photo credit - pixabay

Close your eyes and think of the most delicious thing you’ve ever tasted…what does that bring up in your body? Have you been present enough with your sense of taste that it stimulates your memory and body in this way?

Taste can be an exquisite whole being experience deliciously savoring the flavors on the tastebuds and feeling the pleasure of deliciousness and aroma flow to every cell in the body…I have felt that at times and love this kind of experience! I have also witnessed what it looks like.

I took my little grandson, Christian, out for sushi for his birthday a few months ago and let him choose his favorite roll. He was animated and telling all kinds of stories until that roll was placed in front of him, and the moment that first bite touched his tastebuds his eyes closed and he chewed and savored in rapt silence, enjoying the pleasure of every second of the flavor! He did not return to conversation until every morsel was enjoyed to the fullest…absolute presence to the pleasure of taste! We can learn something from the way children are so in the moment if we are observant and look at things through beginner’s mind. They understand very important things we have forgotten.

Taste is also a very important part of the healing experience when using natural medicines. So many people have stated a preference for a capsule so they can bypass the ‘nasty’ taste of some remedies, but in doing so, they miss out on much of the benefits of said ‘nasty’ remedies. One of my sons humorously called one of them that is very spicy and garlicky ‘poison water! Of course I reminded him that his words and thoughts are powerful and to shift that description even if it was funny.

Recall you experience of a remedy or food that is quite bitter…this taste instantly stimulates the salivary glands to produce more saliva and enhance the digestive process right from the start, in the mouth…hence the term ‘digestive bitters’.

Now recall your experience of something very spicy hot like cayenne or some other capsicum species. The spicy heat makes you sweat and your nose runs…you feel a flush of heat from the inside out, stimulating your circulatory system to function more effectively. With a capsuled remedy you may feel a bit of heat when it exits the body but it’s so much less of a full body experience. The full effects just won’t be as present without that FLAVOUR!

Have you noticed that, when you have a cold or flu that your sense of taste is diminished and that strong, bitter and spicy flavours are easier to consume? I feel this phenomenon makes it easier to ingest what our bodies need in that moment.

The body is AMAZING in its capacity to let us know how things are affecting us and what it needs, as well as it’s capacity for experiencing pleasure if we are slowing down in those moments to be present with our sensations. Taste and aroma is only one aspect of this deliciousness, but a very powerful one!

What are your experiences? I would love to hear!