Tuesday, July 6, 2010

File under: Mindful Consumption

My great friend Pimentao gave me a copy of Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior. I have been especially interested in the passages on drala, or "energy beyond aggression"—connecting the wisdom of your own being with the power of things as they are. As I was reading on my commute this morning, I came across this timely passage:

Internal drala [oneness in your body] also comes out of making a proper relationship to food, by taking an interest in your diet. . . . You invoke internal drala by developing greater awareness of how you use your mouth altogether. You put food in your mouth; you drink liquids through your mouth; you smoke cigarettes in your mouth. It is as if the mouth were a big hole or big garbage pail: you put everything through it. Your mouth is the biggest gate: you talk out of it, you cry out of it, and you kiss out of it. . . . Maybe you don't need to use it as much as you think. Appreciating your world doesn't mean that you must consume everything you see all the time.

Oh, like, the sangria, cookies, banana bread, and tortilla chips I binged on this weekend? (I was at the same rooftop party as Shivani.)

Over the past few days, my grief has manifested itself in a mixture of all-out bawlfests (even in public!) and complete disregard for my health (i.e. eating junk food—also in public!) I started to see myself as a lost cause. Perhaps I will always solve my problems with food. But, I remembered feeling an acute connection between my desire not to sit with my emotions and my desire to eat a cookie. Awareness. I'm filing the weekend under SUCCESS. 

11 comments:

  1. Interesting to think about as a woodwind player, too. Maybe a vuvuzela would help get your drala in order. =) Awareness definitely equals success...

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  2. Haha! Well, I DID play flute in 5th grade band...

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  3. Yes yes yes, awareness! It's a long road but you're making steps in the right direction.

    Use that mouth to SING girl! Love hearing your voice!

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  4. Emily, I am proud of you for seeing the good through the bad. We all have vices. Use it to "binge" on healthy food! Concentrate, be mindful, be a better you.

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  5. I sometimes look back on very stressful moments and realized I used food to medicate - I wish I was always aware at the time - it's hard but we're human - don't beat yourself up.

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  6. I played flute in 5th grade too! Yyyaaaaa Minuet!

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  7. The idea of the mouth as a garbage pail... that is a powerful image that surely will come to my mind when needed!

    It's beautiful to think about all we do with our mouths. I want to pay attention to the words that come out of mine. And a new lip loss... why not!

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  8. Just knowing that all this stuff is happening under the surface is manifesting more awareness than most people out there. You're all right Drum!

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  9. You ARE amazing! I love reading your blog, Emily...and really appreciated your encouraging post regarding my insecurities. :)

    I've always wanted to read that book, perhaps its time to pick up a copy. Thanks for the reminder!

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  10. Thanks, Jenny! I was about to be all, you can borrow my copy...but then I remembered this is the internet. It's really great, but I think I'm going to re-read when I'm done b/c I don't always understand it.

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  11. For what it's worth, I've been reading that book for the last 15 years or so. There's always something that speaks directly to whatever situation I happen to be in. I've been thinking a lot about that passage while doing the PCP! I'm enjoying watching your progress here. :)

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