JUST STOP IT!

In my last workshop, I played a short video clip that I found on YouTube with Bob Newhart. He portrays a therapist who practices a very unique form of therapy. So simple in fact that he guarantees the session will only last five minutes. Aside from being hilarious, the clip offers a very simple response to the spinning that we, as emotional over-eaters are prone to do.

Simple isn’t it? When our minds become clouded with thoughts that send us into a tailspin, stop for a moment. Take your mental flyswatter and swat that thought! Just get rid of that thought because when it’s on the plate, it’s way too late!!!

Say it two or three or a dozen times—whatever it takes to interrupt the spinning and get you back on course. It’s like a pot of boiling water. When the water threatens to boil over, you can stir it, or better yet, turn the heat down and the water will start to simmer down.

You can find the clip at http://bit.ly/aSrW60.  Take a moment to watch it. Maybe even keep the link handy so that you can watch it during a spin cycle.  At the very least, you’ll have a good laugh just when you need it most.

Have a blessed day my friends!

~Cherie

Spring Awakening!

Sunday was the first day of spring and what a wonderful God given day it was! Spring is such an empowering time as new life begins all around us in nature. And what a delightful way to begin anew inside each of us. How can you use this time to re-connect to the Being-ness inside of you? How can the life affirming changes happening all around you right now help you to take that first step towards losing the weight and obtaining and maintaining your ideal body? Remember, a flower doesn't bloom all at once. A tiny bud appears and through careful nurturing and tenderness, it opens it petals and blossoms forth up and out into the sunshine. Look to your village to help support you. Look to your Being-ness to help guide and nurture you. Here's a few quotes I like:

...there is no rose garden without manure!  

We can let our lives be directed by the same force that makes roses bloom--or we can do it ourselves!

And from Anais Nin:

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.


A new post tomorrow: The Donkey and the Well—A Fable.

Happy Spring!!! 

The Person in the Mirror

I was recently working with a group of people who were struggling with emotional overeating. One woman who was part of the group had recently lost her son to a long illness. The stress was visible on her face and her body. At one point, after some time, I held up a mirror and said, “Look in the mirror and say I want to get to know me.” She said, “ I can’t.” The tears flowed.

“I know exactly how you feel,” I said. We find it so difficult to just look at ourselves, to look into our eyes. When we do, we see all the fears and anxieties surrounding our lives. But that’s exactly when you need to pick up that mirror and look straight in your eyes. We all need to pick up the mirror and say “I want to get to know you. I don’t want to fight anymore. I really want to be there for you. I’m here for you. You’re not alone. You can do whatever you want to do. You must answer all your heart’s desires. You’re right where you’re meant to be.”

To become is to release; release which allows your being-ness to come through. You can start to find the love for you. And believe me, it’s life changing when you do.

The password to peace is thank you. Whatever happens in your life, think of it as a pathway for growth and give thanks.

Today, look in the mirror and say, “Hello. I’m here for me.”

The Life of an Eagle

This is such a powerful story that I just wanted to share it with you. Sometimes when we think that life has dealt us a tough hand, all it really is, is the time to give birth to our truest, most powerful selves. It’s not a do-over or second chance. It is the blooming and growing into our most powerful selves.

I hope you enjoy this little story.  I wish I could give a heartfelt thanks to the author but he or she is unknown to me.

The Life of an Eagle

The eagle has the longest lifespan of its species.  It can live up to 70 years.  But to reach this age, the eagle must make a hard decision in its 40's.  Its long and flexible talons can no longer grab prey, which serves as food.  Its long and sharp beak becomes bent.  Its old-aged and heavy wings, due to their thick feathers, become stuck to its chest and make it difficult to fly.

The eagle is left with only two options: die or go through a painful process of CHANGE, which lasts 150 days.  The process requires that the eagle fly to a mountaintop and sit on its nest.  There the eagle knocks its beak against a rock until it falls out.  The eagle will then wait for a new beak to grow back and when it does, the eagle will pluck out its talons.  When its new talons grow back, the eagle starts plucking out its old feathers to allow them to grow back healthy.  And after five months, the eagle takes its famous flight of rebirth and lives for ...30 more years.

I look forward to seeing you at my workshop March 6th so together we can make the radical decision to re-choose the life we were meant to live!

It Takes a Village

When we’re confronted with addiction challenges, oftentimes we feel we must do it alone. Whether it’s shame, embarrassment or any other reason, we approach our healing like a lone hiker climbing to the top of the highest peak. The path to recovery looms above us seemingly unattainable.

Let me tell you right now that recovery TAKES A VILLAGE!

I can tell you from experience that my recovery has taken a village i.e.; seminars, workshops, 12-steps, therapist, self help book, cd’s, coaches, church, gym, nutritionist, commercial weight loss programs, doctor, lawyer, Indian chiefs! Anything that helped close the gap between me and God, so I am not stuffing the gap with food. Without my village there is no way I could have gone from Obesity Survivor to Obesity Thriver and from Cancer Survivor to Cancer Thriver. How else could I have maintained my healthy body weight and undergone 5 cancer-related surgeries this past year and not put on a hundred pounds! Thank God for the village I have built up around me.  I am just a villager surrounded by an extended family of caring and helpful people. The very first step in creating your village is simply reaching out.

So today ask yourself, who’s in my village?