Landmark: Experimenting with Cravings
The Landmark of Experimenting with Cravings tests your experiences with cravings and how they affect your thoughts and emotions. This Landmark is within the Realm of Enrollment, and is part of the Beacon of Adaptation, more specifically the Lens of Non-Seeking.
 | |
| Landmark: Experimenting with Cravings | |
|---|---|
| Beacons | Adaptation |
| Realms | Enrollment |
| Lenses | Non-Seeking |
| Guides | Eating |
| Trails | Learn About Adaptation |
Landmark Lookouts:
- Discovering Craving: Do you notice that there is a true craving to experience, that there's a strong feeling in your mind that you can "observe" in some way?
- Being Pulled vs Thinking: Can you distinguish between your craving (being pulled) and the mental thoughts that run through your head ("That chocolate looks so good")?
What better way to experiment with cravings than to take it literally, with some sort of sweet dessert...
- Select a snack or drink that you find particularly appealing. Make sure it's something you genuinely enjoy and look forward to having.
- Before you dive right in, take a moment to really look at your chosen treat. Notice its colors, its shape, its texture.
- Close your eyes and inhale. Can you smell the food or drink? What does it remind you of? Or maybe if it doesn't have a smell, test its weight or texture.
- Acknowledge the sense of anticipation building within you. You're eager to dig in, but don't just yet.
- Instead, explore that feeling of craving. It's like a tug in your gut, a mental image that won't go away, an expectation of pleasure.
- Take as much time as you need to really identify that there is a very real thought like "You should eat this now, go ahead and get started" and an emotion associated with that thought.
- Now, slowly start to eat or drink. Really focus on the experience - the texture, the taste, how it feels as you swallow.
- Take your time. With every bite or sip, observe how the intensity of your craving diminishes. What's replacing it? Satisfaction? A sense of calm?
- Reflect on this change. You went from craving to contentment, from anticipation to experience. And it all happened in a few moments.
- Carry this experience into your daily life. Whenever you find yourself desiring something, remember the snack. Recall how the craving came and went, and how the actual experience was just a series of moments, each passing away to make room for the next.