Karma, Blessings and My Relationship to My Food

Thank you all for your comments! I learned from your thoughts and I hope that we can continue to uplift and help one another in our similar yet individualized experiences.

The Lotus Temple of Spanish Fork, Utah

I have been thinking about a presentation I went to a couple of years ago by the Utah Krishnas (see http://www.utahkrishnas.org/ for more information about these amazing members of my community). They have a gorgeous temple in Spanish Fork and the lecture I attended was an explanation of vegetarianism and how karma applies to all we do and, in this case, to the food we eat. One concept in particular struck truth in me and has been entering my mind lately as I continue my journey: they do not taste or eat any food, even while they are preparing it, until it is ready to eat and they have taken part of the food and offered it to Krishna, their lord. How does this apply to Mormon me? Oh in so many ways. Most basically, how do I prepare my food? Am I ravenously preparing my food anticipating not so much the flavor and purpose of the food but rather feeding my hunger and belly? Do I eat 1/3 of the dish before we are even ready to sit down to eat?

What do I take from this? Prepare food "with and eye single to the glory of God" which sounds a little strange applying this scriptural phrase to food, but I will explain. God's "work and glory is to bring about [our] immortality and eternal life... (Moses 1:39" Immortality, immortal, mortal. Our bodies are key in our mortal life. Here and now. They will be an integral part of our eternal life as well as perfected and resurrected bodies. So, we are eternal beings made up of Heavenly Father's DNA (spirits) and our earthly parents DNA (bodies), going all the way back to Eve and Adam. What I eat and how I eat it affects my body. My physical health affects my intellect (mind). My mental health, included my thoughts about everything including my own self image, affects my spirit. My spirit affects my body. And so on, and so forth and not necessarily in that order all the time. I cycle through my starting points to find my balance, my karma.

What to I learn from the Krishnas? Love myself. Love others. Love, understand and show gratitude for all sustenance I receive. So, though I may do a little taste test, first I recognize the blessing the food is to me; I recognize what the food will do for my body; I humbly thank the Lord for the food and ask him that the particles will fill my body's need for energy as well as my spiritual need to see those particles and how they react with my body as a blessing. As long as I choose what is best for me, my body reacts in positive ways to the food I eat. That doesn't mean that I don't ever eat chocolate, which I firmly believe is manna from heaven, especially during a few short days every month (women, you know what days I mean). I limit my indulgences, which is not easy, but I feel so much better about myself when I do.

I am grateful for food. I love the foods that are best for my body. I am constantly discovering new ways to enjoy foods and keep my body in perfect health.

Namaste