Journal Speak

Teachers arrive when they are needed & often dressed in surprising ways. I was new to Automatic Journaling & so when I took pen to paper to help manage my compulsive & emotional eating issues, I honestly thought this would be like other journaling I'd done in the past. I'd write about what my day was like, what emotions hung around, what I ate, etc. But I was soon to find out that in Automatic Journaling, not only do the journal & the pen have lives of their own, but the images that visited the pages would also be participating. These would include my past Selves, my emotions, as well as my behaviors & experiences. Everything had a life & had something to say & all would be TEACHERS in new coats. While I was certainly going to be an active participant, I was also being invited to be a special kind of observer of my deepest Self.

Quite honestly, before this adventure into recovery, I never thought much about mySelf, except for the most mundane things. I simply got up each morning & did my best to get through my day. I certainly had goals, but now I was coming to understand that what I had were not goals at all, but "ideas about goals," & I certainly had plenty of those, especially about my eating issues. As I review this in my mind, I realize that I was obsessive about wanting to lose weight & stop the emotional eating, but I also had a deep aversion to thinking about it. I could call this denial, but it had deeper roots that needed to be brought to the light & explored. A bit of history... I had been either dieting or placed on a diet from the time I was seven. I remember my Mother taking me to the local doctor, not because I was overweight, but because I simply ate too much. The local doctor obliged my Mother's concern by giving me three little match boxes, each one filled with a different color "amphetamine", to be taken before each meal, thus my introduction to "uppers." Many things changed for me that day, for I now considered myself fat & owning abnormal eating behaviors. Once again, I was seven.

When I began experiencing Automatic Journaling, I was very eager to meet up with my early Selves, especially those with serious disorderly eating injuries. That seven year old was one that I wanted to get to know, but there were many, many others. As I looked down my past path, my Journal told me that I could request all of these past Selves to step forward & since I was requesting this in "self-hypnosis", my subconscious mind would take care of the invitational list. i didn't have to personally remember each one & more importantly, I would just be an observer, not feeling their original pain. Once I decided to do this, I became somewhat excited, just as if I were putting together a real family reunion. I secretly wondered who would come & what memories they would bring with them. By this time I already knew how to work with my Therapeutic Self that included my inner Parent, Teacher & Healer/Physician. I knew how to disassociate from my co-dependent Self & to enter my Golden Egg. My unbalanced Self was now being very cooperative & even helpful. My addicted childSelf was out from behind her wall & asking to be helpful. Now, all I thought I needed was to meet up with the injured Selves from my past, have them change their emotional coats & heal them iin some way. I wasn't exactly sure how this would happen, but intuitively I knew that this would happen without my having to do anything.

I'd like to invite you into one of my early Journals where I did some of my original inner work, but first...

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.

JOURNAL SPEAK ENTRY 1991

Today I'm entering meditation & setting the stage for the family reunion of sorts. I'm asking those injured Selves to come forward & present themSelves on the page of my Journal. Automatic Journaling is an exercise in Self-hypnosis & so the images are also presenting themselves. A very colorful train has arrived, vividly painted & rather party-like. I'm a bit relieved to know the mood is a festive one. I can see & sense my visitors exiting the train & coming towards the meeting place which seems to be a huge piece of paper. I'm assuming this is a page from my Journal. Everyone seems excited to write something & so I'll just sit back & wait to receive the messages. The youngest children are being helped by my Therapeutic Self. I can feel the power of the Parent, Teacher & Healer. The children are relaxed as they communicate. I'm learning how sad & confused they were, truly not understanding why they were so criticized. They were afraid to question the authority figures. Those included my Mother & the doctor. They were also very embarrassed, feeling that their secrets were going to be exposed. I'm now remembering how many secrets there were & my Journal is suggesting that we'll all benefit from entering some of the secrets & cleaning them up. Yes, I would like to do this, but I'm now reminded that the children will have to give their permission. Of course...for these are their secrets.

I've asked two of my early children to come nearer to me. One is five years old & has bags of Halloween candy. She played hookey from school, so she could be first at all the houses. She also had a change of costume, so she could go back a second time. A very clever child, but one willing to be devious in order to get the candy. I'm thinking that she knows some secrets about why I'm so sugar-addicted & I truly want to bring this to the light, knowing it will help me in my current life. The other child is the seven year old. She had some major issues & had secretly stayed home from school, almost daily. I was a latch-key kid & so my Mother never knew about this. I believe this child has the clues to the start of my anxiety/panic disorder. This is so important to me & I want to encourage her to open up here.


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.

http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.bohorquez
http://www.twitter.com/elizRN

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers.com

Experiential Automatic Journaling

Automatic journaling is a very beneficial tool for recovery & self-growth. I utilize it with all of my patients, as well as for mySelf. I've been journaling in this way for several decades, always finding new ways to integrate it into my life. When I began journaling, it wasn't uncommon for me to sit in front of my notebook with a blank stare. This was a form of writer's block & one that made me very uncomfortable. How could I have nothing to say to mySelf? I soon came to understand that my mind was so disorganized in this area of my life that it literally locked-up. It was also clear to me that I was somewhat frightened of what would come off of my pen. To this day I only journal with pen & paper, not on the computer. The main reason for this is that it takes longer to write than to type, thus giving time for the subconscious mind to kick in. I've tried both ways & even though I prefer to type, the results are much better in long hand.

For those of you who are new to automatic journaling, here are a few things that I do & that you may find useful. I tend to choose the early morning for journaling, even if it means getting up a bit earlier. In a way, it's a form of early morning prayer...honoring yourSelf with a special meeting. I meditate for about five minutes. That seems sufficient for clearing the mind of early morning chatter. As I mentioned, when I started to journal, I didn't know what to write. Sometimes I wrote just that. "I don't know what to write." That was all it took for the subconscious mind to take over. "Why don't you know what to write?" And so, the conversation took off. There are times when I have something very specific to discuss with those Higher Parts of mySelf, perhaps things I don't understand, fear I may have, obstacles in my life, areas of my life that I know need some improvement, things I may want to attract, including better management of emotions, or clarifying my value system. In this type of journaling, just about anything is possible. I've had conversations with images or symbols in my dreams, wanting to know why they appeared & how I could benefit from their messages. I've even had conversations with my car engine & was surprised at the rather accurate suggestions. Now, I know this may sound a bit off base, but it isn't. If you have interest in this particular realm of communication, pick up any book by Jose Silva.

Today, I'm going to share some personal interactions I've had with my early Addictive Self. I've been in contact with that part of me for decades now & our relationship has been instrumental in keeping me at a high level of health & performance. But first...

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.

MY ADDICTIVE SELF - JOURNAL ENTRY 1991

I had been afraid of this part of mySelf for many decades. My childhood fear of this part of me was somethat different from my adult fear. When I was a child I was simply afraid of getting caught eating things that belonged to others. I remember calculating how many cookies I could eat without my mother noticing. I was about five years old at that time. I do remember the Addictive Self trying to goad me into eating beyond that amount, but my fear kept me in line. As I got older, the fear didn't work any longer because I was freer to get my substance of choice....food. Of course, this meant more hiding & secret behaviors, but in a way, I enjoyed them. This part of my behavior was exactly the opposite of how I appeared to others. The secrets in themselves were exciting & addictive.

Today I've decided to invite my Addictive Self to come out of hiding & meet me on my journal page. It's interesting that she has no fear of me & is already conversing through the end of my pen. I'm surprised at how friendly she is & eager to engage me. There is no mention of our secret life together. It's almost like we were very old friends & now have time to catch up. She's very interested in what I'm doing & why I'm doing it. This is good because it shows me that she is caring. I needed to know that. Part of me is expecting the manipulation, but I'm not seeing that yet. I'm going to try not to anticipate that behavior, because I know that I might just get what I don't want. I want to trust her & to have her follow me, instead of taking over my life. I tell her this & it seems to relax her. I'm coming to understand that she wants me to lead. I ask her about this & she tells me that she never wanted to harm me, but was helping me to relax in my very tense life. She's not apologetic & I'm ok with that. After all, she was trying to be helpful & having no leadership, she simply did her best.

I have a lot to share with her because of the seriousness of my addictions & how sick I've been, knocking on the door of adult onset diabetes. She doesn't seem interested in this & while I wish she was, I do understand that she is part of my "lower Self"....a childSelf. It would be like expecting my young daughter to understand the seriousness of a medical condition when all she wants to do is go out & play. However, I do want her to recognize some of the big issues that have become habitual for her, such as wanting to binge in the car on the way home from work & to wake up to eat in the middle of the night. Those are dangerous & unacceptable habits that will stop immediately. I tell her some of the other things that will also stop....carefully listing them, but presenting them in a quiet, assertive manner, that of a good leader. I also ask her to repeat these to me & show her mind images of healthy behaviors. She wants to know if she can help.....that's a good sign. All in all, it's been a good meeting today.

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.

http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.bohorquez
http://www.twitter.com/elizRN

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers.com

Meeting the Addictive Self

Automatic writing, in the form of a journal, gives you the opportunity to combine meditation & communication with your Higher Self, as well as other parts of your personality. You now know that even difficult or disorderly parts, given respect & acceptance, can be helpful....even creative in your recovery process. As you become more skilled at doing this, you will begin to find your self-growth journey exciting & fulfilling. You will experience the physiological & emotional balance you have painstakingly searched for over the years, perhaps angered, but later amused at where it was hiding. Your disorderly eating & addictive Selves, once deplored, now become catalysts for your own personal growth & self-development. What was once hidden, is now a part of your "self-Family", working along- side your Therapeutic, Parent, Healer, Teacher Selves, ready to climb the ladder to a higher level of health & performance.

I've already shared that my issues with food had taken me to a very frightening place. I was physically sick, later to find out that I was actually knocking on the door of adult onset diabetes, one of the killer diseases & related to several other killer diseases including those involving the heart & circulatory system, as well as a connection to certain cancers. This condition is called hyperinsulinemia or metabolic syndrome & is very prevalent in our society. Knowing this is certainly frightening, but feeling the symptoms is even more so. Some of these include feeling extreme fatigue, sleepy after meals, headaches, severe body tension, shaky, anxious, fearful, moody & cognitive decline. I was afraid to leave the house & often parked the car on the side of the road, waiting to feel safe enough to drive. I share this with you because, despite all of that, it's almost unbelievable that I would find it difficult to do what I needed to do to get better. This was because of the unbelievable strength & unrelentless behavior of my Addictive childSelf. I was soon to meet up with this part of my personality in my journals & I'm forever grateful to them for giving me a place & the opportunity to work directly with my healing, Higher Power Self on a daily basis.

And now, I'll invite you to visit inside some of the journal entries, especially those where I'm in direct contact with this most challenging part, but first...

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.

INSIDE THE JOURNAL

My addictive Self is very old in years, but very immature in knowledge & behavior. She's been around a long time, probably from the time I was three. I view "her" in my mind's eye as being about seven years old. She's extremely precocious, creative, funny, lovable, annoying & dangerous at the same time. Despite, or maybe because of the negatives, I actually like her. She makes me laugh & takes me to the "edge" of life, which I find exciting, just like any addict feels regarding the anticipation of getting the substance. She's actively into hiding, lying & other deceitful games which she delights in designing & then activating with powerful motivation. Surprisingly, she is super-disciplined & assertive, almost to the point of being agressive in her attacks on my psyche, never taking "no" for an answer. She will creatively circle any attempt to curtail her desires, feeling no remorse or contrition for what she was doing. My attempts to manage her have spanned decades. Sometimes, in the past, I felt like I had won, only to find myself facing an even more powerful version of herSelf. Yet, I continue to tolerate & even welcome her into my life.

As with any difficulty or difficult relationship, I know it is important to become a keen observer of behavior. I do that here in my journal. As I come to observe this part of me, I understand that I need to take an entirely different approach in our relationship. Arm wrestling and/or ignoring doesn't work. In fact, it does just the opposite. Here are some truths I've uncovered from my observations. Perhaps the first is the most important.

Throughout my life I thought I was addicted to cookies, cake, pretzels, soda & pizza, but now I know that they are only my surface addictions. My true addiction is to this part of my Self. She knows when to appear & knows what I need, or what I think I need. In a way, she's like a proper servant, even fooling me with that image, for she is not a servant at all, but a master. She is an engaging, buy sly controller of my destiny, not giving a care about my health or ability to function. She's possessive to a degree that I've never seen clearly, until I've looked in this way, through this journal. But, for some reason, I no longer have fear of her & that is a powerful shift from where I was. Instead, I can now feel pity for this unbalanced part of me. I'm wondering & very curious as to why she is the way she is, who & what brought her to this level of intensity in our relationship. I believe that by knowing these things, I will be able to heal her wounds & integrate her back into my balanced Self-family.

I call gently, welcoming her to converse openly with me here...I'm both excited & a bit nervous, but not frightened. My Higher Self is here by my side, the pages of my journal filled with light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.

http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.bohorquez
http://www.twitter.com/elizRN

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers.com

Inside the Journal

Being a therapist, I know the value of sharing insights & so, here are some entries from my own automatic writing journal. I've shared that my disorderly eating began at a very young age. In my book & also on my mp3 programs, I spend time getting at these very early subconscious mind files because editing them is very important. It doesn't matter that they happened it the past, they still need to be edited & in addition, can become very useful assets in the recovery process.

When you have eating issues, it takes a lot of courage to come out from behind the high wall you have built & to stop running away & hiding. There are many emotions that try to push you back. The journal is a good place to address them, because bringing them to the journal page is a first step in taking back control. In the beginning of my recovery the emotions that were paramount in pushing me back included embarrassment, shame, guilt, fear of failure, fear of criticism & fear of success. I've found it helpful to name emotions very specifically because it actually helps to disempower them. Most of us have never learned how to work with emotions. In fact, we don't like them & would prefer to lock them in the closet. Unfortunately they only become more powerful when locked away & so this is where becoming courageous comes into play. As for me, I found my courage living in the files of my own subconscious mind. As I learned to look at my early resources, I came to realize that I had overcome obstacles of all sizes & that I didn't just fall into "today" from the top of a tree. I was already a successful human being & this was just going to be another life experience for me to manage. A short, but powerful affirmation that I use is simply, "I CAN."

And now, I'll walk you through some of my early inner journal work, but first...

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.

INSIDE THE JOURNAL

" I've become physically sick from the way I've been eating & this didn't start yesterday. Perhaps, if it had, it would be easier to let go of these dangerous habits. Funny, I never called them that before & it frightens me to think of them in that way. Why is that? I think it's because I consider myself an intelligent person & health professional. How could I have been so blind & for so long? Despite realizing that I'm killing myself, there is a part of me that still wants to do it. Some of the reasons for not wanting to stop seem simple, but perhaps they are not as they seem. Yes, it is going to be embarrassing to own up & to stand willingly in front of the dart board. I know my critics are waiting, even those that love me & those darts are going to be the most painful. I also have the fear that no one will believe the intensity of my illness from all of this, perhaps thinking that I'm blowing this out of proportion. After all, I'm the one who has done the research & most people I know don't know anything about hyperinsulinemia or pre-diabetes. I despise conflict & arguing my point, especially about mySelf. That's a remnant of the past when I was never allowed to speak up, a time when I was not respected as a human being. But, that is the past & while it would be helpful if others understood the seriousness of my dilemma, I do understand that I'm in this alone & perhaps that is the way it should be. After all, I need to become much more self-responsible.

Here's another big issue for me. Stepping out also means leaving a familiar part of mySelf behind. To me, I feel this as a form of self-abandonment. The part of me that ate secretly & binged was a best friend, keeping me company during some of my darkest hours. How can I abandon someone like that, even when I know that this part of me is causing me great harm, even threatening my life? This is a good example of my low self-image & esteem. Here I am still defending my silent killer, killing with donuts, chips & cookies, but killing never the less.

I've come to understand from my journaling conversations with my addictive Self, that our relationship is purely co-dependent. Like any other unhealthy relationship, it needs to change. I'm coming to understand that I truly don't need to abandon any part of myself, but instead, I can bring it forward to the light, where it can heal & in so doing, will reveal it's "inner secrets" or gifts. I've decided to use this very journal as the vehicle for doing just this & while it may take time, each step I take is one towards health & wholeness of my being. For this I remain grateful."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers.com

Gifts from the Source

Living with disorderly eating or addiction is like existing in a dark room, waking each day to the same problems that seem never ending. If you are anything like me, you have tried hundreds of times to get the issues under control, only to find failure lurking around every corner. My disorderly eating & sugar addiction began when I was three years old. By the time I was six, I was adept at hiding food, especially sugar. I remember eating continuously & became the butt of family jokes & then discipline. I remember being embarrassed, ashamed & humiliated. I was even made to feel guilty for taking more than my share. However, none of this stopped me. It simply intensified my desire to eat more & hide more. Luckily I was a very athletic child & never gained much weight, but as I entered adolescence & adulthood, the binges became more intense, the secrets intensified & my weight yo-yo'd.

Underneath all of this, my self-image shattered & my self-value or esteem was practically non-existent. People said hurtful things, but none as damaging as the things I said to mySelf. I had lost my self-respect. No one, not even those closest to me, had any idea of my secret eating life & no one was able to see behind the huge, false-image facade I had built to protect my truths. Even I was afraid to look at who I had become, for it simply seemed too much for me to manage. It wasn't that I didn't try, because I did...over & over again. In fact, I remember feeling ashamed when I would make some efforts in this regard. No one took me seriously & looking back, I think this was one of the most hurtful things of all because I felt very isolated. After I found my own path to recovery, this was the kind of pain that I was to see repeatedly in my clinical practice & of course, I could more than empathize with it.

Despite being an RN & Clinical Medical Hypnotherapist, my recovery didn't "just happen." Eating disorders are complicated issues, having many facets. In the beginning, I believed like most people believe, it's a matter of staying on a diet & exercising. Being a very disciplined person, I did all that, but could never do it long enough to sustain what I was told was a healthy weight for me. All of these failures piled up, eating away at my self-image & esteem. I felt grossly inadequate, despite being very successful in my work. Ten years past....& then another ten. Each morning I woke up in the same place with the same thoughts & the same hauntings.

One day I woke up & things were not the same as they had been. On this very special day I was given a gift of very specific information that would open the mystery to my eating issues. I remember hearing the message, "pass it forward." That day I dedicated mySelf to doing just that & this book is a part of that dedication. These are the gifts from my Source....to yours.

But first....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.

THE PATH TO RECOVERY

The path to recovery is graced by being in direct communication with one's Higher Self. In past chapters I've touched on the need to be free of co-dependent relationships & to be self-responsible. I've mentioned many times that you are the writer, director & producer of your own life. You have a Therapeutic Self comprised of your Parent, Teacher & Physician Self. These are the elevated parts of your personality. Your lower-Self is comprised of your child, student & patient. These are the needy parts. And then, there is your Higher Self, as depicted by the "light." This is your Power Source, where you go to replenish energy & to build your self-image & esteem. As you can realize, this is a very self-sustaining organized unit, one of healing, leading to recovery.

We communicate with our Source in meditation, both formal & informal or in the moment. The Source is always available & ready to communicate. It is here that we receive guidance while building the self-image & esteem. There are certain things we know for sure & one of those things is that we are unique individuals. There will never be another person like you ever again. You are entitled to many things, simply because you are you. These include, but are not limited to respect, love, compassion, forgiveness & prosperity of many kinds. Your Higher Self or Source is there to guide you through your life journey. It helps to make up an image for this incredible relationship. I sense my Higher Self as a benevolent Parent, always ready to show me the way.

As we sit in meditation or awareness of our Source, we also bring issues to work on. These could include a need to build confidence, to become better at self-discipline, need for specialized knowledge, need for self-respect, gratitude & forgiveness to name a few. We also take this time to honor ourSelf & our achievements, for we all have many. Most of the time in life we wait for others to do this for us, but we do not need to wait. While it's nice to hear these things from others, you are no longer needy. You are no longer a victim. You take care of You. From now on forward, you are responsible for taking care of yourSelf, just as you would care for a child of yours & this how your Source cares for you, for you are the child of your Higher Self or Source. You are valuable. This is how self-image & esteem grows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers.com