Savor Quotes

“Life is a miracle, and being aware of simply this can already make us very happy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: A Buddhist Guide to Mindful Eating and Achieving a Healthier Weight, Combining Nutritional Science and Mindfulness Techniques for Lasting Change

“I will practice coming back to the present moment...not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past or letting anxieties, fears, or cravings pull me out...”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: A Buddhist Guide to Mindful Eating and Achieving a Healthier Weight, Combining Nutritional Science and Mindfulness Techniques for Lasting Change

“Each minute we spend worrying about the future and regretting the past is a minute we miss in our appointment with life- a missed opportunity to engage life and to see that each moment gives us the chance to change for the better, to experience peace and joy.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: A Buddhist Guide to Mindful Eating and Achieving a Healthier Weight, Combining Nutritional Science and Mindfulness Techniques for Lasting Change

“Be like the earth. When the rain comes, the earth simply opens up to the rain and soaks it all in.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“We can walk in such a way that we arrive with each step—not walking just to get somewhere else.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Breathing in, I know I have an unpleasant feeling. Breathing out, I am here for this unpleasant feeling. Breathing in, I calm the feeling in me. Breathing out, I calm the feeling in me.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Instead, we must learn how to make friends with our hardships and challenges. They are there to help us; they are natural opportunities for deeper understanding and transformation, bringing us more joy and peace as we learn to work with them.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“If we practice stopping while attending to e-mails, surfing the Web, attending meetings or appointments, folding the laundry, washing the dishes, or taking a shower, we are living deeply.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Mass media is the food for our eyes, ears, and minds. When we watch television, read a magazine, watch a film, or play a video game, we are consuming sensory impressions. Many of the images we are exposed to through the media water unwholesome seeds of craving, fear, anger, and violence in our consciousness. The images, sounds, and ideas that are toxic can rob our body and consciousness of their well-being. If you feel anxious, fearful, or depressed, it may be because you have taken in too many toxins through your senses without even knowing it. Be mindful of what you watch, read, and listen to, and protect yourself from the fear, despair, anger, craving, anxiety, or violence they promote. The material goods they promise are only quick, temporary fixes.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Mindful eating means simply eating or drinking while being aware of each bite or sip.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“When you have a toothache, you call your dentist and ask for an emergency appointment to relieve your pain. You know deeply at that point that not having a toothache is happiness. Yet later, when you don’t have a toothache, you forget and do not treasure your non-toothache.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Do not suppress these feelings of anger. Instead, as the Buddha has taught us, accept and embrace these difficult feelings, like a mother cradling her crying baby. The crying baby needs the mother’s loving care. In a similar manner, your negative emotions and turmoil are crying out loud, trying to get your attention. Your negative emotions also need your tender, loving care. By embracing your negative feelings whenever they arise, you can prevent yourself from being swept away by your emotional storm, and you can calm yourself. When you are calmer, you are more able to see that you already have within yourself the power and the tools to begin to change.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“At its most essential, the apple you hold is a manifestation of the wonderful presence of life. It is interconnected with all that is. It contains the whole universe; it is an ambassador of the cosmos coming to nourish our existence. It feeds our body, and if we eat it mindfully, it also feeds our soul and recharges our spirit.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Enlightenment, peace, and joy will not be granted by someone else. The well is within us, And if we dig deeply in the present moment, The water will spring forth”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Stopping, calming and resting are preconditions for healing. If we cannot stop, we will continue on the course of destruction caused by unmindful consumption.

To attain well-being, we need to take care not only of our bodies but also of our minds. Mindfulness practice is central to seeing the interdependence of mind and body.

Learning to mindfully consume sensory impressions can help us reduce our craving, anger, fear, sadness and stress.

Desire is a kind of food that nourishes us and gives us energy. If we have a healthy desire, such as a wish to save or protect life, care for our environment or live a simple, balanced life with time to take care of ourselves and our loved ones, our desire will bring us happiness.

If we allow anger to come up in our mind consciousness and stay for a whole hour, for that whole hour we are eating anger. The more we eat anger, the more the seed of anger in our store consciousness grows. If you have a friend who understands you well and offers you words of comfort and kindness, the seed of loving-kindness will arise in your mind consciousness.

We must learn to nurture wholesome seeds and to tame unwholesome ones with mindfulness, because when they return to the store consciousness, they become stronger regardless of their nature.

When we water seeds of forgiveness, acceptance and happiness in the people we love, we are giving them very healthy food for their consciousness. But if we constantly water the seeds of hatred, craving and anger in our loved ones, we are poisoning them.

We must find the source of our desire to eat too much of the wrong foods. Perhaps we eat out of sadness; perhaps we eat out of our fears for the future. If we cut the sources of nutriment for our sadness and fear, sadness and fear will wither and weaken and with them the urge to overeat. The Buddha said that if we know how to look deeply into our suffering and recognize its source of food, we are already on the path of emancipation. The way out of our suffering if through mindfulness of consumption - all forms of consumption and not just edible foods and drinks.

When we pause with mindfulness, we recognize that our family member must be suffering somehow. If one is happy and peaceful, one would not behave with such anger. Mindfulness practice can help reveal this kind of insight.

We should avoid associating with individuals and groups of people who do not know how to recognize, embrace and transform their energy of hate, discrimination or anger.

In order to have the strength and energy to embrace painful feelings, we must nourish our positive feelings regularly.

We should learn to treat our unpleasant feelings as friends who can teach us a great deal. Just like a mindfulness bell, unpleasant feelings draw our attention to issues and situations in our lives that ar enot working and that need our care. Proceeding with mindful observation, we will gain insight and understanding into what needs to be changed and how to change it.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: A Buddhist Guide to Mindful Eating and Achieving a Healthier Weight, Combining Nutritional Science and Mindfulness Techniques for Lasting Change

“We can choose to resist these messages—but it will be easier if we mindfully choose to limit our exposure to such messages. Turn off the television. Stop mindlessly reading glossy magazines. Children especially need protection from the media, since their minds simply are not mature enough to understand that advertisers are deliberately trying to influence them.19 We also need to shield ourselves and our children from unwholesome films, TV programs, and video games, in addition to advertisements, because they can fill us with anxiety, violence, and craving. They can also fill us with stress, and stress may, in turn, contribute to weight gain.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“The Buddha teaches that change requires insight, and insight cannot begin until we stop and focus our attention on what is happening right in front of us. This stopping, or shamatha, allows us to rest the body and the mind. When we have calmed ourselves, we can then go on to look deeply into our current situation. We need to step off our frantic life treadmills, to stop unconsciously doing the same things over and over again that have allowed our weight to creep up.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Vegetarians and vegans tend to weigh less and have lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol, and, in turn, a lowered risk of heart disease than people whose diets include some or all types of animal products;”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“We have created a culture of constant snacking, drinking, and eating.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“As you will see, mindfulness practice does not need to be another “add-on.” Its beauty lies in the fact that it can be fully and easily integrated into every act of our daily living, reminding us to live the present moment fully.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“The Buddha said that if we know how to look deeply into our suffering and recognize its source of food, we are already on the path of emancipation.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“Transforming our suffering is like becoming an organic gardener, one who does not discard the unwanted scraps from the kitchen or the yard. Instead, the gardener composts these scraps so that they can nourish the flower. You can transform the unwanted garbage in you—your depression, fear, despair, or anger—into the nourishing energy of peace and joy. Don’t throw away or deny your suffering. Touch your suffering. Face it directly, and transformation is within your reach.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: A Buddhist Guide to Mindful Eating and Achieving a Healthier Weight, Combining Nutritional Science and Mindfulness Techniques for Lasting Change

“Its beauty lies in the fact that it can be fully and easily integrated into every act of our daily living, reminding us to live the present moment fully.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“The healthiest carbohydrates come from whole grains, legumes, vegetables and whole fruits. The least healthy carbohydrates come from white bread, white rice, past and other refined grains, sugary foods and drinks and potatoes.

There is an easy way to tell healthy fats from unhealthy fats. Most of the healthy fats - the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - come from plants and are liquid at room temperature. Rich green olive oil, golden sunflower oil, the oil that rises to the top of a jar of natural nut butter and the oils that come from fatty fish and all examples of healthy unsaturated fats.
The unhealthy fats ( saturated fats ) and the very unhealthy fats ( trans fats ) tend to be solid at room temperature, such as the fat that marbles a steak or that is found in a stick of butter. Meat and full fat dairy products are the biggest sources of saturated fat in the western diet.
So for good health, enjoy healthy fats, limit saturated fat and avoid trans fat.

Mindfulness practice touches the stillness in ourselves. It allows us to calm down and reflect so that we can reconnect with our true self.

When we are free from our automatic responses, we can see more clearly things as they are, from moment to moment, without judgment, preconceived notions or bias. We get to know ourselves better. We become more more in tune with our own feelings, actions and thoughts as well as with the feelings, actions and thoughts of others.

You need to ask yourself what is it that you really want. Often our habit energy and fear prevent us from identifying what we want and from living healthily.

The essential point is that we do not try to repress our afflictions, our negative energies, because the more we resist or fight them, the stronger they will grow in us. We need only to learn to recognize them, embrace them and bathe them in the energy of mindfulness.

Once you can be in the present, you will recognize that your fears, anger and despair are all projections from the past. They are not the present reality.

Don't just sit there and wait for your negative feelings to pass. Complaining will not change your life. Change your thinking and you can let go of limitations you imposed on yourself. Explore and be proactive.

I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy.

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people.

I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety or other suffering by losing myself in consumption.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: A Buddhist Guide to Mindful Eating and Achieving a Healthier Weight, Combining Nutritional Science and Mindfulness Techniques for Lasting Change

“Anger is like a flame blazing up and consuming our self-control, making us think, say and do things that we will probably regret later.

When anger is born in us, we should follow our breathing closely while we identify and mindfully observe our anger.

When we are angry, our anger is our very self. To suppress or chase away our anger is to suppress or chase away ourselves. When anger is born, we can be aware that anger is an energy in us and we can change that energy into another kind of energy. If we want to transform it, first we have to know how to accept it.

Looking into our anger, we can see its roots, such as the misunderstanding of ourselves and others, our pain, the violence and unkindness in our society and hidden resentment over many generations. These roots can be present both within us and in the person who played the principal role in triggering our anger.

When your mother keeps reminding you that you are fat, that you should not eat this or that, you gradually build up resentment and guilt, forming complex knots of suffering.

Because it is easier to avoid suffering in the short term, we have defense mechanisms that push our psychological pains, sorrow and internal conflicts into our subconscious mind and bury them there. But occasionally they emerge and surface in our thoughts, speech and actions, reflecting symptoms of physical and psychological disturbance.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: A Buddhist Guide to Mindful Eating and Achieving a Healthier Weight, Combining Nutritional Science and Mindfulness Techniques for Lasting Change

“You are more capable of helping yourself if you treat yourself with compassion and a loving heart.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“and agony. Are you consuming like a Hungry Ghost?”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“A simple example from the field of medicine can help illustrate the Four Noble Truths. Let’s say you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (First Noble Truth), which was likely brought on by eating a poor diet and becoming very overweight (Second Noble Truth). Your doctor tells you the situation does not need to be like that and can be controlled (confirming the Third Noble Truth). You follow the doctor’s prescription—taking your medicine, eating better, and exercising more—which is your route to healing (Fourth Noble Truth).”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“There is a Zen story about a man and a horse.7 The horse is galloping quickly, and it appears that the rider is urgently heading somewhere important. A bystander along the road calls out, “Where are you going?” and the rider replies, “I don’t know! Ask the horse!” This is also our life story. Many of us are riding a horse, but we don’t know where we are going, and we can’t stop. The horse is our “habit energy,” the relentless force of habit that pulls us along, that we are often unaware of and feel powerless to change. We are always running.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

“You are the foundation of any change that will happen in your society. A student asked Thay, “There are so many urgent problems. What should I do?” Thay answered calmly, “Take one thing, and do it very deeply and carefully, and you will be doing everything at the same time.” Knowing”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life