Wednesday, March 20, 2013

"MINDFUL EATING": ZEN BUDDHIST OFFSHOOT OF "MINDFULNESS"


"Mindful Eating" has its origins in the "Mindfulness" we exposed in our previous posts. Its roots are in Zen Buddhism. It is just one more anti-Christian movement going viral since about 2-3 years ago. Since the Christian media cares not to investigate this, we think it's about time we picked up the slack and give it an introductory exposure. We do NOT recommend any practices associated with mindful eating for the same biblically Christian reasons we are opposed to "mindfulness" and yoga, even though some will say it hasn't harmed them or they haven't detected anything really anti-Christian. Nevertheless, it is at least just another introduction to pagan practices and a substitute for Christian self control of appetites, if not also an immersion into Eastern mysticism, paganism and 'letting go" non-judgmentalism. As such, you become your own god, lose all sense of right and wrong, free yourself from moral strictures and commandments of God, and a false sense of a new found "wisdom".
See:
http://www.tcme.org/principles.htm.
40 Mindful Eating Mantras: http://eatingmindfully.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/MindfulMantras.pdf.
Shambhala Publication of Zen master Jan Chozen Bays', MD book "Mindful Eating" with foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn:
http://www.shambhala.com/mindful-eating.html.
"The Camp System" alleges to be an educational site and has links to numerous websites that offer new age, alternative medicine, holistic and self help concepts to help you get indoctrinated into this belief system. See: http://www.mindfuleating.org/links.html.
The Zen Community of Oregon offers books and retreats: https://www.zendust.org/greatvow/mindful-eating.
Harvard Medical School's Publications offers a newsletter from February 2011: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Health_Letter/2011/February/mindful-eating.

The Seven Practices of Mindful Eating is in the video below presented by nutritionist Lilian Cheung, MD of the Harvard School of Public Health. She is the co-author along with Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, of  'Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life.' 
Harvard's Lilian Cheung AUDIO MP3, wherein she attributes her knowledge of mindful eating to the Plum Village Buddhist monastery in France. http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/media.theworld.org/audio/021020128.mp3.
Harvard's Lilian Cheung AUDIO MP3 on a Plum Village Buddhist monastery meditation:
http://media.theworld.org/mp3/extras/savorfood-cheung.mp3.
See above audio mp3s at: http://www.theworld.org/2012/02/mindful-eating-thich-nhat-hanh/.

UC San Diego Health System recommends it here: http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/mindfulness/eating/Pages/default.aspx.
Blue Cliff (Buddhist) Monastery of Pine Bush, New York, practices it and refers to a NY Times article here: http://bluecliffmonastery.org/news/ny-times-article-on-mindful-eatingThis monastery is a branch of the Plum Village monastery http://www.plumvillage.org/ of Dordogne, France, which is pictured here:

Carmel Rickenbach, nutritionist, dietician and wellness coach, http://carmel-rickenbach-ms-rd-ldn.blogspot.com/, is offering a class in "Mindful Eating" at the YMCA of the Brandywine Valley, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, March 18 and March 22, 2013. See: http://www.ymcabwv.org/document.doc?id=1228.
Rickenbach refers clearly to the Buddhist roots of this practice in her Tweet article:
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Mindful_Eating.html.

Michelle DuVal of the Mindful Center, teacher of mindfulness meditation and student of Jon Kabat-Zinn, offers this explanatory video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tw93IgfL0U.

Laurisa Dill of the Mindfulness Clinic (psychotherapy mixed with mindfulness) presents a video titled "Mindful Eating Mini-Meditation" along with the Buddhist bell at the beginning and end to calm your nerves and get you to start speaking slowly and in a monotone:

Susan Albers of Sounds True http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/welcome, offers three short introductory videos: #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP_zxtWuk0g, and #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvYtVMgXPec, and #3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmhvLZNvnMI.

Dharma Talks by Zen master Jan Chozen Bays in the following three videos at a Mindful Eating Workshop Retreat:





To be continued as necessary.