Conscious Consumption

Everyday we make choices. We decide when it's time to wake up. And, we decide if we will get up. Every choice we make reflects our state of mind. Too often we do not reflect upon our choices enough to truly understand the state of our self.

We continue making choices.

Whether or not we are consciously aware of it, each one concerns our consumption. Decisions about diet and activities; how time and money are spent; who we spend our time with; along with all that our lifestyle is built upon, all influences our well-being.

Consuming foods that nourish our bodies, nourish our minds, and this nourishment soothes our soul. By engaging in activities that cultivate compassion towards ourselves and others, we encourage the consumption of compassion. We can choose to be activists, volunteer our time, or offer charity to those in need. But in our actions we must be conscious of more than what we do. We must also be conscious of what we say and think. Knowing that words and thoughts are consumed, just as food, we must practice mindful speech while learning to refine our minds.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings

The Buddha's teachings advise us that it is the mind we must learn to master. By making a commitment to lifelong learning and increasing awareness, we welcome mindfulness practice into our life. The Five Mindfulness Trainings are guidelines for living and elevating not only our self, but the state of every being. Each training reminds us that it is our responsibility to raise consciousness and work for the well-being of others. This requires that we become conscious of our consumption. Because all beings are interconnected, each training addresses conscious consumption as a channel through which we can engage with society and environment; and lessen the suffering those are subjected to.

The first mindfulness training concerns our consumption of compassion. If we act with violence or support the violent actions of others, we are involved in the creation and consumption of suffering. We choose to suffer our consequences; or we make selfless choices to alleviate the suffering of others. We do this with compassion.

Generosity is the form of compassion that is the focus of the second mindfulness training. This training is about preventing the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression. We can do this by making ethical choices about consumption. And we can start by committing to a life of voluntary simplicity, deciding to consume less and share more.

In the third mindfulness training we look at sexual misconduct. At first, I only interpreted the obvious, avoid sexual misconduct and protect others from it. Monitoring the consumption of ideas, particularly those handed down from sex centered media, could help. But as I began to think about the sex industry as it reflects society, and as an expression of society, I began to understand how this reflects deeper frustrations. The inability to make sound sexual choices is a symptom, much like the sex industry is a symptom, of an underlying condition - our inability to express love. I believe this is as far as we must dig. By this I mean that determining why we cannot express love (ie my parents didn't love me; so and so did this; and society did that), would not be as beneficial as learning to transform ourselves now. Learning to love includes learning to love our self. We cannot love anyone the way they deserve to be loved, if we do not love ourselves the way we deserve to be loved. When we love ourselves, we respect ourselves, and do everything we can to foster and share that love.

We can share our love and compassion through deep listening as much as we can through speech. The fourth mindfulness training reminds us that our words are consumed by others, and so we must choose them wisely. Since a mind that does not judge or deceive, does not speak lies or condemn others; we must transform our mind through meditation.

The fifth mindfulness training focuses our awareness directly to the suffering caused by unmindful consumption. Here the consumption of food and toxins, such as alcohol and much of media, are addressed. One might consider how the previous trainings would indicate that we should only ingest items that preserve peace, however here our awareness is focused on the fact that all of our consumption is connected to the well-being of others. Though it may not seem obvious how another drink will harm anyone but ourselves, it will in fact harm our future generations and society at large. This brings us around to the lesson of all the mindfulness trainings: we must learn the love and compassion that frees ourselves and others from suffering.

Looking at the mindfulness trainings, we see the truth of interconnectedness. If we are indifferent to others suffering and surround ourselves with toxins, we consume toxins; we act and speak with toxicity; we develop toxic relationships with ourselves and others; and we spread suffering. But we can stop this suffering by practicing mindfulness. Minds are transformed through meditation, and it is from this clarity we can act with compassion. We do not need to wait for enlightenment to strike us in meditation. We can get out there now and be an example for the all world to see that everyone can be free of suffering.

The answer lies in consuming with compassion.