Hunger and appetite are two entirely different features of the human body, hunger being the normal/natural demand for food, appetite the abnormal. Most people confuse the two.
For the majority of persons who have reached maturity, their natural taste, or ‘Hunger-instinct’ has been made corrupt by ‘Appetite’. For too long they have not experienced the sensation of genuine hunger and have forgotten exactly what it feels like. It is a challenge to describe a sensation unless one can recollect the same or a similar sensation experienced at some point during one’s existence. So to attempt to describe the true sensation of hunger could be like conveying the sound of a violin to someone born ‘stone deaf’ or giving clever description of the whiff of rain to someone born without the sense of smell.
For all those who have disentangled themself from the grip of Appetite then the respective sensations of Hunger and Appetite are easily distinguishable and the precise meaning of each term can be easily acknowledged. However, to the average person ‘Hunger’ means the foundation of appetite and ‘Appetite’ the result of hunger. Both words are misrepresented.
Let us take thirst for example. We all know the sensation of a natural thirst. It is felt in the mouth and throat and can be satisfied only with cool water, as Nature intended. This natural Thirst is akin to natural Hunger.
Why then, do persons of today’s society deviate from consuming cool water to quench this natural Thirst and instead relent to the abnormal craving for consumption of sweetened flavoured waters, fizzy drinks and caffeine laden concoctions? How often do you hear a person say that they are ‘so thirsty’ and then see that person reach for a glass of cola or a mug of coffee; or others say they are ‘thirsty’ for a whiskey or a lager. If nature be in order and these people were really thirsty, or in other words, calling for fluids, pure water would be what they drink for it is only pure water that will gratify natural thirst.
However in these times of unintelligent consumptive society, water will not satisfy this pop or whisky thirst. Why? The answer is simple; it is a craving, an abnormal appetite – a perverted taste. The appetite has been created – the habit acquired – and the mastery of it asserted.
You might notice that being the victim of these abnormal ‘thirsts’ you may sporadically experience real thirst and at this point actually will seek water. This is not a sermon against fancy drink habits; it is merely an illustration between natural instinct and developed habit.
Appetite is an acquired habit of eating or drinking and has little to do with real hunger or thirst.
Man has the ability to acquire an appetite for absolutely anything; be that tobacco or liquor, chewing gum or opium, morphine or caffeine, cocaine or caviar. Once acquired, an appetite becomes, if anything, stronger than a natural demand. Man has been known to die of starvation because he/she had spent all their money on drink or narcotics before considering food. Man steals lies and slays just to gratify their appetite for narcotics. Who would think of calling this terrible craving of appetite by the name of Hunger? Yet still we continue to think and speak of as Hunger every craving we have for something to put into the stomach when usually it is merely a symptom of Appetite.
All animals have a natural hunger until it is spoiled by contact with man or woman who tempts it with derivatives of natural food substances, candies and similar articles of miscalled food, much like the young child has a natural hunger until it is spoiled in the same way. In a child, natural hunger is more or less replaced by acquired appetites, the degree largely dependent upon the wealth and example of its parents – usually, no matter of wealth, the acquirement of false appetite will be as a direct result of those leading by example, i.e the parent/s, who possibly, ignite a fundamentally wrong example. As the child grows older, it loses all recollection of what real Hunger means. In fact, people speak of Hunger as a distressing thing, rather than as a natural instinct.
Remember how it feels to go camping and get fresh open-air exercise, to feel natural life again, a taste of real hunger? And then to eat heartily like a young schoolchild with a relish you have not known for years. You’ll feel hunger in earnest and eat because you have to, not from mere habit, like you do when you’re at home, overloading your stomachs continually.
The story of a party of wealthy people who were shipwrecked whilst on a yachting trip lays example to this. They were compelled to live on the most meagre fare for ten days. When rescued they looked the picture of health, rosy, bright-eyed and possessed of the precious gift of good, natural Hunger.
Prior to their shipwreck some of the party had suffered with intestinal dis-ease in one way or another, after the watery washout, they were completely cured because of their experience with scarce food. During their ten days at sea they had obtained just enough food to properly nourish them and had gotten rid of the waste products of the system that had been poisoning them. Whether or not they ‘stayed cured’ depended upon whether they again exchanged Hunger for Appetite.
Natural Hunger – like natural Thirst – expresses itself through the nerves of the mouth and throat. When one is hungry, the thought or mention of food causes a peculiar sensation in the mouth, throat and salivary glands. The nerves instigate activity, saliva begins to flow and the alimentary canal prepares for work. The stomach gives no symptoms at all and is not in evidence at such times. One feels that the ‘taste’ of good wholesome food would be most pleasurable and there are none of those feelings of faintness, emptiness, gnawing etc in the region of the stomach. These last mentioned symptoms are characteristic of the Appetite habit, which is an insistence that the habit must be continued. Food must continue to be ‘stuffed’ into the mouth until the Appetite is gratified.
One can return to real Hunger once genuine discipline and self-body knowledge has conquered appetite and allows Hunger to manifest once more. You can enjoy every mouthful; with even the crust of dry bread giving you much nourishment because it is eaten in a manner that as of yet, is unknown to most of you.
With proper education you can return to nature’s harmony and be well fed and properly nourished and enjoy feast upon feast for you will have cultivated and possessed yourself of that most piquant of all sauces – Hunger.
Yoga With Alicia (Dogstar) 