Almost 6 thousand people from 108 countries have signed on for our 21-day Mindfulness Challenge!  And yesterday, we kicked off Day 1 and we're off to a great start ... with posts like this:

"I've been really rushing around a lot lately so this 1st mindfulness challenge has been such a blessing! I actually ate my nutella and toast as slow as possible. I enjoyed and noticed every crunch of the quinoa bread. I imagined the farmers sowing their seed and watching their crop in anticipation. I decided to do some research on how and where quinoa and hazelnuts are grown. Are the farmers getting their fair share? What effect does the growing and processing of these items have on the environment?"

"I remembered my grandmother's advice and engaged in mindful eating during breakfast - tasting every ingredient of my dry, spiced up cereal (rice crispies, corn flakes, oat cereal, and crispy Chana dal stir fried in oil infused with spices). She used to tell us to eat by focusing only on the process of eating. As kids, we wanted to talk to each other, but she insisted on eating quietly and talking after we were done. As they say, Grandmother knows best!"

"Having to ingest food through a feeding tube after surviving a throat cancer would appear challenging to most trying to practice mindfulness. In fact today I discovered that this mechanical limitation was not preventing me to enjoy the liquid food filing up my stomach. Chewing, tasting or trying to control the portion size are not the only avenues to have a mindful meal. Today I tried to visualize my happy stomach slowly filled with lukewarm nutritional liquids which give me strength and energy, I felt every drop like others enjoy chewing delicious food, and I though about those good people who worked hard to produce nutritional food that can be ingested through a tube. This gave me joy and plenitude. I was hesitant with this first challenge but it turned out to be an opportunity to discover a new perspective. Thank you for this."