Thu Rein Universe

I don't know the exact reasons, but in times of frustration and difficulty, we often think eating will help the situation. Can't figure out a coding issue on a Web site glitch... report not coming together... manager angry at us for making a mistake... if we just eat, the issue will be solved. Of course, eating a healthy meal my be beneficial in such moments, but when our eating arises from frustration or compulsion, it rarely helps and ,often hinders, the situation. In fact, eating is probably one of the most difficult areas with which to bring consciousness.

Most of us know quite well how to eat unconsciously: eat as fast as you can, doing as many other things as you can, in as noisy and hectic an environment as you can find. That's easy. In this daily practice, we do just the opposite: we eat slowly, don't do other things at that time, and eat the most peaceful environment we can find.

If we pay attention, our relationship to eating is often less about nourishing our body or how the food tastes and more about satisfying our desire system. You may notice that even before you have chewed and swallowed one mouthful, you already crave the next bite: even though the desired next amount is exactly the same as the one in your mouth.. I notice this with my favorite snack, cashews. As soon as i put three of them in my mouth, I start craving the next three I see in the bowl, even though i have yet to enjoy the ones in my mouth. Oddly, i want what i already have!! In such times, what we crave is not the food, but the satisfaction of getting what we want, of having our desires filled. Ironically, however, our desire is rarely filled because the moment of satisfaction is so fleeting. It exists only at the time when our desire for food is satiated by putting it in our mouth. That's it. Once it is there and before we have chewed and tasted it, the desire for more arises.

Here is my take on it. I am a very health conscious person. And i religiously swim and go to gym every weekday. Plus whenever i am about to eat, i choose the meal very consciously not only by ingredients but also the amount. For example, i won't drink a large amount of water within 30 minutes of every meal. My counter force is quite clear, if you have spent more than one hour a day work out, there is no reason, you cannot control your meal consciously. Guess what, whenever i have that counter force, the only strong enemy to me is not the food i like but the desire to eat that food unconsciously.

People, says, you are not happy because you don't eat the food you want to eat because of your one hour pain you sacrifice in your work out routine. So what's the point of having double pain?

Here is the answer. If you follow my Wisdom 2.0 Highlights closely , there are 2 pains, the one which is familiar and used to us , in this case, not doing work out and not eating consciously , meaning , eating whatever you like, to me it is really a double pain. The other way is getting out of comfort zone, doing work out and eating consciously, less pain i presume , compared to the former one.

Again, the end of this duality is to bring consciousness to the act, in this case, eating consciously.
We pay attention not only before eating, but also while eating and after eating. Any kind of counter forces will arise but make sure to register them and do not force to deny them because they are bad or good, forget all your judgmental conflicts and enjoy the moment.


Here is to fuel your thought. Remember, Buddhist way is the middle way. Let me ask you how do you know it is middle. Quite obvious right? You need to know two extreme ends first , then you know the middle. Well here it is. You already have your two extremes in this story. All you have to do is find the middle way.

Consider the person in the following story:

A young woman once walked into an Internet cafe and saw a man with gray hair and a wrinkled face sitting hunched over at a table, actively engaged wit his computer. He was typing fast and moving his mouse around with great speed.

Wow, she thought, that old man seems quite skilled at computers sitting at a table behind him, she noticed he was playing World of War craft and doing very well. A few minutes later, the man took off his headset and went to pick up a cup of coffee. On his return, the woman said, "I was watching you, and i noticed you're quite skilled with computers. What's your secret?"

"Ah," said the man, as he slowly lowered himself into his chair, his bones creaking as he did, "I play twelve hours a day, almost never go outside, survive on Doritos and Twinkies, and down a cup of coffee every hour".

"Impressive," said the woman. "And you have managed to live to a ripe old age while being so tech savvy. If you don't mind my asking, just how old are you?"

"I'm twenty-eight," the man replied.

Hilarious, right, at least that's what I am thinking. It does have a point though: our actions have consequences. In telling it, my intention is not to lay judgment on the choices people make. The man in the story may be living a very conscious life or he may be living largely unconsciously. Either way, these are his choices. However, for those of us who seek to live consciously and with less stress, it helps to align the internal and external, to see if our external actions do justice to what internally matters to us.

For example, if someone says, "My health and well-being are important to me," and she lives like the man in the story, there is little alignment. And if she says, "Eating sweets and playing online games are all that matter to me," and lives that life, her actions have integrity. Other people may agree or disagree with her choices, but the actions are aligned with what matters to her.

So, what matters to us? here is the another story.

A techie guy was walking down the street in a rare break from his computer and noticed a frog on the ground.
"If you kiss me," the frog called out to him, "I will turn into a princess and stay with you forever."
The techie picked up the frog, smiled at it , and put it in his pocket.
A few minutes later, the frog spoke again. "Didn't you hear me? I said that if you just kiss me, I will be yours. In fact, I will be completely devoted to you and be the best sexual partner you can ever imagine. I will satisfy your every desire."
The techie looked down at the frog again and kept walking.
Finally, in desperation the frog asked, "What's the matter? I am offering you so much devotion, so much love, and so much sex. All you have to do is kiss me."
The techie responded, "Listen, I am a techie. I spend all my time on the computer. I don't have time for sex or a girlfriend, but having a talking frog... that's cool."

So , What really does matter to us? If we live like the man in the cafe, aging faster and surviving on Twinkies and Doritos, the central question is, is this aligned with what matters to us? If it is, fine. If not, then some adjustment is needed. We can make such changes not because one way is bad and another way is good, but because one way is more aligned with what truly matters to us.

As this adjustment takes place, as we better understand, clarify and give attention to the internal, we often experience a shift in the external. How many times, for example, have you greatly desired something and not been able to get it, but the moment you let go of it, the moment you released the desire, it came to you? Through an internal shift, the external responded. Or after months looking for work and finding nothing, the day you became very clear on exactly what kind of job would be best for you, it appeared. Of course, even with such an alignment, struggle and challenges still arise, but we can handle them better since we have deeper integrity and stability to your life.