The Joy of Cooking Mindfully
Have you seen the movie Chocolat? On its surface, it doesn’t have a thing to do with meditation or mindfulness. But all movies about cooking seem to point to presence and kindness (even love) as the secret ingredients in great culinary concoctions. You know the scenes where the person cooking is fully engaged in the act of stirring, sniffing, adding, tasting, forming…. As the viewer, there is often a vicarious peace that comes from viewing these scenes, and maybe a wish that cooking was like that for us. So what is the difference?
When we cook, it may be that our mind is everywhere except right there in the moment of cooking. And because it’s off in another dimension, we’re not taking in the aromas wafting out of the pot on the stove, oblivious to the sounds of bubbling or sizzling; we may not be feeling the smooth coolness of the egg in our hand before we crack it on the side of the bowl. We may not taste what we’re making while we’re making it to see if the flavors are balanced because we’re checking off the list of steps on a recipe, seeing each just as something that needs to be done before we move on to the next. We’re “doing” cooking, rather than “being” the cook.
So movies that involve cooking, like Chocolat, can be great reminders of how we can bring mindfulness into all of the moments in our day. Since many of us are preparing more of our food these days, there is ample opportunity to engage in “cooking meditation”. If it helps, we can imagine we’re a character in a movie, fully engrossed in the act of creating a meal. We may even find the same sense of peace that comes from being fully present whether we’re making instant ramen with a seasoning packet or coq au vin from scratch.
And while bringing our full presence to the act of cooking is quite enough in and of itself, if we’d like to make the moment even juicier, there is the opportunity to acknowledge that cooking (even the simple act of putting a scoop of kibble in the dog’s bowl) is an act of care, for ourselves or for others. Bringing our full presence and a sense of kindness and caring to the act can turn a chore into something that feels good in the body - before we’ve even taken a bite.
We hope you can join us this week for one or more of the 17 live dial-in mediations we're offering (schedule below).
May all beings find peace, joy and love in even the most mundane moments,
Your CMP family
And if you’d like some lovely, not too serious movies about food, here are a few. Do you have one you like that’s not on the list? Let us know.
Babette’s Feast
Big Night
Chef
Chocolat
Hundred Foot Journey
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Julie & Julia
Like Water for Chocolate
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Have You Tried a Guided Meditation Session On-Line?
CMP has created a library of guided meditations that are available on our website. Our guided meditations have no preamble or discussion. They begin and end with the sound of a chime. If you would like some context about a particular practice, you can also start with the audio discussions on our site. They provide an explanation of the what, why and how of a practice. We encourage you to try one today!
The Little Potato Peeler, Albert Anker 1886