REVISITING YOUR DAILY ROUTINES

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Your daily life provides many built-in, informal opportunities to practice this shifting of attention, of becoming more aware of what is happening right now. Consider the simple act of eating.

Eat something!

In the past I’ve generally been a mindless eater. I ate too quickly, mostly unaware of how and what I was eating. Often I watched television or read a newspaper while I ate. Many of us are like that. Yes, we’re somewhat aware of the taste and the short-lasting effect of feeling good, but the experience is remarkably quick. Eating has become automatic.

This exercise is a simple way to demonstrate what it means to become more mindful in daily life. This takes only about five minutes. It involves eating a piece of food mindfully. Usually the food of choice has been a raisin. But you may not have a raisin in your cupboard. It doesn’t matter. Simply find food — a bowl of cereal, a grape, an apple, an orange segment, anything. Here’s what to do:

1.Find a place where you won’t be disturbed or distracted for a short while.

2.Let’s say you’ve decided to work with an orange segment. Hold the segment in your fingers. Pretend this is the first time you’ve ever seen a piece of orange.

3.Focus on the segment and pay attention to what it looks like — its texture, its shape, the lines, the colors, and the way the light reflects on its surface. Does it feel hard or soft? Rough or smooth?

4.Smell the section. Sweet? Citrusy?

5.Very slowly put the orange segment in your mouth.

Don’t chew or swallow just yet. Notice what it feels like in your mouth. Is your mouth watering?

6.Bite down, noticing what the sensation feels like.

Soft? Hard? How does it move around your mouth? Notice the taste you experience.

7.Begin to chew, noticing how the consistency changes as you chew.

Chew for a short while and then swallow, noticing the sensations in your throat and what it feels like as the bits of orange move from your mouth, down your throat, and into your stomach.

8.Step back and take a moment to reflect on the process.

Go beyond fruit

Here are some other built-in opportunities to introduce more mindfulness into your life. In each case, decide to pay attention to this routine behavior in a curious, exploratory way, as if this is the first time you’re doing this. Bring as many of your five senses to bear as possible. Ask yourself, “What do I see, hear, feel, smell, and taste?”

                                       Brushing your teeth

                                      Taking a bath or shower

                                      Getting dressed

                                      Washing dishes

                                      Eating a meal

                                      Cleaning the house

                                      Sitting on a train

                                      Driving your car

                                      Working out in a gym

                                      Walking down the street

Or any other automatic behavior you can think of.

Copyright © Allen Elkin Phd – Originally appeared in Stress Management for Dummies 2nd edition by Allen Elkin