Have you ever stood before an open refrigerator feeling you need something but not knowing quite what? Then you zero in on that leftover chocolate cake and eat the whole thing only to still feel dissatisfied only now you feel guilty and sick to your stomach as well. Psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher, Sasha T. Loring, author of Eating with Fierce Kindness: A Mindful and Compassionate Guide to Losing Weight, gives this as an example of “the wanting mind,” a state of fundamental dissatisfaction that leads to cravings. Cravings can be caused by different things, such as allergies, lack of sleep, and nutritional deficiencies. But, as Loring observes, there is also something in our nature that leads to cravings. And once it gets a toehold a craving is difficult to tame. However, she gives three steps for gaining release craving’s grip: 1. Examine the Wanting Mind. If you can identify and name the “wanting mind”—that sense of being fundamentally…