Posted by Cedric on June 26, 2009
For thousands of years many cultures have held a belief in a very powerful philosophy, the gist of which is: we create our thoughts, and our thoughts create our life as we know it. Because our thoughts are our very own creation, we alone have the power to change them and therefore to change our entire experience of life as we know it.
Yes, with the act of simply choosing to believe something other than what you have believed in the past, you create an entirely new existence for yourself. For example, if you have been choosing to believe that you need others to be happy with you in order for you to be happy, and you allow yourself to believe that you no longer need anyone’s approval in order to be happy, your perspective on every situation in your life will be changed instantly, as will your behaviour in those situations. You have changed your life completely, simply by allowing yourself to put your faith in a new thought rather than an old one.
You know all too well how distressing and overwhelming it can be when you observe yourself doing something you don’t want to do, for example, overeating, because this action will be of no assistance to you in reaching your ultimate goal. But you can’t stop yourself; you feel as though you have no control and that your life is out of your hands. You feel simultaneously comforted and soothed, in that anxious and strangely familiar way, and frustrated. You feel as if you are going crazy. You feel stuck and hopeless, and you begin to make plans for what you are going to do differently next time because this gives you a sense of power and makes you feel a little better in the moment, even though you know you are not likely to be successful then, either!
But imagine if you were able to catch yourself thinking about or actually overeating, purging, or restricting, and rather than believing you are weak and can’t stop this behaviour, you could say, “Oh, I’m doing the food thing. What is the unmet need which I have right now that’s making me want to use food to cope?” Imagine that! In moments, you have gone from blaming yourself for needing a coping strategy to empathy and compassion for the fact that you have a need which isn’t being met, and now you are in a position to actually find a solution to the unmet need and meet it in ways which make you feel stronger and more trusting of yourself. Oh, it is really so beautiful and empowering to see yourself meeting your own needs in a life-enhancing way. This is when the world begins to take on a different perspective – and all because you have allowed yourself to put your faith in a different thought: food is not the problem!
Excerpted from Food is Not the Problem: Deal With What Is!
The Power of Thought
If you are looking to free yourself from the emotional stress that drives you to use food to cope, please join us this July at our live summer workshop in beautiful Victoria, BC. Three Days to Freedom – yes, in just 3 days, you can completely transform your approach to food and your life with new awareness and 3 simple tools that will change your life forever! Come and learn everything you need to know about why you struggle with food. We would love to have you here. (We even have an early bird price in effect until July 5!).
Have questions? We’re holding a no-cost preview telecall on Tuesday, June 30 from 5-6pm Pacific with Michelle Morand. Register here to find out more about the CEDRIC Centre and this workshop.
In the meantime, check out our Frequently Asked Questions here.
The Complete Recovery Team
Tags: acceptance, anorexia, anxiety, binge eating, CEDRIC Centre, core beliefs, eating disorders, exploring, forgiveness, future, grounding, healing, insecurity, nurturing, overeating, past, present, rebalancing, self esteem, self worth, workshops
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CEDRIC Centre, Relationship with Self, workshops
