187.6 Asking and Receiving

In yesterday's post I mentioned using my inner spirit to help me continue this weight loss adventure. Part of this adventure and working with Jennifer Scott has been the emergence of this inner spirit within me. You can call this power whatever you are most comfortable naming it. To some it is inner voice, inner knowing, inner spirit, God, Guides ~ you can call it what you will.

Until recently I thought prayer was a one way street. By that I mean that I would bow my head and ask God for help, direction, or a blessing on me and others. It was a one way conversation in which I did all the talking. (For those who know me, this is not a surprise :)!) This is the kind of prayer that I was taught in church and I don't ever remember being told that God would talk back to me if I gave Him/Her a chance to get a word in edgewise.

Learning to use the inner voice, or my Guides as I call this phenomenon, is all about listening once the request for particular guidance has been made. And, it also involves suspending the ego so that the honesty can flow without being inhibited by the ego, dictating what we want to hear.

So how do I do this? I start with a prayer that goes like this: "Dear Guides, I come to you foregoing all ego considerations, all doubts, fears, worries and judgments so that I can receive your divine inspiration clearly and forcefully. Can you help me.............? I am open to receive." Then I take a deep breath, hold it for about 5 seconds, exhale and the message begins to flow within me. I like to do this at the computer and simply start typing what I receive without judgment or thought while writing. I know when the message has been completed because I hear the words, "We rest."

So why am I writing about this in this blog? Because I have been using Guidance to help me all during this process to help me with a wide range of issues in my life as well as weight loss.

I know this is getting really long, but I wanted to share with you what my Guides told me after I asked for help in accepting my imperfect legs and ankles:

"Your imperfections as you call them are important only to you. You wear your ego as an accessory and are so alert to real or imagined criticism or disapproval that it is constantly getting hurt. You are not your legs or your ankles or your feet. You are much more and much less. Your essence is like a light gleaming for all to see and that is the most important part of you. It has no shape, no size, nothing tangible about it. It is what it is and what you allow it to be. Understand that your discomfort with this physical aspect of yourself takes away from your spiritual being and lessens who you are. We understand that you have focused on this for much of your life and felt that it has held you back from being that other you would have wanted to be. Don't give this physical trait power. Get over it and get on with just being who you are. Getting slimmer will help to a small degree but will not really change how your legs and ankles look. The shift needs to happen in your mind, that you are okay no matter what your legs look like. You are not your legs and you never have been and you never will be. Move on and you will be happier and at peace with yourself. Achieving peace within and about who you are is key to living an authentic life and isn't that what you really want? We rest."

And, I feel that shift taking place as I am wearing shorts today and have let go of my concerns. Phew!

208.8 A Changed Mind

I have talked a little about hypnosis as a part of this weight loss experience.  The first time I was hypnotized I was a senior in high school and  my cousin Marcia, who had learned to use hypnosis as a tool to study for her PHD thesis orals, hypnotized me.  I had an English paper to write and through hypnosis she gave me enthusiasm for the subject and confidence that I could write this paper.  She also said that I would really enjoy writing the paper.  I remember that I did experience all of those things as I wrote that paper.  When the teacher returned it to me she had graded it with a big red letter A and then wrote "What happened?"  What happened was that I had been empowered by hypnosis!

In the most recent hypnosis CD that Jennifer made for me she says, "You have changed your mind".  This does not refer to dithering, something I have been known to excel in according to my husband.  It has to do with a real shift in how I think about myself since starting this weight loss program.  And this shift, this change in how I view myself is one of the best outcomes as a result of losing the weight.

How has my mind been changed?  I no longer think of myself as someone who is disabled.  I no longer think of myself as someone who is just too old to try something new.  And, I no longer think of myself as fat!  How's that?  Oh yes, I still have a lot of weight to lose and I am very aware of that, but instead of feeling fat and unattractive, I feel thinner, happier,  and confident that I will lose the remaining pounds to reach my goal.

Once again, I was empowered by hypnosis!  Having a changed mind is even better than getting an A on an important assignment.