Weight Loss of the Mind

I read a book by Stuart Wilde with a similar title, but the content he talked about was a little bit different. Mr. Wilde talked about how much unnecessary baggage we each carry around with us everyday. It is called worry. We worry and worry because we feel that our lives are running out of control. We just can't control our money, our environment, our bills, our health, our loved ones, along with world politics. This generates fear of something happening to us out of the blue that we aren't prepared. He mentioned that we should lose these self-defeating habits. But they aren't that easy, are they? No matter how much you try they are still hanging around just to make your life a little less enjoyable. Today we are going to work on something simpler. Let's start with weight loss. I have watched Oprah on occasions and I have noticed that she seems to always be on a diet. She loses some weight and then six months later the weight is back. Why is it so hard for many of us to get down to a weight that we like? Is it because we continually eat too much? Sometimes, but not always. Do we have to starve ourselves and deny any pleasures of food to maintain a "healthy" weight? Why do some people eat what ever they want and never gain a pound? I know some that do everything they can to gain weight. I ponder what a wonderful challenge that would be!
My parents were never big picture takers so I didn't have many photos. One day I uncovered a picture of when I was around 13 years old. I couldn't believe it was me! I was so thin! My mother had always complained about my excessive weight. She would point at my stomach and say, "you are fat!" Well, my stomach in the picture wasn't washboard like those guys I see on the Men's Health magazine covers, but it was far from over weight.
Karen Carpenter died in 1983 of anorexia. I had never heard of the condition before. She was emaciated, but she still saw herself as fat. I wonder if my mother (who was always thin) saw me in a similar vein. Now, I am not blaming her for her statements, but when someone of high importance in your life tells you something about yourself, you tend to believe them. I believed I was fat and that belief has carried extra weight through out most of my life. My wife who is sixty pound less than I, tells me how she can't believe how little I eat to weigh as much as I do.
We see the world as physical cause and effect. We don't really know how our food is digested and what our body does with it, so when we see someone over weight our first thought is poor diet, no exercise and lack of willpower. But could it be something else? I walk everyday, I don't eat out very often. I rarely consume meat or even soft drinks. Chips and cheese on occasion and desserts on rare occasions. In fact, my wife has a much bigger sweet tooth than I. So what could it be?
Seeing is Believing is not a statement I agree anymore. I prefer this new one.
Believing is Seeing.
The problem with our bodies is the way we see them. If you believe you are fat then there is no diet in the world that can permanently keep you thin. If the doctor tells you, you will always suffer from depression and you believe him then you will. If your friends tell you that you aren't very smart and you believe them then you will act appropriately. The day you take charge of your beliefs and say - "Yes I am thin and my body knows what it needs to use if I just let it or I am not depressed at all, I am just going through a bad time right now. And I know that I will emerge on the other side perfectly fine. I know that there is nothing about my life that I don't have ultimate control. I just haven't taken hold of the reins and therefore my horses have been running freely. All I have to do is grab the reins and my horses will obey me and go in the direction of my choosing. I am going to change this title from Weight Loss of the Mind to Weight Loss in my Mind. I can do it if I just believe in myself over what anyone no matter how important they seem. I know that my beliefs will manifest themselves as they have always done and now I am going to change the scene. I am going to be who I choose."

Barry will be doing a workshop, "The Law of Attraction" at the Fairfield Library, 1001 N. Laburnum, Richmond, Va. 23223 on Saturday, January 25, 2014 from 1:00 - 3:00 PM. It's free and you don't want to miss it!

Nameste'

Barry Brown, Author and National Speaker
"A Journey to Balance - Making Sense of It All"