Sensual Eating The French way

31 May 2012

Read time: 4 min

Category: Archive

The following questionnaire will take two minutes to complete and provide you with valuable information to understand how you relate to eating.

Step one: On a piece of paper, write down the five senses without asking anyone for help.

Step two: Look at the following illustrations and select the one which best describes the way you ate when you were very young.

What it means

If you couldn’t remember the sense of taste or it was the last one you wrote down and especially if you also chose the first illustration, the most sensitive parts of your body are prostate or uterus, stomach, pancreas and bones.

If you couldn’t remember the sense of hearing or it was the last one you wrote down and especially if you also chose the second illustration, the most sensitive parts of your body are kidneys, bladder, veins, thyroid and ovaries or testicles.

If you couldn’t remember the sense of smell or it was the last one you wrote down and especially if you also chose the third illustration, the most sensitive parts of your body are the lungs, colon, muscles, sinus, vagina or penis and breasts or larynx.

If you couldn’t remember the sense of vision or it was the last one you wrote down and especially if you also chose the fourth illustration, the most sensitive parts of your body are the heart, small intestine and arteries.

If you couldn’t remember the sense of touch or it was the last one you wrote down and especially if you also chose the fifth illustration, the most sensitive parts of your body are the liver, gall bladder, skin and hair.Hopefully you already learned something from this test so that you will improve your pleasure of eating and enjoy your life with better health.

What does proper eating entail? Eating should involve all organs of the body. If the purpose of eating is to regenerate new cells, we better make sure the whole body is participating in this vital and sacred job. Unfortunately, from day one, what we learned from our parents is another story and oddly enough we may still be unconsciously stuck with that way of eating. What is more important is knowing its influence on our general behavior and health.

How does it work?

All organs in the body are connected to each other and to the outside world. The internal communication happens at the cellular level. Each organ of the body has a physical mission inside the body and the way the job is accomplished reflects that behavior. For example, liver issues are linked to anger. Additionally, each organ belongs to one of five groups which are also related with the five senses and the five elements. It makes senses to pay attention to the way we eat and to the environment.

Respecting the five senses

Food has a taste; we can hear different noises when chewing or when breaking a piece of bread; food has a smell; we see different colors in food; and we can touch the different textures of the food.

Respecting the five elements

Choosing a place to sit or standing while eating affects the earth element. Having a fountain nearby enhances harmony with the water element. Access to natural air to breath is in accordance to the air element. Correct lighting or a even a simple candle supplements the fire element. Making sure the place you eat in is clearly defined by walls, furniture, a rug, bushes or trees helps to establish natural boundaries in accordance with the ether element.

Respecting the five attitudes

This is about respecting the food, being happy to eat, feeling the uniqueness of the ingredients, loving the moment and eating with serenity.

Eating properly entails balancing the experience of eating using the five senses, the five elements and the five attitudes, to ensure that what we ingest is properly assimilated by our bodies and in harmony with the planet’s energies.

Vol 29 Issue 4 Page 42