The first time I experienced an apple was at a weekend meditation retreat that taught us to live life through our own expectations and desires.  Out of all the exercises that weekend, eating that apple was the most intense and meaningful.  It wasn’t as if any of us had never seen or consumed an apple before, but no one in that room, had ever received minute-by-minute instruction on how to fully engage sensorily with this ‘forbidden fruit’.  We held the apple for a minute and simply looked at it.  The once over became an intense gazing session with this round, red, supple fruit.  We noted dents, discolorations and bruises as well as the beauty in it’s curves and folds.  We were then instructed to take our first bite and just hold the fruit in our mouth for 30 seconds allowing our saliva to intertwine with the sweet juices that were now leaking from our bite.  We then were instructed to chew slowly for 2 minutes with our eyes closed.  We all payed close attention to how the flavors, textures and sensations literally played on our pallet and surprised us moment by moment with change. Afterwards some individuals voluntarily shared with the group how intimate and enjoyable the act of eating was and how rare they actually experience it.

Imagine that the apple is your body and you commit to experiencing every minute detail up to it’s whole.  Perhaps you’ve never really allowed yourself to fully relax and feel the energetic sensation of having your hair groomed, because you’re too busy directing and co-styling your own mane.  Or maybe you’ve never really allowed yourself to enjoy the radiant warmth of the sun’s ray, because you’re too busy fanning yourself and complaining that it’s hot.  Perhaps you’re not alone.  We spend a lot of time intellectually engaging and orchestrating the outcome that we forego the beautiful journey that is experience.

What if we were able to release our need for control and our need to place “comfortable limitations” in our life? What if this release opened us up in a way that we were ultra sensitive to our environments and were able to find sensual and spiritual stimulation in the most routine of activities?

Such as eating an apple…what would happen?