Cooking can be more than a necessity. It can be more than a hobby or an avocation. Cooking with love can be part of a spiritual practice, because cooking is one way to bring more love into the world.

There is something special about donning an apron, putting on flowing music, clearing the sink and counters, gathering ingredients from pantry and refrigerator, and setting the scene. It starts to bring you into focus.

Then the food preparation and cooking presents a banquet for the senses, all the colors and shapes, the smells and textures. A crisp bite of juicy red pepper, the fresh, green smell of garden kale that wafts upward as you slice it for salad, the deep flavors and aromas of chocolate, vanilla and almond, all vying for attention demanding that you focus upon them. It is a sensual experience that can narrow your scattered thoughts, pulling your attention away from worries over past or future and bringing you to a place of serenity and flow.

And it doesn't have to be cooking. I believe anything done with love is a spiritual practice. Just imagine spending an entire day flowing from one activity to another, each one a spiritual practice of gentle focus and attention, channeling more and more love into the world. It is my aspiration.

​For today, however, I think I’ll start in the kitchen. Those juicy, red raspberries are calling me.


Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash 

“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”
Thích Nhat Hanh
 
In choosing people to feature in our Love in Action series I look for those who inspire me with the love and joy they feel for what they do. Ntathu Allen is one such. I feel inspired both by the content of what she shares on her blog, and by the palpable love with which she writes.

Ntathu Allen describes herself as a yoga teacher, mother, writer, healer and humanitarian. 

Her website is filled with useful tools, videos and writings with an emphasis on stress management and self-acceptance, all presented with loving compassion.
After reading her most recent newsletter I felt uplifted and inspired to share the tools she offers with you, Dear Reader. It will give you a taste of the love with which she writes as well as three, useful spiritual tools with which you can start your day.

So without further ado, here is Ntathu Allen from her blog, Yoga Inspires.

“What can you do to strengthen your “compassionate and happy” button and ‘live fully in each moment?’"

Life has taught me that when we do feel happy, connected and in the flow, it is easy to experience happiness and from that state, it is easier to be compassionate, loving and live fully.

What can we do to maintain this state of being and live in the moment?

My Solution…Develop an Early Morning Routine.

From personal experience, my daily morning spiritual practice is probably the only time in my day when I am fully present, 1000000% engaged, living in the now and feeling total compassion and love for all.

I treasure my alone time in the morning.

During the day, when I feel myself slipping away from this vibration I consciously pause, take a moment to calm my thoughts, refocus and remember the vibe I felt in the morning.

Once I’ve re-calibrated and reminded myself to be present and compassionate, my energy shifts, tension is lifted from my body and I can resume my daily activities and work from a more mindful perspective.

Here are 3 of the daily spiritual practices to help you wake up, thankful and ready to start the day on a positive, purposeful and happy note. They are 3 daily habits I do to get a better start to my day.

1. Give Thanks When You Wake Up
One of the first things you can do when you wake up to start your day in a more compassionate way is to say a quiet prayer of thanks for waking up and being alive.
You don’t have to be religious to pray, all you need is a desire for inner peace, to be a better person and to give your best to all you meet.
For example, depending on how I feel, I have a collection of prayers I like to use, sometimes I’ll say The Lord’s Prayer, other times, The Prayer of Jabez , The Message by Sri Babaji, is another favourite prayer I like to say, A Call For Guidance taken from Opening to Spirit by Shola Arewa is my much-loved daily prayer.
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2. Breathe
After saying my daily prayer, I’ll do a few rounds of deep yogic breathing. This always helps to calm and steady my mind and puts me in a meditative frame of mind, ready to get up and do my meditations.
A simple breathing practice you can do is to place one hand on your navel and the other hand on your chest and just focus on breathing softly and deeply in through your nose for a count of 5 and to breathe out, through your nose for a count of 5.
So that’s inhale 1…. 2….3….4….5 and then exhale 1….2….3….4….5. Do this for 3 – 5 cycles and you’ll feel instantly energized and happy.

3. Keep a Daily Journal
Writing your waking thoughts, dreams and aspirations in your journal is another spiritual practice which helps to ground your energy and prepares you to be more compassionate and mindful during the day.
Sometimes, as part of my daily journaling practice, I will write down the things I am grateful for in my life, other times I’ll hold my pen in my non-dominant hand, focus on my breath and just write whatever comes to mind for ten minutes. It's bit a like doing a mind-sweep or brain-dump. And once these thoughts are out on paper, I feel clearer!

Closing Thoughts
If you desire to be happier, feel more compassionate and connected with life, and wake up like Thich Nhat Hanh, “… I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion…,” saying a prayer, breathing and writing in your journal are three simple spiritual practices you can use which help to strengthen your desire to be happy, live life now in the present and to be compassionate with yourself and others.”

Check out Ntathu Allen’s website at https://yogainspires.co.uk/ for more of her inspirational writing, useful tools, videos and books.
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Thank you, Ntathu Allen for spreading the light and being Love in Action.  ​

“Every morning when I wake up, I read a little spiritual passage, I keep them next to my bed. I just pick one up and start the day reading a little quote or something like that, and it starts me remembering what the game is about, it reminds me.”
Ram Dass  

Most of us have some sort of daily home maintenance routine. Washing the dishes, doing the laundry, preparing food, that sort of thing. Most of us have some sort of daily personal care routine, whatever that may be for the individual. These routines allow us to function in our lives with an environment that supports us.

But how many of us have spiritual care routines?

These are short, daily practices that support us to be in alignment with our spirits, reminding us of what’s important.

Maybe like me, you do have spiritual practices that you use only sporadically when you remember them. Or perhaps, also like me, you start a spiritual practice only to forget about it when things get busy.

This time, let’s decide to serve ourselves with simple, daily spiritual practices, so easy that we have to go out of our way to avoid them!

Let's choose practices we enjoy and make a commitment to serve ourselves in this way. As we do so we fill ourselves giving us what we need to be available to serve others. 


Photo by Emmanuel Phaeton on Unsplash