The Weakest Outpost |
Mindful eating, a food-related application of mindfulness (from Buddhist and Hindu traditions), is proposed to help control appetite, improve healthy food choices, and reduce the risk of overeating ... in theory.
When eating (or thinking about eating), the goal is to do so while paying attention on purpose—that is, staying in the present moment, with focus on and acceptance of sensations without judgment, and viewing any thoughts as distinct from oneself. As you might suspect, mindful eating can be more easily prescribed than accomplished, especially with tempting environments, strong internal cravings, and blaring food noise encouraging a lapse in self-control. A recent research review of experts in mindful eating has confirmed such challenges. [1]
Across forty-five studies, they found that mindful eating interventions brought about only small reductions in food intake, and these being in controlled laboratory settings. Also, there was no effect of mindful eating on appetite, including hunger or fullness. This particular finding is important, as controlling appetite is a primary mechanism by which mindful eating is proposed to influence food intake and prevent overeating. Thus, while being a popular prescription for appetite control, this research review calls into question the assumption that mindful eating is effective, and adds more evidence to support that appetite control—how to define it, measure it, and achieve it—remains a mystery.
In honor of his feast day, I will reflect on a related perspective within early Christianity, inspired by the simple, yet illuminating wisdom of St Paisios the Athonite.
The Weakest Outpost
In early Christianity, concerns related to appetite and dietary control are connected with the passion of gluttony. As I share in an upcoming publication, gluttony has detrimental effects for both physical and spiritual health—described by patristic and ascetical teaching as a strong and brutal passion that fetters the heart, destroys everything good, and is the cause of all human shipwreck.
When asked why she constantly falls into the passion of gluttony, St Paisios responded:
“Because that’s where your weakness lies. The devil attacks the weakest outpost; he doesn’t strike at the well-fortified ones. ‘If I can take over this outpost,’ the devil says to himself, ‘I can easily take over all the others, one by one.’ This is why the weakest outpost has to be the most fortified.” [2]
Being aware of and guarding a weak outpost, such as the strong temptation of overeating, requires being mindful around food and eating—that is, being watchful, but with a vigilance and discernment, as if under attack. From this perspective of spiritual war, it is not simply the body that is at risk, but the heart, soul, and mind (nous [a]). St John of Karpathos warns:
“If someone launches a fierce and determined attack on the demons through his self-control, prayer or any other form of holiness, they retaliate by inflicting deeper wounds upon him. ... they sharpen their sword of temptation ... they urge us on to acts of sin, making war upon us in ways that we cannot endure, trying in this matter to deprive us of our faith in Christ, of prayer and every hope.” [3]
The Devil’s Darts
With this perspective, the evil spiritual powers, who are aimed at separating man from the love of God and destroying them (Rom 8:35–39), would want nothing more than for humanity to wave the white flag of surrender to gluttony, sloth, lust, greed, and other works of the flesh. More so, what if such lifestyles were not only normalized, but actively pursued and defended as acceptable by those who profess to follow Christ? It was through the prayer of Jesus Christ, the Deliverer (Mt 6:13), who commands to wage war against the devil, the evil one, “that knows no truce,” because he “wages against us implacable war.” [4]
The devil’s darts, a weapon of choice, have been described by the Church Fathers as the carnal passions, often “varied and subtle,” [5] yet able to “savagely set on fire souls as well as bodies.” [6] St John Chrysostom comments, “By the darts of the evil one, he means, both temptations and vile desires; and fiery, he says, for such is the character of these desires.” [7]
So, how does one protect and fortify the weakest outpost against such an onslaught?
Protect with Prudence
Prudence (sophrosyne, σωφροσύνη)—soundness, strength, sobriety, excellence, healthiness, and wholeness of mind [b]—is proposed as a protetive aid to one's weakest outpost, because it requires watchfulness, a paying attention on purpose, and then thinking carefully about daily, moment-to-moment choices that make war on body and soul.
St Peter emphasizes, “be sober-minded; be watchful,” (1 Pet 5:6–11). St Paul writes to not be foolish, and “look carefully” how one walks, “not as unwise but wise,” (Eph 5:15–17). By looking carefully, one can then walk carefully through considering the consequences of behavioral choices, discerning the spiritual from the physical, and transcending any present moment to reconnect with faithfulness, which quenches the darts of desire and fortifies the walls of self-control.
“A man without self-control is like a city broken into, and left without walls.” (Prov 25:28)
Fortify with Faithfulness
As trials and temptations come (which they will), faithfulness is the shield for the whole body and soul, able to intercept and “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one,” (Eph 6:16), protecting the heart (1 Thess 5:8), and fortifying any weak outpost. Thus, if the eye of the heart and soul, the nous, does not neglect the inner, spiritual struggle, one is able to guard the heart from the passions and poisoned arrows of the evil one, and free the bodily senses from all external evil influences. [8] As is sung during the Great Canon of Repentance, a revered, early Christian hymn by St Andrew of Crete:
“I am wounded and smitten: see the enemy’s arrows which have pierced my soul and body. See the wounds, the open sores and the injuries, that cry out to God against the blows inflicted by my freely chosen passions.” [9]
Interestingly, in ancient times, the shield was treated with water or vinegar to help extinguish the fiery arrows from the enemy, and was linked together with other shields for advanced protection. [10] So, too in the pursuit of healthiness, the darts of desire, despite their spirited flames, are not merely deflected and shot back at the evil one, but through the Holy Spirit watering the soul, extinguished by faithfulness. [11] St Cyril of Jerusalem comments on such a quenching—“A fiery dart of desire of base indulgence is often cast forth from the devil: but faith, suggesting a picture of the judgment, cools down the mind, and quenches the dart.” [12]
References
[1] Ahmadyar, K., Zhang, Q., Ferriday, D., Hinton, E. C., Robinson, E., Jones, A., ... & Tapper, K. (2026). Effects of mindfulness and mindful eating on food intake and appetite: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 102780.
[2] Paisios the Athonite. Spiritual Counsels 5: Passions and Virtues (1), Peter Chamberas, trans. (Thessaloniki, Greece: Holy Hesychasterion “Evangelist John the Theologian,” 2002), 31.
[3] John of Karpathos. “For the Encouragement of the Monds in India who had Written to Him” (64-65), in The Philokalia 1, G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, ed. (Faber and Faber, 1979), 313.
[4] John Chrysostom. "Homilies on Matthew" (19), in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church 10 (First Series), Philip Schaff, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), 136.
[5] Athanasius of Alexandria. "Letters" (48), in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church 4 (Second Series), Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), 556.
[6] Basil the Great. "Letters" (46.1), in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church 8 (Second Series), Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), 149.
[7] John Chrysostom. "Homilies on Ephesians" (24), in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church 13 (First Series), Philip Schaff, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), 167.
[8] Hesychios the Priest. "On Watchfulness and Holiness" (53, 44, 32), in The Philokalia 1, G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, ed. (Faber and Faber, 1979), 171-172, 170, 168.
[9] Andrew of Crete, The Great Canon of Repentance: Fourth Quarter (ode two), Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, March 6, 2025, https://www.antiochian.org/liturgicday/4119.
[10] Hirst, Joseph. "On the methods used by the Romans for extinguishing conflagrations." Archaeological Journal 41, no. 1 (1884): 155-167. Taylor, Michael J. "Visual evidence for Roman infantry tactics." Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 59 (2014): 103-120.
[11] John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John (32.1, 46.4), 111, 167.
[12] Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Homilies (Homily 5), E.H. Gifford, trans. (Florence, AZ: SAGOM Press, 2019), 73.
[a] The word “nous” is often translated from Latin into English as “intellect,” but is not to be confused with the “rational intellect” or “rational mind”—the former being the highest power and purest part of the human soul, and the latter being the rational (logos) part or faculty of the soul that apprehends, deliberates, and reasons in relation to the world. In the early Christian view, it is through the nous, that all other faculties/powers of the soul and body are Spiritually elevated and transformed.
[b] Eph 1:18; Acts 26:18; Mt 6:22–23