Mindful Eating and Blessing

This Wednesday is the mindful eating and field trip experience for our group.  Our refreshment will be tiny and our field trip will be short. If this is successful, we may continue to have tiny meals and short field trips.  Who knows where this might lead?

Our purpose is to experience mindful eating and see if we like meditating out of doors.  This is new and different for us.

As our group is well aware, I don't do anything about meditation without research and experimentation in the field.  So I brought a reading (below) to a lunch with some friends.  It was read aloud by a single person while the rest of us listened.  We were silent for a while afterwards, and found the experience deeply moving.

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Blessing and Eating in Different Cultural Traditions

from 100 Graces;  Mealtime Blessings

Marcia and Jack Kelly, eds.  

 

In this food I see clearly the presence of the entire universe supporting my existence.

All living beings are struggling for life.  May they all have enough food to eat today.

The plate is filled with food.  I am aware that each morsel is the fruit of much hard work by those who produced it.

With the first taste, I promise to practice loving kindness.  

With the second, I promise to relieve the suffering of others.  

With the third, I promise to see each others' joy as my own.  

With the fourth I promise to learn the way of nonattachment and equanimity.

(after the meal)

The plate is empty.  My hunger is satisfied.  I vow to live for the benefit of all living beings.

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Thanks to Rabbi Aron for sharing this beautiful reading with us.