We're in the process of "mind painting" in the food-related StoryBook utilizing the "paint jar of time". If you haven't read the first blog on making peace with time, I suggest you do that first. If you have, then you already know that our perception of "time" can either make or break our level of success, even our health & so the paint that we apply to our mind-images need to be properly "time-mood adjusted." It's important to remember that the subconscious mind does not differentiate between reality or thoughts. Everything is real & therefore will alter the body/mind physiology. If you are feeling time pressure or just think you are or are future-pacing it, the body/mind will be responding in the exact moment.
There are many areas in the StoryBook of food management that regularly entertain time-pressure. Some include planning, shopping, food preparation & the actual cooking, even eating of a meal or set of meals. When time-pressure is present, it's common to find tension, as well as procrastination or blocking. The blocking may be very emotionally-charged, sometimes with arrows flying in all directions. Often, the real culprit isn't even identified as the emotionally-charged arrows carry different blame labels.
Let's paint a StoryBoard representing this common dilemma. Emma, one of my patients, is very emotionally challenged in the time area of life balance. She knows that the reason she is over-weight is because of her poor food choices, but she continually makes excuses about not having sufficient time to plan, shop & prepare. One night she grabs some fast-food on her way home from work, subconsciously hating herSelf for her perceived inadequate abilities. Her family sits down to dinner & the complaints begin to fly about what's being served. Emma gets her arrows & shoots them at each family member, blaming them for all sorts of things that have nothing whatsoever to do with what's really the issue here. She screams out about not having time, thereby engraving this belief in her own mind bank. Everyone leaves the table mending their hurts & Emma slips back into reinforcing her inability to have a healthy relationship with "time."'
Emma has a lifetime of complaints regarding time. She's never had "enough" & in her mind, that is why she is obese. Time is her enemy & so that must change. This relationship work begins with learning to identify her vocalization & thoughts related to her negative relationship, relaxing deeply to open them "in the moment." Opening is necessary in order to release & then program for change. In other words, Emma must first see the issue, then be willing to open it so it can be changed. In the example above, once the time issue is opened, she can choose to either slow down certain aspects, or even speed them up. I suggested that she do both "in concert", first slowing & then quickening. I want her to be able to view the entire StoryBoard in slow motion. Seeing the activities she needs to accomplish with an image of a clock up on the wall, indicating the exact amount of time needed, will allow her to let go of her old automatic mind stories & see the truth. From this position, her mind will also show her some shortcuts that she already knows, but wasn't willing to accept BECAUSE she wanted to stay in her "victim" position. Remember the arrows? Blaming time allowed Emma to attack other issues that have been buried, perhaps for a very long time. It's important for her to see this truth & also to know that these are areas she needs to address in new ways.
Now Emma is ready to quicken some aspects of her activities. Remember, the subconscious mind does not know the difference between what's truly happening in the moment & a thought. Emma will see & interact with images of herSelf shopping very quickly, emotionally experiencing in the theater of her mind how efficient & effective she is as she whips through the aisles, creative ideas lightening her way. She then moves to another image, perhaps one where she is preparing the food for her family, enjoying these moments of focused relaxation, even including something special to meet her own needs. In the past, Emma believed that she had NO TIME to take care of herSelf, but now she can not only see, but feel intuitively that she has more than enough time & can even enjoy doing this. She senses her love & respect for herSelf. This StoryBoard image was both slowed & quickened, allowing Emma to taste the joy & creativity of her cooking, as well as move it along. In the past, there was a dragging quality to cooking & preparing, but all of that is over.
We'll work more with Time, but before we get further into the paint, I'd like to welcome new readers..
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?" This book is not published as yet, but you have the opportunity to read it in it's unpublished state. 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.
"TIME" IN A PAINT JAR
Obviously we can't pay attention to all of our thoughts, but if you ask your subconscious mind to cue or notify you when you are in an automatic pilot state of time-stress, it will do that. You may be surprised at how many times you are cued in this regard. Most of us have no idea as to what we are playing on automatic pilot & time issues are so major, that just waking up for these will give you a good opportunity to change many other aspects that aren't working in your life, because all are connected. Some emotional elements you might find attached include anger, guilt, shame, indecision, impatience, intolerance, anxiety, panic, fears of all sorts & poor self-image/esteem. Remember, your subconscious mind takes these thoughts as "truth" & so you do want to open them with deep relax when they are presented to you, then replacing them with positive, healthy images.
We'll paint some of those in the next blog.
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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