Mindfulness vs Meditation:

Cheering For Chocolate

by Maya Frost

Years ago, a client (let's call her Gina) told me about a

dream she kept having over and over again.

In her dream, Gina goes to her favorite ice cream shop.

A confirmed chocoholic, she looks forward to treating herself to

her favorite flavor on a regular basis.  But when she gets to the

shop, she realizes that all of the cartons of ice cream

are now vanilla.  Every single one.

She asks the clerk if there are any other flavors available.

“Actually, each of these flavors is different.  This vanilla

has a subtle hint of almond, for example.”

“But it looks like plain vanilla to me,” she says.

“Well, true, it DOES look like vanilla.  They all look the

same, but there is a subtle difference in the flavor of each.”

“Okay, well, what about toppings?  Can I add chocolate sauce

on top?” she asks.

“Oh, no,” says the clerk.  “We don’t offer toppings here.”

Resigned, she tries a few flavors, and yes, she can tell that

there is a bit of an essence of strawberry here, or a whiff

of coffee there, but there’s no question that it’s still vanilla.  

She looks around and sees plenty of people enjoying their

various vanilla flavors.  Some are rhapsodizing about the

taste of one version of vanilla while others are insisting

that theirs is the most sublime of all.

And then she wakes up feeling sad, unfulfilled and hopeless. 

It’s not that she doesn’t appreciate vanilla, but she really

LOVES chocolate.  She feels like she has lost interest in

the whole idea of eating ice cream if the only option

she has is a variation of vanilla.

I asked Gina how she felt about the choices available to

her.  She told me she’d spent the previous three

years exploring different types of meditation, but

despite the time and effort she’d put into her daily

practice, she felt that she’d lost her way.  She was

sad that she felt she wasn’t “built” for meditation

as everyone she knew seemed to find it profoundly

beneficial.  She even confessed to feeling guilty

about considering giving it up, but she longed

to break away from her vanilla world.   

Where was the chocolate?

First of all, Gina was looking for permission to try

something other than meditation.  I was happy to tell

her that she could certainly develop mindfulness in

chocolate ways! 

Second, Gina needed to incorporate mindfulness into

her daily life in activities that engaged and enlivened

her naturally.  

Gina was startled to realize that she had set aside

many of her favorite activities in order to

create more time for meditation and quiet reflection. 

She was spending 30 minutes each morning and

30 minutes every night in meditation plus

another 30 minutes writing in her journal. But despite

committing nearly an hour and a half a day to getting

connected, she felt truly disconnected from what

she loved most.  In addition, she was dejected about a

weight gain prompted by less exercise (more sitting)!

And so, that’s where we started.

Because she had always loved swimming, Gina started

going to the pool several mornings a week. She focused on a

particular technique and simply used her time in the pool

as her meditation. She was an accomplished gardener, and

so we came up with great ways for her to make gardening a

focused and calming mindfulness activity to soothe her

after work.  And as a cellist, she had a deep appreciation

for music and learned how to strengthen her connection

to sound while building new friendships with others

in a small musical group.

In other words, she quit meditating but swam,

planted, played and laughed her way to greater

mindfulness! She started to think of her days as

being “delicious” and relished the flavors of each activity.

Mmmm.  Chocolate.

By tapping into her

**bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (swimming)

**naturalistic intelligence (gardening)

**musical intelligence (playing the cello)

**interpersonal intelligence (making friends)

Gina developed a deeply fulfilling mindfulness

practice that didn’t require

a single minute of meditation.

She felt calm, clear and creative and experienced a new sense

of awe about the world around her.  She was happily eating—

and truly appreciating—chocolate in more ways than one.

Not everyone is into vanilla, and even those who are can

appreciate opportunities to explore the complexity of a

full range of flavors.

If you find that meditation leaves you with a taste

for something that reflects and inspires you more

authentically, head for the chocolate--

or strawberry, daquiri ice, peppermint, or

jamoca almond fudge with extra nuts and chocolate on top.

Add some new flavors to your mindfulness practice, and you’ll be

savoring the richness of life with a big smile on your face.

© Copyright 2007, Maya Frost

Maya Frost has taught thousands of people how to pay attention.  Through her company, Real-World Mindfulness Training™, she offers playful, powerful eyes-wide-open alternatives to meditation.  To read her free tips and tricks for everyday awareness, visit

http://www.Real-WorldMindfulness.com