Last week, while teaching my "Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat" Mindful Eating Workshop, we talked about "head hunger". Specifically, we were talking about how often we confuse physical hunger for food with a hunger for something else. We feed ourselves and feed ourselves, but never seem to be satisfied. The reason is that this particular hunger didn't originate with a hunger for food, so food will never satisfy it. We call it "head hunger" and it's when we have a desire to eat that isn't about food at all...it's about a hunger for something else completely, like love, attention, comfort, peace, or joy.
This concept doesn't just apply to food. Oftentimes, we have a hunger that we can't seem to fill so we try to fill it with something else entirely, like food, attention, shopping, alcohol, drugs, etc. Most of these things aren't bad in and of themselves, but if left unchecked, can spiral to a point of full-blown addiction before we even know what happened. I'm sure many of you can relate.
One of the strategies we use in Am I Hungry? to help people cope with head hunger is FEAST, which stands for Focus, Explore, Accept, Strategize, and Take Action. When coupled with God's word and truth, FEASTing can help with us just about any hunger we have by helping us to feel filled and satisfied rather than feeling like we are filling a bottomless pit. We begin by focusing our attention on what is really going on in our mind, body, heart, and spirit. This can be done with several deep breaths and prayer to take us deeper into the heart of the hunger. Once our attention is focused, we can explore what the hunger is all about. Once we have identified the source of the hunger, we need to accept it for what it is, without any judgement. Next, we can strategize ways to fill that hunger and meet our true needs. At this point, we can ask the Spirit for wisdom, discernment, and direction. Finally, we take action and do something different than we have before in order to meet the true need rather than fill it with the wrong things.
God's word tells us that HE will take care of any hunger we have. We simply need to connect with Him in an authentic way to identify what that hunger is and ask for Him to lead us through the process of identifying how to satisfy it. Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. When we seek God and truth, hunger and thirst for it, God promises that He will fill it. That is a promise you can FEAST on!
If you think you could benefit by learning some strategies for dealing with head hunger that is manifested in an unhealthy relationship with food, join us for the next "Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat" Mindful Eating 8-Week workshop that starts March 25. Click here for more information or to register.
If you are looking for a deeper connection with God and your body, join us for a Holy Yoga class soon!
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