“Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
―Mary Oliver
 

t the Zen monastery, we did several workshops focused on mindfulness. A standard exercise that is part of any good mindfulness curriculum is the one with the raisin. Participants are each given a raisin and told to eat it. Of course, what happens is they pop it into their mouths, and down the hatch it goes. Absolutely zero mindfulness. So this time, they’re given another raisin and told to eat it mindfully. With guidance, they’re asked to observe it first, to smell it, to feel its texture in their hands. Then when they are asked to put it into their mouths, to swish it around before eating it. To next chew it several times on each side of their mouths, feeling its texture, noting how it feels and how it tastes.

Now we’re practicing being in life!

It reminds me of a scene from the Japanese comedy, Tampopo, in which an enthusiastic young student is seeking guidance from a ramen master on the fine art of eating a bowl of noodles.

 

 

So why slow down? What is the emphasis on going slowly in mindfulness?

At first, we simply want to interrupt the non-stop drive we’re under to blur through life without paying attention. We habitually rush around trying to fit so much into it. More food, more people, more activities, more things, more experiences because we are living an impoverished moment. We’re not here for any of it, and so we keep eating, talking, and doing. Gorging ourselves, yet remaining empty. Always worried about missing out but ironically missing out even while we’re there.

So in the training, we deliberately slowed things down to give students an experience of being deliberate in their actions. We did exercises that included ringing bells to call them all to stop and do something that interrupted the flow – like notice something beautiful. We practice going slowly, so we can be better skilled in mindfulness when we need to go quickly (if that’s the speed that’s required). Racecar drivers need to be very mindful while going extremely fast!

I’m also a big fan of setting alarms. There’s nothing like a bell going off to irritate the voices who are on a mission to keep us spellbound in their subconscious stream of self-talk. Have you ever tried to set an alarm every twenty minutes to be mindful? To breathe and say “Yes. Thank you. I love you” for just a minute? Try it, and you’ll see how upset the voices get. They may even talk you into disabling all your future alarms if you’re not wary…

As we start to poke holes in this stream and give our attention to the life we see through it, we enter the experience of enjoying life exactly as it is in all its glory. Our hearts open and our spirits lift as we are now here for it like we never have before.

And it’s a true blessing!