Early humans didn’t wonder what motivated them to munch. Survival was the name of the game. Now that food is easier to find, though, many of us end up noshing around the clock—with predictable results. But an emerging mindful eating movement in the East Bay just may help revive the lost art of dining due to hunger, and reveling in every bite. Local resources include dietitians, nutritionists, psychologists, and the My Weigh center opening this month in Jack London Square.

Whether they perform or not, belly dancers frequently claim that the art has changed their lives. Our feature illuminates the sensual passion and sense of empowerment that makes the distinction between “shakin’ it” for men and feeding a woman’s soul.

The literacy program at Alameda County’s juvenile hall does more than expose the teen girls to books: it works to remove some of the impediments to literacy and to connect kids with the authors who speak to them. In a place where a pencil is sometimes feared as a weapon, teachers and librarians have turned kids on to the power of the written word.

There are craftsman who regard the simple chemistry of distillation as an art form, taking all that is pure and good from a substance as potentially deadly as alcohol and creating elixirs which capture the essence of life itself. These craftsmen know when to manipulate the product and when to relinquish control to the forces of nature. It’s not so magical and mysterious, if you know a little bit of chemistry.