Hello,
How are you this morning?
Today we're going to be mindful with a cup of tea or a cup of coffee.
This could be any hot beverage of your choice,
However for the purpose of this meditation I'll refer to tea or coffee.
When we can bring mindfulness to simple activities like drinking tea or coffee in the morning,
It trains us to direct our attention consciously.
And we might think that we choose what we're paying attention to,
But in reality most of us are driven by habit and impulse with very little intentional control.
So by deliberately choosing to attend to an activity,
We slow things down and we let ourselves become aware of the process of attending,
And perhaps how little control we usually have over this task.
We might notice the repeated wandering of the mind as we attempt to stay with what's happening right now.
So let's get started and notice how you select the specific mug to make your beverage in.
What hot beverage did you choose?
Give your full attention to putting the ingredients for your beverage into the mug.
Pay attention to the sound of the water heating and boiling in the kettle or on the stove.
Here it's bubbling and gurgling as you wait.
Can you see wisps of steam coming up from the water?
Does the kettle subtly shake when the movement of the water inside begins to bubble?
Rather than try to analyze what is happening,
Be open to your senses.
Notice the feeling of being in your environment.
Notice the contact with your bottom has with the chair or the floor if you're sitting down,
The weight of your feet on the ground if you're standing,
The smells,
The temperature of the room,
The feeling of your clothes on your body.
As you begin to pour the water,
Watch the color of the water change as it meets the teabag or the coffee in your cup.
Be so interested in the transformation from clear water to the colored water and the tinkling of the liquid as it fills up the cup.
If your mind begins to wander into thought,
As it probably will,
Just gently return your attention back to sensing what is going on with the coffee.
Lifting the teabag out or stirring the liquid with a spoon,
Feel and touch the handle against your fingers.
Allow yourself to hear any related sounds,
The spoon as it hits the edge of the mug.
Notice any tendency to do this on autopilot and then come back to the present moment,
Sensing when you've drifted away to those distractions.
If you take milk and sugar,
Be interested in how you feel as you reach for those and add those ingredients to your brew.
Do you really want them?
How do you know?
Notice the warming of the cup as it pours into the cup and the temperature of the milk.
Do you really want them?
How do you know?
Notice the warming of the cup as it contains the hot liquid.
How do your hands feel as you hold it tightly?
And now bring the cup up to your lips.
Be interested in how your hand and arm know how to move in this direction without you even having to tell them what to do.
Take in a sip of your drink.
Rather than gulping it down,
See if you can let the taste tingle around your tongue,
Perhaps gently moving the liquid around your mouth,
Savoring the taste.
Is it pleasant?
Perhaps you'd prefer if it were stronger or weaker.
You don't have to do anything about it unless you choose to.
Just be aware of your sensations and the liking or disliking of them.
If there are thoughts,
Let them enter and then pass through your mind without following them.
Try to stay with the sensations of the tasting.
Notice without judgment any desire to rush the drinking and any impatience that has come forward.
When you decide to swallow the liquid,
Notice how that decision is made.
Is it a conscious choice or does it happen automatically?
Stay present to the swallowing,
The reflex movements in the back of the mouth and the throat,
The trickle of the liquid down into your stomach.
How does it feel to be swallowing?
Notice how the liquid seems to disappear.
Is there a point when the drink stops being separate from you?
And when and how do you recognize in that moment?
Noticing any feelings or any thoughts that are coming forward,
Perhaps allowing a sense of peace or stillness to wash over you.
Are the thoughts and feelings changing from moment to moment or do they remain the same?
Maybe there's something else going on in your mind and your body,
Perhaps unrelated to the drink,
Pulling you into thoughts of the past or the future and if so,
Just notice it.
Whatever comes to you and your experience is okay from this perspective of meditation.
There is no right or wrong thing to notice.
Just bring gentle awareness to whatever emerges.
To become conscious of how much the mind wanders is a sign of growing awareness.
Take a look around you,
Opening your eyes to your surroundings and now return your attention to the cup in your hand.
Has the temperature dropped?
Watch as you decide to begin the process of taking another sip.
Return to the sensations of sipping the liquid.
Do you continue drinking until the cup is empty or do you decide to stop drinking sooner?
And if the latter,
Be curious about what is prompting that decision.
Has the drink gone cold?
Has the taste changed?
Is there an impulse to get on with your next activity?
Is there a place in your body where you're feeling this most strongly?
Whatever you choose to do in each moment,
Try to watch the experience from an engaged observer's perspective.
The key is to open yourself to the spirit of the practice,
Sensing with gentle precision what is happening moment by moment and coming back to the sensing whenever you notice that you've drifted into thought.
Thank you for being here today with me mindfully with this cup of tea.
Have a blessed day.
