These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

[Self / Soul & Text] Mindful Eating II

Posted on May 3, 2012 by David Bogomolny

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This is an additional thought I had about ‘mindful eating’.

I’ve been running my tongue along whatever food items I’ve been using during my practices, pausing to enjoy their shapes and textures, and I’ve noticed that my mouth automatically reacts to food by filling with saliva and pushing the bits with my tongue against the roof and sides of my mouth. It’s difficult to not grind the food with my teeth – it’s difficult to be still once my mouth is stimulated.

This “mindful eating” practice is very sensual; it struck me yesterday in class when I opened my eyes and looked at the faces of my classmates. Licking, sucking, swallowing, smelling… I’ve only seen facial expressions like those during intimate, sexual interactions. This makes me wonder about the relationship between sexuality and physical sensations of other kinds; are there hints of sexuality in our interactions with all physical stimuli? Have we desensitized ourselves to this? I’d be curious to hear your thoughts.