When you have a meal, do you eat quietly, or do you eat and converse with others, or do you watch something on a screen or read?

I've been wondering about how important it is to be aware of not just what I eat, but also how I eat it. I used to eat while watching a video on my laptop, but I have stopped doing that. I realised that when I sit quietly, away from everything, and eat, I am more mindful of how the food affects my body. It seems that am more sensitive to the moment when I have eaten beyond the needs of my body. If I have eaten more than I needed to, I am more aware of what kind of excess is it - do I have too much sugar, or protein, or something else. I am also more aware of the spiritual qualities of the food - sattvic, rajasic, tamasic. Also, there is a sense of the interconnectedness of all things - the trees that my fruits come from, the air and the water that nourishes those trees, and so on.

Hence, I eat at least two of my three meals alone. Once a day I eat either with fellow students or researchers at school, or at home with my mother who I live with. Usually, if there are any dietary excesses, they are at this time. My attention is often more on what the other person is saying rather than on how the food affects me. I end up eating more for my palette than for my sense of hunger. My sensitivity to the needs of the body - the quantity of food, the spiritual quality of the food, and so on - is much lesser and my sensitivity to the needs of my palette is much more. Perhaps this is because the needs of taste are more 'gross' or strong and the needs of the body are subtle.

At the same time, it gives me pleasure and a sense of gratitude to break bread together with someone, to share food with them to some extent, and just to nourish our bodies together. Usually, the other person is not eating with the same mindset but even then, eating together does add to what is shared and enjoyed together in a relationship. So I would not want to give that up completely.

What are your experiences of eating? Do you prefer to eat alone? Do you overeat in social situations? If yes, how do you avoid doing so?

What attitude do you have towards the food you eat - do you feel and express gratitude, or do you focus on the nutritional qualities of the food, or its spiritual qualities, or is eating a chore to be completed quickly before you move on to other things?