FoodForMindAndBody - Great Mystery Publishing

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Food For Mind and Body

The Taste of Being In The Moment

What is one of the key differences between eating a watermelon and a rockmelon or biting into a pink lady apple from W.A. or a granny smith apple from Stanthorpe ?

Indian philosophy offers an answer to this question. It is ‘rasa’.

At its simplest rasa means taste. It also means sap, juice, essence, Divine Nectar. It is the fundamental quality that defines and identifies that individual fruit. Of course all life forms have their own rasa that sets them apart from all others. Each time we open our mouths to eat or drink we are about to taste uniqueness.

Rasa possesses 6 principal tastes : sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, astringent. As more flavours are added to a dish it takes on combinations of these 6 in overlapping layers.

To taste in the present moment is deeply satisfying and requires all of the senses. It requires experiencing the rasa of food as a dynamic living energy and to be open to the ways that energy you are about to eat can express itself at different times or in different seasons.

It’s easy to just stop at the outer layers of experience when eating …. honey is sweet, lemons are sour. However to fully experience the moment is to go so much deeper. To explore the intricacies of the sweetness of that particular variety of honey requires you to stay aware and focused while you eat. When you are focused in the moment, the past and the future fall away and you are fully experiencing the present.

The following simple practice will help you to develop mindful eating so that you use all of your senses to explore the many levels of rasa. To begin, set aside an uninterrupted time to eat whether it’s a snack or a full meal. Choose your favourite food.

Place the food in front of you. Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply. Open your eyes and observe the food … the colour , the shape , the light. What is it that attracts you ?

Reach for 1 item. As soon as your fingers touch the food register the texture, the temperature, the density. Now close your eyes and bring the food up to your mouth. Before you bite be aware of the aroma. Experience the different layers of smell and try to identify them.

Now take a bite. Hear the sound that it makes and think about the nature of that sound.

Begin to taste. Is it sweet, salty etc? Is the taste simple or complex? What do you enjoy?

Now focus on the deeper layers of rasa. Does this food feel like it’s bursting with vibrancy?

Do you experience its dynamic living energy that in turn will nourish you?

Being in the present and appreciating the varied levels of rasa as you eat has many benefits.

You can enjoy the sensual pleasure of eating more deeply and need less to feel satisfied.

Living in the moment is very calming and relaxing. Focusing on the rasa element leads to a deeper experience of the interconnectedness of all living energies and how they effect one another ….. you with the plants and animals you eat and they with you. ◙

Gaynor Long—Yoga Teacher and Master Spice Blender