When you eat sugary food, do you crave more?
Is one Oreo cookie enough? Or does your hand reach into the bag for another in the belief that “just one more and I’ll be satisfied.” But you aren’t. You want another, and another.
Or, just one more scoop of ice cream, one more donut, another drink of soda. And the list of seemingly irresistible foods goes on.
There is a common belief in the world of food-making, that once your tongue gets a taste of sugar, the body, aka brain, craves more. And it can seem difficult, if not impossible, to say no to more.
Christian Science teaches that all the sensations of the physical body are beliefs of the human mind. These beliefs are not anchored in spiritual reality, but are temporal conditions of the human mind that can be changed and improved.
If you’re bowing down to sugar and worshipping it as a god, you can change that and improve your eating habits.
Sugar is not a god. It does not have power over you. It does not control your mind. It does not make itself irresistible. It does not need to be consumed in ever-growing quantities.
Divine Love is the one God, and divine Love gives you the capacity to think and reason intelligently. You can say NO to physiological beliefs that are not in your best interest to observe.
Jesus said, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” Luke 10:19, NIV. The belief that the consumption of sugar is irresistible is a “snake and scorpion” of mortal mind. It is delusion, and it needs to be metaphysically trampled to death. You have spiritual power to neutralize and stop it.
Sugar is not a god. Let divine wisdom reign supreme in your life.
hmmm…this makes me think Evan…about something I hadn’t even considered before!
Thanks for a new “take” on this subject…
Do you have a hidden camera in my house or what? lol Thank you very much for this!
But seriously, for some reason it occurred to me when reading this how important both “denial” and “affirmation” are in practicing Christian Science. So thanks for giving us both!
Denial: Sugar is not a god. It does not have power over you. It does not control your mind. It does not make itself irresistible. It does not need to be consumed in ever-growing quantities.
Affirmation: Divine Love is the one God, and divine Love gives you the capacity to think and reason intelligently.
Wonderful! Yesterday I heard these ideas from divine Mind: Accept reality! Our immortal and perfect being! Understand that all false appetites are unreal – they do not exist in divine Mind, and of course, are not in our true consciousness or individuality! Thank you Evan, again for this so clear and practical metaphysical treatment!
I have to be honest about saying this, but I like sugary foods just as much as I like a good piece of steak or a fruit such as Honey Due. If that’s craving, then I crave. I see nothing wrong with it, or something to feel guilty about thou if I killed some one, I would feel guilty. To equate loving a certain food to a God, one should equate loving anything in this mortal life as “God’s many” making C/S into the old religious beliefs that caused such horrors as the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600’s.
I dont think that is craving Tobias….just enjoying your food and there’s nothing wrong with that. Personally I discovered that I used sugar in the form of chocolate as an emotional crutch. When I would have arguments with one of my sons I realized that I immediately went to the store and purchased 3 bars of Cadbury and consumed the lot, in an attempt to quiet something within myself. Now I am realizing that the real craving is for God’s love for both of us and I am filling myself up with truth before the argument even starts! It is working! Like Evan stated in the “Chat”, our real craving is to know ourselves as God’s beautiful, fit, under control etc.. child. So I dont see this blog as saying that sugar is bad (I enjoy a delightful dessert) but that it has the potential to claim to satisfy, like drugs or alcohol, and that is the evil. Then mortal mind hangs the penalty….health issues, overweight, lack of self-esteem. Who wants that vicious circle in their lives.
The claim that liking certain foods is also a “generational belief”
is something to handle, too. My grandchildren have been given whole grain breads, veggies, fish and chicken, fruits, etc., instead of beef, sugary cereals, candy, etc. and now as teens they really aren’t pulled toward foods that current thought says are not a good diet…those high in sugar, lots of beef, few veggies, etc.
As adults, I imagine they will continue with this “healthier” regimen. They are, I’m grateful to say, also being taught not to
give power to food, but rather to be wise, and most of all, to listen to divine wisdom, God, in all their decisions. They are not made to feel guilty for wanting candy, however, now and then. They know how to put an inordinate craving for candy in its place: as error.
Thank you, Evan, for helping us consider this subject more closely. It is such a Big Issue in the news. This week it’s sugar,
last week…fat, or whatever…Next it will be…whatever. Thus error exposes itself in its thin disguises to be a power-other than-God. That can’t work!! ;<))
Thanks everybody, I really felt grateful for all of your insights. We give way too much power to food in all of its disguises .
Evan, it seems like any struggle I have, you write about. I’m particularly thrilled with this article as I pray often about sugar addiction. To continue Tobias’ and Deborah’s conversation, I remember reading about one of MBE’s students who was drinking some lemonade. He said, “This seems to be delicious.” Eddy replied, “It IS delicious. Enjoy it.”
Eddy was practical. It was OK to enjoy your food. But when it consumes your thought, that’s when turning to God and letting Him/Her fill your thoughts releases the cravings.
Bless you for your articles, Evan.
When I see I´m starting to overeat, I try to take a deep breath and think: “God is the source of real and everlasting pleasure. What sugar gives me lasts too little and never satisfies me fully. Sugar is just an illusion of satisfaction.”
All well-feeling, well-being begins with God and is totally spiritual.
As we let ourselves to feel the oneness we have with Him/Her, automatically the sugar crave goes away because God provides instantaneously a well being that is huge, much bigger than a mountain of Oreos, ice creams, pastas and burgers !!! and it doesn´t make you fat !!! 😀
Thanks Evan. If you take a cookie out and put it on a table, you realize that is inanimate and lifeless. If you stare at the cookie for a while you will realize that it is you who supplies it with its capacities and power. In my own experience, I have found that when I realized the cookie had power neither for good nor for evil, I lost all taste for it. I realized that as long as I gave it any power, either to give pleasure or satisfaction or for evil, it held me in its grasp. False appetites disappear when we realize all power is in God. Thanks again,
A devout speaker to all truth once answered the question this way regarding consumption, that is, dieting: “Eat to satisfy hunger, not appetite.” Is it food to consume in order to appease the mortal sense of wanting, or rather, is it spiritual food, the substance of thought and a prayerful desire?
I am grateful for this. A Sunday school teacher told my son he could eat chocolate cake all the time. It just would not make a difference because matter doesn’t matter.