Obsession With Food — and Other Reasons Why Diets Don’t Work

Counting calories, ordering special diet meals, measuring out portions - these are indications that we remain mesmerized and captivated by food - food has taken over our entire lives with no escape; food is an addiction no different from heroin, and maybe more dangerous because we think that food is cute. Actually, when we think of all the dead little bodies of plants and animals, that slide by our teeth, it is disgusting. We must somehow end our love affair with food.

When we lust for food, we lust for other things as well, like sex, money, comfort, etc. Greed is involved, too, and the things that we lust for are only the tip off the iceberg regarding our fundamental addiction. The fundamental addiction that is particularly alive and well inside anyone who finds dieting impossible is the foundation of all of our other addictions. If we can solve this fundamental one, the others go away along with it including our addiction to food. If we could only solve our primary addiction, we would never have to diet again, and all facets of our lives would improve dramatically.

But what is this fundamental addiction? It would have to be something quite common, not rare, and something that we all are addicted to. And it would have to be very pervasive. Few, however, can understand what it is. Even when it is explained, seldom is it understood, but this addiction is real... and it is menacing.

All addictions mess up our lives, as indicated by the fly-off-the-handle mentality so prevalent in the world. A big problem exists right before our eyes, yet we can't see it. A knife cannot cut itself, and likewise, we cannot see ourselves, and subsequently we cannot see our basic addiction.

Using drugs, alcohol, and yes . . . food as an escape only bewilders us and prevents any chance of understanding the real addiction. Habits are difficult to break, like old friends that we simply cannot say good-bye to, but we must move beyond them, which means solving the fundamental addiction. Then all of our addictions will be resolved. We must at least discover what this basic addiction and dependency is, even though it seems as if we can't do anything about it.

The key to this fundamental addiction is nothing other than ourselves. The admiration of, and fixation with, ourselves never changes. Even though we might be aware of this obsession we have with ourselves, we still can't see it. It permeates our being like a terrible stench, causing undue conflict and discontent because of the heavy responsibility we subtly feel toward the welfare of this imaginary us, but if we don't find a way to overcome this addiction of our "self," we will remain imprisoned in our dependencies forever.

For example, we might see our impulsive eating at some point, as we have never seen it before, and realize that our eating results from a greed for pleasure. We simply cannot go a minute without stimulating one of our sense organs – our ears with music, our tongues and noses with food, our eyes with sights of pleasure, our bodies with feelings of ecstasy, and our minds with thoughts of gratification. It's disgusting!

We have to see what we are doing here, but seeing requires wisdom, and the best path to wisdom is a calm mind, away from the manic activities of the grasping senses. A mind that can remain unmoved in the flurry of impulses and desires that make the body move and react like a robot. Wisdom is a calmness that suspends our ignorance of things, things such as our unbridled greed and our impulsive behavior regarding eating. In addition, a calm mind establishes courageousness, a fearlessness that we never had before. Courageousness is key if we are ever to see beyond our addictions to our "selves," and the only way to get beyond "ourselves," which is the fundamental addiction, is to understand that we don't exist in the way that we have always believed we existed. This takes an inordinate amount of courage.

A calm mind is aware of every movement of mind; an awareness of everything as it arises and passes. Impulses, emotions, thoughts, and sensations resulting from contact with the six senses - these will be noticed, but released immediately upon contact. The mind will not be permitted to continue with further identification, investigation, or with further attachment or aversion. It will not think about or ponder the contact in any way. It will become fearless in these kinds of observations.

There is no investigation of the impulse, emotion, thought, or sensation, and as quickly as it arises, it is released. Silent, still moments between impulses, emotions, thoughts, or sensations develop when these cease, and within these silent intervals will be periods of insight that extend longer and longer. This is thinking without thoughts, an undirected watching, a passive, choiceless observation. The body and mind that was taken into custody by the "I" thought (our "selves") now disappear; along with the "I" thought itself. Now there is only the full emptiness of the moment.

And now we have identified our root addiction; the illusion of self.

At some point, your "self," which comes across as a witness or watcher, will disappear, with only consciousness remaining. No longer will there be a participant, there will only be observation. You can never know yourself, just as an eye cannot see itself, but there will be conscious awareness.

Once you attain this elevated status, your consciousness might then move on and become even more refined. This happens when it has almost, but not quite, conquered lustful sensual desire, and anger/aversion. This refinement is developed further when your consciousness has completely exhausted sensual desire and anger/aversion, both of which are extremely difficult to overcome. At this point, all addiction is ended, not only in this life, but in the afterlife as well.
Meditation is the key to begin discovering for yourself your fundamental addiction. Diets don't work!

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