Hello,
I'm Anne Sussman,
Founder of Mindfulness Meeting Place and the author of the Bliss Buddy Project,
How Sharing Gratitude Increases Joy.
Today we will practice a meditation on gratitude for our food.
We eat food every day,
Multiple times,
But how many of us actually eat mindfully?
Do you stop to notice your food and feel grateful to have an abundance of food that is so easily accessible?
From mega supermarkets to local farmers markets at your fingertips,
Fast food restaurants and fine dining establishments are everywhere.
If you are listening to this meditation,
It's likely that you have an abundance of food,
All types,
Fresh and prepared in a dizzying array of choices.
But do you stop to think about the many people suffering from the lack of food?
Yes,
Even in our incredibly rich country,
There are neighbors in your community or very close by suffering from food insecurity.
They may be part of the working poor who may not be able to eat more than one meal a day or maybe not be able to feed their whole family on a regular basis.
This is a cause I am passionate about.
Feeding hungry people has become something I am dedicated to.
I ask my students to bring cans of soup when they come to my class so that I can encourage them to be mindful of food insecurity.
Whenever I have the opportunity to,
I volunteer at a local food pantry.
This has made me so much more grateful for my daily food than ever before.
Today we will explore the many factors to be grateful for when it comes to the food that we eat.
We often eat in our cars,
On the go,
In front of a television or with our phones or on a computer in front of us.
Take out containers and fast food have become commonplace.
How many of us take the time and care to prepare the table with fine china and candles on a weeknight or just for one?
And when was the last time you thought about how all of that food comes to you?
Who helped out in the long chain from growth and production all the way to delivery?
This meditation of gratitude for our food is something you can bring to mind every day,
Maybe starting out by being conscious of it one meal a day,
Becoming grateful for your food in a mindful way.
So before we begin,
Let's keep in mind these essentials for any meditation practice.
Remember it's okay to have thoughts in meditation.
The biggest misconception is that you need to clear your mind.
That's actually never going to happen.
It's okay to have thoughts.
Don't try too hard at this.
It's really just a gentle shifting of your attention from thought back to breath,
From thought back to breath.
It doesn't matter how many times you return to your breath.
That is the practice.
You're doing it just right.
Let go of expectations and be kind to yourself.
Stick with it over days,
Weeks,
Months,
And years.
The changes that meditation will bring to your life are subtle yet profound.
So let's begin.
Come to find a comfortable seat,
Upright if that feels good to you,
And relax.
Minimize your distractions for our time together.
When you are ready,
Gently close your eyes and begin by taking a few long,
Slow,
Deep breaths in and out of your nose,
Controlling the breath right now,
Knowing that you're safe,
Grounded and present,
Making this choice to meditate.
And as you listen to the sound of the chime,
You can now let your breath return to its natural depth and rhythm.
No need to control your breath anymore.
Your breath may speed up or slow down,
But your breath knows just how to take care of you,
So let it be gentle,
Easy.
Notice the temperature on your skin,
The warmth or coolness of the air.
Notice the sounds around you,
Sounds in the room or distant sounds outside.
Sounds need not be a barrier to your meditation.
In this practice,
You want to welcome everything,
Resist nothing.
Let's bring some relaxation to the body,
Beginning with the top of the head,
Softening the scalp,
And furrowing your brow,
Allowing your face to be soft and easy,
No expression necessary.
Starting in with the jaw,
Seeing if you might need to unclench just a little bit,
Allowing the tongue to rest easily in the mouth,
Inviting the shoulders to soften down the back,
Away from the ears.
Noticing the spine,
From the base of the spine to the top of the head,
Reaching tall,
Holding your body in a posture that feels like dignity to you,
Relaxed,
Alert,
Softening your front body from the top of the chest on down through the diaphragm,
And just letting the belly be soft and easy,
Like a great big Buddha belly.
Shifting your attention to the right arm,
Softening from the shoulder on down through the elbow and all the way to the fingertips.
And left arm softening,
Letting go of any tension you might be holding there,
From the shoulder on down through the elbow,
All the way to the fingertips,
Just letting go.
Seeing the pelvis sinking a little bit deeper into the cushions,
And seeing if you can notice the cushions behind you and beneath you,
Holding you in your practice,
Supporting you.
Shifting the right leg from the hip on down through the knee,
All the way to the toes.
And then letting go of any tension in the left leg,
From the hip on down through the knee,
All the way to the toes.
Now scanning the body,
Seeing if there's any place we might have missed that's calling for some ease or comfort.
Knowing in this practice you can always shift or move,
And sitting as still as you can,
Sending the attention inward to the interior of you,
Coming to notice any tingling,
Pulsing,
Sensations.
Might notice that most in your fingertips or your toes,
Might not notice anything at all that's okay too.
But that sensation is your aliveness,
We're alive in our bodies,
We almost never notice.
And now come to find your breath,
Wherever that's most obvious for you.
That might be at the tip of the nose,
Noticing the cool air coming in through the nostrils,
Breathing a bit warmer above your upper lip.
For you,
You might notice the breath most in the rise and fall of the chest or the belly.
Just resting your attention on the sensations of breathing,
On the in-breath,
Space,
The out-breath,
And the space between the next breath.
When your attention wanders to thought as it will over and over again,
Gently shift back,
Find the rhythm of your breath.
Now imagine you're having a quiet meal,
Free from distractions.
Can you see a beautiful table in front of you,
Perhaps set with fine china candles?
Now bringing to your plate,
Delectable meal.
Sit comfortably and notice taking a few long,
Slow deep breaths in and out of your nose.
First begin by just noticing the aroma of this meal wafting toward you.
Maybe feeling the steam from the heat of the food softly hitting your face.
Scanning your body as you experience the plate in front of you.
Do you notice any tension?
And if so,
See if you can just release it,
Soften.
As you notice this beautiful meal in front of you,
Can you notice the color and shapes of each of the different components of this meal you have in front of you?
Bring to mind and heart a feeling of gratitude for the food you are about to eat.
As you notice the food on your plate,
Can you think about all the steps this food has gone through to land here on this beautiful plate in front of you?
First it was grown in the soil,
Nurtured by the rain and the sun.
Many feel grateful for the natural world that has brought you this food.
Now bring to heart and mind all the people that have conspired in your favor to have this food.
First the farmers who planted and cultivated this food and harvested it just at the right time.
Then the trucker who brought it from the farm to the store.
How about those that pumped the gas into the truck along the highway?
Cultivating gratitude for the many workers in the store,
From the people who unpacked the truck to those who put it on the shelf,
To the checkout person who rang and bagged your food.
Now be grateful for your hard work of preparing it so that you can enjoy this dish.
Finally,
If you're ready,
Imagine yourself taking a small forkful and taste what you have in front of you.
Can you be grateful for each and every bite,
For the blessing of food as it digests and becomes nourishment for your body?
Taste in the feeling of gratitude for the gift of food and the wonder of nourishment.
All sit mostly silent until you hear the chime.
Decide.
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