183.4 More About Voices

Ever since I posted yesterday's note about my use of hypnosis to get rid of those unwelcome, detrimental voices from the past, I've been thinking about ways to do it without hypnosis. And, I've come up with one idea that I think will work for those of you who want to tackle this.

My sister Priscilla wrote that she has started to write down the negative voices/messages from her past that she hears and confronts them rather than trying to ignore them. My suggestion takes it one step further and that involves taking a negative message and changing it so that it becomes positive. For example, if the message about not wasting food plagues you and you want to feel free to eat less than your serving, tell yourself that you can eat only what you want and that you will send a donation to a charity that supports child hunger programs (and do it) if that will make you feel better about not cleaning your plate. If you hear a voice telling you that you are so overweight it doesn't matter what you eat (one of the near and not so dear voices from my past) you can change that to I want to lose weight so every bite of food I put in my mouth matters, and I can control it.

I hope this is helpful and makes sense. There are lots of ways to make changes so that you will get to where we want to be. You may have better ideas of how to take charge of the negative and make it positive. Go for it, and let me know what you find is helpful.

187.4 Food For Thought!

I am staying positive because yesterday, when I didn't write a post, I weighed in at a very pleasing 186.6. And, this morning when I met my friend to take our walk, the first thing she said was how great I looked, and I was wearing shorts! She doesn't read the blog and didn't know of my former discomfort about my legs, etc., so I was very happy. And, I just said thanks instead of going into a long harangue about how uncomfortable I was , blah, blah, blah! There is a new lightness about me now that I "Let It Go!" And, I have truly integrated the knowledge that nobody really cares about all the stuff I carry around about me half as much as I do. Now there's a big admission!

So today I want to mention a book that I have just started working with. My daughter, Alee, suggested that I take a look at it and I am really interested in all it has to say. It is titled Women, Food, and God, and is written by Geneen Roth. She's been writing on women's issues since the mid 80's, in case her name is familiar to some of you. I'd love to hear from you once you have taken a look at it. It has certainly engaged my mind and I think it contains a lot of food for thought! (Yes, I know I did that!)

Hope you've been enjoying this long weekend.

188.2 Let It Go!

I was driving home today after a session with Jennifer in which we talked a lot about my need to let go of the past ~ all the stuff that we all carry around dealing with expectations (or lack of), real and imagined hurts, self image issues, etc..

So I am suddenly aware of the license plate on the back of the car in front of me that reads, "LET IT GO"! Why is it so hard to let things go that cause us pain and regret to remember? It's familiar, it can act as an excuse for our current behavior, and it seduces us with its power. The license plate has it right! I need to LET IT GO!