Change is hard. We all know that. We read about all of the
benefits of being at a healthy weight and we know what to do about it….but
sometimes you just want what you want.
In Sacred and Fit
you are learning to want your health just as much as you want a deeper
relationship with God. In fact, the goal is to equate your health with a deeper
relationship with God. This
requires some doing because AFTER
you choose to establish the link in your mind between God and
your food
and you have made a firm decision
to commit to being healthy,
and you truly are ready to believe
that this is God’s will for you
and you are willing to love and honor yourself enough to be
conscious of your health on a daily basis
…then the REAL challenge starts,
self-rule.
Actually, there
will be self-“rules.” These are
the rules you will place on yourself. Your own list of do’s and dont’s. You
already have certain rules that you have established. You don’t kill. You don’t
steal. You don’t commit adultery.
You may have rules about your house. You don’t leave dishes in the sink
over night. Or you don’t leave your bed unmade. We all have rules. We have our own rules about our finances
and spending habits, our own rules about our commitments to others, our own
rules about our commitments to ourselves.
Even if are rules are rather loose, (some people don’t mind an unmade
bed) we all have our limits.
All people with specific dietary habits have rules. People
who are on medications that have to be taken with food, will schedule their
meals around the medicine. Vegetarians don’t eat meat. Vegans (pronounced Vee gun) don’t eat
anything that comes from an animal including milk or eggs. Raw foodists eat
like Vegans PLUS they don’t eat anything that has been heated more than 118 ℉. What they all have in common is
that they eat by their own rules.
Last week we began establishing the ground work for our
personal and permanent rules of engagement around food. Once we establish and practice the
basic ground rules for at least six weeks, then it becomes easier to strengthen
or modify the rules that are already in place. This is very different from
“dieting” where entire new sets of rules are established for each new diet. When
you get off of the diet, there goes the rules.
The first and most important set of rules is associated with
our minds. The Lectio Divina helps us to become mindful of eating. We are learning to associate eating
with thinking of a scripture. We
give our minds a task. We remember to eat because we schedule our eating. We
eat more purposefully. We are aware of what we are eating. We are conscious of
eating for nourishment and for no other reason. This is the groundwork for permanent
change- engaging the mind, first.
This week the third Beatitude is also about engaging the
mind…for that is where there is “rigidity” that needs to be softened. The
rigidity that most needs softening are all of the beliefs and practices that
have produced the problem with weight in the first place…they hide behind
statements to yourself like, “I can’t do it” or “I’m too busy” or “I deserve a
piece of cake” or “I’ll exercise more tomorrow to make up for it.”
The Lectio
Divina begins to “soften” the mind and slowly, by slowly put in a new tape…. “I
can do this.” “I’m not too busy to take care of myself because my health is my
priority.” “ Actually I deserve an apple instead of a piece of cake.” “I’ll exercise today and tomorrow.”
Just like Shug said to Celie. “You are your most important
thing”
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Sacred and Fit© -Every
life is sacred. Each body a temple.
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