For Kids And Adults

For  Kids and Adults…

The body has accumulated much wisdom, the body is very wise. If you eat too much body says, “Stop” The mind is not wise. The mind says “the taste is beautiful – a little more” And if you listen to the mind the mind becomes destructive to the body, this way or that. F you listen to the mind, first it will say “Go on eating,” because mind is foolish, a child. He does not know what he is a saying. He is a new arrival he has no learning. He is not wise, he is still a fool. Listen to the body. When the body says “Hungry” – eat. When the body says “Stop” – stop.

            If you listen to the mind, it is as if a small child leading an old man – they will both fall in a pit. If you listen to the mind, then first you will be in the senses too much; and then you will get fed up. And every sense will bring you misery, every sense will bring you more anxiety, conflict, pain. If you eat too much there will be pain and there will be vomiting, and the whole body will be disturbed. Then the mind says, “eating is bad, so go on a fast.” And a fast is also dangerous. If you listen to the body it will never overeat, it will never under eat – it will simply follow the Tao.

A few scientist have been working on this problem and they have discovered a beautiful phenomenon: small children eat when they feel hungry. They go to sleep whenever they feel that sleep is coming – they listen to their bodies. But parents disturb them, they go on forcing. “It is dinner time, or lunch time, or this or that or sleeping-time – go.” They don’t allow their bodies. So one experimenter tried leaving the children on their own. He was working with 25 children. They were not forced to go to sleep; they were not forced to get up. They were not forced at all for six months. And a very deep understanding came.

            They slept well. They had less dreams – no nightmares, because nightmares were coming from the parents who were forcing them. They ate well, but never too much – never less than necessary, never more than necessary. They enjoyed eating and sometimes would not eat at all. When the body was not feeling well they would not eat, and they never fell ill because of eating. And one more thing, which no one suspected, came to be understood, and it was miraculous. Only Sosan can understand or Lao Tzu or Chuang Tzu, because they were masters of the Tao. This was a discovery: they came to understand that if a child was ill, then he would not eat particular foods. Then they tried to understand why he was not eating those foods. The foods were analyzed and it was found that for that disease, those foods were dangerous. How did the child decide? – just the body.

             When the child was growing he would eat more of whatsoever was needed for his growth. Then they analyzed and found that these ingredients were helpful for his growth. Then they analyzed that and found that these ingredients were helpful and food would change, because the needs changed. One day the child  would east something and the next day the child would not eat. And the scientist felt there was a body wisdom.

            If you allow the body to have its say, you are moving on the right path, the great way. And this is not only with food – this is so with the whole life. Your sex goes wrong because of your mind, your stomach goes wrong because of your mind. You interfere with the body. Don’t interfere! Even if you can do it for three months – don’t interfere, and suddenly you will become so healthy, and well being will descend on you.

 Source: From Meditation to Medication (Author) Osho