saying "be in the moment, be in the now" is very well and good,
but it is not a roadmap to how to do it. how to do it is still a mystery.
louise hay lays it out like apples, peaches and pears on a golden kitchen table flooded with golden light. she teaches, gently, how to think. how to forgive and how to heal.
these things are hard for most to comprehend. i was for me.
but louise shows the way. this is just one of many of her magical, accessible recordings.
don't judge, just listen. give it a chance. it works!
i had done everything i could think of to beat obesity, lentils, veggies, turmeric, garlic, no sugar or flour (or at least that much) and i even got a food coach/nutritionist. i wrote a frickin' blog about it: what i ate, how i ate, what i drank and what i could no longer drink. i juiced, i walked, i swam, i sweat and all along the way pouring my little heart out, every win! every failure.... and I LOST 30LBS....S L O W L Y! and then one day the thought of keeping it all up, endlessly forever overtook me with hopelessness. the binges started small and infrequent, but increased in number and severity.
My dear friend Lynn. An inspiration in so many ways.
AND all the while i would talk to my dear friend (Lynn) on the phone, who was also struggling with her own food issues 2000 miles away. she was "raw" when i first met her, then vegan and then "mcdougall"(https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/free-mcdougall-program/). we talked about everything and laughed and cried at our successes and failures.
a year later she started talking about "bright line eating" and this woman named Susan Peirce Thompson. i was skeptical. this friend seemed so much more capable of maintaining rigid food regiments than i was. when she described the program to me it thought she was on to the next crazy solution that would come and go. but she kept on talking and i kept on listening and eventually i began to understand that this was not a diet plan, it was a life plan that could help me become what i so desperately wanted, needed, to become: healthy, thin and free. TODAY is my second day on the program.
i feel great. but more importantly i feel confident that this IS DOABLE! something i never thought i would ever say.
AMAZINGLY, today (on DAY 2 of BRIGHT LINE EATING), i am already re-booting my 50 POUNDS TO PASSION blog. here you will see all the things i tried and all the things that failed, not because the don't work, but because even tho i was eating all the right stuff, i was eating too much of it, too often and without control.
i may only on day 2! and you may laugh. you are welcome to laugh, "let's see how long his enthusiasm lasted this time!". but this program will work for me and i will become: HAPPY, THIN & FREE!
we all have our own reasons for losing extra weight and getting healthier. here are a few of mine: 1. having more energy to do the things i love. 2. clearer thinking in an unclogged mind 3. boost of confidence. 4. improved self awareness. 5. clothes fit better, feel better, and look better. 6. the ability to join friends on hikes and physical activities. 7. correct blood sugar levels, blood pressure levels. 8. more fun at doctors office when getting health reports. 9. knowing about nutrition is cool. 10. improved sex life. 11. sharing "how i did it" stories with friends and strangers. 12. more flirt-ability. 13. enjoying the changing scenes of nature on my daily walks. 14. shopping for clothes and food becomes and adventure. 15. improved self-esteem, self confidence and self worth. 16. relieving family and friends worry about my health issues. 17. the knowing that i am respecting my body as a temple. 18. being an example of health for others 19. dancing the tango is more fun when your thinner. 20. knowing that discipline is an important part of life. 21. not limiting myself: discovering new things and going to new places. 22. more open the possibility of being loved because i love myself. 23. renewing my fabulousness factor. 24. fitting into my seat on an international flight to somewhere edgy. 25. being the best i can be just because i can!
reasons for staying overweight:
1. the comfort of staying the same. 2. the ease of being invisible socially. 3. the glorious feeling of being out of control. 4. fitting in with mainstream america who eats too much too often. 5. i won't intimidate anyone with my good looks. 6. because ice cream tastes so good at night 7. cheap bad food is every where and so it's so easy to eat. 8. i have a good excuse for not being happy. 9. i enjoy beating myself up on a daily basis. 10. being over weight, and out of shape is easy.
when i started this project, 50 pounds to passion, my intention was to bring my life into balance. and when i looked at my life i could see that the most obvious place to start was with my body, because this weight imbalance was the "easiest" to correct because you can see it in the mirror. i changed the way i ate and increased my level of physical activity. now i feel better and i do have a better sense of self. all good.
but now as i struggle along with this effort, i am aware of some of the stumbling blocks to my success:i'm hopelessly under-employed.
why is this a stumbling block? because when i am there i am so bored i can focus on little else than where my next little treat might come from and at the end of the day i feel like i need to reward myself with food and drink just for making it through the grind of it all. on the contrary, when i am engaged in activities i enjoy, writing, editing video, solving a graphic design challenge or collaborating on a project with creative people i respect, the last thing on my mind is food. if my goal is to find passion, and find balance i am going to have to resolve this issue. but there are few places to turn to get the answers. when everyone says "follow your bliss", i think to myself, "wow, i have followed my bliss in the past and it has lead me straight to the poor house". so in these next few weeks, i intend to maintain what i have started with diet and exercise, but my blog posts will be more focused on setting new goals, and finding new roads to accessing a healthy, happy life.
in
a world that's faster and faster, and where "more and more" becomes the
mantra of the people, perhaps it's time to consider how we fit in and
what works for us in the long run. in order to change our perception of
what success looks like, we may have to change our relationship to it.
in sri sri ravi shankar's 2010 blog post entitled "our connection to nature", he talks about how ancient wisdom describes human beings as having five layers of
experience: the environment, the physical body, the mind, the intuition
and our self or spirit.
sri sri ravi shankar says this:
Our connection with the environment is our first level of experience,
and one of the most important. If our environment is clean and
positive, it has a positive impact on all the other layers of our
existence. As a result, they come into balance and we experience a
greater sense of peace and connection within ourselves and with others
around us.
Today we live in a world where many have become greedy and want to make quick profits and achieve quick results.
Their actions disrupt the ecological balance, and not only pollute the
physical environment, but also stimulate negative emotions on a subtle
level, within themselves and also in those around them. These negative
energies expanded and compounded again and again are the root cause of
much of the violence and misery in this world.
Most wars and conflicts are triggered by such feelings, and result in
damage to the environment, which then takes a long time to restore and
repair. We need to attend to the human psyche which is the root cause of
pollution, both physical and emotional. If compassion
and care are kindled within our selves, they will form the basis for a
deeper connection to, and care for, both others and the environment.
so!
this is about taking care of ourselves and our planet on a daily basis...NOT greedily
grabbing all we can and hoarding for the future. seth godin, the original and helpful voice on the new landscape of digital connection
for which there are no maps, is a singular thought leader and
innovator in what he describes as our post-industrial, post-geography
"connection economy."
"rather than merely tolerate change, we are all called now to
rise to it. we are invited and stretched in whatever we do to be artists
— to create in ways that matter to other people."
HOW DO THESE TWO CONCEPTS RELATE? sri sri ravi shankar talks about how greed in its many forms disrupt the
ecologial balance and seth godin talks about how greed for mass market
share disrupts community balance. the new reality has got to be one of
eco balance and community.
step one: take the thorn out of your own eye.
step two:take the thorn out of your neighbor's eye.
now after losing 17 pounds of fat and gaining 5 pounds of muscle, i have a confession to make: I AM FEELING THE PASSION. yes, i can feel the passion returning into my life, after just 8 weeks. i am surprised to find that my energy levels have already improved, i have a little bounce in my step and i sometimes even feel like dancing! i attribute this pre-mature development of a "zeal for living" to a nutritionally balanced diet which excludes white flour, white rice and processed foods, includes regular exercise (including zumba, yoga, walking and biking) and the dismantling of several bad habits (including morning coffee, and happy hours specials). as i am adjusting to a new, healthier way of living, i am discovering that the learning process itself has also acted as a propellant toward happiness. discovering new things helps keep one feeling young. and there's so much to learn, and get excited about, when you love food as much as i do. in addition to learning, the the act of breaking old habits has a power all its own. knowing that you have the power to control your life through what you think and what you eat can have a very positive effect on overall mood. (not to mention clearing the carb-fog from your brain)
when i first started this project on december 1, 2012 all i knew was that something had to change. that i needed to reclaim my life...and now just 8 weeks lateri can feel that change! (i hope you can too!)
