Giving Thanks Not Just at Thanksgiving: The Power of Blessing Your Food

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and for most people, there is some thought to "giving thanks" around this holiday. Any focused moment of appreciation is wonderful, whether on Thanksgiving or not, and this kind of appreciation does a lot for the food we take into our bodies.

Giving Thanks for Food
When my wife and I got married, we sat down and wrote our "doctrines for daily living," which is a list of guidelines by which we live our lives. On that list, we included the promise that we would always give thanks for every bite of food we ate, regardless of whether it was Thanksgiving or not.

Every time we sit down to a meal, we place our hands over our food and we offer up a moment of appreciation. Sometimes we voice our thanks and other times we do it silently. When I do a silent blessing, it usually goes something like this:

"To all beings who contributed to this food I am about to eat: I give thanks for your effort and contribution to this meal, and I bless you. I ask angels and guides to please accept my appreciation, and raise the vibration of this food to the level best suited to me and my body. Thank you."

Other times, we use a Buddhist chant or a Hebrew prayer. Finally, other times we simply hold hands and say in a loud, appreciative voice, "Yum!" Sometimes "yum" suits the situation better than a solemn prayer, and I can almost hear the angels giggling in the background when we do this.

The Effect of Giving Thanks for Food
My wife and I have given thanks for our food for over 12 years now, and the effect is outrageous and wonderful. We rarely suffer any digestive upset, and we can eat most kinds of food with little trouble.

For instance, right now we are down in Mexico and almost every night we enjoy Mexican food from a different province (thanks to some foodie friends who love to explore cuisine). Sometimes the food is spicy while other times it's filled with citrus flavors. Other times, there are no suitable words to describe the food we eat.

Just the other night, we had some kind of delicious charbroiled "flattened" chicken spiced with sauce hot enough to light a volcano. But no heartburn for me. Luckily, our usual practice of giving thanks for our food, asking that the food be attuned to our bodies, and taking enzymes with each meal seems to keep us from digestive harm.

I am always curious to know whether other people give thanks for their food, and what kind of effects they have noticed from it, if any. Got any stories to share ... or blessings that you particularly like?'

PS - If you would like to join us down in Mexico or any vacation location of your choice, even during a recession, drop me a line. I'll tell you how we do it and you can see if it rings any bells for you.

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xybermatthew/ / CC BY 2.0