Transforming Discomfort into Comfort, Part II

 A reader comments: "Last weekend, after looking at your blog, and the Juicy Food recipe, I decided to try making gluten-free pancakes for a friend. I began by pausing and setting my intention to enjoy a new experience. I've never cooked with flour other than wheat or whole wheat before. Everything was going great until I tried to flip my first pancake. It stuck to the pan...especially in the places where the blueberries were poking through the batter. Sheesh! what a drag. I wasn't very happy. Then I realized I was feeling some irritation toward the pancake...the pan...the recipe...even your blog. I realized I was quite uncomfortable...

As soon as I became aware of what was happening, I turned the heat off under the frying pan, and sat down for a moment. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. I actually 'saw' the discomfort my thinking was creating. I was causing my own stress because I was the cook who tried to turn the pancake over without first making sure it wasn't sticking to the pan like the recipe suggested. I realized I hadn't been paying attention to what I was doing. Instead I was rushing out of the present moment into a future story, imagining my friend's delight at my accomplishment instead of mindfully cooking the pancake in the pan in front of me. Once the pancake wouldn't come unstack, I started to feel stressed. I was really down on myself in a flash, distressed about my failure as a cook..not to mention as a human being.  I could actually see these negative, mean thoughts arising.

Suddenly it struck me that if my mind was able to observe the distressing thoughts bubbling up, a more expansive mind was actually noticing what was happening in the present moment as the thoughts were arising. I could see how these thoughts were making me feel discomfort. And, I also realized that this awareness of what was happening was larger than the experience of a stuck pancake. I started to laugh ...out loud! After a moment, and a few more relaxed breaths, I heated up the pan. With spatula and a little coconut oil, I made another pancake. This time, I followed the recipe tip and carefully loosened the pancake before flipping it. Success! Patience and a little zen-cuisine practice helped me make a great breakfast for my gluten-sensitive buddy." Y.G.

"Mind is limitless, like a mirror reflecting reality with clarity or without clear sight depending on our awareness, and our awareness of our awareness." Mei-Kyo, Zen-Gate, Kitchen-Door.  Zen-cuisine wakes us up to see life as it is--new and fresh in each moment. Experiences come and go; thoughts arise and fall. They are like waves waves rippling the surface of a wind-swept lake, white-capped and energetic, but never separate from the vast expanse of water. Or like blueberries poking through pancake batter, plump and sugary purple fruit circles apart, yet never separate from the pancake itself. 

 In the same way, we see pancake-making as it truly is. Our activity in the kitchen is part of the flow of experience in the present moment. In a flash of awareness, we catch sight of the boundless expanse of consciousness. We interpenetrate the source of all that is, touching the mind beyond our familiar mind. We wake up to the insight that the way we experience things in the kitchen lies not in the events or circumstances, but in the way we perceive and interpret the situation. As life unfold in the present moment, we contemplate this awareness, thinking deeply about what it means for creating comfort and ease instead of making ourself miserable with crazy, distracted thoughts. We realize the way we have misperceived the display of our own mind, mistaking our interpretation for reality itself. Sometimes we laugh out loud. Our perspective changes, and broadens.

Contemplating things from a larger context, we discover different ways of looking at our situation. We accept what is, and patiently begin anew.We are

transforming our discomfort and uneasiness with a mindful spaciousness that opens us to new possibilities. We pick up the spatula, and try the pancake recipe again!  This time, we stay mindful; we honour the present moment and the pancake-making process as the flow of experience manifests through our zen-cuisine practice.  Happy cooking! 

Like quinoa? Like to try it? 

Visit Juicy Foods for a zen-cuisine sprouted quinoa salad recipe.