! I've been trying to do basically that - eat

mindfully - and the interesting thing is as I get to the end of the

meal. I start to slow down, I keep " tasting " every bite, and I kind

of " slide in " to being full. I don't feel deprived.