Chocolate-tasting Meditation

Looking for the inspiration to meditate? Eating chocolate in the slow, focused way outlined below can help you learn to savor desert, making it less likely that you will eat quickly (eating quickly is often a sign of emotional eating) and can play a role in your meditation practice. Chocolate-tasting meditation uses the senses of taste and smell as sensory anchors or points of focus and can be used as an avenue for relaxation. Purposefully placing your focused attention on one activity as if that activity is the only thing happening in the world allows the mind to rest deeply, even in the midst of activity. If mental chatter or distraction arises while eating, simply go back to focusing on your touchstones/anchors.

1. Begin by looking at the piece of chocolate deeply.
2. Bring the chocolate close to your nose and smell it? Note any scents you can identify – vanilla perhaps, cocoa beans – anything else?
3. Delicately nibble a small portion of the chocolate, bring it into your mouth – in whatever corner of your tongue or palate on which you want to experience it, and allow it to slowly melt.
4. Continue to do this until the piece of chocolate is gone. Take time to notice other aspects of the experience – the weight of your arm as you lift the chocolate to your tongue; the feel of the chocolate going down your throat. The feel of the mouth as the chocolate is melting. The feel of the mouth once it is empty. The taste in your mouth once the chocolate is gone.
5. Once the chocolate is gone sit for several moments in silence noticing any thoughts, feelings or changes in the body and mind.