Cooking And Eating With A Spiritual Touch (cont.)
Having prepared food with attention (which we have explained over the last two days), the Brahma Kumaris' practice is then to offer the freshly-prepared meal to the Supreme Soul. We call it offering bhog (or commonly called prasad) to the Supreme Father. As a part of this practice, positive energy or vibrations of love, bliss and peace taken from the Supreme via meditation for 5-10 minutes, is given to the food prepared, by keeping a small portion of the food in a clean vessel kept aside for this purpose only, on a table in front of you. This practice can be followed every day for one main meal at least, or more, depending on how much time you have at hand. It is good to do this exercise in a special corner in the house or even a separate small room kept aside for the purpose of meditation or basically a place where the atmosphere is spiritually empowering as compared to the rest of the house. Charging the food with positive spiritual energy and expressing gratitude to the Supreme in this way serves to increase the spiritual quality of the food and deepen the individual's personal relationship with the Supreme, while also creating a powerful, shared divine experience. On a very practical level, it will also help the body to prepare itself to receive and digest food. Of course, the last step is to eat, and this, too, is best done in a peaceful, unhurried and harmonious state of mind and environment: we are what we eat and also how we eat. It’s good to avoid eating along with the television or newspaper. Eating with the family in a positive setting is a good practice. But talking excessively and sharing negative information at that time with each other should be avoided. Talking quite less, talking very slowly, softly and sweetly and talking about positive and constructive aspects of life, with the rest of the family members, should be the norm for meal eating time.
Whether you are a new, aspiring or trained cook, we hope that the information in this and the last two days’ messages, with its emphasis on the soul as well as the body, will bring an added dimension to your kitchen and dining table. Cooking, and eating, should be a joyful and significant experience. So cook and enjoy!
Having prepared food with attention (which we have explained over the last two days), the Brahma Kumaris' practice is then to offer the freshly-prepared meal to the Supreme Soul. We call it offering bhog (or commonly called prasad) to the Supreme Father. As a part of this practice, positive energy or vibrations of love, bliss and peace taken from the Supreme via meditation for 5-10 minutes, is given to the food prepared, by keeping a small portion of the food in a clean vessel kept aside for this purpose only, on a table in front of you. This practice can be followed every day for one main meal at least, or more, depending on how much time you have at hand. It is good to do this exercise in a special corner in the house or even a separate small room kept aside for the purpose of meditation or basically a place where the atmosphere is spiritually empowering as compared to the rest of the house. Charging the food with positive spiritual energy and expressing gratitude to the Supreme in this way serves to increase the spiritual quality of the food and deepen the individual's personal relationship with the Supreme, while also creating a powerful, shared divine experience. On a very practical level, it will also help the body to prepare itself to receive and digest food. Of course, the last step is to eat, and this, too, is best done in a peaceful, unhurried and harmonious state of mind and environment: we are what we eat and also how we eat. It’s good to avoid eating along with the television or newspaper. Eating with the family in a positive setting is a good practice. But talking excessively and sharing negative information at that time with each other should be avoided. Talking quite less, talking very slowly, softly and sweetly and talking about positive and constructive aspects of life, with the rest of the family members, should be the norm for meal eating time.
Whether you are a new, aspiring or trained cook, we hope that the information in this and the last two days’ messages, with its emphasis on the soul as well as the body, will bring an added dimension to your kitchen and dining table. Cooking, and eating, should be a joyful and significant experience. So cook and enjoy!
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