Welcome to the mindful eating practice.
For this practice,
You will need a nut or a small piece of fruit or chocolate.
Take in a deep breath or two.
Find a comfortable position sitting down,
Where you can allow the body to be in an upright but relaxed position.
You may like to close the eyes or soften and lower the gaze.
And also wherever you are,
Making sure you can feel your feet are in firm contact with the ground beneath you.
Firstly,
Taking a moment to notice the points of contact between your body and the seat.
Possibly dropping in the question,
How is my experience in this moment?
Before we continue,
Knowing as well that you can choose to stop this meditation at any moment,
Even if it's halfway through the practice.
The awareness about your need to stop is also an act of mindfulness.
Bringing awareness to any thoughts,
Sensations and emotions that may be present.
Not needing to change or fix them in any way,
Only observing.
And now shifting your attention to the item of food that you have in your hand.
Beginning by exploring it through the sense of seeing.
You may imagine you've just arrived from another planet and have never seen anything like it before.
Taking in its colour,
Shape,
Size and texture and anything else about it that you may notice.
Now moving the item between your fingers.
Begin exploring it through the sense of touch.
Noticing its texture,
Temperature,
Its ridges or smoothness and anything else you may feel.
And now letting go of the sense of touch.
Bring the item to your ear and explore the sense of hearing.
Being curious as the hand knows where to go to find the ear.
Now letting go of the sense of hearing and finding the sense of smell.
What smells are present?
Are they subtle or strong?
Familiar or unfamiliar?
Pleasant or not so pleasant?
You may also recognise if this creates a digestive response in the body.
Simply from noticing more closely and smelling.
If the mind wanders off into thinking,
Which will inevitably happen,
Gently but firmly notice that the mind has wandered off and bring it back to the direct experience of the senses.
Now slowly bringing the item towards your mouth and placing it on your tongue without chewing or without swallowing it.
Taking a bite of the item and seeing if you can notice what happens to the changes in flavour and texture.
Maybe observing if the mind is already rushing ahead to the experience of swallowing the item.
And now very slowly beginning to chew the item while paying full attention as best as possible to the movements,
The sounds and the flavours that arise.
When you are ready,
Swallowing the item and maintaining attention to notice its path from the mouth,
Through the throat and into the stomach.
Noticing the effects of this on the body and any sensations or tastes that may linger in the mouth.
Once again now expanding your attention to the felt sense of the body,
This time the body as a whole,
Including all the senses and sensations that may be present.
Continuing to expand outwards further now,
Noticing once again the sounds and sights in the room or place that you are in.
And finally now bringing this practice to a close and possibly seeing if you can find a sense of gratitude for yourself for taking the time to practice.
You may also like to set the intention to bring this quality of awareness to more moments in your day.
