Well! It’s been another transformative week here at CEDRIC.  Sarah Atkinson facilitated a great Phase I workshop in Victoria to a full house! And based on the feedback, it is clear that a lot of fun and learning was had by all.

Our Kelowna events for Professionals and for the general public are starting to fill up which is very exciting as it’s my first offering outside of the lower mainland. I’m looking forward to it on all fronts! My sweetheart and I may even try to fit in a holiday which would be lovely in that region in the summer (if you like heat and lakes and wine…which I most certainly do!).

We have a Phase II workshop the last weekend in August in Victoria which has 2 spaces left at this point (August 27 – 29^th) and many more Phase I and Phase II events in Vancouver and Victoria in the fall and beyond.

We are also having fun planning our first ever CEDRIC Centre tropical destination retreat! Oh Yeah!  If you have suggestions on where that might be held (your favorite destination) let us know. We welcome your suggestions. This event will likely be the first of many annual, all-inclusive, CEDRIC events and we anticipate it will happen in late February, early March, 2011 Again, feedback is welcome.

Below you’ll read just some of the great feedback from our Phase I participants of last weekend. And I trust you’ll enjoy the article for this week as I respond to a question from a reader about her nighttime binging.

Have a fantastic week, and don’t forget to check out the new little video we’ve got as an intro to the CEDRIC Centre on our home page. I think the folks who made it did a great job!

Love

Phase I Weekend Workshop Feedback, July 16 – 18, 2010

“The resources were great!”

“The honesty and personal disclosures of the counsellor really helped and gave me hope and faith in this process.”

“I loved the Drill Sgt. dialogue!”

“It was absolutely amazing!”

“For the last 3 days I was able to feel relaxed about food!”

“I am so grateful that I now have concrete tools I can take with me and use when I need them!”

“The breathing exercise was so helpful!”

“This is a great workshop and it has definitely opened my eyes!”

“It was such a safe, comfortable and supportive setting.”

“I liked how, if I wasn’t able to express myself fully on an issue, someone else always touched on it for me inadvertently.”

“I loved the lunchtime exercise and how I was able to check in about my hunger and fullness and then talk about it later as a group.”

“I loved the healthy assortment of food and teas!”

“I liked the progression of the weekend from food, to self, to others.”

“You are a personable facilitator, Sarah, who was perceptive in your interactions with the group!”

Hello! I hope you had a week of positive experiences and forward momentum. If not, would you like to?  If the answer is yes, then it’s time to reach out to us for some support and give yourself the gift of complete and lasting freedom from food and body image stress.

Whether you identify yourself as having an eating disorder, such as anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive eating, or whether you would say you binge or diet more than you’d like, or even that you’re tired of carrying those extra few pounds and that nothing you’ve tried seems to stick, The CEDRIC Centre has a program for you. Send us an email if you’d like to know what approach would suit you best or would like to begin to see changes in your overall stress level and in your relationship with food today.

CEDRIC Podcasts: The best news from this week is that our podcast is up! Yayayayay!!! Every week you can now download The CEDRIC Centre podcast from itunes or from our site directly. It’s just another way for us to support you to get the information and tools you need to feel truly happy and peaceful in your own skin.  Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

CEDRIC Kelowna Workshops: We have confirmed our date for our Kelowna event. Yayayay again!! Wednesday, August 18^th, I’ll be hosting an event during the day for professionals and that evening from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., I’ll be hosting an introductory workshop for the general public. We’ll have registration details on our home page asap. In the meantime, feel free to email me directly mmorand@cedriccentre.com and I’ll answer your questions.

We will be returning to Kelowna in late September to host a 3-day transformative weekend workshop at the Grand Hotel, so if you’ve always wanted to attend one of those events and Kelowna is closer for you, here’s your event!

Well, there is always a lot more I could share about the week at CEDRIC with clients graduating and exciting sharing on our web program, but that’s enough for now.

Have a fabulous week, and remember, if you’re still stressing about food and body image in any way, you don’t have to. Our program works; it works quickly; it works simply; and it works forever. Freedom is just around the corner.

Oh, and before I go…interesting themes have come up in recent discussions with our clients, so I would like to draw your attention to an article re-print from our on our blog that I wrote on the fear of judgement. As always, it speaks to the issues behind your food and body focus. I welcome your comments!

Love

We’ve had another busy, busy week with new individual counselling clients, new intensive healing retreats starting, lots of registration for our Victoria Phase I workshop (still a few spaces left), book sales, web program registrants and new newsletter readers.

So if you’ve been carrying the belief that you’re alone in your stressful relationship with food; that you are the only one who suffers from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, diet mentality, body image nasties that just won’t leave you alone, here’s proof that there are many men and women out there in the world who are tired of those old behaviours and are ready to try something that actually works to reach their goals of a healthy, sexy, natural weight for their body and an easy, peaceful relationship with food. Ahhhh, you can feel the peace descend!

Our programs and events are popular because they work, and quickly too! Not years later, but now, when you begin.

We are very excited about our new centre in Vancouver opening in September, and have plans to offer workshops in Kelowna and Calgary through the summer or early in the fall, so there will be even more opportunity if you live elsewhere in Canada to attend a transformative 3-day workshop! And if you live in Europe or the USA, just let us know if you’d like us to bring a 3-day event to you and we’ll do our best to make it so!

Have a fabulous week of growth and change.

Love

Welcome to the CEDRIC Centre’s blog. This is the best place online to make lasting and complete changes to your stressful relationship with food, as well as any other stressful circumstances whether in relation to your self-regard, your relationships or your career.

Many would say that we are the experts in getting you from “I’m stuck” to unstuck.

Our very simple, quick, and effective method for removing all the barriers to your success, while simultaneously teaching you new ways of approaching food and other stressors, works for every harmful coping strategy and for every age, male or female.

So whether you overeat, restrict, purge, drink, procrastinate, get stuck in harmful or unsatisfying relationships, feel unfulfilled in your career, or struggle with family connections, our method will show you, simply and speedily, how to create the change you seek in all areas of your life.

Don’t waste another day feeling stuck and stressed out. Regardless of what you may have tried in the past, I can guarantee you, you’ve never tried this because if you had, you wouldn’t still be seeking a solution. Guaranteed!

CEDRIC’s Weekly Update

Hello out there!

It’s been a supremely busy week here at CEDRIC! Wow! We’ve had many new clients reaching out to us from different parts of the world (thank you Skype!) who are exploring the many different services we have to offer. It finally feels like my dream of a centre that provides a sense of community and connectedness for those who struggle with food and body frustration is coming true!!

Last night I gave a presentation to a large group of counselling professionals in Victoria.  And I will be traveling to Kelowna and Calgary in the Summer (or early Fall) to present to professionals and to the general public there. We may even hold our very, very first 3-day transformative workshop in Kelowna and Calgary. There definitely seems to be a lot of interest, and I can appreciate it’s easier for me to travel to you than for all of you to travel to me!  If you’re interested in an event in your city, or if you live in Kelowna or Calgary and want to be kept informed of events, let me know.

Clearly, people are getting interested in what we have to offer and with our individual counselling, our workshops, our book and other materials and now our new Web-Based program for complete recovery, we are finally able to offer what seems to be the perfect blend of counselling support, resources, peer connection (as much or as little as you like) and healing at a price that everyone can truly afford. Yay!!!!!!!!

In case you didn’t read the article from last week, entitled “Review Time” I’ve included a piece of feedback I received from a reader about their experience of the article. Our blog and newsletter provide you with free tools every week so that you can start to better understand why you do what you do with food and what you can start to do to achieve complete freedom.

Don’t buy into the old bogus story that certain professionals still push, and therefore, certain of your friends and family might still believe, that once you’ve got an eating disorder, you’ve got it for life. That is so untrue and I find it ridiculous and frustrating that people are told such things. It is akin to the old story that the world is flat, or that cigarettes are really good for you!

It is so very common for people who work with us for just a few months to walk away with complete freedom – that lasts!  Sometimes a person’s process takes a bit longer, but never are they stuck with a stressful relationship with food for life.

You see, most approaches to eating disorder treatment never actually help you to understand the underlying triggers, separate from food and body image, that you experience in your day-to-day world. You just can’t be truly successful in any lasting way with just a meal plan and some medication to level out your emotions. The problem isn’t solved, just masked over. And what will happen if for some reason you forget or want to stop following your meal plan? Have you learned to trust yourself around food and to eat when hungry and stop when full? Likely not.

Complete and lasting recovery from any harmful relationship with food such as dieting, compulsive overeating, bulimia, and anorexia requires you to be able to trust yourself around food. And that’s really not that hard to do when you are able to understand why you developed that stressful connection in the first place and what you can do, now, in the present to attend to that underlying trigger in a way that truly demonstrates respect for you.

So, if you’re on the sidelines wondering if, after all the other things you’ve tried, you could possibly be successful and truly free, the answer is a resounding YES!!! You just have to try something that actually works! And here we are!

Here’s Judy’s feedback from last week’s article:

“I love how you simplify this! I have spent my life in the all-or-nothing mode, and now I see how this thinking is affecting so many aspects of my life. I would have never identified it as having anything to do with my out-of-balance eating behaviours! Very enlightening. Practicing telling myself the truth is like whacking my way through dense underbrush one step at a time. The all-or-nothing way has become such a well worn pathway, and a hard one to leave behind. Thank you Michelle.”

Thank you Judy!  I’m so glad that this clicked for you!

Have a great week everyone.

Love

This week’s article is a brief review of one of the most important, fundamental, basic concepts in the entire recovery process. The faster you grasp this the faster your process goes. It’s that simple.

When we work with clients, whether individually, on the phone or in person, at workshops, and through our amazing, interactive web program, we always repeat this point, and repeat it and repeat it. It is key! Write it out, paste it to your mirror, your fridge, and your forehead! You might get some strange looks, but in a week you will be so much farther ahead in your own healing and your self-esteem will be so much greater, you won’t care!

(more…)

Welcome to the CEDRIC Centre’s blog. This is the best place online to make lasting and complete changes to your stressful relationship with food, as well as any other stressful circumstances whether in relation to your self-regard, your relationships or your career.

Many would say that we are the experts in getting you from “I’m stuck” to unstuck.

Our very simple, quick, and effective method for removing all the barriers to your success, while simultaneously teaching you new ways of approaching food and other stressors, works for every harmful coping strategy and for every age, male or female.

So whether you overeat, restrict, purge, drink, procrastinate, get stuck in harmful or unsatisfying relationships, feel unfulfilled in your career, or struggle with family connections, our method will show you, simply and speedily, how to create the change you seek in all areas of your life.

Don’t waste another day feeling stuck and stressed out. Regardless of what you may have tried in the past, I can guarantee you, you’ve never tried this because if you had, you wouldn’t still be seeking a solution. Guaranteed!

CEDRIC’s Weekly Update

This week has been a beautiful blend of individual clients, web program connections, groups, workshop preparation and community outreach.

I’ve been very touched to receive many calls and emails from past clients expressing their appreciation for the freedom and peace they experience in their lives as a result of their work with us. I know from personal experience through my own eating disorder (binge eating and exercise bulimia) that freedom from the 24/7 food and body focus is so incredibly amazing, it’s truly like starting to live for the very first time.

Here’s a little of the feedback for you to enjoy with me. And remember, if you’re not experiencing this kind of peace and freedom yourself that’s only because you need a few simple tools and some support to learn how to use them. A few weeks with this process and your life will be changed for the better forever, and it will just keep getting better and better!

“There isn’t a day that goes by that you and your wonderful centre don’t enter my mind!”

“Thank you so much for your counselling and your support, I will always be so thankful and have you in the back of my mind if I feel myself slipping in the whole ways. It feels so good to have food as a friend.”

“I must have connected with some things that we worked on last year as I am more content with life and losing weight.”

“Thank you also for the inspiring book and all the brilliant and effective tools you provide in the online programme. You are truly saving my life.”

And, a reminder that our summer workshops are coming up fast! On the weekend of July 16-18, you can come to a Phase I workshop in either Victoria or Vancouver, and on August 27-29, you can join us for Phase II in Victoria.

Our 3-day transformational workshops are truly that. They don’t just get you to stop binging or purging or restricting, they give you the solutions to the underlying problems in your life. When you remove underlying triggers, you have absolutely no need and no desire to continue in your stressful relationship with food and you are free to choose not to. Really, it becomes a choice – your choice!

Have a great week!

Love

Welcome to the CEDRIC Centre’s blog. This is the best place online to make lasting and complete changes to your stressful relationship with food, as well as any other stressful circumstances whether in relation to your self-regard, your relationships or your career.

Many would say that we are the experts in getting you from “I’m stuck” to unstuck.

Our very simple, quick, and effective method for removing all the barriers to your success, while simultaneously teaching you new ways of approaching food and other stressors, works for every harmful coping strategy and for every age, male or female.

So whether you overeat, restrict, purge, drink, procrastinate, get stuck in harmful or unsatisfying relationships, feel unfulfilled in your career, or struggle with family connections, our method will show you, simply and speedily, how to create the change you seek in all areas of your life.

Don’t waste another day feeling stuck and stressed out. Regardless of what you may have tried in the past, I can guarantee you, you’ve never tried this because if you had, you wouldn’t still be seeking a solution. Guaranteed!

CEDRIC’s Weekly Update

Hello and welcome to the CEDRIC Centre weekly update for Week 21.

At the Centre: This past week we have been busy with our individual clients, both in person (at the Centre) and on the telephone (around the world). We’ve been enjoying some wonderful sharing and healing; just amazing, supportive dialogue, among our web program members. You know, I always wanted to create a space where people who are working to overcome food and body image stress could connect safely, respectfully and achieve their goals with lots of tools and support. In fact, I had that vision in mind when I named the CEDRIC Centre (Community Eating Disorder and Related Issues Counselling Centre). It was the word ‘community’ that was most important to me as I wanted to make sure that others knew that they were not alone; that there was an entire community of men and women growing, healing, supporting each other, in a safe container with lots of practical tools. I feel very, very excited about the potential of this program and very fortunate to witness the healing that is taking place and the incredible support being offered between members.

Updates on CEDRIC in Vancouver and Victoria: This past weekend I was in Vancouver (yet again!) and found CEDRIC’s Vancouver home! We’re nice and central, just off major bus routes but in the most absolutely lovely home you can imagine! I can’t wait to meet with you there – but it will have to wait a bit as that space doesn’t become ours until September. This gives me lots of time to get my team ready (or rather, if I’m completely truthful! to get myself ready to be with my team less!!!). Current Michelle clients please note – I will be in Victoria 2 days a week and making space to meet with you then so I am not gone. And I will be accessible by telephone to my current distance clients and to any Victoria clients who want to work with me that way, too.

Sarah Atkinson will be taking over as primary therapist in Victoria and the rest of our team will remain as is. We have a wonderful group of therapists and body workers and admin support and I feel blessed to have them. As a team, we provide intensive healing programs to individuals from all over the world and enable them to heal from their stressful relationship with food, whether anorexia, bulimia, or overeating, quickly and completely. In fact, we had two healing plan graduates last week and, while I was sad to see them go, I was so thrilled with the peace and joy they exuded.

Education in the Community: I was at Camosun College this week, presenting to a group of professionals and students, and was very touched by the warm welcome I received and the gratitude expressed by attendees for my time. It is the mandate of the CEDRIC Centre to provide education and support for those struggling with a stressful relationship with food, and to that end, we make it a priority to speak at educational institutions to blossoming professionals and individuals at large to create more awareness about why people might develop disordered eating patterns and what to do to help them. There are very, very few resources in our province, our country, our continent…for healing from food and body stress, and we take our role as educators and supporters very seriously. We are committed to supporting you to experience complete and lasting recovery, and we have the programs, materials, and staff to make that a reality no matter how long you’ve been struggling or what you’ve tried before.

I hope you had a week filled with growth and happiness. But if not, remember, we are here to show you how to step free completely from your stressful relationship with food, quickly and forever.

Love

You know that precious time in the morning when you lie in bed or you’re brushing your teeth or in the shower and you start to feel excited and energized about the fantasy you’re having about how much you’re going to exercise (later that day, and every day thereafter), or how much you are or aren’t going to eat that day (and every day after)?

You know, those moments when you know what you need to do to be the physical form you want to be, and therefore (in your head anyway…) to be happy finally, once and for all.  Only problem is, if nothing has changed in your schedule and your inner thought process and self-regard since yesterday, all you are doing when you engage in those fantasies is setting yourself up to take a brutal beating from your Drill Sgt. when you crawl in to bed at the end of the day.

Think about it. If you weren’t able to find the time or the energy or the positive self-regard to make honoring choices about what you ate, whether or not and how much you exercised, and whom you spent time with and how you spent it yesterday, why on earth would today be any different? Unless you’ve actively changed your schedule and set reasonable goals based on the reality of how much energy you’ll have at the end of the day; learned to set boundaries about what you do and with whom (both at work and at home); committed to and gained skills for eating naturally (eat when hungry, stop when comfortably full)….why would anything be any different from yesterday?

Yesterday you wanted to be healthier. Yesterday you wanted to exercise. Yesterday you wanted to talk to so and so about such and such. Nothing has changed in your goals from yesterday to today. So if nothing has changed in your expectations of yourself but you weren’t able to honor them yesterday, you really are beating your head against a brick wall to continue to expect that of yourself today. It’s self-harm on a major scale to continue to expect something of yourself that you aren’t yet able to do consistently without changing your approach and gaining some new skills.

If this sounds like you, it’s time to stop. This is the old, Drill Sgt., irrational, motivation through criticism approach to healing and it hasn’t worked in your entire life so far, so it’s not going to work now. Accept it, let it go and actively seek a solution that does work. What would that be you ask?

Well, what does work is to take a look at what you are expecting of yourself on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis in all areas of your life: primary relationship, kids (if you have them), family, friends, work, volunteer, school (classes/crafts, etc.), and your relationship with yourself.  What is it that your Drill Sgt. tells you you should be doing in each of those areas in order to finally be acceptable, loved, safe, and happy (oh, and don’t forget drop-dead sexy!).

Now stop for a moment and look at what you’ve written. How many hours in a day would you need to fulfill those commitments as your Drill Sgt. says you should in order to finally be “good enough?”  30? 50?…. When exactly are you supposed to get that perfect 8+ hours of sleep he expects of you?…Right.

Now what if you just stopped, breathed, really – stop and breathe – be here, now, with me. Notice what you are telling yourself right here in this moment about yourself, about your expectations, about how there’s no point doing this exercise…etc.

Take a moment and write out all the stories you’re telling yourself right now – even the one about how you don’t have time to write out all the stories you’re telling yourself …

Now, at the end of each story add the words “and that means.” Now see what pops into your head. Keep adding “and that means” to the end of each statement until you feel like there really is no further to go. Chances are you’ve just hit the jackpot of all-or-nothing thinking. Go on, try it. If you’re reading this article it’s because you recognize you need a hand in getting to a peaceful and easy relationship with food and with your body. Why bother reading the article and acknowledging you need help if you’re not going to try and do anything new? Usually, the answer to that question sounds something like: “Because I don’t’ really think I can change or that I will be successful…it’s better to not try because if I try and fail I’ll feel like crap – at least now I can still imagine it can work…”

Of course the only problem with that is that it’s not true! Nothing changes when you keep doing the same old same old. Our clients know firsthand that everything changes for the better, and quickly too, when they just say, “Enough already! I’ve got to do something!” and they reach out to us for some guidance, support and tools.

If you’re tired of the morning fantasy that turns to evening self-abuse, start now to write out the process above and give yourself the gift of seeing firsthand what you’re expecting of yourself. Then ask yourself: Within the context of a balanced life, where I have time for my self-care (and energy to follow through on eating well and exercising moderately), what is reasonable to expect of myself in each of the key areas of my life?

Do that for this week – let me know what comes up – and next week, we’ll talk about how to put that awareness into action.

Always remember, this process isn’t hard. It’s simple. What makes it seem hard is all the time you have spent shaming and berating yourself for not being perfect and the automatic default to bad body thoughts and the use of food to cope that ensues when we feel criticized and “not good enough.” It’s time to learn how to step free of the inner power struggle and start living.

Have a great week. Do your best with this piece. It will be worth your while.

Love

Whether you prefer one-on-one counselling (in-person, by phone, or email), our intensive and transformative workshops, the self-help approach with the book, or our Food is Not the Problem Online Membership Program, take action today to have a stress-free relationship with food. Sign up for our free newsletter today (see the left top side of your screen). Newsletter subscribers receive exclusive product discounts and are first in line to get on all the latest new at CEDRIC.

© Michelle Morand, 2010

Welcome to the CEDRIC Centre’s blog. This is the best place online to make lasting and complete changes to your stressful relationship with food, as well as any other stressful circumstances whether in relation to your self-regard, your relationships or your career.

Many would say that we are the experts in getting you from “I’m stuck” to unstuck.

Our very simple, quick, and effective method for removing all the barriers to your success, while simultaneously teaching you new ways of approaching food and other stressors, works for every harmful coping strategy and for every age, male or female.

So whether you overeat, restrict, purge, drink, procrastinate, get stuck in harmful or unsatisfying relationships, feel unfulfilled in your career, or struggle with family connections, our method will show you, simply and speedily, how to create the change you seek in all areas of your life.

Don’t waste another day feeling stuck and stressed out. Regardless of what you may have tried in the past, I can guarantee you, you’ve never tried this because if you had, you wouldn’t still be seeking a solution. Guaranteed!

CEDRIC’s Weekly Update

This past week was quite a whirlwind at CEDRIC with two weekend workshops (one facilitated by myself at the centre in Victoria and one at the Saanich Commonwealh Place, facilitated by Sarah Atkinson. Thank you Sarah!

And earlier that week I was in Vancouver for a guest appearance on the Fanny Kiefer show, Studio 4. It was a lot of fun and I hope that the segment helped lots of people to get clear on the distinction between using food to cope and simply enjoying food.

The 3-day weekend workshop was truly amazing. We had a full room, with a group of women that immediately bonded and supported each other to learn and share. It was wonderful! And what amazing weather!!!

This week is a long weekend in Canada so I’ll be spending some time just hanging out with my family and then on Tuesday I’ll be presenting at Camosun College to a group of students in their Health Professionals program.

I am amazed at how our web-based program base continues to grow each week. It is so inspiring to see how members are sharing and supporting each other with such great wisdom and compassion. It truly is the worldwide community for healing that I’ve imagined ever since I was in my early 20s and got the idea to start the centre. And it’s only just begun!

I hope that you have had a week of insights and growth and increasing peace within. If not, it’s time to reach out and join a workshop, our web program or come (or phone) for some individual support or a personalized intensive healing plan. Our success rate is second to none and our approach, however you work with us, is clear, simple and fast.

I hear often from people who have been reading our newsletter for a year or two before they attend a workshop or get some individual support who say, “If I had known I could have felt this peaceful and free this fast, I would have done this years ago!” I encourage you to learn from their learning. If you struggle in any way with food or body image – don’t wait to start truly healing; stop fiddling around with diets and exercise programs that don’t resolve the root of the problem; and if you’ve had counselling somewhere else before and you’re still struggling, it doesn’t mean you didn’t get something valuable or that you are as “good” as you’re going to get, it simply means that you are still missing some of the key tools for recovery that only the CEDRIC Method offers from 17 years of specialization and program development.

I wrote an article recently about the underlying thought processes that will keep you stuck using food to cope. I encourage you to read it, if you haven’t already, and begin to understand more about why you do what you do. Then you’ll likely feel much more energized as you freely step into this process of complete and lasting recovery!

One more note, we have a Phase II workshop in Vancouver June 11 – 13^th. This workshop is for any individual clients and web program clients, anyone who’s read the book, and anyone who has attended a Phase I workshop and wants to fine-tune their core tools! Join me and put the finishing touches on your freedom from a stressful relationship with food. Peace awaits!

Have a great week,

Love

Welcome to the CEDRIC Centre’s blog. This is the best place online to make lasting and complete changes to your stressful relationship with food, as well as any other stressful circumstances whether in relation to your self-regard, your relationships or your career.

Many would say that we are the experts in getting you from “I’m stuck” to unstuck.

Our very simple, quick, and effective method for removing all the barriers to your success, while simultaneously teaching you new ways of approaching food and other stressors, works for every harmful coping strategy and for every age, male or female.

So whether you overeat, restrict, purge, drink, procrastinate, get stuck in harmful or unsatisfying relationships, feel unfulfilled in your career, or struggle with family connections, our method will show you, simply and speedily, how to create the change you seek in all areas of your life.

Don’t waste another day feeling stuck and stressed out. Regardless of what you may have tried in the past, I can guarantee you, you’ve never tried this because if you had, you wouldn’t still be seeking a solution. Guaranteed!

CEDRIC’s Weekly Update

Hello All and welcome to another fabulous week. This past week, I had the pleasure of appearing on Fanny Kiefer’s Vancouver show, Studio 4. It was a new experience for me and it was fun! You can catch a repeat of the show on Monday, May 17.

And, as you read this, I’ll be facilitating our May Victoria workshop. If you haven’t had a chance to come to one of our workshops, don’t despair, there are more workshops coming up in both Victoria and Vancouver.  I’ll definitely be keeping you posted!

Life – it has its ups, downs, ins, outs, “goods” and “bads.” Every day provides us with myriad opportunities for growth and myriad opportunities to change the way we think and behave. Circumstances repeat and each time they do; each time relationships end, each time we switch jobs, each time we move, each time we park at the grocery store parking lot, each time we arrive at our favorite coffee shop to find a long line and no seats….each time we experience the day-to-day events that make up a life, we are given an opportunity to think differently about them and about ourselves and therefore to feel and behave differently (remember your thoughts trigger your emotions which trigger your behaviour).

Our old all-or-nothing thinking Drill Sgt. will tell us that because we behaved this way at a certain time we always will or that it’s who we are and that we should just resign ourselves to suffering, while at the same time berating us for feeling the way we do and for behaving as we do. He beats us up with his words and then takes no responsibility for our emotional and behavioural reaction to his abuse. Does that remind you of anyone from your past or present? If so, even a little bit, you’ve just discovered the genesis of your Drill Sgt. and of your use of food to cope.

For the past 8 weeks I’ve been honoring my value of access to healing for all by providing you, for free, the 3 core tools that you need in order to recover completely and forever from any harmful coping strategy. I do hope you take advantage of your access to these tools, use them freely, everywhere, all the time, and share them around, too. And if you ever feel a little stuck or like the tools might not work for you, just remember this: The tools work every time you use them. No exceptions.

If you’re resistant to trying the tools just check in for any all-or-nothing stories in the form of that pattern of thinking I call “learned helplessness.” It sounds something like this: I can’t; It’s too hard; It’s going to take too long; Even if I am successful this time I won’t be able to really change forever; I’ll be the one person this process doesn’t work for…..etc. etc. etc.   If your mind goes there, just remember, everyone’s mind goes there. It’s part of the sickness. It’s part of having an eating disorder or of being an alcoholic, a drug addict, a gambler, a shopaholic, a workaholic, a clean freak, a perfectionist, a schizophrenic, a paranoid, a bi-polar, and anyone who is constantly anxious, depressed or completely numb. These are all just coping strategies and they share a common theme: Learned Helplessness.

You’re in good company. Most of the population of the planet has this harmful, debilitating mindset to some extent in some area of their lives. Most people have to unlearn those old ways of thinking and the harmful behaviours they have created before they can feel peaceful, free, alive, vibrant, passionate and worthy. With the CEDRIC Method, a handful of sessions or a weekend workshop is often enough to set you well on your way to complete freedom.

My team and I are committed to your complete and lasting healing from any stressful thinking and harmful behaviours. Let us support you to step free once and for all. Remember, your life is waiting.

Love