Religion, Stress Relief, and Baking Cookies
What does stress relief mean to you? To me, it simply means a healthy alternative to juggling responsibilities. It’s the opposite of eating, talking on the phone, and reading emails all at the same time. It’s contrary to staying late in the office to meet deadlines or to attend too many last minute meetings. It doesn’t mean waking up at 2:00 in the morning to take phone calls from work.
How can one effectively function or earn a living without being multi-tasking in this day and age? Changing one’s priority is sometimes easier said than done, but may be a head start in the right direction.
Besides baking cookies, getting more involved with one’s religion, such as Buddhism, is another practice of stress relief. Although growing up in a traditional Buddhist family, I somehow have shamelessly managed to be oblivious of basic Buddhist teaching until recently.
Nowadays, I visit Buddhist temples more often than I ever used to, mainly because I find unpretentious relaxation when I’m in one. I enjoy the religious chanting, the reciting of Buddha’s words of wisdom. I could tirelessly observe the status of Buddha and many Bodhisattvas.
A visit to any Buddhist temple isn’t complete without having a taste of various delicious vegetarian dishes prepared by dedicated temple goers. These people offer the Buddha foods to show their respect, love and admiration. Everyone later share these foods before leaving.
Believing that stress relief may be most effective through both the mind and stomach, I may one day offer a batch of my homemade cookies, starting with the following whole wheat version.
Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour | 1½ c. |
Baking powder | ½ tsp |
Baking soda | ½ tsp |
A pinch of salt | |
Unsalted butter, room T. | 4 oz. |
Granulated sugar | ½ cup |
Brown sugar | ½ cup |
Egg, room T. | 1 large |
Vanilla extract | 1 tsp |
Bittersweet chocolate | 4 oz. |
Chopped into small pieces |
Directions:
I ventured out of the box a bit by baking with honey and substituting dried fruits for bittersweet chocolate. The cookies were delicious just the same.
Other Recipes for Drop Cookies | Top of Stress Relief |