This is the first post in the Mindful Eating series. To view other posts, please visit:

(2) Thinking about Food
(3) Choosing the Foods We Eat
(4) Cooking with Awareness
(5) Serving Food Thoughtfully
(6) Preparing to Eat
(7) Experiencing the Meal
(8) Cleaning with Intention
(9) Conclusion

When I meet a person for the first time, I imagine which foods they love the very most, which foods delight their senses, which ones embody their childhood, which they choose when they are sick, which remind them of their grandfather, their first love, their firstborn. I wonder which they choose when they are in a grocery store or at a farmer’s market surrounded by so many different foods – plump, ripe fruits, bright and glistening vegetables, grains, spices…. I imagine preparing a simple, sublime meal for us to eat together, because we are both humans living together on this planet, and sharing food is one of the ways we care for each other and care for ourselves.

But, in the rush of the day, we can forget how absolutely essential and incredibly magical a warm bowl of food can be. It becomes part of us in a way that nothing else can. It nourishes and energizes us. Every day, we build ourselves from the foods we choose to take into our bodies.

Mindful eating can be a deeply joyful practice. If we are eating with our full awareness, we can truly see our food – such an ordinary, miraculous moment in a life made up of many ordinary, miraculous moments.

Over the course of the next few months, I will post a series of articles on learning how to think about and choose our food mindfully, how to prepare and serve it with gratefulness and love, how to slow down in order to truly see and savor our meals, and how to wash up mindfully after the meal has ended.

Don’t worry if you’re not able to be fully mindful at all times.  These articles present a roadmap to guide you on your journey.  You may find, though, that taking a side road from time to time is more enjoyable for you. Feel free! Enjoy your journey on this beautiful path of mindfulness.

And thank you for joining me.

How do you incorporate mindfulness into your meals?