360 Degrees of Mindful Living

Here’s a very basic idea: eating changes both body and mind, i.e. the total of who we are.  What we eat and how much we eat changes who we are physiologically.  Why we eat and how we eat changes who we are psychologically.  Mindless eating changes us for the worse.  Mindful eating changes us for the better.

Mindless Eating: Equation of DissatisfactionMindless eating changes us for the worse: to the extent to which mindless overeating leads to weight gain, body expands; mind shrinks (metaphorically speaking) because we miss out on the experience; and the total of our wellbeing suffers and declines.

 

 

 

 

Mindful Eating: Equation of WellbeingMindful eating changes us for the better: the body shrinks (mindful eating prevents overeating), the mind expands (in the sense that we’re able to enjoy the actual experience of eating; in the sense that we are able to recognize meditational & existential opportunities in eating); the total of our wellbeing improves. (Click on the image to enlarge).

 

 

 

p.somov/copyright 2009

Pavel Somov, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and the author of "Eating the Moment" (New Harbinger, 2008), "Present Perfect" (NH, 2010), "The Lotus Effect" (NH, 2010), "Smoke Break" (in press, 2011), and "Reinventing the Meal" (in press, 2012). He is in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA.

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    Last reviewed: 9 Jul 2011

APA Reference
Somov, P. (2011). Eating: Equations of Wellbeing and Dissatisfaction. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 13, 2012, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindful-living/2009/07/equations-of-wellbeing-and-dissatisfaction/

 

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Present Perfect
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Pavel G. Somov, Ph.D. is the author of The Lotus Effect, Present Perfect, The Smoke-Free Smoke Break, and Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time.

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