Cooking and Mindfulness is the topic of today’s episode. Cooking can give you focus and groundedness, as well as a feeling of choice. You can choose whatever healthy ingredients you want to use, and you can avoid unhealthy ingredients. You can choose how you feel about cooking and decide to use it as an activity you feel good about.

Like I said, you have freedom and choice when you are cooking. At least that's how I look at it. You can cook a simple dish or something more complicated. You can cook something decadent or something super basic and healthy. Having those kinds of choices is a good feeling.

It feels good to be able to create something that is life-sustaining. I like to cook for my family and also enjoy cooking for myself. Being able to provide nourishment is a great feeling.

It's easy to get centered and focused when you cook. It's a step-by-step process and you need to sort out the steps and take them methodically in order. Doing something that helps me get focused feels comfortable and enjoyable. It's definitely my happy place.

I enjoy giving and being able to cook for someone is a pleasurable giving experience for me. Even if I'm cooking for myself, I still feel like it's a giving experience. Why do I feel this way? The answer is likely connected to my experience of growing up, cooking on the farm for my family. I often helped my mom in the kitchen. I enjoyed making casseroles, mock duck, pineapple upside-down cake, and apple-rhubarb pandowdy. It feel great when our family enjoyed the food that I had prepared.

Cooking helps me feel confident. I know I will always have a second chance to improve at cooking, so I feel like I can continue to get better at cooking. As I improve, I will become more confident with what I'm doing in the kitchen.

This may sound strange to you, but I enjoy cleaning up. Like Thich Nhat Hanh, I find washing dishes to be a very mindful experience. Do you enjoy washing dishes? Let me know cleaning up is a mindful experience for you. Email me your thoughts, at [email protected]

• Book: Living Ayurveda: Nourishing Body and Mind through Seasonal Recipes, Rituals, and Yoga

Related Episodes

• Film, Fitness and Food Heals; Allison Melody