A Sacred Kitchen
Food is Sacred and Healing/ Establishing a Sacred Kitchen
Food is often forgotten about as we bustle along our busy days, but in reality and times past, food was and should be considered sacred. Perhaps it is not now in the conventional world because unless it is quick, cheap, convenient and tasty, it has no value to us. But in knowledge and truth, food IS healing. Food, real food, that matches the definition of food in which we discuss in this book, comes as a natural offspring from the natural processes of the earth and all beings in, of, and that move on it. Food sacred-ness is shown repeatedly in the circle of life. There is not a food that does not take part in the circle of life, just as there is not a being that does not as well.
What we ingest is a death for some other being and a life for another. This should not be taken lightly, but understood that this cutting off of life and transferring of energy to ourselves should be honored and thanked. This kind of thinking doesn’t carry forth when we’re discussing processed unnatural foods, probably because there is not the feeling of sustainability and ownership or responsibility. When one doesn’t take any part in the life taking, the honoring, or the preparation, it’s easy to overlook gratitude, and the healing powers of taking something into the body. As part of the earth from which it came, now merging into what we are becoming, food is healing, indeed.
A sacred kitchen honors this mentality and it is easily identified.
A sacred kitchen doesn’t harbor an overabundance of mechanical machinery for it’s preparation, because a majority of the food is used as natural as possible and doesn’t make use of conventional ingredients that would typically use the overabundance of these machines.
In a Sacred Kitchen a pantry is stocked not with canned goods, bags, and boxes, but with canned glass jars of fresh garden produce, bulk beans and nuts, spices and herbs in sealed brown bags or dark jars.
The space is clean because when honoring is present, the cleaning, itself, is seen as ceremonial.
There is time and attention paid to the spaces for preparation
Thought is given for the preparation of the foods and the space that is used for it.
Loved items, whether old or new, are in the sacred kitchen, perhaps Grandma’s recipe books, old spice jars, cast iron pans, for example.
In a sacred kitchen, you will see produce and vegetables, bowls, baskets, and storage places for the fresh raw foods.
In a sacred kitchen, you will find spices, herbs and produce in season.
The space doesn’t have to be big or small, fancy and new or old and worn, but the feeling of a sacred kitchen is one of honoring: of the people, and of the food that is prepared and provided for the people.
A sacred kitchen involves a stand still of time, as if you can actually feel that time stands still and there’s all the time in the world to chat and work together, prepare and then consume.
A sacred kitchen has the feel of warmth and acceptance, as care is given to the food, so is care given to the ones it is provided for.
If you liked this excerpt from DrFoodie's "It's Only Food', due to come out in January, don't forget to pre-order your copy! It's available on the home page.
Also, since food is sacred, you might want to check out our Recipes!