Sticky Fingers

I had started again so many times that a "fresh start" didn't feel very fresh at all. I noticed how frightened I was, even more so because of my solid commitment. As I relaxed into my fear, I heard the internal voice of my Therapeutic Self & who made it clear that just because I had "new shoes" didn't mean that I was going to do all of this perfectly. In the past when I tripped up, my immature addictive childSelf was waiting for me with my "old shoes." But, this was no longer possible, because there were no more "old shoes" , but my Higher Therapeutic Self would always by my side, just as it was in this moment of uncertainty. With each step I would be experiencing new ways to traverse my Life path.

Yes, I would have to learn to walk through old dark areas & triggers &....I would have to be willing to wash off my "sticky fingers." The art of "being willing" would be Key for me, for in the past my immature childSelf would never have agreed to any of this & there was a part of me that was still internally engaged with that part of me. But, the disengaging of the immature Self would become a very powerful growth tool & one that would take me to high levels of health & performance in other areas of my Life. I was learning that power gained on the Life path was transferrable to other areas, even areas that weren't formed as yet. These were some of the gifts of the "new shoes" & they would be powered by my new-found willingness.

I stepped out on the Life path with my new shoes. Looking to the right & left were invitations to stop & experience. Some areas had signs that sported affirmations, not just words but images inviting me to enter & feel the affirmation in a deeper part of me. "I'm having a fresh start" spoke to me. I climbed the few steps & went inside the affirmation. I was immediately caught up in the feelings of freedom & joy. In the past, fresh starts had made me somewhat uncomfortable, but these old feelings were not present here. I was welcomed by images of nature & those representing my Higher Self, all congratulating me on being here & chatting of the exciting experiences that were ahead of me. I was also introduced to some of my "future Selves" who were delighted with getting this show on the road....once & for all time. This was the last time I was going to start from the beginning, for now, I had the right information, the best motivation & a true connection to my Higher Self & it's companions.

The path was very organized. Disciplines, motivations, inner mirrors & other gifts lined the way & 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.

STICKY FINGERS & SPECIAL HAND WASHING PROCEDURES

While the Recovery Life path is beautiful & filled with learnings & motivational gifts, there are also tripping stones or triggers. With each day I notice mySelf becoming stronger, but what's interesting is that I still have an attraction to some of my old triggers. My HigherTherapeutic Self tells me that my encounters with these will make me much stronger than before & not to be afraid of this "attraction" which is not an attraction at all, but just my addictive childSelf having a little tantrum as it becomes weaker & weaker. It helps me to think in this way. My Higher Self suggests that when I notice this, that I take the childSelf to the little golden sinks that are located along the path & to wash her sticky fingers of the old trigger residue. This is a self-hypnotic suggestion, telling the subconscious mind that triggers can be removed with this small, but powerful image. The fear emotions that are intertwined with triggers are easily dismantled in this way, allowing the Self to become more confident in the moment. Fear mounts when it appears there is no control, but now the mind & body has control, delivered by the hand washing image.

I have many triggers & each time I take my addictive childSelf to the golden sink, the individual triggers weaken. I find mySelf washing her hands in advance of entering some of my trigger-centers that include the supermarket, passing the pizza place & dessert time at meetings I need to attend. Pre-washing has become a powerful tool for me & I'm learning to apply it in other non-food areas of my life as well, for example when socializing with people who are difficult for me to be around.

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

Stepping into the "Now"

"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.

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

New Shoes & the Ouch Factor

Perhaps the most difficult part of Recovery, at least for me, was the movement from my old patterns into the new ones.I like the image of getting bold enough to stick my toe in the bathwater & then over-reacting to the temperature...ouch...far too hot. I'll have to wait for it to cool down. Of course, the toe belonged to my addictive childSelf & the water would have been just fine, if my Mature Self was in charge. Even IF it were a bit too hot, my Mature Self would have been willing to "adjust." But, adjusting is not in the vocabulary of the Immature addictive childSelf, unless the adjusting is about adjusting to another level of addiction.

The Immature addictive childSelf either lives in the addiction or disorderly behavior OR in the flux of procrastination. "Should I or shouldn't I" is the mantra of procrastination & each time the mantra is repeated, the childSelf "spins", going deeper & deeper into the procrastination hole, each spin making it more difficult to climb out. For me, my procrastination hole was so big that I needed a very tall ladder & a dose of pure motivation from my inner power Sources to boost mySelf up & then to climb the rungs. Movement, be it inner or outer, is Key to Recovery. Moving into the bath or out of the procrastination hole is very significant. When working hypnotically, this movement can be "tagged" with a powerful, positive emotional current, making it even more powerful each time the image is brought forward...which it will be, for make no mistake, jumping back into the hole or back into the bath will happen. The biggest mistake many people make is to believe that once they have "moved forward", there will be no moving back. Wrong. The second biggest mistake is misinterpreting the moving backward as "failure." Wrong again. These movements are simply a part of Recovery & a significant part of building Resilience & growing into a solid Mature Self.

Once out of the bath OR out of the procrastination hole, the "new shoes" await. Most of us are very familiar with the odessey of "new shoes." They look so comfortable on the shelf & when we put them on in the shoe store they look & feel good, but for some reason we don't want to give our old shoes to the salesman for disposal, for life has taught us that the relationship we will be having with our new shoes, is not as it seems. They will turn on us, delivering pain & probably some calluses. We'll have trouble walking & will hunt out our old shoes with that special love & devotion we have for such things. But, a little voice in the background urges us to keep wearing the new shoes & to break them in.

New shoes on, I was now on a very different path to Recovery. Yes, I was to experience aching feet & a few sore toes, but as I progressed with each step, I came to understand WHY the shoes were uncomfortable & WHY the actual discomfort was so important to my long-term health. I'll share some of this with you, 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.

WHY NEW SHOES HURT & WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM

Over the years, actually decades, I had many many attempts at Recovery, but never was able to stay on the path. One of the reasons was that I didn't understand the ritual of falling, getting up & moving on. I would fall & be picked up by my addictive childSelf who would put my "old shoes" back on my feet, as if I were a child myself, which of course, in that moment I was. One day, I was offered a very special pair of new shoes & although I was "so ready", the childSelf was not ready at all. In fact, she hated the shoes right from the get-go. These shoes were different & came with a new set of rules & regulations, which of course, turned the addictive childSelf off immediately. These new shoes came from the Therapeutic or Mature Self & were putting her on notice that she was not going to be in charge any longer. I remember laughing inwardly at this image, but at the same time, feeling frightened of accepting them. Soon, I came to understand that apprehension was natural & would soon disappear. I also came to understand that even if I tripped or if my feet hurt, this was part of the healing & would benefit me forever...rather like putting gold coins in my new bank account. Yes, I liked that.

Next, I was told to discard the old shoes. This caused a shift similar to stepping into the bathwater, but for some reason, it was somewhat easier. I imagined myself throwing the shoes away in the bottomless garbage can, one that doesn't allow retrieval. This is similar to stopping smoking cold-turkey. I was now free to change, to learn & to Recover. The rules of the shoes were already clear & as I was ready. In the next chapter I'll invite you to step into my new shoes & follow me through some of my adventures.

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