An easy way to incorporate mindfulness into daily life is to take ordinary, daily activities and do them mindfully. As we saw in the book “No Ordinary Apple,”  one way to be mindful is through eating.

 Try taking a moment to turn a regular snack into a mindful eating opportunity. Try this exercise made famous by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Take a raisin. Pretend you have never seen one before. Take in all the visual details of the raisin – notice the texture, the color. Feel it between your fingers and notice the ridges and the stickiness of the raisin. Pay attention to any thoughts or feelings you already have about raisins, about whether or not you like them, or any associations your brain makes when you hold the raisin. Now smell it. What do you notice? Slowly bring it to your lips. Slow down the process of eating it by putting it between your teeth gently and seeing how that feels. Let it sit inside your mouth and notice the texture on your tongue. When you are ready to bite down, chew and swallow with focus and mindful awareness.

 Did you notice anything new or interesting about this experience of mindful eating? Did it change your perception of the food, or the process of eating?

 We’re certainly not encouraging that every bite of every meal should be this laborious. But can you slow down enough to take one mindful bite at each meal? How do you think that would change your mealtime?