"This I know for sure...my new shoes will take me to new places, but I also know that they are currently very uncomfortable & my old shoes are nowhere in sight, so I guess I'll have to deal with it."
These are some thoughts I had several decades ago when I truly committed to change my lifestyle behaviors. The commitment was solidified when I gave up my "old shoes." I was also to find out that the phrase "lifestyle behaviors" was more than I thought. How easy those words fell off of my tongue, but walking the path in new shoes was certainly proving to be an uncharted adventure for me. My life would never be the same again, for I was about to meet parts of mySelf that had been hidden for a very long time, some since early childhood. Emotions that I preferred not to experience were insisting to be heard, as a new "me" began to form. What I thought was all about food, was turning out to be less about my eating & more about my immature Self that wanted to be in charge of anything & everything.
Working inside "interactive self-hypnotic imagery" or imaginology was very helpful to me because it gave me a discipline of deep relaxation, as well as a place to "go." In my "old shoes" I tended to stay in the problem, enhancing body tension & a state of mind confusion. My emotions were highly negative, especially the ones involved with past failures, fears of the known & unknown & underlining hopelessness & helplessness. But, that was the past & now I had "new shoes" & a "new path", one with knowledge, guidance, organized discipline & much more. Here I could practice new ways of doing things, manage my thoughts & emotions, choose what I wanted for me & even design my future. Here I could let go of things I didn't want without any repercussions or feelings of guilt or shame. I sensed the freedom of being my authentic Self. As I stepped forward onto the path, I looked down to view my "new shoes" & noticed my healthy reflection smiling back at me. I felt like I was home; not my old home, but a home that transcended that image. This was somewhere totally different, but a place that I seemed to remember from long, long ago.
Here I was not alone, but accompanied by my Higher or Therapeutic Self who formed my Parent/Teacher/Physician Self. The path was very organized & I invite you to walk along with me, but before that...
A NOTE TO NEW READERS:
This experiential blog/workshop is based on my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?" If you are new to my writing, you might want to read the earlier mini-chapters. They are available on FaceBook, The PublishersMarketPlace & at the following link. Remember to scan down to find the earliest chapters & work your way up. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/
A bit of background.... we are working with creative Interactive Self-Hypnosis imagery, planting suggestions directly into the creative subconscious mind as you read along. What appears like a story is a series of self-hypnotic sessions, designed to bring about desired lifestyle changes. The inner mind is creative & rather child-like, loving to play with images, especially when they are emotionalized. Just like the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words", well-planted mind images, can be worth hours of therapy. We can actually change or motivate in 1/200th of a second. So come along & look forward to some lifestyle-changing events.
STEPPING INTO THE NOW - KNOWLEDGE, CLARITY & VISION
It was made clear to me that we all must start from where we are in the moment. That didn't mean that we hang out in that "moment", for that moment is already in the past, but we start in the now & each step is another step into "the now." This is what it means to "live in the moment.' With each step a higher level of clarity emerges. Besides being in the "now", we also need specific Knowledge & disciplines to employ that Knowledge. This is important in all areas of Life, but especially so in the nutrition or eating departments. Make no mistake, everyone needs Knowledge in regard to nutrition. The body is a group of intricate systems that need to be maintained with high level nutrition, deep relaxation & positive imagery. My "new shoes" were going to walk me to each specific area where I would experience Knowledge, clarity of vision, high level motivation & Keys for self-management. This was certainly very different than how I lived my life in the past, where I was blown by the current wind that blew me without any charted course.
My "new shoes" entered the first area on the Path that was labeled High Level Nutrition. The area was filled with plants, each representing body systems or specific cells. I was shocked to see the state of affairs of some of my body systems. Because they were "out of view" inside my body, I never paid much attention to them unless they screamed out. Lately I'd been having lots of body screaming, but seeing the desperate state of the actual plants took my breath away. I thought mySelf a reasonable & responsible human being, but to be honest, I truly never paid all that much attention to my food choices. I ate what I liked, when I liked & if I felt like I was gaining weight, I'd diet & exercise heavily, never thinking further than the size of my jeans. My Higher Self was now by my side, along with my Teacher/Parent & Physician. "This is no time for wallowing, but a time of action." I was handed a set of directions or "disciplines." I started to cower at that "discipline word", but immediately bounced out of that mind state by the reflection of my "new shoes." I was beginning to get the idea.
The directions were quite lengthy & I wasn't surprised because obviously I needed lots of correction. In the past I balked at correction, but the relection from my shoes didn't allow for this. Instead I felt rather giddy & excited to get going. The plants were watching me & my sense of responsibility kicked in. Yes, I can do this. I was directed to the eating tables that were labeled "breakfast, lunch, snack & dinner". Then I was shown the huge buffet. I was told that each meal needed to contain protein, healthy fats, & a selection of balanced & unrefined carbohydrates. It was easy to understand the protein & the fats, but the carbohydrates were going to take some education. I looked around for my favorite foods, but they weren't there & I questioned that. Was I to be denied these FOREVER!!! My new shoes blinked at me." Relax...first things first. Your body parts need to return to healthy balance & then you will learn how to engage with unhealthy foods....either by being happy to discard them, or to find ways to entertain them on occasion."
Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be copied or reproduced without permission of the author.
Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It. She is also the writer/producer of over 350 mp3/CD programs in the areas of medicine, health, prevention, addictions, self-development & sports for adults & children.
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