Welcome to the eating a raisin exercise.
Start by holding a raisin in the palm of your hand.
If you don't have a raisin,
That's okay.
You can practice this same exercise by using a nut or a piece of fruit or even a piece of chocolate if you have one handy.
For now,
Let go of any ideas that you might have about raisins.
You might think that you like raisins,
You might think that you don't like raisins.
For now,
Just let all of those ideas go and imagine that you're encountering a raisin for the very first time.
Imagining that you're visiting the Earth from Mars and your job is to explore the planet and learn as much as you can and be as curious as you can and as open-minded as you can.
Now come to the present moment.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
There's nothing else to do,
There's nowhere to go.
You can just be fully present right here,
Right now and experience this raisin 100%.
And we're going to explore the raisin with all of our senses,
Starting with our sense of sight.
So examine the raisin with your eyes,
Holding it up to your eyes,
Looking at it from different angles,
Looking at it under different light.
What do you notice about this raisin?
What's interesting or unique about this particular raisin?
Staying present in this very moment,
We're now going to examine the raisin with our sense of touch.
So squeeze the raisin between your fingers.
If it helps right now,
You can close your eyes so you can really notice the sensations of the raisin between your fingers.
Roll it around,
Give it a gentle squeeze.
What do you notice?
Is this raisin warm or cool?
Is it soft or hard?
Is it dry or moist?
Just noticing it with as much curiosity as you can.
And if you have some thought that this exercise is silly or that you want to laugh,
That's okay.
Just notice that too.
And then as best you can,
Come back to the present moment,
Examining the raisin with curiosity.
Now bring the raisin to your nose,
Closing your eyes,
Breathing in through your nose,
Noticing what the raisin smells like.
And if you don't notice any smell,
Just be aware of that also.
Now we'll examine the raisin with our sense of hearing.
Maybe you've never done this before.
So just hold the raisin up to your ear and roll it around,
Squeeze it.
Do you hear anything?
Is this raisin making any noise as you roll it around and squeeze it?
Now we'll examine the raisins with our mouth.
Gently place the raisin in the middle of your tongue without chewing or swallowing.
And notice if you have the urge to chew or swallow.
Just notice how automatic that habit is to chew and swallow food when it's in your mouth.
Allowing the raisin to sit on the middle of your tongue,
Notice if your body is responding in any way.
Perhaps your mouth is watering.
Perhaps you're noticing some sensations in your stomach.
Rolling the raisin around on your tongue from front to back,
Side to side,
Notice if there's any taste,
Any sensations,
Any textures.
Then place the raisin between your back teeth and slowly chew.
Bite down on the raisin and notice what's happening now.
Noticing the flavors,
The taste,
The juice.
Continue to chew the raisin with awareness,
With curiosity,
Paying as close attention as you can to what's happening.
And also notice if any thoughts are arising.
Any judgmental thoughts,
Any pleasant thoughts.
Just allow the thoughts to arise and as best you can bring your awareness back to just the sensation of chewing the raisin.
And as you chew the raisin,
You'll notice it starts to dissolve.
What does that feel like?
What do you notice as the raisin dissolves?
And when you're ready,
Swallow the raisin intentionally.
And notice what that sensation feels like as the raisin goes down the back of your throat.
When you're finished,
You can open your eyes if they were closed.
Breathe in and out mindfully and thank yourself for taking a few moments to eat a raisin mindfully.
Thinking yourself is a practice of self-compassion,
Which is an essential element of mindfulness practice.
