Cooking as Meditation
I always knew I enjoyed cooking as a hobby and stress reliever - minus the clean up. It wasn’t until earlier this week that I actually thought of it as meditation. Usually when I think of meditation I think of sitting in a chair or on cushions, in a quiet place without distraction. I sit for a period of time trying to quiet my mind and focus on the present moment. (challenging and not as fun as cooking!)
On Sunday afternoon I found myself in such a cooking trance, that when I came out of it I thought to myself, “Wow, I haven’t been so focused on 1 thing in a long time.” Not one other thought entered my mind and I was totally present with my ingredients, preparation, and my clean up. Even the clean up didn’t feel like work, it just felt like part of the process. I didn’t have a need to rush off and do anything else.
It was an amazing feeling and even though I had been in the kitchen for several hours, I wasn’t tired. I felt energized! Could cooking be my new meditation practice?
Are you one of those people who ends the day feeling exhausted and find yourself complaining that nothing you needed to get done got done? It could be that you are thinking too much about everything that needs your attention instead of focusing on completing one task before moving on to the next thing.
If you’re hesitant about a sitting meditation practice and you are looking for some way to quiet your mind and stay focused pick an activity you really enjoy - reading, cooking, walking, knitting (knitting is a great meditative/focus practice!) - whatever it is that you can get “lost in”. During your activity notice your focus, notice if your mind is calm and quiet or if it’s racing. If it’s quiet, maybe that’s your new meditation practice.
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