Breaking bad

Breaking bad

You're never too old for new experiences.

I had an eye-opening one last week, involving something so close to my everyday life that I wonder why I never tried it before.

I ate with my eyes closed.

It was an exercise in mindfulness, in which I had to do everything as slowly as I could and keep my eyes closed while chewing.

That didn't sound too difficult, so I gave it a try at breakfast.

My usual breakfast consists of a small sandwich in the car as I drop my daughter off at university, followed by coffee at my desk as I check my emails. That doesn't leave much room for mindfulness. In fact, it's probably very bad for your digestive system, because clearing junk mail is not a very appetising chore.

But that day I was able to sit down and enjoy a full breakfast, a rare luxury in my life. It also helps to be in a quiet environment, without the sound of breaking news on television or the pings of Line messages on your smartphone to distract you.

After setting my breakfast down in front of me, I began the experiment.

My first bite was a piece of rose apple. I've been told you should always eat fruit before rather than after a meal because it is digested and absorbed much more quickly than other food. If eaten after a meal, it becomes fermented and causes heartburn. But I digress.

I put the rose apple into my mouth, lowered my hand and started chewing, slowly.

The moment I started chewing, I felt as if the rose apple had exploded into a swirl of sweet juices in my mouth. I have eaten rose apple since I was a child, but never have I had that sensation. The sweetness was then followed by the crunchiness of the fruit, round and round in my mouth until I eventually swallowed the liquid, followed by the pulp of the fruit.

Then I had a bit of salad with mayonnaise. No comments, please — I'm not usually a salad person, preferring the typical British-style overcooked vegetables when I absolutely feel that my body needs some vitamins and fibre.

But again, I was pleasantly surprised to find the sensation of eating salad so vivid and enticing. The freshness of the lettuce contrasted against the crunch and sweetness of raw carrots, heightened by the richness of the mayonnaise. Even the cherry tomatoes became delectable, little balls of juicy goodness.

I couldn't wait to try more.

Now I was down to business: scrambled eggs, sausages and sautéed potatoes with onions. I can sometimes be a picky eater, and normally I would pick out the potatoes and discard the onions. Not this time. For some strange reason, I was eager to discover what surprise the onions had in store for me. I put a bit of each on my spoon, gently placed it in my mouth and chewed slowly. I could actually separate each single item by its texture and taste: the smoothness of the scrambled egg, the soft, springy sausage and the slightly caramelised potatoes and onions. Each had their own characteristics at first, but gradually blended to become a single mouthful of bliss.

I have never enjoyed scrambled eggs so much in my life!

All this was sequentially followed by mixed-grain toast with strawberry jam and blueberry yoghurt.

Looking at me, you wouldn't think I could eat that much. But I did, enjoying every single bite until the very last morsel. In fact, I ate more than I should have. But I was lost in the rapture of the experience. It was orgasmic, in a non-sexual kind of way.

Mindfulness eating should actually make you eat less, because your mind has enough time to tell you to stop shovelling food into your mouth.

During subsequent meals, I detached myself a little from the sensual pleasures of eating, and realised that my stomach doesn't need much food to fill itself.

I encourage all of you to try it whenever you have the chance.

You might just discover a totally new side to onions.

Usnisa Sukhsvasti is the features editor of the Bangkok Post.

Usnisa Sukhsvasti

Feature Editor

M.R. Usnisa Sukhsvasti is Bangkok Post’s features editor, a teacher at Chulalongkorn University and a social worker.

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