Archive for Uncategorized

Rites of Spring ~ Using the season’s synergy to kickstart ourselves

Rites of Spring Dictionary.com describes ‘synergy’ as the combined action of one or more stimuli. What could possibly be more stimulating that the smells and sights of early spring after months of slogging in the cold and wet? With the tiny green buds erupting everywhere, vivid purple and orange crocuses exploding in flowerbeds and banners on the sides of city buses pleading for daffodil pickers, spring is in the air and the sentiments it brings are contagious. The long sleep of winter is showing every indication of giving up the ghost and with it, we can lay our bad habits and deliberate nutritional ignorances to rest once and for all. June will be our month to focus on Natural Eating in the CEDRIC newsletter, but I wanted to bring it up in this issue to go along with all the green that is cropping up everywhere. We need to be in full throttle of eating right by June, where we will augment the process with tips and yummy ways of integrating a wiser nutritional path for ourselves, but we have to start somewhere and there’s nothing like using the encouraging shoots of green as our incentive. I am using the impetus of all this burgeoning growth to inspire me to be good to my self, to become more active and to look at the heavy, deadening parts of my life with a critical eye, ready to eliminate anything that doesn’t contribute to improving my situation, in order to make me physically light and to make my spirit lighter. “The body will follow” is the lesson I’m learning from those who have already been through the difficult baby steps of beginning to be aware in a body/mind/spirit philosophy. (more…)

Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Self, Tips for Natural Eating, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

Tina’s Journey~Falling off the wagon: Tina caved

Tina's Journey, Falling off the wagonI fell off the wagon on Spring Break week. I fell off so bad that the skid marks are everywhere on me.

I knew better, but did what I did anyways, and I blame that darned dialogue that rattles on in my mind. I thought I was better equipped to resist the arguments that came up but I caved royally and now I am paying.

I knew better than to ingest the very things that I’d identified as being problems for me. High fructose corn syrup had almost totally been eradicated from my diet. For a month, I experienced the equivalent of a ‘detox’ as I cut back on sugars of all kinds, on dairy, on highly refined foods.

I’d been so good. All last month I ate organic, followed my hard-won advice around the ingredients that I wanted to avoid, I shopped in the outside aisles of the supermarket and avoided fast food completely. As a result, my bloat dissipated, my ankles ceased their endless swelling, I had more flexibility and I didn’t feel as creaky in my joints. My skin cleared up and my slacks were JUST starting to have a little bit of give in them.

I was optimistic that my health was on the upswing and I was on the road back.

And then I had three days where I gathered up all four of my daughters where we had a little road trip that found us traveling long distances, staying in hotels and eating out a lot. Well, finding good food on the ferry was easy if you wanted nothing but salad and vinaigrette, but watching the girls mow down fat french fries, that gooey brown chemical gravy and the smell of fried chicken burgers made my resolve weaken. By the time we made it to the mainland, and hunger reared its head again, we were headed for hell in a gasoline hand-basket as I took the kids to not only Wendy’s but to Mickey D’s as well as Burger King AND Chinese food over the course of the weekend. I tried to stick to my confirmed new way of eating, but the chicken strips called my name and before I knew it, I had to eat them. Then the coffee with its cream and sugar of dubious origins… then the gummy bears… and later that night in the hotel, the bags of chips came out. Granted I ate the ones marked ‘organic’, they were still full of chemical contents that I couldn’t pronounce. (more…)

Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, Tips for Natural Eating, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

Thought Vibration: Chapter V

The Law of Attraction In the Thought World

William Walker Atkinson wrote a book in 1906 called “Thought Vibration or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World. He wrote over 100 books in his career and was widely respected as a leader of new thought and spirituality. His writing formed the theoretical basis for the hit movie The Secret and influenced many of its interviewees (Such as Jack Canfield and Joe Vitale). I’d like to share some quotes from each chapter with you over the next few weeks as it’s such an amazing little resource and the language with which he writes is so matter of fact it really appeals to the logical, rational, need the science behind the method part of my brain. I hope you like it. Michelle

Chapter V: The Secret of the Will

“… few realize that the Will may be developed and strengthened by intelligent practice.”

” … Will Power, with all its latent possibilities and mighty powers, may be developed, disciplined, controlled and directed, just as may be any other of Nature’s forces.It does not matter what theory you may entertain about the nature of the Will, you will obtain the results if you practice intelligently.”

“… I think that in the higher regions of the mind of every man is a great store of Will Power awaiting his use. …. Your Will does not need training — but your Mind does.The mind is the instrument and the supply of Will Power is proportionate to the fineness of the instrument through which it manifests.”

“He who has developed his mind so that it will allow the Will Power to manifest through it, has opened up wonderful possibilities for himself.Not only has he found a great power at his command, but he is able to bring into play, and use, faculties, talents and abilities of whose existence he has not dreamed.This secret of the Will is the magic key which opens all doors.”

“Many of us feel that if we would but exert our Will, we might accomplish wonders.”

“We instinctively feel the power of the Will, but we haven’t enough energy to exercise it, and so drift along with the tide, … “

Michelle here, I was thinking about the above statements and it is clear to me that people who use food to cope have tremendous will power; they’re just exercising it in the wrong direction. Their will power is directed towards controlling their food intake and body size. Will power will not be enough to resolve a harmful coping strategy because you must understand the underlying reasonsand triggers for your need for the food and body focus in the first place. That is the place to apply your will. To focus your efforts on relationships or circumstances in your life where you do not respectfully ask for what you need or where you feel unsafe or insecure is the most powerful manifestation of your will power.It states to yourself and to anyone watching that you believe you are worthy of love and respect and that you will only engage in relationships where those things are present. If you are using food to cope you do not believe that you are worthy of dignity and respect from yourself or from others. Place your effort on finding the source of that story and seeing how it manifests in your life today, apart from food, and you will have the key to a life that is completely free from food and body image focus.

You are worthy of respect and dignity in all the areas of your life.

Love Michelle

Posted in: Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, Tips for Natural Eating, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

Thrive, Don’t Just Survive

Thrive, Don't Just Survive I had to pull over into the Northfield rest stop to write this, I was desperate to find a restroom, just off the ferry in Nanaimo and once I'd stopped, and rested, I pulled out my blog with the following extruding out of the end of my pen,  so inspired I was to write it. I had the good fortune to spend some quality time with a dear friend last night. All the way here from Iqaluit, Deb is one of those amazing people its an honour to know, an honour to be able to call her a sister-by-choice.Debbie has worked as a voice for those who can't speak for themselves, for many years in the furthest reaches of Canada, namely, women in poverty and women escaping from violence. She is wise beyond her years. She was a single mother for years, overcame her own demons to go on to make a huge difference in any community she touches.As usual, our conversation wandered around where we were in each other's lives - and we got to talking about CEDRIC, the blog, core beliefs and how we both dealt with our rascally drill sergeants.We were in Deb's downtown Vancouver hotel suite, pulling open the couch to turn it into my bed and Deb says "the trick is to take those surviving skills and turn them into thriving skills." Sometimes she comes up with such simple sentiments that are so ultimately dead on. Then she pointed out that she couldn't help noticing how my recent soul searching and subsequent life changes has had paid off and how I was now, like her, thriving. (more…)

Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, The Law of Attraction, Tips for Natural Eating, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

Tandem Healing

Tandem Healing  There is something profoundly significant that can be found in the support of friendships. When we have someone or a few trustworthy and beloved someones who know us, have history with us, and have a wish to help us, we are miles ahead of those who don't.

I was thinking, on my journey to wellness, how much easier it would be to get more motivated to get out if I have a friend who would be willing to go for walks out in the green spaces of the region with me. Then, as I was sitting on my balcony with my first coffee, in the early morning fogginess, pondering the vista of Esquimalt harbour in front of me, that led me to thinking ... what about ‘tandem healing'? Not just the healing of friendships or having a friend badger you to get off your duff and get out with them so you get more physically active, but how about having a friend who also has ‘issues' that they want to have re-aligned, go into the CEDRIC community and process the literature and workshops together? Of course, it would require the patience needed of the other to give them the time and space to do the work that is individual to each of the friend's healing process, but doesn't it make sense that if friendship and camaraderie in a trusted environment is healing, then taking an intentional path together toward wellness would not only expedite the individual healing process through the support available, but wouldn't that tandem healing also would deepen the friendship? (more…)

Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, The Law of Attraction, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

Thought Vibration: Chapter II

The Law of Attraction In the Thought World William Walker Atkinson wrote a book in 1906 called “Thought Vibration or The Law of Attraction in the Thought World. He wrote over 100 books in his career and was widely respected as a leader of new thought and spirituality. His writing formed the theoretical basis for the hit movie The Secret and influenced many of its interviewees (Such as Jack Canfield and Joe Vitale). I’d like to share some quotes from each chapter with you over the next few weeks as it’s such an amazing little resource and the language with which he writes is so matter of fact it really appeals to the logical, rational, need the science behind the method part of my brain. I hope you like it. Michelle Chapter II “… thought waves … have the property of reproducing themselves… Just as a note of the violin will cause the thin glass to vibrate and ‘sing,’ so will a strong thought tend to awaken similar vibrations in minds attuned to receive it.” “We are largely what we have thought ourselves into being,…” “We generally see that for which we look.” (more…)

Posted in: Relationship with Self, The Law of Attraction, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

The Gift of Letting Go ~ Making Peace with our Bodies in the Present

The Gift of Letting GoThe Gift of Letting Go ~ Making Peace with our Bodies in the Present By Virginia Preston, BA Psych, RYT – 500 Hr. The theme for this year’s Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Feb. 1-7, 2009) is ‘Celebrating Our Natural Sizes’. One might ask with frustration, ‘How can I accept something that I wish was another way?!’ Won’t accepting myself as I am only lead to more of what I don’t want? Isn’t the path to self-control and ‘change’ found in resistance to how I am, and a certain amount of self-punishment? Isn’t that the necessary ‘motivation’ for change? The answers are: No, No and No (!) Sadly, our argument with reality (as we perceive it) only fuels the fire of suffering and resentment toward ourselves and our bodies. It leads nowhere. If ‘resisting’ ourselves was adequate to solve our problems, we’d all have been problem-free a long time ago. (more…)

Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

CEDRIC News – Michelle on your local TV -February 2, 2009

CEDRIC NewsMichelle’s Morand’s A-Channel Adventure by Tina Budeweit-Weeks, CEDRIC Correspondent As the first week in February is recognized as National Eating Disorders Week, in order to draw more attention to the concerns related to it, CEDRIC’s Michelle Morand was interviewed first thing Monday morning on the A Channel’s breakfast show. She was a vision of serenity in a simple black outfit offset by a long woven scarf in warm autumn colours draped casually across one shoulder. Newscaster Erick Thompson asked some great questions around society’s increased need for CEDRIC’s approach and Michelle’s calm answers were clear, concise and gently worded, providing the viewing audience with an example of the gentle way issues around eating disorders are handled at CEDRIC. (more…)

Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

Tina Budeweit-Weeks, CEDRIC correspondent here:

Tina Budeweit-WeeksWeekly, I take a couple of hours that I set aside specially, to peruse the internet to find sites that support the process of CEDRIC participants. I figure if its interesting to me, as I too, consider myself a 100% participant, it likely will resonate with some of our readers as well. This week, I found a fabulous site that links databases around women’s alternative health. Especially interesting is the entire listing I found for guided imagery, or what I am accustomed to referring to as ‘guided meditations’, a wonderful tool for overcoming strife and tension. (That doesn’t involve food or exercise!) ‘Women’s Mind/Body Health’ is the link to resource this with another link on that page leading to where to access the books and tapes that one can benefit from by listening and reading more about it. (more…)

Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, Tips for Natural Eating, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (0) →

Tandem Healing by Tina Budeweit

Tandem Healing by Tina BudeweitThere is something profoundly significant in the support of friendships. When we have someone or a few trustworthy and beloved someones who know us, have history with us, and have a wish to help us, we are miles ahead of those who don’t. I was thinking, on my journey to wellness, how much easier it would be to get more motivated to get out if I have a friend who would be willing to go for walks out in the green spaces of the region with me. Then, as I was sitting on my balcony with my first coffee, in the early morning fogginess, pondering the vista of Esquimalt harbour in front of me, that led me to thinking … what about ‘tandem healing’? Not just the healing of friendships or having a friend badger you to get off your duff and get out with them so you get more physically active, but how about having a friend who also has ‘issues’ that they want to have re-aligned, go into the CEDRIC community and process the literature and workshops together? Of course, it would require the patience needed of the other to give them the time and space to do the work that is individual to each of the friend’s healing process, but doesn’t it make sense that if friendship and camaraderie in a trusted environment is healing, then taking an intentional path together toward wellness would not only expedite the individual healing process through the support available, but wouldn’t that tandem healing also deepen the friendship? Two eagles fly by me as I write this and I see it as an omen. (more…)

Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, Uncategorized

Leave a Comment (1) →
Page 3 of 5 12345