Day 306, Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Reflections
After breathing, the senses of taste and smell are elemental for living beings. Did you know these two senses are the oldest and essential for our survival? They play key roles in such basic processes as eating, avoiding danger and mating.
Your nose knows even if your eyes are closed. When you are closer to sea, standing on freshly mowed grass, or next to wet mulch, you know what it is. But you cannot describe the smsell. You can only name the object that is giving away the smell hoping that what you say would resonate your experience in the mind of the other person.
When we taste with attention, even the simplest of foods provide a universe of sensory experience. One bit of juicy apple, freshly baked bread, cool water when thirsty provides a universe of sensory experience. However, our relationship to food over the past ten thousand years when humans planted and grew their own food has changed dramatically. We take both food and eating for granted. We eat with automaticity and have little insight into its critical importance for us in sutaining life and our relationships to food shaped by social pressures, advertising , food processing and by conditioned taste preferences and portion sizes.
Inspiration
Taste and Smell
Food is potentially a rich source of enjoyment as it indulges not one but two senses: taste and smell. Appetite is to the stomach what thought is to the mind and love to the heart. A tasty dish can change a frown into a smile.
If the person who cooks in your home makes delicious meals, the quality of your daily life turns pleasurable. You look forward to dining with your family. If not, you can occasionally treat yourself at a favorite restaurant. You wouldn’t want to make do with listening to a poorly tuned instrument when you have the option of listening to a great concert. Make the same choice for meals.
In Hindu scriptures, the human body is equated with a temple. With its five senses and the mind, the body tries to obtain as much information as our sensitivity allows. It is through our body that we connect with one another and the rest of the outer and inner world. This connection is quite enjoyable, though it can be painful as well. It does not require special talents or money to improve this quality of life by refining your senses. Find sufficient skills to delight in what your body can do.
Several decades ago it used to be considered decadent to enjoy or make too much fuss over a meal. But now we have gourmet food journals, popular television shows, and “foodies” and wine lovers who take the pleasures of the palate seriously. By doing so they expand their sensuous experience of taste and smell. So can you!
Journal Prompt
One of the best hobbies to awaken your taste and smell is cooking. Prepare a simple but flavorful dish today and journal about how it makes you feel.
Today’s Practice
Meditation: “Body”
Read, reflect, and journal.
Lorraine
Today’s post is a bit challenging for me. I have a heightened sense of smell, especially for negative scents or strong perfumes and colognes. I usually try to tone down my sense of smell. As for food, I mostly eat without savoring (purposely) — but not without honor and recognition of nutrition. I eat for nutrition over flavor. One could argue that a Brussel sprout salad can taste delicious but it can’t compare to a cheesesteak and salted fries. If I focus on ‘tasting’ the Brussel sprout or spinach salad for too long, I’m bound to bail and go for something more scrumptious. I always respect food, but only on special occasions or at restaurants do I allow it to make an emotional impact. (I fear food addictions. I’m sure this is a result of being with people who admire food too much – in an unhealthy way.)
Madhu B. Wangu
Good morning Lorraine!
Eknath Easwaran would be proud of you for training yourself to eat nutritious food and avoid or even abstain from fatty or sugary stuff. He also recommends learning to enjoy foods such as Brussel sprouts and spinach for their nutrition as well as taste. They don’t have flavor. Do they?
I also try to follow your way of eating. Whenever available I relish Brussel sprouts, leeks, green beans, spinach and such vegetables for lunch as well as dinner. But you have inspired me to only eat “scrumptious” ice-cream, chocolate, and Indian Mithai only once in a while. Thank you!
Jenn Diamond
Good morning, Madhu. Your post today has me reflecting on the new-ish GLP-1 agonist drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. I’m fascinated by the brain-gut connection and how hormones, good/bad bacteria and brain chemistry influence mood and well-being. As a speech therapist who’s studied the anatomy and physiology of the swallowing mechanism and who’s worked with people dealing with swallowing issues, it truly is a quality-of-life changer if there’s something amiss in one’s ability to chew, taste, or swallow. There’s even emerging data to support getting traumatic brain injured patients back to eating by mouth as quickly as possible because of the gut-brain connection… in other words, the longer someone can’t eat (has to be tube fed) the slower the brain recovers. I find it ALL so fascinating! Thank you, Madhu, for stimulating my senses this morning!
XRBeive
Hello.
Good cheer to all on this beautiful day!!!!!
Good luck 🙂