Connection. What does that mean to you? For me it’s being in the zone or flow. It’s a space where I am present, plugged in, and thoroughly enjoying what I’m doing. It’s knowing I am loved.
I have had many experiences of feeling connected. My most recent one was this past week. I put on an intimate Master Class on Finding God in Gourmet. It included a fine dining experience, with food made by me, and a lesson on pairing wines by my friend Mary, who is a Level 2 Sommelier. The experience was infused with all the Life Lessons food provides. Here is a small taste in regards to pairing your food with wine. As you take note of how well the ingredients of the wine go with your food, it provokes one to look at your own pairings in life - with your work, with your partner, with your relationships. Are they good pairings? Are there things you can do to improve the pairing so that it produces a synergistic result that blows your mind and expands your happiness? We discussed ways to make cooking a spiritual experience, one that provides space for presence, intention, gratitude, and peace. When you set an intention, you create with purpose. It was a beautiful class and experience. Now, what about my recent experience of feeling connected and in the flow? While I was thinking of what I could prepare for my students to eat, I remembered a meal I had at a restaurant called Le Logge in Montepulciano, Italy. The meal started off with a “gift from the kitchen” which was an exquisite taste of salmon mousse. It was served on a tiny, beautiful dish. Though the portion was small, it rocketed me into a new Universe of bliss and was the introduction to the best meal of my life. I wanted to create that kind of “gift” to start what I hoped would be a life changing experience for my students. The idea for this gift came to me in the middle of the night. I was pondering what I could create that would have the same effect that Le Logge’s gift provided. Then it came to me! I didn’t know what I was going to call it, but I absolutely could not wait to make it in the morning! It turned out fabulous! While I was putting it together, I was so happy, excited, and grateful to play with various ingredients I had. I asked for guidance from Master Chef Angels! I felt wise Grandmas whispering their suggestions to me. The ideas of what to add to it, to take it to another level just flowed. I was connected, in the flow, and finding God in Gourmet. My intention is to change the way you cook! I want you to experience what I did and what I do. Finding God in Gourmet is all about connecting you to God/Source/Universe. It is not a religious experience, it is a spiritual one. Most of you reading this, cook once a day. That is a daily opportunity to play, to enjoy, to be grateful, to connect. I hope you come to see cooking this way. I share many ideas of how to do this on my website and YouTube channel. If you’d like a good start, look for “Mai’s Pesto” on my YouTube channel. It presents seven ways to make cooking a scent-ual experience. Let’s connect! 🙂
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Today is Chinese New Year! Living in Hawaii, it is definitely something that is celebrated here. How about where you are?
It is traditional to eat certain foods during the New Year. I absolutely love that certain foods represent different things. For instance, Noodles represent happiness and longevity. Dumplings represent prosperity. Do you eat certain foods that represent something for you? In our family, New Years always included sushi and o-zoni, a special Japanese soup eaten on New Year's day. We've made sushi (futomaki and inarizushi - rolled and cone) for as long as I’ve been alive. My parents lived in Japan for over 10 years and the last 3 of us 5 kids were born there. Sushi represents a special time of year. It brings memories of a lot of hard work and a lot of sharing. My mom was the master chef of our home and would often make 50-75 rolls of sushi. Most of it was given away to friends and family. This past New Year was the first without our Mom. She passed away 12 days short of turning 99. We have many wonderful and delicious memories around making these traditional foods. Food brings people together. I love that! Sitting down to eat with friends and sometimes strangers can be a magical experience. My wish for you is that during this new year, you will take time to slow down and share a meal with someone you love. Make it special, make it memorable. I am certain that doing more of this one thing will contribute to you living a long and prosperous life. The To-Do-List! Never ending errands, cooking dinner, doing laundry, paying bills. The list of things to get done never ends and it never will. So it’s vitally important to ask yourself what is the most important thing right now? In almost all cases, it’s not washing the clothes, going to the post office, answering the hundreds of emails in your inbox. It’s BEING, not DOING. It’s taking note of who you are BEING. It’s asking yourself are you actually living or just going through the motions of life?
I’ll be the first to admit there are many days that I run through my to-do list, hoping that if I get them all done, I’ll feel a sense of accomplishment. Some of the things on my to-do list are important, and when I get them done, I do feel a sense of satisfaction. But what’s always important right now, for me, is to be present, to enjoy the weather of the day, to be grateful, to pay attention to the beauty that surrounds me, to feel my spiritual connection to all there is, to be of service. If today were my last day, would I spend it marking off my check list of tasks? No. Would you? NO! I would spend it BEING with our loved ones, BEING in the moment, feeling the Oneness, we would move, breathe and have our BEING. I tend to forget this when I get caught up in things to do. For example, two days ago I spent over 4 ½ hours just to get 2 things done that I thought would take me 15 minutes. I got very frustrated. After 3 hours on the first task, I asked my sister for help. Thank you LaVerna! The last hour I spent doing 15 takes of my F Word Friday - F Words that inspire. It usually takes me 5 minutes to get it done. But the dog was barking in the back, the garbage truck was making noise in the front, I kept making mistakes. I finally stopped to ask myself what was really important right then? I shared with God that what was important to me in that moment was to uplift or inspire at least one person through the video I was doing. I finished the video. It wasn’t perfect, but I was sincere in my intention to be of service. I got some wonderful feedback from one of the people who watched it. She said it really made a difference. That is what really matters. The video was on faith by the way and it was a good one. I invite you to check it out, because maybe that is the most important thing for you right now. I’m a woman of faith. So when I read “anxiety is a sign of spiritual insecurity”, it really hit me hard. Why? Because honestly, I worry a lot… about everything. Or at least I did until I got bowled over by that quote a couple of days ago. Since then, I have had lots of opportunities to worry, and chose not to. It IS a choice.
As an example, I dropped my daughter off at the airport yesterday in time to catch a 4:15 flight back to college. TSA precheck told her she had to go to the insanely long non-precheck line because she had a temporary paper license. That would usually be my que to start fretting, I didn’t..At 3:30 she texted me that she was still in line. She didn’t think she’d make her flight and asked what we’d do if she missed it. I calmly texted that I’d come pick her up and we’d put her on another flight. I told her I’d pray that she got on the flight. I went into my healing room and started praying - calmly, not anxiously. I asked God to open up the way that she would get on that flight. 20 minutes later, at 3:50 she let me know she ran all the way to her gate and that they hadn’t even started boarding yet! Thank you God!!! It felt good to give up my concern to God. I know I will have many more opportunities to choose faith over fear. I know it will take continued work and effort. I’ll take it one day at a time and look forward to living without anxiety. In last week’s Blog, I talked about cutting off what does not serve you. I’m cutting off worry. What will you be releasing? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I end this post with my Grandma’s favorite scripture, Proverbs 3: 5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. May we all follow this wise counsel and choose faith over fear in our daily lives. It’s good practice to start a New Year by cutting off what does not serve you. It sounds kind of drastic, doesn’t it? “Cut off”. I chose those words for several reasons. It gets your attention. It sounds serious, and it is! Once you cut something off…it’s permanent!
What are some things you want to permanently let go of? Here are a few suggestions: negative thinking, self-sabotage, beating yourself up; how about negative people? You know, the kind that sucks all the energy out of you and never contributes anything good. If you want to produce drastic results, drastic measures are required. Now that I’m 62 years old, there is an ever-stronger sense of time running out. I am in the last years of my life. I hope to be blessed with another 30 healthy years, but one’s lifespan is never guaranteed. I want to push to make a real difference for good. When I was about 59 1/2, I looked at my life and felt it was mediocre at best. That was very disturbing. So I took drastic action to rectify that. I spent a very sizable amount of money in the following two years in self-improvement (I signed up for 2 years' worth of Tony Robbins Programs, hired a Life Coach). I also decided to retire early, at 61, so I could pursue my passion of changing the way people cook by connecting them to God through food. I left a lot of money on the table by retiring early. Has it been challenging? Heck yes! Was it worth it? Heck yes! IF YOU LEAVE YOUR GROWTH TO RANDOMNESS, YOU'LL ALWAYS LIVE IN THE LAND OF MEDIOCRITY. This is a takeaway gleaned by Oprah’s team after a session with Brendon Burchard. So, I ask you again, what will you cut off that doesn’t serve you, so you can grow and live your extraordinary life? I’m including a clip of my daughter cutting off 16 inches off my hair. I cut it off today, January 1, 2023. The spiritual message included there correlates with this one. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please share it with your friends. https://youtu.be/DFKaJO42rPk |
AuthorSpiritual Foodie, Chef, Holistic RN, Healer Archives
August 2024
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