Hello and welcome to the session.
Today we're going to be having a mindful cup of coffee.
So just a little bit of preparation here.
If you haven't already got yourself a cup of coffee prepared and ready,
Please go do so.
However you like it,
That's the perfect cup.
I'm holding my cup in my hands right now.
So just pause the audio,
Make yourself that nice cup of coffee and come back.
Alright,
So mindfulness meditation is traditionally done focusing on the breath.
That's the initial anchor that we use.
Your mind wanders you bring it back to the breath entering and leaving the nose.
But you can use your mindful focus as anything.
The traditional counterpoint to breath work is your walking meditation.
You walk quite slowly and you feel the sensations of the ground.
As you take your steps,
You feel your body moving,
All of that good stuff.
But you can use any object.
And because I like to meditate in the morning with my morning coffee,
Sometimes what I like to do is use the coffee itself as the focus point.
The feelings of the coffee,
The warmth,
The taste,
The sensation,
All of that sort of stuff.
So I thought,
Why don't we do that together?
So hold the coffee cup in your hand and just look at it.
Look at the shape of the cup.
Look at the coffee itself.
Notice any changes in color or hue,
Any bubbles.
Feel the cup.
Feel the texture of the cup,
The warmth coming from the cup.
I like to put the cup on my chest,
Sort of just around my sort of mid-chest,
My heart level,
And feel the warmth of the cup radiating through the clothes,
Warming me up.
Bring the cup close to your nose and smell.
And notice your intention to drink.
And then slowly,
Gradually,
Take a sip.
Taste the coffee.
Notice the different aspects of the taste.
Feel what it feels like as you swallow.
So with this approach,
I would like you to continue drinking your coffee and just take it slowly,
Sip by sip.
Imagine it's the first cup of coffee you ever had.
Appreciate it like that.
Investigate it like that.
Observe it mindfully like that.
It's very easy to go,
Oh it's just another cup,
And in one sense it is.
But we live in the perpetual now.
This moment is all that exists.
So really,
This coffee cup,
The one you're drinking right now,
Is the only cup that exists.
So treat it like that.
Treat it as the special treat that it is.
Notice how you feel about it.
Notice every aspect of it.
Be slow.
Be mindful.
And when your mind wanders into plans for the day,
Into thoughts or ruminations or anxieties or anything like that,
Acknowledge it and bring it back to the feeling of the coffee,
The smell of the coffee,
The taste of the coffee.
And just enjoy.
And you can use this method every day with your morning coffee or with any sort of food or any different approach to mindfulness you would like to take.
Just focus on what you're doing as you're doing it.
And when your mind wanders,
Just bring it back.
Enjoy the rest of your coffee and have a great day.
