I used to think
that one of the greatest benefits of reaching an ideal, health-affirming weight
would be not having to think about weight anymore. When I consider all of the
moments that I have handed my brain over to thinking about the size of my
thighs or what makes my butt look big or degrading myself because last year’s
jeans are too tight or this year’s jeans are too tight, or wanting to be thin
or feeling bad that I’m not thinner…when I add up all of those moments, I
wonder what else I could have been doing with my mind. I wonder what God would have me
be doing with my mind?
I’ve since
concluded that the purpose of my life and therefore my mind is to be a full
expression of my God given abilities and to be joyful, creative and inspired.
Practicing a peaceful mind is an invitation for joy and a
platform for creativity as well as an opening for inspiration. It is unlikely that joy, creativity and
inspiration are going to force their way between thoughts of self-denigration. The good news is that I don’t have to
wait for the weight (ha ha that rhymes—wait for weight!). I don’t have to postpone the cultivation
of a peaceful mind until the conditions are right. In,fact, the cultivation of
the peaceful mind will itself generate changes in the outward conditions. As I
accept myself as I am with love and compassion, I am then free to create the conditions
that will bring the things that I want.
This is not some hairy fairy wishing. I’ve witnessed this
phenomenon and more importantly, I have experienced it in my own life. As I
make my peace my priority, then conditions around me change to bring more
peace.
This is what I believe is the meaning behind the third
Beatitude.
“Blessed are the meek for they
shall inherit the earth.” KJV
“Healthy are those who have
softened what is rigid within; they shall receive physical vigor and strength
from the universe. One
Aramaic Interpretation
As we make changes on the inside, the outward environment
will change. That’s the good news. The flip side is the bad news. The current
environment reflects current
beliefs and attitudes.
Where it looks like outward circumstances are immobile, or chaotic or lacking it may be because the
thinking that connects those circumstances to your life are also immobile
chaotic and lacking. What are you believing that is “rigid within?” This
Beatitude invites us to soften it.
Changing any thought is simple…but not easy. It means learning, unlearning and
relearning. In your brain it involves changing or re-establishing synaptic
pathways that have gotten stronger due to frequent use. It’s like veering off an interstate
highway and trying to drive down a hiking trail. Takes work. There will be resistance. Obstacles will have to
be dealt with. But it can be done.
Sacred and Fit employs Lectio Divina because it is a
contemplative meditative practice.
Meditation is the single most effective vehicle for changing thoughts
because the focus is not “trying” to change thoughts but to be fully engaged in
one single thought…the Beatitude at hand. While you are engaged fully with the
verse, your mind is not wandering, not judging or assessing, not worrying or
fretting. While you engage the Sacred and Fit curriculum, it may look like you are
eating quietly or concentrating on your exercise but you are actually
participating in a powerful revolution of your own life, one thought at a time.
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Sacred and Fit©
-Every life is
sacred. Each body a temple
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