Guru…Meet My Friend Craving

Student: So, I had another relapse last night.

Guru:  What happened?

Student:  I completely lost it.  It was midnight and I devoured a half a dozen oatmeal cookies.

Guru:  How did that make you feel?

Student:  At first I felt satisfied and victorious.  Then disappointed and defeated.  I am going back to old habits.  Will I ever get over the late night urges?

Guru: When you are ready to completely experience what it feels like to be fully aware and able to observe the sensation of your craving without acting on it.

Student: I don’t understand.  I’ve tried all the tricks people tell me to do.  Nothing helps.

Guru:  For example, you first smell an oatmeal cookie, and in a few moments you immediately want the oatmeal cookie and then finally you devour the oatmeal cookie.  When it comes to cravings, you must learn to slow down this experience to halt the cycle. Believe it or not, there is a sequence to every stimulus that comes into your body or mind.  Yet it happens fast, and often it goes undetected.  The cycle starts with a stimulus (ie. smell of a muffin or even a thought like “I want an oatmeal cookie”) and then evaluating whether it is good or bad or neutral.

Student:  So when I feel the uncontrollable urge to snack at night, there is a sensory reaction that I must appraise.  I know I often feel sad, bored, or powerless.  It is like I feel taken over by my craving and immediately have to satisfy it!

Guru: Exactly.  And your need to immediately satisfy your craving is the next step in the cycle.  This is called the impulse.

Student: I’m doing this all the time?

Guru:  Yes, every choice you make in your day goes through this pattern.  Yet each choice ends in an action. So after evaluating and then feeling attracted towards an oatmeal cookie, you decide to go for it and eat the cookie.  Taken over by your need to feed and satisfy, you end up eating three more.  Before you know it, the pleasure of this satisfaction (or rather the chemical, called serotonin) is in full swing.  The faster you eat, the less you are conscious of this cycle.

Student:  Appraisal. Impulse. Action.**  I get it!  But how do I slow this cycle down so I am in control?

Guru:  Meditation.

Student: Ah, I was afraid you were going to say that!

Guru: It is the best tool to become highly aware of this cycle.  It brightens your sensitivity to the stimulations that you experience all day like sound, smell, touch, taste and even thoughts.  It is the practice of meditation that slows down the cycle.  The goal is to become more aware earlier in the process so you can break the link between impulse and action.  In other words, to get beyond the craving, you have to experience what it is like to NOT react; fully aware and able to completely surrender in the moment.  Not easy, I know.

Student:  It sounds impossible.

Guru:  But it is all in your mind.  Listen, you don’t have to react to every pleasant or unpleasant experience in your life.  Self-control is good.  Soon you will learn all your cravings and aversions are just chemical reactions in the body that will pass.  Freedom is then right around the corner.

Student:  Thank you.

Guru:  You are most welcome.

**The Wisdom of Yoga, A Seeker’s Guide to Extraordinary Living by Stephen Cope