There were many salmon berry bushes on the way to my microsite. They are those fuzzy, not so sweet, slightly sour delicious red nuggets of joy that appear at the beginning of Summer. When I first saw them I was so excited. It felt like forever since I tasted one. I grabbed a handful and without thinking much scarfed them down with little chewing or tasting involved. Upon reflecting I began to question the way I did this. Did I really need that many? Were those berries just there for the taking? For my own pleasure? This is what inspired me to do a mindful eating exercise with a salmon berry. I feel this resulted in my taking and eating the berry in a more respectful way.

Time: 7-8 minutes

Instructions:

• Find a small piece of food such as a berry, raisin or nut.
• Sit down in a comfortable position
• Look at the food; notice the texture, colors and other details.
• Take a moment to be thankful for the plant or tree bringing this fruit into the world.
• Take a moment to appreciate the sun, water, soil, people, plants, animals and other living beings involved in what you are about to eat.
• Close your eyes and feel the food with your fingers. What do you notice?
• Keeping your eyes closed, bring it close to your face and take the time to smell the berry. What you do notice? Are you salivating yet?
• Slowly put the berry in your mouth, on your tongue and let it rest there for a minute. Notice any sensations. Notice what the mind/body does. How does this feel? Is there a desire to chew?
• Slowly bite down and start chewing (very slowly). Notice the physical sensations of chewing and the build up of saliva. Up…down…up…down. Notice the flavors as the mashed berry interacts with the tongue and the rest of the mouth.
• What else do you notice as you chew? What is happening in your throat?
• When you are ready, slowly swallow the berry and try to notice any physical sensations happening in your body.
• Take a moment to think of the berry being digested in your stomach and the vitamins and minerals being absorbed into and merging with your body. You now have a very real and direct connection with the plant, soil, sun, water and all the organisms that were involved in bringing that berry into existence.

If the mind wanders that’s ok, just notice it wandering and bring it back. Also take note of any emotions that may come up during this exercise and go back to the sensations of chewing and tasting.