Day 18 - Feed ME (your soul not your stomach)

So today I share with you some news, yesterday for the first time ever I had a burger - with no bun and no fries - is that possible?? It is with some skinny thinking and clever choices!

I ate a lovely gourmet burger with healthy toppings such as raw cucumber and pineapple and deliberately chopped it slowly so I could savour every bite, and I did enjoy it. My appetite hasnt been good since got sick but that is a good start with making a choice but trying to put a skinny thinking twist to it.

I also stepped on that scale and I am down 2lb which isnt a huge amount but I am happy with that but I am down an amazing 5 inches from my waist - now that is something I am very happy with, changing the size of me is far more important than numbers on a scale.

So as you can see I am trying to make some skinny thinking changes for real, I am indeed carrying the thought with me at all times, but hopefully over time my decisions will be subconscious rather than a compromise, I did not miss that bun or those fries yesterday so to me, that was a great WIN!

Have you done anything lately to make yourself feel empowered??

So onto todays lesson from Laura

DAY 18 - Feeding Your Soul Instead of Your Stomach (Five Minutes)

Just because feelings and thoughts enter our awareness, doesn't mean we have to act on them--we can just notice them. This is freedom. Being aware of thoughts and feelings, rather than identifying with them and acting on them, is a huge leap forward in making peace with eating, weight, and our bodies. Yet, if we're giving up our current egoic relationship with food, going to food for comfort to avoid experiencing uncomfortable feelings, we need a new relationship with something else to replace it. Where will we find comfort, pleasure, and relief? How do we do this? It's simple. We begin to feed our souls more by forming a relationship with something that's always available to us and infinitely more satisfying--our true self.

We're always being fed from our deepest self. Recognizing and acknowledging this helps us to heal and grow. When an unpleasant emotion arises, notice it, allow it to be, and then ask to receive insights and healing. Ultimately, freedom from any issues we have around food is about becoming more established in our true self. To do that, we need to be quiet, listen, and not be in a lifestyle that's so busy and stressful that we're constantly getting lost in thoughts, emotions, and doing.

If you're not physically hungry, but you feel the urge to experience some pleasure from food, and you don't want to follow that urge, you can move into the heart. Try the following exercise to move from your head to your heart:

Exercise:Imagine yourself moving from your head (the ego's world of thoughts, emotions, and cravings) into the space of the heart (the world of Essence). You are floating downward into a delicious, peaceful, joyous space of freedom: the velvety black cave of the heart. It is a restful place of ease, where nothing is required of you, a place free from the stresses and problems of daily life. Simply rest there for 5-10 minutes and recharge your batteries. Pick a certain time each day to devote to this practice.

I have also taken up reading and crocheting to stop me feeding my stomach