Over at the Daily Om, I found an article about Food that I found interesting, and appropriate for our current project.
Food is a gift; it is life offered for the life of another, yet many people rush into eating without considering the sacrifice or the result. A Zen mealtime prayer states, "We must think deeply about the ways and means of this food that has come to us."
It is easy to overlook the energy and life that went into the creation of a meal, and just as easy to take a moment to utter an affirmation, a prayer of thanks, or a blessing. A simple blessing spoken before a meal has the power to deepen your connection with the earth, the sun, nature, and humankind, while charging your food with positive energy, increasing its life force.
As is our food, so are we constructs of matter and energy. Everything you take into your body has the power to influence your well-being and to affect your soul. Blessing and giving thanks for what you eat can not only energize food, but also promote spiritual growth from within. As your body experiences physical nourishment, your soul will be drawn closer to the vitality-giving elements and experience the joy of being a part of the amazing circle of life.
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6 comments:
I heard a very interesting comment last week on a NPR show called HumanKind, re Sufism and a Sufi master was saying that one teaspoon of water is enought to quench our thirst if we bless it, that one morsel of bread is enough to satisfy our hunger if we bless it for our real hunger is for
God. I unfortunately am not doing a very good job of paraphrasing this but it was very moving and did get me to thinking seriously about the amount of food that we, especially Americans, feel we MUST take into our bodies everyday.
Yes, I think this is very profound. Now, if I could only remember to do it!
I keep telling myself I am going to bless my food and be grateful for it before I eat anything, but then I turn right around and forget. Does anybody have any reminder ideas? I guess maybe I could put a note on the fridge...
I hear you Cindy...
It's like I'm thinking about it and thinking about it, and then I get my food out, and all of a sudden a giant mouth comes screaming out of my face and gobbles down the food... before I know it, it's gone, and I haven't even started to say thank you... much less meditatied on where it came from, and the sacrifices that were necessary for it to be...
If you come up with something that works, let me know, OK?
I'm not sure that you really have to remember to bless it and be thankful for it beforehand. What if, as soon as your tummy's full, you remember to bless it and you are thankful at that time? I think that would set up a cycle where, as long as you bless it at SOME point, the blessing and gratitude will do it's work. Isn't time an illusion anyway? :)
Cindy!! Here is that post I was thinking of.. it's not quite as profound as I remembered it to be. Maybe there's another one somewhere.
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