Core Consumption ConceptsFind freedom from emotional eating and other unhealthy eating habits with the practice of mindful eating.
We can reduce the effects of global warming, achieve better health, and practice compassion when we incorporate more plant-based foods in our diet.
When we prepare food, it's a great opportunity to practice quality consumption. We can take advantage of the incredible healing power of foods as we create delicious and nutritious recipes to support our wellbeing.
Check out these great ideas for balancing portions, incorporating more healthy foods, and reducing stress around eating! |
Quality Consumption: More Than Just FoodWhen we consume, we usually do so to be happy. We eat to comfort our hunger, we read and watch media to expand our mind, and we medicate to heal our wounds. Many people are mindless about the way they consume things, covering up their feelings of discomfort or altering their feelings to unnatural states. We light up a smoke, pour ourselves a drink, tune out to the TV, or reach for our favorite food to help us forget about our troubling feelings. Consuming in this way doesn’t guarantee us long-lasting relief or nourishment, it's simply a distraction from our true feelings in the moment. We can consume mindlessly, trying to forget our loneliness, boredom, weariness, or the injustices of the world; or we can choose to consume with mindfulness as to contribute positively to our health, community, and global balance.
Quality consumption is a practice of looking deeply into the foods, substances, media, and emotions we consume. What foods do we eat and how do they make us feel, emotionally and physically? Are we honoring our world and the environment with our dietary choices? Are we honoring our health? Do we feel energized, satisfied, and inspired by our foods, or do we feel guilty, sluggish, or numb with our consumption?
The practice of quality consumption extends beyond food to an awareness of our intake of ideas, emotions, and states of mind. Our mind reflects back what we put in front of it. What do you spend your time looking at? Is it stimulating? Is it soothing? Is it deeply inspiring, or is it superficial? Are we looking at things that stress us out or are we enjoying looking at things we love? The media we read and watch, the conversations we have with ourselves and other people, and everything we look at during the day can influence our emotional wellbeing. Are we feeling positive, inspired, and nourished by the content we read and watch online? Does the news make us feel fear, worry, and anxiety? Are we listening to hateful, judgmental, or anxious words when we speak with others? Do we need to balance these negative energies with the same amount of positive consumption? What do we look at that gives us feelings of joy, peace, and serenity? Mindful consumption is all about increasing sources of wellbeing and reducing exposure to negative, depleting energies.
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The Fifth Mindfulness Training: Nourishment and Healing
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body and consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the Earth.
Mindful Media Consumption
It's a very valuable to practice mindful consumption around media and news. Give yourself some space to wake up before checking your phone or the news in the morning, and I’ll make sure I’m feeling strong and centered before consuming new information (from trusted news sources). Time limits around how much time we spend reading news online before we start navigating can help us reduce the amount of time we're exposed to fearful, sensationalized media. I’ve also found it important to identify what I can and cannot control. We can’t control external threats, but we can control our reactions to stress. It’s easy to assign blame or to feel as though our enemy is outside of us, but the real enemy is our illusions, our ignorant perspectives, and our attachments to views. If we feel scared, powerless, discontent, or otherwise unwell, we can practice compassion and extend love to heal our misperceptions and anger. We can transform our suffering into understanding, gratitude, action, and inner peace when we don't allow ourselves to get swept away in negative emotions.
What’re some ways you’re mindful with your media consumption? It’s a great exercise to not use our phone for extended periods of time.
How long can you go before you mindlessly reach for your device?
How long can you go before you mindlessly reach for your device?
Eye-Opening Videos about Mindful Media Consumption
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A documentary-drama that explores the effects social-networking has on the consumer. From insight about how tech algorithms work, to exposing the differences in search results based on location, to discussion about how mainstream social media is designed to be addictive, this film features a strong cast of tech experts warning against the technology they themselves created. An essential watch for anyone uses social media.
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Childhood 2.0This documentary showcases the link between more time spent online and increases in mental illness, suicide, and depression in children and young adults. What're the effects on the next generation's wellbeing when there is less in-person connection, more temptation and distraction, and constant stream of potential dangers online?
This film has been released for free to Youtube so every family should have access to such a crucial, powerful resource.
Watch this film on Youtube |
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Important Videos about Mindful Food Consumption
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There's so much excellent content about the food industry, I made a separate page to feature recommended documentaries and articles about animal industry, plant-based eating, and general food consumption topics.
If there is a piece of content you'd like added to this list, please message me with the information.
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