Throughout this exercise, all sorts of thoughts and feelings will arise. Let them come and go, and keep your attention on the exercise. If you realise that your attention has wondered, briefly note what distracted you, then bring your attention back to the sultana.
Take hold of the sultana.
First look at it as if you’re a curious scientist who has never seen such a thing before. Notice the shape, the colour, the different shades of colour, the parts where light bounces off the surface, the contours, the pit where the stalk was attached.
Notice the weight of it in your hand and the feel of the skin against your fingers: its texture and temperature.
Raise it to your nose and smell it. Notice the aroma.
Raise it to your mouth and pause for a moment before biting into it. Bring your attention to what is happening inside your mouth: notice the salivation around your tongue and the urge to bite into it.
Now slowly bite it in half, noticing your teeth breaking through the skin and sinking into the flesh and the sound that makes, and the sensation of sweetness on your tongue.