Have you ever noticed how food can taste completely different from day to day and situation to situation? I know for me, when I’m stressed, I want to add a lot of “heat” – hot sauce, cayenne, pepper flakes, you name it, I want it! However, when I’m feeling calm, I prefer milder seasonings so I can taste to more subtle flavors of what I’m eating.
While it is easy to assume that flavor is just a biological reflex isolated to our tongues, modern science has discovered that our taste buds are deeply connected to our minds. For example, a recent article published in The Conversation* highlights how our physical sense of taste is dramatically altered by three psychological factors:
- Our Mood: Negative emotions like stress, anxiety, and frustration dull our physical sensitivity to pleasant flavors. When we are tense, our nervous system prioritizes basic survival over enjoyment, pushing flavor appreciation aside. When we are calm, safe, and socially connected, our brains release feel-good chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, causing food to taste significantly richer and more vibrant.
- Our Company: Who we are with completely changes our biological experience of a meal. Eating entirely by ourselves in a rush can reduce food to mere fuel. However, when we share a meal with others – laughing, talking, and connecting – our sensory awareness expands, making the exact same ingredients taste fundamentally better.
- Our Perception: Our brains constantly form predictions about food based of attention. When we eat while distracted (working at a desk, driving, or scrolling through our phones), our attention is split, our senses are dulled, and we go into an “autopilot” mode where we barely perceive the subtle notes of our food at all.
Not only is this discovery fascinating, but it also helps explain something that had been perplexing me for years – why some mornings my cup of coffee tastes absolutely wonderful and other days it tastes like dirt!
Because taste is intricately bound to our internal landscapes, our relational spaces, and our holistic sense of wellbeing, in order to cultivate greater wholeness in our lives, it is important to pause and consider the role of taste in our spiritual lives.
For example, in Psalm 34:8, the psalmist extends a timeless, sensory invitation: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Notice that scripture does not ask us to merely analyze God from a distance, or debate theology intellectually; it invites us to taste. To “taste God” means to have a direct, immersive, and deeply personal experience with the Divine. It is the spiritual equivalent of biting into a perfectly ripe peach (or other seasonal fruit) – it is an encounter that engages our entire being. Tasting God also means moving past theoretical knowledge about the Creator and stepping into an active, experiential savoring of the grace, love, and presence woven into our daily lives. It is the realization that God’s goodness is meant to be consumed, enjoyed, and digested until it fills us with strength.
In other words, our spiritual palate is just as sensitive to our internal conditions, our relationships, and our mental postures as our physical palates. Our ability to taste God is impacted by:
- Our Mood: When we walk through life locked in a state of high stress, anxiety, or hyper-distraction, our spiritual taste buds are deadened. God’s grace and goodness may be surrounding us in abundance, yet we find ourselves numb to it because our internal state is stuck in survival mode rather than in a posture of reception.
- Our Company: The way we taste God shifts depending on our landscape of connection. Yes, there is an essential, quiet sweetness to tasting God in solitude – resting alone in nature or pausing for private meditation. However, there is a completely different, yet equally important dimension of divine presence that we can only experience when we gather with others. In corporate worship, or when sharing deep soul-conversations with fellow wayfarers, the shared community acts as a flavor enhancer, helping us experience God’s goodness in ways we never could on our own.
- Our Perception: The openness of our mind determines what we are able to receive. If our minds are closed, rigid, or entirely consumed by the anxieties of life, we become unwilling or unable to accept the nourishment right in front of us. God constantly offers us the gift of divine goodness, but a distracted or guarded heart will walk away from the feast spiritually starved.
Ultimately, our physical and spiritual wellbeing both require the same two important practices – a commitment to slowing down and paying attention. We cannot rush, stress, or distract our way into deep nourishment.
Therefore, this month I would like to challenge us all to practice a “savoring” pace. May we be intentional about calming our nervous systems before we approach both our dinner tables and our moments of stillness, and may we slow down enough to taste the abundance on our plates. In doing so, may we truly taste and see that the Lord is good.
Upward and onward together,
Karen Webster
HSHC Co-founder/Executive Director
*Singh, Harmehak. “Psychology can change the way food tastes – here’s how to use it to make the most of your meals.” The Conversation. Read the full article here.
Image credit: Canva
