Etiquette books say that when one is eating soup:

"...dip the spoon into the soup, from the edge of the bowl to the center, moving away from you so as not to spill on one's shirt, blouse, or tie. Do not spoon towards yourself. To avoid spilling, fill the spoon only 3/4ths the way full and sip you soup - do not slurp - from the edge of the spoon. Do not insert the whole bowl of the spoon into your mouth."*

*Wikipedia notes that Eastern Cultures spoon soup toward themselves. "Spoon Towards" is still in the works. Any one play the koto?