Eat and drink consciously

What the Method Is

The core instruction or sutra for this technique is: “When eating or drinking, become the taste of the food or drink, and be filled”. This means to fully immerse oneself in the sensory experience of taste, allowing that sensation to permeate one’s entire being.

How It Is Done

To effectively practise “Eat and drink consciously”, the steps involve:

  • Recognise unconscious eating habits: Osho notes that people often eat “unconsciously, automatically, robot-like”. The first step is to become aware of this mechanical tendency.
  • Go slow and be aware of the taste: The practitioner must slow down the act of eating and drinking. Instead of “just swallowing things,” one must “taste them unhurriedly”.
  • Become the taste: The central instruction is to “become the taste”. When experiencing a particular flavour, such as sweetness, the practitioner should “become that sweetness”. This means allowing the taste to be felt “all over the body – not just in the mouth, not just on the tongue,” spreading “in ripples” throughout one’s being.
  • Listen to the body’s wisdom: By eating with awareness, one learns to listen to the body’s signals. The body inherently knows when it has had enough and will indicate when to stop eating, preventing overconsumption.
  • Chew thoroughly: Eating consciously naturally leads to more thorough chewing, enhancing the pleasure and digestion of food.
  • Allow processes to slow down: Conscious eating will naturally slow down the entire process, as awareness itself tends to decelerate actions.
Commentaries and Insights

Osho’s commentaries on this method provide extensive philosophical and practical insights:

  • Tantra’s Affirmation vs. Other Traditions: This technique highlights a fundamental difference between Tantra and other spiritual traditions, such as Jainism or Mahatma Gandhi’s “Aswad” (no taste) approach.
    • Jainism advocates eating without tasting, treating it as a mere necessity to avoid desire, which deadens the senses and leads to a split, “head-centred” existence.
    • Tantra, in contrast, encourages heightened sensitivity and total engagement with life, urging practitioners to “taste it as much as possible; be more sensitive, alive”.
    • The core belief is that “if you are more sensitive you will be more alive, and if you are more alive, then more life will enter your inner being. You will be more open”.
  • Transformation through Awareness:
    • Awareness of positive emotions, like the joy derived from taste, does not dissolve them but instead deepens and spreads them throughout one’s being. If the emotion is “good, blissful, ecstatic,” awareness helps one “become one with it”.
    • This process helps to reveal positive emotions that might have been obscured by a focus on negative ones.
    • The method moves one away from “robot-like” unconscious behaviour towards total presence in the moment. When one is “merged with the moment with no future, no past,” and the “moment now is the only existence,” one is in a “buddha-mind” state.
  • Holistic Acceptance and Non-Division:
    • Tantra advocates total acceptance of oneself and all life energies, without condemnation or conflict. It views the body as “sacred, holy” and a “vehicle” for transcendence, rather than something impure.
    • This technique embodies acceptance by embracing the natural pleasure of eating, rather than condemning it as a desire. It helps to dissolve inner divisions and fosters a sense of unity within oneself.
  • Beyond Ego and “Unreal Personality”:
    • The “unreal personality” often opposes enjoyment, promoting concepts like sacrifice (e.g., “sacrifice yourself for others”).
    • Osho argues that one must be “filled with light” and “happy” oneself to genuinely help others; otherwise, attempts at altruism are futile and potentially harmful. This practice facilitates inner fullness, allowing one to “be selfish; only then can you be altruistic”.
  • Listening to the Body’s Innate Wisdom:
    • The technique trains one to hear and respond to the body’s subtle signals, such as when it is truly satisfied, rather than relying on external rules or diets.
    • The body possesses an “own wisdom” that is “more wise than you”. By cultivating awareness, one can tune into this wisdom and cease forceful, unnatural habits.
    • Conscious eating can lead to consuming “less food” while feeling “more fulfilled” and enjoying the meal more, because the body’s natural satiety signals are heard.
  • Effortless Transformation:
    • While some techniques might require an initial “effort as a starter,” the ultimate aim is for the process to become effortless and spontaneous. This is not about forced discipline but about allowing deep transformation to unfold naturally through awareness.
    • The method contributes to an “unburdening of repressions” by allowing feelings and sensations to be fully experienced rather than suppressed.
  • From Centering to Cosmic Consciousness:
    • Although this specific method focuses on sensory experience, it implicitly supports the broader Tantric goal of centering, which is the “path” to ultimate cosmic consciousness (samadhi). By becoming present and dissolving into the experience, the individual consciousness can expand beyond its usual boundaries.
  • No Judgement: Tantra operates from a non-judgmental stance, not labelling actions or experiences as moral or immoral. The key is the quality of consciousness brought to the act, not the act itself. For Tantra, “sleep is impure, alertness is pure, and all else is just meaningless”.