zen snacking (for Blog Action Day)

Have you ever watched someone in London eat a bag of crisps? They toss them into their mouths in a mechanical, grazing fashion, whilst they text, read a paper, or stare into space.

Aside from their mouths opening, their faces don't even register each crisp going in, or the flavour of it. They're thinking about work, people they fancy, what to wear tonight - everything apart from eating crisps.

We've all done this - snacking on total auto-pilot until we get a mild surprise when we look down and see that most of the bag is gone. This is a bad thing generally, because not appreciating what we consume causes over-consumption in many ways.



So here is my take on Snack Zen, which you should try the next time you get a bag of your favourite snacks - crisps, sweets, wasabi peas,organic chocolate covered blackcurrants, whatever.

It is a 5 minute Zen Snack food exercise which will make you happier, more relaxed, more mindful, more giving, less wasteful and hence greener.


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One should take a bag of one's favourite snacks, and go to a quiet place, like a park bench, a hotel reception, or the corner of an old man pub.

Do not think about work, or watch people, or admire poster ads. Simply sit and prepare to give this 5 minutes of your life to snacking.

When one eats the snack food, one should attempt to focus completely on the mouth sensations of the snack. Taste, texture, moving it around with the teeth and tongue.

One should not think at all, or analyse, but just concentrate on the feelings from your mouth of eating and tasting the snack. If thoughts arise, just let them drift away, and continue eating slowly.

Initially one will find that one is able to eat only 1-3 crisps before the thoughts wander completely and one must "snap back" to the snack food. Try it if you don't believe me.

If one has worries or doubts - like having to get back to the office, or what to do about some person who's conflicting with us, let these thoughts go and re-focus on the snacks. Right at this moment, all the other concerns are just illusions in the head.

When one can get through half a bag without daydreaming or worrying about the past and future, that is significant progress. The heart rate will be lower and one feels very chilled and 'at peace' with things.

Eventually, after maybe months of practice, one can go through a whole bag of snacks in 5-10 minutes, all the while staying completely in the zone. A similar sensation is found sports, playing music, or making or appreciating art: being totally engaged in the now.

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You can leave the office feeling stressed and tired, and come back in 10 minutes feeling refreshed, calm and able to treat problems with a clear head. You'll regain your sense of perspective, because you know that these problems can't control your emotions and that by simply focusing on the present, they disappear.



(My personal favourite zen-out snack is Frazzles, by the way.)