Day Three: Sensing

Eating involves all of the senses. We have the opportunity to taste, smell, touch, hear, and see the foods we eat. So often the distractions of the moment overwhelm these sensations and we're lucky if we even remember eating in the first place.

Today, expand awareness so that these sensations come alive. Place a piece of food in your hands to feel its texture. Position the food near your ear and squeeze it or roll it around between your fingers. Look at it carefully and up-close, bring it to your nostrils and inhale its aroma. Then, place a small piece onto your tongue, close your eyes, and allow the flavor to fill your mouth.

A wonderful food to explore this with is a raisin. You'll be surprised to find out the sound a raisin makes when you roll it between your fingers, close to your ear. If you experiment with these sensations slowly and with deepening awareness of what you are actually doing, you will find the experience awakens something deep inside of you.

As with the previous two exercises, there is no goal. Just open to the sensations. Even if moments pass in distraction, return to the sensations. The act of returning from distraction to awareness of what is actually taking place can be very powerful.