Mindfulness of the senses.
We can be aware of many aspects of our present moment experience at one time.
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Feelings in the body,
And in particular the five senses.
In this following eating practice we will explore sensations as they occur,
Focusing on sight,
Touch,
Taste,
Sound,
Smell,
And awareness itself.
This is a practice of paying attention to an everyday activity and doing it in a way that involves being fully present rather than on automatic pilot without awareness as we may normally tend to eat.
To do this meditation it is recommended that you use a raisin as is traditionally used or if you do not have a raisin a small piece of fruit or perhaps a piece of chocolate.
Choose something that is familiar,
Something small and bite-sized that you can eat slowly.
And a comfortable position sitting upright with little distraction so you can really pay attention to just eating.
Now holding your food out in your hand and let your eyes rest on the object you're holding.
Explore what it looks like with your eyes,
The color,
The shape,
The texture,
Irregularities,
Patterns,
Whatever may be there.
Observing this object as if you're seeing it for the first time.
And now closing your eyes and feeling the food with your fingertips.
What do you feel?
Is it soft or firm?
Smooth or rough?
Sticky or hard?
Cold or warm?
Symmetrical or irregular?
Exploring sensations with your fingertips.
Turning it around in your fingers.
And now when you're ready holding the object in your fingers and slowly bring it up to your nose.
You may want to keep your eyes closed and notice when you can detect a sense of smell.
Does it become more intense as you hold it closer to your nostrils?
Or perhaps you detect no smell at all.
Allow yourself to linger in the sensation of smell and notice how your body responds to this sensation.
Is it pleasant or unpleasant?
Does smell evoke specific memories or associations?
And now placing the food in your mouth and holding it on your tongue.
Notice what happens when you hold it there without chewing just yet.
Does the mouth start to water?
Can you move the object around in your mouth feeling the texture with your tongue?
Does it start to change shape?
Melt or soften as it might with a piece of chocolate or a raisin?
And now placing the object between your back teeth and when you are ready bite down with your molars slowly starting to chew.
Paying specific attention to your sense of taste on your tongue and savor the taste.
Exploring sensations in your mouth and in the rest of your body.
Does your mouth come alive with moisture?
Does it taste different on different parts of your tongue?
Perhaps the body craves more of this flavor especially if it is something you enjoy.
And now focusing the lens of your awareness on the sounds of eating as you chew.
Can you notice the sounds of chewing moving your mouth,
Of crunching down on something hard?
As you swallow your food you may even notice the sounds of your own body as you swallow.
And now expanding awareness to the whole body after doing this exercise and just notice how you feel after eating something slowly and mindfully.
Paying attention to all your five senses.
Remember that you can focus awareness on any of the five senses at any point throughout your day as a simple way of practicing mindfulness.
When you eat consider how you might bring attention to even just one of the five senses.
Noticing smell,
Taking a moment to observe your food with your eyes,
Savoring the taste,
Taking time to slow down rather than just rushing through the activity on your way to the next one.
