Summary: You're listening to the 21st episode of the Humans 2.0 podcast, solo-series, FLOW! Today's episode is about mindful cooking as a joyous and peaceful meditation.<br><br>"Cooking is meditation. For me, when I cook whether I am playing music or not, I am in the moment with my food. That's why I think food tastes so good sometimes because you are one with the food. Think of cooking as music; you don't race to get to the end of the song to understand it - cooking food is like this for me." - Max La Manna<br><br>Why is Cooking Actually Meditation?<br><br>1. Simple Tasks Encourage Peace<br>One of the most basic forms of meditation is finding peace and enjoyment in simple daily tasks. Cooking is a simple daily task. You can also attempt complex recipes to give yourself more practice at both cooking and meditation. Easy soups and casseroles now become a peace-enriched event. Soak up even more peace by trying a more in-depth recipe by extending your experience in the kitchen.<br><br>2. Silent Reflection<br>Silent reflection is a great way to get in touch with your emotions and thoughts. If you let your mind wander, there are many realizations and epiphanies that you can allow yourself to acknowledge. Cooking is a great place to let your mind wander as you perform the simple tasks, and be aware of where your thoughts take you.<br><br>3. Therapeutic Relaxation through Repetition<br>Repetition is relaxing and therapeutic by focusing only on the task at hand. Cooking is full of repetitive action, from cutting, to peeling, to stirring, to grating, to mixing, and much more.<br><br>4. Mindfulness<br>Merrium-Webster defines Mindfulness as: 1. the quality or state of being mindful 2. the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis; also: such a state of awareness. Cooking is a great activity in which to practice Mindfulness. Be present in the moment to take in the sensory information of the food you are cooking. The smells, the colors, the tastes, the feeling of the food, and the sounds are all senses to be aware of. What emotions do these experiences evoke? What thoughts do they bring to mind? Be aware of these emotions and thoughts, and acknowledge them.<br><br>5. Loving-Kindness Meditation<br>The Loving-Kindness level of meditation takes the most focus and attention. You may need to work up to this level before you attempt it. You must develop a love for yourself first, and then work toward others. Infuse the food with love and kindness by actively reflecting on yourself or the loved ones you are cooking for as you cook. Love is the secret ingredient of the tastiest dishes, after all! Typically, you would visualize yourself or your loved ones smiling at you, and feeling happy. Visualization is just one form of the Loving-Kindness Meditation. To incorporate this into cooking, visualize yourself or your loved ones smiling and happy as they (or you) eat the food you have prepared.<br><br>Source: pickthebrain.com<br><br>Please let me know how you like these daily FLOW episodes.<br><br>Please do NOT hesitate to reach out to me on Instagram, Twitter or via email <a href="mailto:mark@vudream.com">mark@vudream.com</a><br><br>Humans 2.0 Twitter - <a href="https://twitter.com/Humans2Podcast" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/Humans2Podcast</a><br>Twitter - <a href="https://twitter.com/markymetry" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/markymetry</a><br>Medium - <a href="https://medium.com/" rel="noopener">https://medium.com/</a>@markymetry<br>Facebook - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mark.metry.9" rel="noopener">https://www.facebook.com/mark.metry.9</a><br>Instagram - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/markmetry/" rel="noopener">https://www.instagram.com/markmetry/</a><br>LinkedIn - <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-metry/"></a>
