What Are You Hungry For?

Sermon delivered by Rev. Tamara Lebak, Assistant Minster, Aug. 5, 2007.

In a new book I am reading called Mindless Eating, Brian Wansick reports that today "you will make more than 200 food related decisions...90% of which you won't even be aware of." Often when it comes to food, all of our intentions are thrown out the window in the name of our social lives, treating ourselves, or giving into some unexplainable craving. Wansink has spent his career studying why we mindlessly instead of mindfully eat. Through a series of experiments, he has attempted to unveil the "hidden persuaders" that change our minds about what, when, and how much we consume.

Hunger is also the central metaphor used by Gestalt Psychologist Fritz Perls. Fritz and his wife Laura co-founded the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland where I was trained. The Gestalt Model focuses on the promotion of awareness, the awareness of the unity of all present feelings and behaviors, and the contact between the self and its environment. As religious people, we strive to live each moment more aware of our inner and outer realms. Eating gives us an opportunity to be aware of how our inner and our outer worlds interrelate as well as an opportunity to integrate our own theories and theology with practice. Join me as I explore the intersection of hunger, eating, and awareness.