[700 words]. Will document a mindful experience: eating a chocolate. Start with some centring meditation. Relaxed. Soft muscles along the shoulders. Flowing alignment in the body. Nice. Pleasant.
A vision of a Daim bar is conjured up and my mind wanders off:
A brown and red wrapper. Inside a hard chocolate bar. Pressure on the teeth and jaw when it gets bitten. A fracture: snapping of the bar. Something stirring in my nose: a warmish sensation. Is this the fragrance of the bar? Is my mind bringing up its smell as I’m thinking of what will happen in a few moments? Probably. Now a peculiar feeling in the mouth. Can’t describe it but certainly attention has been drawn there. I wonder if it’s salivation in anticipation of the experience. Possibly, or maybe it’s just that I’m conscious of it. Feels pleasant though, nice.
The wondering mind is interrupted by an image of the actual Daim bar resting by my side. It is sitting to my left, on the couch. Interesting. It’s an instigation to pick it up.
Interesting watching this instruction materialise.
With the image of the bar persisting, the thought to take it increases in prominence. At the same time I'm also typing and noticing that my focus on the blog post is clouding up. At what point will the fingers be instructed to stop? When will my hands be instructed to disengage from the keyboard and move, together with my arms, to connect with the bar? A small feeling, best described as boredom is manifesting itself now. An inclination to move my hands arises. Come on, writing is getting boring, let’s get on with the chocolate exercise. A greater inclination to move. My mind is also shifting away from the keyboard. Some effort is required to keep it there. Enough waiting. A direct glance at the bar.
It’s in my hand: a sensation of the wrapper's plastic texture and underneath the hard, uneven surface. An image of the bar itself arises again, its wave like ripples on the top. I wonder if it will look like what I’m imagining.
The wrapper is peeled and the bar is revealed. It is broken in numerous pieces. The colour is lighter that I imagined and the texture indeed looks wavy and enticing. A thought of a piece breaking on my front teeth flashes by.
Now an urge to smell it appears. The bar is raised by my nose. A welcome breath, inhaling the chocolatiness, combined with some caramelness. Deep inhalation. Enticing aroma. Face, jaw and neck just that bit more relaxed. Aroma flows, glides into the lungs. Ahhh. Nice.
An image of chocolate covered chestnuts. Now it’s gone. I wonder where that thought came from. Do the flavours have some similarity? Perhaps.
Another inhale. Sensation flows through the chest to the belly. And now my hand is feeling inclined to put the bar in the mouth. Instructed. In a moment, it will be happening for real. The pleasure of the inhale, the sensation that arose, is about to be magnified. I’m holding back. Indulging in the feeling of the anticipation, itself a milder version of the real experience.
A piece now between my teeth. Saliva gathering. It’s pushed inside. Tip of the tongue experiencing a burning type sensation. Interesting. Strange that it’s the best way I can describe it.
The chocolate is softening, spreading out, being sensed on the cheeks and tasted on the tongue. An overwhelming desire to bite. The teeth break up the caramel. Sharp yet desirable textures being felt as further chewing break it up completely and spreads the pieces out. Interestingly, at the back of the mouth the movement is recognised but not the flavour.
Now the mouth is active, all parts acting in harmony: a conveyor belt of chewing, salivating, manoeuvring, till the bite is eaten.
A mild taste remains. A subtle urge to have it intensified. An instruction for the next bite.
Author: JD