tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656730165266532760.post7645237597047219988..comments2024-01-01T12:36:41.341-08:00Comments on Sakyadhita: Awakening Buddhist Women: Mindful Eating: Five Ways to Develop a Skillful Relationship with FoodAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09922555612783967599noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656730165266532760.post-73691183918726667972013-11-20T20:23:35.701-08:002013-11-20T20:23:35.701-08:00It is my experience that waking up another person ...It is my experience that waking up another person just isn't possible for most of us. All we can do is live our lives with as much genuine openness as possible and give advice when asked. In my own life I have found that simply allowing people to be and giving them the space they need to manifest does wonders to help people start to make life-affirming choices. Mindfulness starts with us first. Health starts with us as well, and it starts with the mind/heart.Marzipan Mousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07393210090428387136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656730165266532760.post-21606877617234982582013-11-20T07:51:18.055-08:002013-11-20T07:51:18.055-08:00The obesity problem in America is an epidemic! Wo...The obesity problem in America is an epidemic! Working with individuals having this problem you can hear their suffering. It's almost as though they are asleep and need to be woken. As a disease management nurse I would love to talk about mindfulness, however the veils are thick all I can do is plant seeds. Thank you for your article. There are some really good ideas I can use in my practice. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656730165266532760.post-25646948780795293732013-11-20T06:03:43.420-08:002013-11-20T06:03:43.420-08:00Lots of good advice here, especially the ideas ass...Lots of good advice here, especially the ideas associated with mindful eating and making healthy choices. Mindfulness and moderation in all things are both great practice.I practice both, and I make healthy choices in my diet. I also avoid using food (or any other form of entertainment) as a way to avoid working with my mind. I try to use food as self-care; eating tasty healthy meals and eating mindfully.<br /><br />I am troubled by the conflation of "obesity" with overeating and ill-health. Studies show that the discrimination suffered by the "obese" in our culture may actually be causing a lot of the health problems that have been associated with their size. There are also studies that show that fat people may be genetically predisposed to their size, and studies that show that dieting can lead to weight-gain as well as eating disordered behavior. Many people of size were pushed into dieting behaviors as young as early grade-school.<br /><br />I think that Dharma practitioners have the opportunity to apply gentleness and acceptance to this situation. I think by starting from a weight-loss or even a weight-maintenance stance we miss the opportunity to allow ourselves to accept our bodies as they are; this seems to be an important first step. The early steps I took to accept my own body were certainly a precursor for entering the stream. The reason I offer resistance to the weight-loss portion of this message is that I think this could be a real obstacle to practice for other persons of size. The message contained in this article may seem gentle to someone who has not struggled with self-acceptance in this culture, but it offers nothing to counter the aggressive messages of self-hate that are aimed with such force at all of us, but at people of size in particular. <br /><br />For the doughnut example, "out of sight, out of mind" I would offer that a craving for any "junk" food (especially a food that we know we won't enjoy, or an amount that exceeds enjoyment) may mask a deeper emotional state - this would be a wonderful opportunity to sit, feel the craving, drop the doughnut story-line, and explore the feelings that come up in it's absence. This is what I do when I am craving a food that I know I will not enjoy. I personally think it's horrible to use aversion (imagining a doughnut injected with mineral oil) as a way to free oneself of a craving.<br /><br />I am troubled when I perceive respected teachers catering to the current fear of fat that our culture has been hooked by. I suspect that our teachers are as much hooked by this as we all are, so I try not to be too defensive about it. As a person of size in a community that does tend to be slender, I have experienced acceptance from my peers and teachers. I can sometimes be defensive about my size in a culture that tends to marginalize people of size. But, as a practitioner I know that I am the size that I am. I am healthy. I don't expect to ever be a "healthy" weight, yet I am healthy regardless.<br /><br />I have worked with my mind to accept myself as I am so that I may help all beings. I hope that we can all work towards freeing ourselves and all beings from suffering. Thank you all for your practice, and your patient attention to my thoughts on this matter.Marzipan Mousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07393210090428387136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5656730165266532760.post-32750791893544896972013-11-19T10:45:17.027-08:002013-11-19T10:45:17.027-08:00This is an awesome article and I plan on implement...This is an awesome article and I plan on implementing the suggestions!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com