Lessons from a raisin If you've ever taken a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, you may have done the famous raisin exercise. It's basically a slow, methodical seeing, savoring of, and swallowing, a single raisin. Recently, I tried the activity with a class of eighth graders, and it was the most fun I've had in a long time. I 'm not sure how much fun they had, though. I began by passing out a paper towel to each student, and told them we were going to do some eating for our brain break- a brief time each day when we practice some mindfulness together. The kids got excited and started to chatter. They probably had visions of chocolate shakes or maybe french fries. But when I told them that we were going to be eating a single raisin , I saw disappointment cloud several faces. Some even let out audible groans of disgust. One boy looked like he might be sick. Several asked, "Do we have to do this?" "No," I said, "