Posts Tagged body/mind/spirit
Posted by mmorand on August 27, 2009
Okay folks, we’re going to take a little journey together (if you’re willing). It is a journey to a place called “balance.” And we get there by walking a path called “self-care.” Say goodbye to your old patterns of behaviour. Say goodbye to harmful old relationships, places of work, and miscellaneous other people, places and things that undermine you and your sense of peace and happiness. Once you start down Self-Care Lane you won’t be needing or wanting to return. I guarantee you!
For the next month, we’re going to be putting one foot, gently but firmly, in front of the other to create a life that is balanced, peaceful, and honoring who you really are and what you truly deserve in life.
Our journey begins with you taking a few minutes to get clear on where you are now. Then we’ll take a look at where you’d like to be and fill in the spaces between step-by-step so you’ve got a clear path that leads you towards lasting change at a pace that is right for you.
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Tags: acceptance, body image, body/mind/spirit, CEDRIC Centre, compulsive eating, core beliefs, eating disorders, exploring, forgiveness, grounding, growing, healing, nurturing, past, present, rebalancing, recovery, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth, workshops
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self
Posted by mmorand on August 21, 2009
Hello! And welcome! This is Part III of an article on navigating travel and vacation time in the easiest most relaxed way when you’re still on the path to recovery from the use of food to cope (ie. overeating, restricting, purging, or that annoying diet mentality).
Part I spoke about creating a sense of peace and comfort around the variety and/or constraints of choice that vacationing can provide. In Part I, I provided you with a clear list of tools you can use to ground yourself and come back to basics regardless of what’s on the menu. I have heard from quite a few clients who have carried Part I with them on their travels this summer and have found these simple suggestions extremely helpful in remaining clear on what action to take to feel more at ease than ever before.
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Tags: acceptance, anxiety, binge eating, body image, body/mind/spirit, compulsive eating, core beliefs, drill sergeant, eating disorders, exploring, forgiveness, healing, healthy eating, nurturing, overeating, rebalancing, recovery, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth, tandem healing, triggers
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self
Posted by mmorand on August 21, 2009
If we have fallen into the behaviour of overeating, restricting or purging – in other words: If we use food to cope, we can absolutely know a few key things about ourselves that can really help us in our recovery.
- First, we can absolutely know for certain that we struggle with insecurities about our abilities; our intellect; our lovability; our acceptability and our appearance.
- Second, we can absolutely know for certain that those insecurities are borne of old stories; messages we were told or that we interpreted from other people’s body language or treatment of us and that those old stories are shaping our perception of ourselves today.
- Next, we can absolutely know for certain that these old stories that trigger you to feel insecure trigger an emotion we call “anxiety.”
- And without a doubt you can know that it is the anxiety you feel, that arises from these old stories about what’s wrong with you, that triggers you to focus on your body and on food in a way that is critical, undermining and stifling of your energy and creativity in life.
Without exception you can know these 4 things are true about yourself if you use food to cope. (ie. eat when you’re not hungry; eat more than you’re hungry for; or don’t allow yourself to eat when you are hungry).
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Tags: acceptance, anxiety, body image, body/mind/spirit, compulsive eating, core beliefs, drill sergeant, eating disorders, exploring, forgiveness, future, grounding, healing, insecurity, nurturing, rebalancing, recovery, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self
Posted by mmorand on August 7, 2009
Hello All!
It’s been a very busy time here at CEDRIC and in my own life. Thankfully both pieces seem to be settling down and August looks to be a time of catching up, relaxing and settling in. Here, here!
I’m very much enjoying my patio, with its all day sunshine and watching my young son bouncing merrily on his trampoline.
I was sifting through a journal from this time last year and recognized that many of the goals I had for my life last year have been realized and that the others are well on their way to manifesting. It occurred to me in that moment how incredibly lucky that makes me, and then it occurred to me that it wasn’t luck at all. It was the practice of first trusting that I was deserving of and could create the life of my dreams; then came the piece of conceptualizing that dream existence; then came the process of identifying the steps I needed to take to get from point A to point B.
Trust in the big picture
All along the theme is trust. Trusting my deservedness, trusting my capabilities, trusting the key people in my life, trusting that, regardless of how things seem in the moment, they always, always, work out for the best. I don’t know whether you’re a spiritual person, a religious person or neither. The good news is it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to believe in a higher power or God or anything greater than yourself (although you certainly can) in order to be able to look back at your life so far and see that the events and circumstances you felt maybe “shouldn’t” have been happening then led you to the place you are now.
Out of adversity comes strength. That has been shown to me time and time again. The greatest gift of my personal growth this past decade has been the development of a profound sense of trust that regardless of how things appear in any given moment, they are unfolding exactly as they should. And if I look for the gains, the positives in each situation, I will find them, just as surely as I will find the downside if I seek it.
It is our choice, as beings with free will, to focus on what is working or on what isn’t; to attach to how we think things should be or to let go and be open to the silver lining in every situation. It is so easy to get hooked on how things should look and then get angry, sad, hurt, frustrated, scared, etc. when things don’t go as planned. It is far, far easier and far more strengthening to recognize when you’re holding on to things looking a certain way and to just let go and trust that something even better than you had imagined is coming your way.
Again, you don’t have to look very far to see the truth of this. Most of us can recall a circumstance – say, the loss of a job or a relationship that we wouldn’t have chosen at the time and that we truly felt shouldn’t be happening or was just downright “wrong.” In hindsight though, wouldn’t you say that “it” worked out for the best; that the loss of that connection or career opened new avenues that led to people and places you wouldn’t now trade for the world?
It’s a challenge in the moment to let go and trust in the bigger picture. In fact, it would be truthful to say it is “the” challenge of our lives. And the more we learn to recognize when we’re holding on and to instead, allow ourselves to just let go and trust, the easier, more peaceful, more fun, more amazing and beautiful life gets.
I challenge you to recognize some of the things in your present life that you’re resisting letting go of or resisting accepting and see what happens if you just challenge yourself to say, “Well, this is what’s happening. It may scare me. It may not be what I expected or wanted. But I know things always unfold in a way that leads me to bigger and better things. Can I just relax and open myself to this experience as best I can?”
If you can repeat this mantra when you catch yourself resisting change, you will find a sense of strength and peace, even in the face of a greatest challenge, that carries you through. We are human, we have feelings. That’s healthy and normal. It’s what we do with those feelings that makes the difference. Do we stuff them and tell ourselves we shouldn’t have them or that what’s happening in our lives shouldn’t be happening? Or do we recognize them for the indicators they are and look beneath them for the situation or story that is triggering them? The first scenario leads to the use of food to cope. The second scenario leads to freedom.
If you’d like to be able to choose the second scenario over the first and to develop a deep sense of trust in your ability to navigate life with dignity and grace, rather than with food and body image focus, I welcome the opportunity to work with you and support you to achieve that goal.
It is possible.
Whether you prefer one-on-one counselling (in-person, by phone, or email), our intensive and transformative workshops, or the self-help approach, take action today to have a stress-free relationship with food. Life is far too short to waste one more day.
Love Michelle
Tags: acceptance, body/mind/spirit, core beliefs, drill sergeant, eating disorders, exploring, forgiveness, future, grounding, growing, healing, nurturing, past, present, promises, recovery, self care, self esteem, self love, tandem healing, workshops
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self
Posted by mmorand on July 22, 2009
Life is beautiful. It is complex and it has many twists and turns, but it has a quality of freedom and the opportunity for constant self-creationism that, with the right mindset, allows each of us to feel exuberant, passionate, alive and fulfilled whether we are accepting a Nobel prize, giving birth, beginning or ending a relationship, washing the dishes or stuck in rush-hour traffic. But what about someone who doesn’t have the “right” mindset? What about someone who, however it came to be, doesn’t see the world as their oyster of creation but instead sees themselves as undeserving of what they desire; who sees themselves as “not good enough”? How do they navigate the stress of accepting an award, having a child, ending a relationship or that inevitable traffic jam?
Mostly likely they’ve developed patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving called “coping strategies” that allow them to feel some degree of safety and security in their world. Coping strategies take many forms. One primary coping strategy that many people in our society develop is a preoccupation with appearance and with their relationship with food, either in a restricting or overeating way.
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Tags: acceptance, body image, body/mind/spirit, CEDRIC Centre, control, core beliefs, drill sergeant, eating disorders, exploring, forgiveness, grounding, growing, healing, insecurity, nurturing, rebalancing, recovery, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth, tandem healing, workshops
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, workshops
Posted by mmorand on July 21, 2009
All weight problems are simply a reflection of a lack of balance within. That’s all. Emotionally and physically you’re out of balance. Your priorities are skewed and they need to be tweaked so that you really embody the belief that your needs and your health are the most important things in your world.
Now, rather than feeling “outed” by this statement and that everyone you meet is going to “know” you’re out of balance, could you allow yourself instead to just accept the truth of it? Instead of trying to protect yourself from the truth of your lack of balance, how about asking the question: “What’s the fastest, most effective and lasting solution to this problem?”
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Tags: acceptance, anxiety, body image, body/mind/spirit, CEDRIC Centre, core beliefs, drill sergeant, exploring, forgiveness, grounding, growing, healing, insecurity, nurturing, past, present, rebalancing, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth, tandem healing, triggers, workshops
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, workshops
Posted by Cedric on July 15, 2009
Healthful boundaries are a fundamental piece of creating balance in our lives. The things which we allow and don’t allow to happen around us, and to us, tell people a lot about our self-esteem and how we regard ourselves and ultimately, what they can get away with in their relationship with us!
In other words, if you have good self-esteem, you have strong and healthful boundaries. You feel capable of asking for what you need and letting people know clearly and directly when your needs are unmet. This lets the people in relationships with you know that you expect honesty and integrity from others, and you are willing to bring this to the table yourself. You wouldn’t be able or willing to tolerate dishonesty or lack of responsibility in any relationship. Someone who isn’t ready for honesty or directness in their communications with others, or who wants to be able to blame others for their behavior, wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with you because you would be constantly challenging them to take responsibility for their actions. So the clearer you are in your boundaries and what you expect and are willing to accept from others, the more you draw healthful, balanced, responsible people to you: people who have the same goals for honesty and integrity in their relationships as you do.
What are Boundaries
Excerpted from Food is Not the Problem: Deal With What Is!
Take time to reflect today on how boundaries with others has affected you and see where you can take a stand. You might find some of the focus on food will ease a little in the process!
Tags: acceptance, body/mind/spirit, control, core beliefs, grounding, growing, rebalancing, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth
Posted in: Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self
Posted by mmorand on July 7, 2009
Your rate of recovery from your stressful relationship with food depends on your readiness for change. For example, I have worked with many people who have struggled for years, even decades with overeating, restricting and/or purging, and within 5 or 6 sessions, they are transformed, feeling clear, purposeful and trusting in their ability to no longer use food to cope. Yet others may take a few months or a year or two to get to the same place. And that’s perfectly fine.
There is no right or wrong way to move through the healing process. It’s a completely personal experience and the length of the healing journey depends on many factors but the most important thing for us all is this:
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Tags: acceptance, anorexia, anxiety, binge eating, body image, body/mind/spirit, bulimia, CEDRIC Centre, control, core beliefs, drill sergeant, eating disorders, exploring, forgiveness, grounding, growing, healing, insecurity, natural eating, nurturing, overeating, past, present, promises, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth, tandem healing, triggers, workshops
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Others, Relationship with Self, workshops
Posted by Cedric on June 18, 2009
Three Days to Freedom!
Transformative Weekend Workshop
July 24-26 in beautiful Victoria, BC
Details at a Glance
1. Early Bird Price: $596.00 or 3 equal payments at $201.00 only until July 5! (regular price $636.00).
2. Preview Q&A Telecall June 30 from 5-6pm Pacific (6-7 Mountain / 7-8pm Central / 8-9 Eastern).
3. Draw to win a free follow-up counselling session with Michelle Morand (value $130!).
Freedom and peace of mind are on the way this July…
Been thinking of coming to one of our workshops but haven’t quite drummed up the courage yet and need a little nudge? Well, here’s your nudge! There’s never been a better time than the present to explore your relationship with food.
It doesn’t matter how old you are or how long you’ve been dealing with the stress of an eating disorder or that annoying diet mentality, you can find the answers you’re looking for. We promise. Really, the solution is close than you think.
Imagine This…
In just three days you can completely transform your approach to food and your life. Come and learn everything you need to know about why you struggle with food, why you haven’t been successful in getting a good, solid, long-lasting grip on the problem, and 3 simple tools that will change your life forever!
“Thank you for providing a secure and accepting environment for me to explore and identify some personal key issues – and for providing the tools to confidently move forward.” ~Christine
Sound too good to be true? The CEDRIC Centre workshops have an amazingly profound and transformative quality about them. People from all over the world have come to us and have dramatically accelerated their recovery as a result. We’ve seen it over and over again, and that’s how we know what we teach is working!
It is our greatest reward to see people move through changes and be released from the issues that have been keeping them stuck. We’d love to have you join us!
Ready to take the plunge? Register for or read more about the Weekend Workshops.
Three Days to Freedom!
Draw to Win a No-Cost Counselling Session
We’ll also be having a draw at the event, and one lucky participant will receive a free counselling session with Michelle Morand valued at $130!
Preview Call Details
We’re holding a NO-COST Preview Q&A telecall on Tuesday, June 30 at 5-6pm Pacific so you can have your questions about the workshop answered live by Michelle. We’ll be recording the call, so even if you can’t make it, you can still get all of the information like you were there. However, you must register to ensure you’ll get the recording. Sign up for the Weekend Workshop Q and A call.
Our workshops fill up fast. You don’t want to miss the chance to change your life in ways you can’t imagine: 3 special days with Michelle Morand and 3 special tools will put you back in control of your life and back on the path to the joy and happiness you deserve.
“I am so excited to use my new tools and you have given me so much insight!” ~Jocelyn
Register for or read more about the Weekend Workshops. Remember, the Early Bird price is only in effect until July 5!
We would love to have you join us!
Have questions? Visit our FAQ page or call us Toll Free at 1-866-383-0797 or 250-383-0797.
The Complete Recovery Team
Tags: acceptance, anorexia, anxiety, binge eating, body image, body/mind/spirit, bulimia, CEDRIC Centre, community, core beliefs, eating disorders, exploring, group work, growing, healing, healthy eating, past, present, rebalancing, recovery, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth, triggers, workshops
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Self, workshops
Posted by mmorand on June 17, 2009
Many people hear the term Natural Eating and immediately assume it’s about eating whole grains and non-processed foods or has something to do with organics or locally grown produce, etc. Well, those are all great ideas and your body will love you for eating as unprocessed as possible, but….that’s not what we mean when we say “natural eating.”
Natural Eating, also more recently dubbed “Intuitive Eating,” refers to the simple process of eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full. As a natural eater you are conscious of your body’s signals of hunger, fullness, lightness, energy, or bloating, lethargy, fatigue and heaviness. These are your cues about what your body likes and needs vs. what it doesn’t. In a natural eating approach, you honor those cues and are drawn to choose foods that allow you to feel light, full, and energized after eating rather than heavy, bloated, and pooped out.
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Tags: acceptance, body image, body/mind/spirit, CEDRIC Centre, core beliefs, drill sergeant, eating disorders, exploring, healing, natural eating, self care, self esteem, triggers
Posted in: Relationship with Self, Tips for Natural Eating
