Day 190

Thoughts: Nourish yourself into ACTION
"I am very excited to be writing this particular post as it was a request from my beautiful friend Liana. She wanted to provide something for the Earth Dieters out there, as well as anyone looking to loose some weight and gain some energy."
This is Leanne Bridges, she is the creator of 'Curiosity Killed the Narcissist'. You can read more from her online from the information below. 
"I think the first thing to consider when loosing weight is your relationship to it. In my previous blog, I covered the REBT model (I included examples of the method covering a relationship with food) which looks at the interaction between thought, feeling and action in some detail and I believe that this is critical to achieving a positive outcome for yourself. A good way to discover your relationship to loosing weight is to do the exercise below that I use when things are not going the way I know I want deep down, when my thoughts and actions do not align (use this exercise in any aspect of your life you want some progress on). Become you own internal Sherlock Holmes and investigate what is going on in your mind that stops your actions mirroring your thoughts.

1.Find a quiet space where you will be left alone and undisturbed. Remember that it is important for you to take time for YOU.
2.Secondly, take some deep breaths and relax you body and mind, this will help you to get an accurate 'reading' of yourself.
3.In the language you use when thinking about the topic, write your statement on a piece of paper. For this example, I will start with:
"I want to loose weight"
4.Now you need to pay very close attention to what thoughts and feelings arise. You can note these down. Below is what I came up with when saying: "I want to loose weight"

I am not slim enoughI should be skinnierI would look betterI am so lazy to get like thisI could feel more confidentI would feel more attractiveMy partner would be more attracted to meI would not feel threatened around people who take care of themselvesI would feel more desirableI am not ok how I am, I need to be skinnierI should look better and be fitter, I am only young.
What do you see in the list above? When you read it, do you feel inspired, or beaten down? Are the comments positive or negative? Do they promote growth and change?
To me personally, the list above is horrible. For me, when I read it, there is no mystery to why I would not be loosing any weight saying "I want to loose weight" when those are the thoughts that come to mind. Your personal context is very important for you to recognize in the list. Some people may be inspired by 'I want to loose weight". It is not the words you use as much as it is the thoughts and feelings that those words conjure up for you. Like a road map with many linking back streets and motorways, your mind is a vast map of linguistic connections and you need to become aware of your own map and know it well. See the connections that you have carved, that are not factual, but are very real to your mind and body.
With a context that is solely negative, to try to loose weight would be like going into battle without my arms or legs and expecting to win. My left leg was taken by self-loathing, the right one by self sabotage, the arms hopelessness and defeat....all before I even got got to the battle ground.
Once you have seen your context clearly, you have come back into your power. You have seen the enemy, reclaimed your limbs and are ready to fight the winning fight.
So again, I would go through the same exercise but change the wording. For the second example, I will say:
"I want to become healthy"
Paying close attention to what thoughts and feelings come to mind and noting them down
Picture hiking up steep mountains easilyBusting with energyJumping around full of excitementRunning early in the morning in the warm sunEating fresh, tasty, healthy foodBeing activeFalling asleep weary after a full on dayTaking up physical challengesTaking on mental challenges with gustoLots of smiling
So what feelings do you get from the list above? Can you notice a huge difference in the feelings it conjures up?
The list above will almost certainly be very different for you to read. But aside from the feelings, there is a HUGE difference. Read both lists over again quickly.
Do you notice how the first list is driven by past hurt? Almost like it is based on past failures, what I cannot be because I am not currently, what I should be (I don't know about you but there is immediate resistance whenever a 'should' is thrown in for me), but am not. It is like an immovable boulder. There is nothing there for me except what I should be, but am not. The whole context is FAILURE!
The second list however is inspirational for me. It is not about looking good, it is not about being desirable, when I say to myself "I want to be healthy" I LIVE experiences in my mind. I SEE the outcome, I SEE what is available. I get excited about what 'HEALTHY" can be for me. I get a positive emotive response. Emotions rule our minds, so if you don't have the emotions on your side, you are not going to get far.
If you get bogged down in "I have tried so many times and failed" etc. you have not allowed your past to be your past. No moment will ever be the same. EVER. Cut your ties to the past that don't inspire you (keep the ones that do) and move forward with excitement.
You have more power that you can possibly imagine and when you start to work with emotional self, physical self, mental self and soul self, you will see that you can do anything you want, easily and enjoyably. It is a process, life is a process. Mistakes and slip-ups are wonderful tools provided you don't use them against yourself (no lesson can be learned as long as you hold onto guilt), but use them for yourself. They grow us and nourish us and develop us and that is what life is about. Learning, and learning and learning some more. Improving and improving and improving some more, for no other reason than it is FUN!
I hope that this has helped you to see that you can achieve ANYTHING when you have agreement between thoughts, feelings, emotions and finally your actions. Take time to get familiar with your road maps, know all of the short-cuts and back-up routes in case of traffic jams. 
To read more from Leanne visit www.curiositykilledthenarcisist.blogspot.com


Challenges: My own internal dialogue. 
Triumphs: There is only now. And now. And now. 
What I Ate Today:
Breakfast: Water with lemon juice squeezed in it. A beet, carrot, celery, ginger juice. 2 mouthfuls of my husbands oats with peanut butter (He is peanut butter everything!). A big delicious juicy sweet pink grapefruit. 
Lunch: Avocado and balls of chocolate! 
Dinner: Last night's spicy basil tomato and eggplant. 
We had visitors so the fruit behaved accordingly. 
Dessert: Cookies! Mmm beautiful soft, crumbly, chocolate peanut butter cookies! Ingredients: Oats, nut meal (I blended some peanuts), buckwheat, agave syrup, cocao powder, water, peanut butter (pure crushed peanuts at an organic store). Mmm they melt in your mouth which means they melt in your hand too, so put a hand underneath to catch the crumblies and eat them up too! 
Snacks: Balls of chocolate with peanut butter and strawberries! And black berries!
Recipe: Recipe for my balls of chocolate will be in the earth diet book being released soon! 
Exercise: I exercised my gardening skills, my arms and core strength by using the axe to chop the dead tree in my garden. We have a killer vine taking over the place, it already forced a HUGE pine to tumble, and now it is latching onto the next and spreading the opposite way to another big beautiful tree. It is taking over, and climbing over the fence to our trees. Aah! I also went for a beautiful run in the sunshine, and did some jumps up in the air, some squats and sit ups to tighten and strengthen my core. After a steaming bath I stretched and did some yoga poses. Mmm it feels so great to open and stretch my muscles.