The Sacredness of Meals

Along with meditation, coming together at mealtime is one of the most holy and important times of your day, and, for that reason, needs to be treated with the requisite level of sacredness that it deserves.

The following are some simple guidelines for you to derive the highest vibration—and the greatest blessings—from not only your gathering (even when dining “alone”) but also from your food itself.

The consciousness you are in when you create is what you create.

It is important to treat the preparing of food as a sacred ceremony, for the people who eat it will be consuming the energy of the mental and emotional state you were in while you were creating it. If you are in a loving mood while making a meal, you will be serving love to whomever partakes of the food, regardless of what sits upon the plate; and the opposite is also true (if you are angry, they will be fed anger). Add to that the importance of securing wholesome, organic food (and, ideally, with a high concentration of vegan and raw food... though the same sacred practices and principles apply to non-vegan foods), best obtained from local growers, and you have the recipe for the most nourishing meal imaginable—on all levels of being.

Some of the ways you can create a sacred space before and during meal preparation include prayers, blessings, candles, and soft, ambient music. This could include singing devotional songs; chanting a prayer, mantra, or blessing; or even humming sweetly. Bless the food while you are preparing it, every step of the way, ongoingly blessing the growers, the sellers, the diners, and Mother Earth for providing it. Be in a state of deep gratefulness, and focus on the joy and privilege of being able to serve others (and yourself) in this way.

Remember that the real and only food we eat is prana (life force energy). Our earthly meals are only one of many different vehicles through which we draw prana into our bodies and auric fields. Others include meditation, yoga, pranayama, receiving darshan and shaktipat, healing music, art, exercise, and wholesome communion with animals and nature.

The experience of eating is one of deep communion with your Lord God. Eat each meal with gratitude and respect. It is a wise practice to eat some of your meals in silence. If you speak at all, offer only words of love and joy, perhaps sharing your gratefulness for something beautiful which happened that day. Let go of the tendency to chatter and gossip. And never rant, complain, or discuss business during meals (if you are on a “business” lunch, do the talking/business part after the meal, perhaps over tea).

I also highly recommend that everyone incorporate fasting one day each week—in addition to your yearly, or seasonal, fasts. This will kindle a deeper appreciation for the gift and privilege of having food; develop greater compassion, empathy, and desire to help those who are starving in the world; and create more balanced appetite and consumption habits, by actually mitigating tendencies to gorge, binge, waste, or otherwise abuse the tradition of eating. You will be amazed at the countless gifts you will receive by surrendering one day’s worth of food each week. Finally, as we are all connected in the Great Circle of Life, your selfless offering will alchemically reduce starvation and poverty on the planet in a much more far-reaching and impactful way than any offering of money or time you could make, because this type of gift is wired directly into the collective consciousness at the cellular and even sub-atomic levels.

Always remember that there are three stages of eating:  preparation, consumption, and clean-up. If you have not created enough time to complete all three phases of the meal—in grace, you do not have enough time to eat. If that is the case, it would be better to go about your busy-ness, and return when you can give your “breaking of bread” its due place of honor in your day.

After your meal, the practice of restoring the space to an even higher level of grace than you found it will cap the dining experience with the ultimate blessing, as the next ones to come along will enter into and receive your blessing, which, in the karmic cycle of life, returns it once again to you and all your future endeavors.

- Louix Dor Dempriey