Service with a Smile

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 

Your Spiritual Toolbox

Is there something that you do frequently that is naturally meditative? Something you enjoy that asks for your full attention?

A favorite hobby is a perfect place to start.
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Today, set the scene.

First, clear the area you will be in. A clean, uncluttered workspace is inspiring.

Next, put on some inspiring, instrumental music. Pick something you love, and that will encourage you to internalize.

Gather any materials you need and lay them out enticingly.

Now focus your attention fully upon what you are doing.

Go for the flow.

​As you do so you are channeling more love into our world.