The Weaving of a Vision with the Intercession of McDonalds
Over 30 years ago I had a profound experience, which forever changed my life and it’s course. That seed of understanding, with nourishment coming from my life experiences, has an organic unfolding and continues to shape my visions. In putting them out there, may they bear fruit.
Alice Rosen, LMHC, M.S. Ed.
In 1979, I was already on a path of connecting to and healing my body/mind through creative movement, meditation and yoga. I was also about to get my MSEd in Expressive Therapies, but I still had no insight into, nor control over my over-eating. I thought it was all about will power and obeying external dictates and I was a failure at that.
When I went on what I knew would be my last 10 day mindfulness meditation retreat for many years, I decided to apply myself to the practice with the whole heartedness which comes from a sudden awareness that time is short.
In that retreat, when I practiced eating mindfully, I discovered for the first time a sense of true satiety and a dropping away of craving. To my utter surprise I ate less than half of what I normally did, and was more satisfied than I ever had ever been! I discovered an exquisite point when I had no intention to pick up the utensil to eat more food even if there was more appealing food on the plate. It was no struggle at all.
I understood that the answer to when, what, and how much to eat was mine to know if only I would slow down and pay attention. What an amazing liberation! I could trust my body’s inherent intelligence! Back in 1979 I thought I had discovered something big and could not wait to tell the world that I knew the way to resolve compulsive behaviors around food.
I have since dedicated my work to integrating mindfulness into the treatment of binge eating disorder and compulsive eating. Although mindfulness, thanks to the work of John Kabat- Zinn, is now a common concept, the practice of mindful eating is still revolutionary in this day of diets, fear of obesity, and body objectification.
I generally try to stay away from mixing food politics and nutritional information into my work, because my particular focus is upon the power of mindfulness. In paying attention we have an inherent ability to make the wisest food choices given our circumstances and situations. I believe that our ability to be discriminating and to distinguish what is nourishing for our bodies should be recognized, cultivated in the home and schools and medical establishment, and be a foundation of health and wellness.
To that point I have been fantasizing ever since I saw the movie “Supersize Me” about a documentary I would like to make about the power of mindful eating.
The premise would be the same…. that a healthy young person would have to eat every meal at McDonald’s for 30 days. The only difference is that this person would be trained in mindful eating.
He would tune in to his hunger as it was arising, as not to be too hungry when he finally ate, he would take a calm moment to ask his body what would satisfy him (regardless of what was available), acknowledge that he might not get that at McDonald’s but nonetheless go there with the intention to get as much nourishment as possible from what he ate.
He would then choose his food and before eating stop for a moment of gratitude, acknowledging the miracle from whence food comes, the human and animal sacrifice involved and ending with “May I take it in and may it nourish me, and may I return the energy to the world in ways which lessen suffering and bring joy.”
He would then eat calmly and slowly, chewing fully and tasting everything, naturally stopping at a point when he was no longer hungry and felt satisfied. If there were food left, he would not have to eat it.
My guess is that the results of his physical and medical examinations during this 30 days would be way less drastic than those in “Supersize Me”. How we eat is just as important as what we eat.
That said I have another idea, which has been simmering on the back burner. The first seed of the idea came in 2001, when I had to make often and spontaneous trips to Florida during the end days of my mother’s life. As I had to spend many hours in airports, (and it was just after September 11) I bemoaned the fact that I could not find nourishing food anywhere. I imagined many kiosk- sized Conscious Cafés in all the airports where I could get simple brown rice, broth and dark greens to fortify myself.
In 2009 I attended the Internal Family Systems conference in Chicago, which was held at Hamburger University, the corporate headquarters of McDonald’s. I was stunned by the beautiful aesthetic and tastefulness of the landscaping and facility, and not once did they serve us a hamburger and French fries! I could not help reflecting on the difference between their corporate image and their public manifestation. I realized what a powerful force McDonald’s is.
Now let’s cut to a few weeks ago, when I was spending a week on a silent meditation retreat. As I was reciting the METTA phrases to myself, “May all beings be happy”, Mc Donald’s came to mind again.… The Happy Meal… And I thought, why can’t there be a ” May you be happy meal”?
What if this amazingly successful and prosperous company which already has so much prime real estate, influence and know-how, could come to its senses and gradually and intentionally evolve its business to be for the greater good?
What if they added simple and nourishing bean, grain and dark green choices to the menu? What if they hired a famous chef, like Jamie Oliver, to design these signature dishes?
What if busy professionals and people on the run and poor inner-city people alike could depend upon going to McDonald’s for an economical, nourishing, time conserving meal?
What if their business would actually increase because a greater range of people would come through their doors? What if they could not only profit, as all businesses should, but they could go to bed at night feeling good about how they are contributing to the world? What if it was a win-win situation all around?
May we be happy.