A New Paradigm - BODY BELIEF

Yes, Yes, YES!

“Every choice moves us closer to or farther away from something. Where are your choices taking your life? What do your behaviors demonstrate that you are saying yes or no to in life?” -- Eric Allenbaugh

Yesterday, my daughter signed us up for a 5k walk on New Years' Day in Seattle.  I was happy to say "yes"!  It is the Commitment Day 01.01.13 5K.  This is an organized effort happening in 30 cities across the US encouraging people to make a commitment to their health.  Check it out.

When I said YES to this idea it got me thinking.  Saying yes to health is a great idea.  

The first lesson I have been writing about in my new Body Belief book is "Surrender the Diet Mentality".  We have been taught, through years of dieting, to say "no" to things.  No to bread, no to chocolate, no to eating after 6pm, no to fat, no to carbs, no to sugar, . . . .   The diet mentality is all about keeping yourself from eating certain foods and sticking with a diet that is filled with foods you are not necessarily thrilled to eat.  The whole diet mentality is based on the philosophy - you are doing something wrong, and you must make it right. It is based on restriction, not expansion.

This morning I was listening to a talk by David Wolfe, a health activist.  He talked about how important it is to connect with what makes us feel good.  Because if we feel good then we attract more things to feel good about.  If we eat with joy, then we will have more joy.  Like attracts like.  If we fuel out bodies with food that is healthy and stuff we love, than we will attract feeling more healthy and happy.  Great concept. I am sure he didn't mean eating bags full of Oreo's, but who knows.  Deprivation only creates more feelings of lack and suffering, and we know where that leads!

So this started me thinking about chocolate.  I love chocolate, but I usually forbid myself from having it (I say I'm allergic), but then I'll have some and I get hooked and just can't seem to stop eating it.  Which then makes me feel bad physically and mentally and then I go back on the wagon and quit eating it, and the cycle continues.  But, what if I said yes to chocolate and gave up the battle?  What if I could eat it and not feel guilty or remorseful?  Could I say "yes" to chocolate and not go insane? 

David Wolfe is a huge proponent of cacao beans - the base of all chocolate products.  In it's natural state it is loaded with good nutrition and all kinds of health benefits. He has even written a book about it called Naked Chocolate. They key here is NAKED - chocolate in it's most natural form.  He insists that eating cacao is good for you and you can eat all you want!  Just eliminate all the harmful sugars and chemicals. Interesting. 

I decided to say YES to chocolate and downloaded one of his recipes for a Cinnamon Chocolate Bar. This is a raw food recipe, with all heathy ingredients.  I'm going for it.  Since I have decided that I must be my own student of Body Belief, this is in alignment with my first lesson.  Release the diet mentality and open my mind to a new way of thinking about everything.  The old way sure didn't work.  If I can redesign my relationship with chocolate, than anything is possible!  I am off to the store to buy the ingredients and I am going to say YES to chocolate.  I am going to say YES to the great feeling I have when I eat chocolate.  It makes me happy.  (Love those endorphins!) And if I can make something that is good for me and makes me happy - then hurray for me!  It just takes looking at things in a different light and being open to the YES!

Let the experiment begin!

Make the Connection!

mono·cul·ture : the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism especially on agricultural or forest land

Yesterday I watched a movie called Fresh.  It was another food awareness movie, about monoculture farming versus natural farming practices and how bad monoculture is for our future.  I enjoy these movies, although it is quite depressing and continually shocking.  There is a part of me that wants this information and recognizes that if I want to see change, that I have to be part of the change.  As one person, I can act by how I spend my money, food choices, and my sharing information with others.  Do I want to eat food that has been grown in that mono-culture environment, where disease is  the result and plants and animals become maladaptive?   No, I don't.

After watching the film I had that excited feeling -- motivated, eager to make changes, ready to make a plan and take on the crusade in my life.  Then, I walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer and unconsciously reached for a left over gingerbread shake I had brought home from Red Robin.  What?!  I knew it was made with milk that came from cows that were fed growth hormones and antibiotics to off set the results of the mono-culture farming. Cows that are given hormone cocktails in order to keep them in the milking cycle.  They had been feed corn and corn byproducts that were grown in fields of genetically modified corn seed, and sprayed with insecticides.  Not to mention, cows digestive system were never made to digest corn or corn products.  Eating corn makes their stomaches start to rot and more drugs are needed to keep them alive to keep pumping their milk. But, the end product - this yummy holiday treat - a gingerbread shake, with whipped cream and a ginger snap cookie top top looked and tasted so good.  How could I resist. 

My good sense prevailed and I went off to bed without eating the shake (but it's still in the freezer).  All night I was having dreams of animals and struggle, farmers and baby piglets, plants and worms.  Sometime early in the morning I heard a voice, at first it was faint, then it got louder and louder, until it woke me.  It was telling me "Make the CONNECTION!"  I bolted up and looked at the clock, 5:38am.

Make the connection.  Interesting.  Part of my life long struggle has to do with making the connection.  It is really about the Law of Cause and Effect. If A happens than B results.  Changing the result has always been something I have been chasing, but I never want to start at "A", the cause.  Some where deep inside I know that the voice from my dream is speaking a truth I really need to hear.  My actions keep getting the same results.  If I want different results, I have to change my actions!

To be a food activist, I have to change my relationship with food.  To change my relationship with food, I have to think about it before I eat it, not after.  I need to understand it at a deeper level.  Making such a drastic change, takes some thought and understanding.  Am I ready to give up mono-culture produced food, go organic, spend the time required to investigate and research where my food comes from?  Not to mention, the time it takes to shop and prepare. Is this about making a social statement?  Is it about treating my body with respect and honoring my own humanity and humanity in general?  Is it about becoming conscious - a conscious consumer, conscious to my body's needs, conscious of a higher divine order?  Kris Carr, author of Crazy Sexy Diet, says "If our body is a temple, than our mouth is the alter."  Ummmm.

Where does this all led me?  I am thinking today about my commitment to the environment, sustainable agriculture, animals as a food source and how big this issue is on so many levels.  In the movie, Michael Pollan spoke about how over the past 50 years the number of companies controlling the food production in the US has shrunk from thousands to less than five.  Five (and soon to be three) major corporations have total and absolute control over the food production in our county.  That was shocking information!   That information alone makes me want to start a revolution! (Or join one already started!)  There is just so much wrong with our current system that it is overwhelming.  Sorting it all out, and making a decision about how I can approach it as one person, is making my head hurt.         

For today I have more questions than answers.  I know the voice that spoke to me this morning is speaking a truth I need to hear.  I am open to making the connection.  What ever that looks like for me.  

I'll keep you posted about what I discover.

Green Juice - Vitality in a Glass

Liquid Sunshine!

It's been a couple of weeks since I had my morning green juice and I have missed my routine. But I didn't fully realize how much I missed it until I had some this morning! Wow, I feel great today - full of energy and inspiration. So much better than I have been feeling. And it all came from a glass of juice. Life force energy!

Today's juice was a combination of what I could find in the frig - carrots, celery, spinach, cucumber, green apple and half of a lemon. I put it all through my wonderful Breville Juice Fountain and then poured it into a glass, added a straw and went to my office, sat in my comfy chair, listened to some great music and sipped my juice. I followed it up with a steaming cup of hot water with a squeeze of lemon. Then I started my day.

Later this afternoon, I suddenly realized I was buzzing around getting so much done and I felt so energetic. It dawned on me that I had started my day with juice. Such a simple thing that makes such a big difference.

I went to my favorite market today and stocked up on fresh veggies and I'm all ready for tomorrow! If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it!

In the spirit of green power, Cindy


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