Yes, I ate a McDonald’s ice cream cone yesterday and I loved every minute of it. In fact my daughter didn’t want her’s so I had 2! You can call me a hypocrite, crazy, or say good for you! I don’t care. I need a balance between being healthy and enjoying life! When I became healthier and lost weight before I would still get treats, but always the best. I used to eat Pacuigo’s gelato once or twice a week! I had found a good balance that worked for me.
It’s this balance that I am struggling with now. I’m in a different state (TX vs. AZ), environment, around different people, the elements of my family have changed (a new baby), my body is different (another pregnancy and now nursing). Finding the right balance can be a bit tricky. It’s kind of touch and go until one day you realize things feel right. You feel great, look great, have a good rhythm to your day and your family is happier. This is what I am working on now. This is where my journey is at the moment. It’s kind of exciting actually. I get to write my life. I am the author with a pen in my hand (or a keyboard in front of me) getting to decide not only what is going to happen today, but also what the next chapter will hold for me.
I am ready Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace. Now that’s quite a bit to ingest at first. To tell you the truth it’s a pretty book. That may sound strange, but it really does feel good to have around.
Chapter one or the first secret is to "Have a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing". That is a big concept to grasp. To do this, you must let go of all conditioning, preconceived ideas and what you have learned to be true. This is so much more to this life, this world, than we know. What we know is nothing, but a tiny piece of a bigger picture. Anything is possible. Anything! If you realize that you know just about nothing about anything, then you will see that there is no reason to have a closed mind about anything.
Since anything is possible, and there is much to this universe we don’t know then you can create anything you want, right? Have you heard the quote, "With God all things are possible."? I love that Wayne Dyer used this in his book. It is so true. If you do not think that you can do anything your heart desires, then you do not believe that with God all things are possible. It’s that simple. Do you believe or don’t you? Break down those barriers and layers of crap and get to your core. Have the faith of child. Believe!
How can you be open to everything? Wayne Dyer makes a bold statement. When someone suggest something to you that goes against you conditioning, instead of saying, "That’s ridiculous or impossible", say, "I’ve never considered that before, I’ll think about it!" Try doing this for a week and see if it opens your mind. You might realize that you are more negative than you think of yourself to be.
Another statement to make you think is this. "Let go of your attachments to what you’ve been trained to believe. Open your mind to all possibilities, because whether you believe something is possible or impossible, either way you’ll be right."
He believes that your attachments are a source of all your problems. You can be attached to things, people, the need to be right, to win, etc. By being open minded you can resist these attachments and have inner peace and success.
So, how do you release attachments? Change how you see yourself. There are two sides to people. Their ego and their spirit. Taming your ego and letting your spirit shine through to guide your life is key. Be a witness in your life. Have peaceful thoughts and then you’ll have peaceful emotions. You can still desire, but don’t be attached.
One more thing from the book. Let’s say you have two wands. With Wand A you can have anything physical you desire and with Wand B you can have a sense of peace for the rest of your life regardless of anything that comes up in your life. If you pick peace then you already have Wand B. Think about it. If you can love someone enough for them to be what they choose to be without any expectations or attachments from you then you will have true peace in your life. "True love means you love a person for what they are , not for what you think they should be. This is an open mine—and an absence of attachment"
That is awesome! It is very inspiring. Thank you Dr. Wayne Dyer!
I’ll give an example of how I had to let go of a physical attachment just a few minutes ago. I received a birthday present from a good friend. Something I had wanted that was cute and just for me. It just arrived and I pulled it out of the package. I had used a pair of scissors to open the package. I walked away for a minute to grab something and my 4 year old daughter jumped up on the counter, grabbed the scissor and cut the beautiful ribbon that went across the present. The ribbon was not on the packaging, but was actually part of the object. My first reaction was to be upset. I wanted to feel sorry for myself because I had just received it and already it was "ruined"! I wanted my daughter to feel bad, to have remorse. Then I stopped myself. It is a thing, an object. Does it really matter? Why am I attached to the point of being upset over it? So, I grabbed the scissor and cut off the ribbon and left the pretty bow and no one will even know.
It is interesting to me how attached we can be. Here are some things I am going to work on not being attached to:
-Anything physical in my life including bags, clothes, our TV, computer, and my phone. I learned that it was easy to live without a phone this week as I had left it in Utah and haven’t had an alternative. It wasn’t so bad. More peaceful actually!
-My hurt feelings and pride.
-Food
Are there any attachments you can let go of to strive for inner peace?
Yesterday I realized I was beating myself up with self talk in my head. "You shouldn’t be eating so much." "What’s wrong with you? You should be losing weight." "You know what to do." Then, I stopped. I had an epiphany that I really did just have a baby, I’m nursing a ton and I am listening to my body! I dropped 30 pounds right after I had Annabelle. I have not lost or gained any since. I think I am trying to force something that is not ready to happen. I really do need to get back to only focusing on being healthy. I know I need to stop worrying about weight loss because it’s not the right time. I need to think only about putting healthy food into my body for me and Annabelle, then I will be much happier. This is a step towards me eating the way I want, becoming healthier and yes, losing weight. This is not an excuse to not care, but actually to care more. To care about nourishing not only my body, but my mind and spirit because I am listening to my body and putting a stop to negative self talk.
Nourishing My Mind and Spirit
I am a different person (a better me) when I am taking time to listen and read good material. When I am taking time to reflect and pray.
I am in the middle of listening to Wayne Dyer’s Your Life Begins Now. He talks about ego verses spirit or your intuitive self. I’ll come back to this as I finish the CD’s
I have also been having down time to watch my favorite parts of movies like Step Up. Hey, I have to have fun too. Just because I’m a wife and mother, doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a hot dance movie! Brandon bought me one of my all time favorite movies, Dirty Dancing! I can’t wait to get a moment to watch it!
I have decided to read Proverbs in the Bible. I was reading chapter 20 and a few verses stuck out to me. Proverbs 20:7 "The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him." This scripture says a lot to me. I know that if I (and my husband) are walking with God, then our family will be blessed because of it. Proverbs 20:9 " Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" A good reminder to keep my heart clean and pure. Proverbs 20:11 "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right." We are known by the value of our work. What we do really does effect us, our spouse, our children, our friends and everyone we know. Is what I am doing positively effecting people or not?
I am always conversing with God telling Him that I want to be one of these amazing people that is all loving, forgiving and accepting. Well, when we ask for something it doesn’t always come how we expect. I have been recently put into situations where I can choose to be those things or I can let my ego or my analytical side or what I perceive to be true and hard, or what I have been conditioned to think, dictate how I respond. I have been given an opportunity to show unconditional love and forgiveness in circumstances which would normally not be easy to do these things. If I truly want to be a person at true peace, this is my time to be it. This is my time to love, forgive, accept, help, pray for others around me that I am finding myself in these situations with. It’s quite profound and an interesting place to be. I think it takes a lot to even recognize that I am being given an opportunity to be a better person and Christ-like instead of just focusing on my hurt feelings and wounded pride.
I have a constant internal struggle. I find myself wanting to feel hurt and wanting to think of how I’ve been "wronged". Now, I simply stop my mind from continuing and think about how blessed I am and how I feel better from the inside out letting the negative feelings go. Why do people chose to feel hurt? Yes it is a choice. We are capable of so much more. We can truly be amazing spiritual people walking around this Earth loving and blessing all of those around us! It takes letting go of all the layers of crap that has been passed down generation to generation. It takes constant work and remembering that we are human. It takes remembering why were are here and that this is a journey, a positively progressive one if we make it so. Think about what you are truly capable of. Why haven’t you done it or why are you not being it? Is whatever you are answering really true? Or is it what you believe to be true? Let it go. Be who you want to be, do what you want to do. It really, really, really is that simple! It is our limiting beliefs that make it difficult. What limiting beliefs can you let go of?
Today I am choosing to be the person I know I want to and can be. I am all loving, forgiving and at peace with my choices. I will choose this all day. Then, tomorrow when I wake up I will chose this again. This is more important than what I am eating and how I am exercising. Those things will come as I change habits!
I have been eating these kinds of foods:
A large bowl of organic oatmeal with raw agave and a little bit of wild blackberry honey Glass of raw milk (hee hee…makes me so happy) Raw cheese, dates, raisins and raw pecan pieces Snacking on plates of fruit (apples, oranges, banana) Smoothies Air popped popcorn with olive oil and sea salt Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread with peanut butter and blackberry honey Brown rice, red lentils, organic veggie medley, soy sauce, curry, and tumeric Canned diced organic tomatoes, garlic, sea salt, basil baked and served over corn chips and topped w/raw cheese Water Vitamin C, Multivitamin, Iodine
This interview is was with Andy on December 21st, 2007. It was nice to have an interview with a male raw foodist. I appreciated his thoughts about how to transition to a RAW diet. Thank you Andy! Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am an avid (recumbent) cyclist but not hard core enough to ride in the snow (this is Michigan ya know). I usually ride between 2 – 3000 miles a year. If you look up the personality traits of a Virgo, which I am, they pretty much fit me to a tee. I love being active, especially outdoors, and doing research on natural health type topics like those associated with being raw.
Are you male or female? Male
What is your age? 43 going on 33 ;-})
How long have you been eating RAW? Officially, I started consciously transitioning since March of 2007.
How did you learn about RAW? I was surfing You Tube and came across a video of the Tyra Banks Show in which she had Alissa and a couple of other nutritionists seeing who could help two people lose weight using their preferred diet plan. Alissa’s team was second due to one of the two on her team not sticking to the diet as I remember.
What does eating RAW mean to you? It means that as far as my health goes, I can have the ‘best day ever’, (David Wolfe) everyday of my, hopefully, prolonged life. I can eat the best foods without guilt or worry of it making me sick or unhealthy and I can do so without worrying about whether my food choices are causing a negative impact on the planet.
Why did you choose to eat RAW and why do you continue to do so? Because after all of the things that I have experienced and learned in my 43 years on this planet it is the only logical way to eat.
How did you transition from SAD to RAW? I have been transitioning to raw on an unconscious level most of my life. Officially, I suppose it has been since March of this year when I found Alissa’s website.
Are you a vegetarian or vegan? Why? How does that effect your RAW lifestyle? Vegan. If you read any up to date non-bias literature on the affects of dairy on the human body, you would be too. I’ll admit that for now it is a little inconvenient until I learn to make more raw dishes but I have never been a cheese eater, other than on pizza so it wasn’t that big of a deal.
What benefits have you personally noticed from eating RAW? I have much more energy and have gotten back into walking/jogging which I haven’t done in a number of years. My mental clarity is improving and my stamina has been steadily improving. My compost bin fills up faster than my garbage can due to my foods being encased in a natural, often edible, wrapper instead of non-biodegradable plastics and wax coated paper.
What is your favorite RAW food or recipe? The next one that I try.
What advice do you have for others looking into eating RAW? Start out at a level that is comfortable for you. Some people can/need to jump right in and do it 100%. Others need to transition slowly. However you can get there, do so. Yes, it does mean getting out of your comfort zone. Yes, you will have friends and family that think you are crazy. But, you will also be giving yourself, your family, your friends and the planet something great……You! The best you that you can be for a longer more enjoyable life.
Do you have a blog or website you would like to share? I have a website but I am not currently doing anything with it. If I get the time to put some effort into it again I will let you know what the address is.
