09.18.07
Posted in Discovering the Senses, Our Bodies, Paths to Bliss
at 11:18 am
I’ve added a bunch of new links to the sidebar under “Body Acceptance.” The abundance of resources and support for this topic is overwhelming (in a good way). Here are a few I want to highlight:
12 Steps to Health at Every Size
Health at Every Size is a way of life that focuses on how you’re feeling (sound familiar?) and making friends with your body instead of what you weigh or what body type you have.
Good With Cheese
This is one of my new favorite blogs because it is about a woman’s journey to listening to and accepting her body. And because she’s hilarious.
You Don’t Have to Be Pretty
Here’s an oldie but a goodie that is worth a re-read (every. freakin’. month.). It’s about how we don’t owe prettiness to anyone. We only owe happiness to ourselves.
Here are some particularly good posts that I’ve come across recently (they may not have actually been written recently, but they’re new to me.):
Crush-Worthy
This right here sums up one of the best thing about participating in the Health at Every Size movement: The joy that comes with a lovely realignment in priorities.
You Won’t Go to Hell Because it Tastes Good
This post challenges us to remove moral judgment from what we eat.
I dare you
The Rotund dares us to go an entire day without thinking or saying negative things about our bodies.
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08.10.07
Posted in Discovering the Senses, Make Your Life Easier, Paths to Bliss
at 10:03 am
As you might now if you’ve read anything I’ve written, I am all about abundance these days. I want to surround myself with people and things that make me feel good. I want to live with the assurance that if I release myself to the creative process of life, everything I want will come to me. I wasn’t always this way though coming from the extended family that I did—who often celebrated how long they’d had something rather than it’s functionality or condition. I very much had the mentality that if it worked we used it. I often “made do” with many of the things in my life because they were there and there was no point in spending money to buy something that was better or prettier when what I had worked just fine.
Can you see how “making do” has an energy of stagnation and lack? Now, I’m not talking about the beat up pair of shoes that you love and make you feel like you can walk a million miles when you’re wearing them. That has an energy of love. I’m talking about the things that you’re keeping around just because they work, and you’re having a hard time justifying getting one that is more pleasing because it seems like a waste of resources. This is where I circle back around to the title of this post: I think it’s really important to surround ourselves in aesthetically pleasing things–whatever that means for each of us.
If you read almost any book on organization or motivation, it’s going to tell you that you have to find ways to want to do things. If you’re trying to organize, that means buying baskets and folders that you want to touch and see around the house. Maybe it means finding some fun pens you love to hold and use and see their ink on paper. Have you ever noticed that when you encounter people who have a hobby or a career they love, they have surrounded themselves with the fun gadgets and accoutrements that go along with their activities? When you go over to someone’s house who clearly likes to entertain, they typically have pretty dishes and glasses (not necessarily expensive, but pleasing nonetheless). Families who like to spend time in the living room will often have big, smooshy couches that make you want to dive right in.
My point is, those things display the passion and joy of the people who own them–even more, those things help fuel the passion and joy for those people. I’ll give you an example. I love to cook and bake. I find such creative pleasure in finding a recipe, adding my personal flare, and then receiving the warm appreciation from those who eat what I’ve made. One of the results of my passion for cooking is an obsession with pretty and useful kitchenware. So I have a standing mixer to help me whip up eggs and cream and batter and bread dough. It removes a lot of the grunt work that I find unpleasant. (Some people love to get their hands in floury dough–and I totally appreciate that inclination. Personally, it gives me the heebie jeebies.) I bought some extremely lovely Nigella Lawson ceramic measuring cups. When I look at them, not only do I feel a surge of happiness from their shape and color, but they remind me of the joy Nigella Lawson brings to everything she makes and her life in general.
So what happens when we surround ourselves with things we love? Imagine what your life would be like if everywhere you looked, you saw something that made you smile or feel good. How would you approach doing tasks that you would otherwise feel are unpleasant if you have beautiful or fun tools to do them with? What if you never had to “make do” with anything, but could either find joy in what you have right now, or manifest something that puts you in a happy state of mind?
Transforming your environment into something that pleases you is typically something that happens little by little over time (Extreme Home Makeovers aside, of course), so I’m not suggesting that you throw everything you don’t like away and spend every dime you have to buy new things. Because ultimately this is not about things it’s about an attitude and a state of mind. If we retrain ourselves to think that we deserve to have an environment that brings us joy, to choose to surround ourselves with things we love on a day to day basis, we will be shifting our awareness towards abundance and we will continually affirm that we deserve to live joyful lives.
Share the story of how something you love found its way into your life at the Uncover Your Bliss forums.
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05.23.07
Posted in Discovering the Senses, Our Bodies, Paths to Bliss, Positive Thinking
at 11:00 am
I’ve written before about the importance of savoring the food we eat, but I thought I would go a little bit deeper into the subject today because food has such an impact on our bodies and spirits. The idea sounds fun, am I right? 
It would be great to only eat food that tastes and looks really great, to really think about just what you want and then enjoying the process to cook it or go out and get it, to transform meals into sensory experiences instead of something to get through. Sure that sounds awesome.
And then reality intrudes and we work all day and grab something for lunch and then scrape something together for dinner and most likely we drink coffee for breakfast. Maybe once in a while on the weekends we have a dinner that we’ve been thinking about and planning and that we really enjoy. And we think, “Yeah, savoring food sounds awesome, but it takes a lot of energy to plan for.” And trust me, I’m with you there. When food is something we have to do, it becomes something we “deal with” rather than something we experience.
Imagine what kind of energy you’re sending your meals if you’re in “deal with” mode. If you’ve scraped together something that isn’t satisfying or feel guilty about eating something that really is, you’re sending negative energy into your food and then eating it. Even if you’ve just grabbed something and you’re not consciously thinking about what you’re eating, you’re still having a subconscious relationship with your food. You’re thinking that the food isn’t really important, or that you shouldn’t be eating it, or that it’s just fuel and you don’t care. The energy becomes, “I don’t care about what I’m putting into my body.”
Notice that I’m not talking about what it is you’re eating. For the purposes of this discussion, that doesn’t matter. What matters is the kind of energy we’re putting into our food. If you believe in the power of thought and if you believe that we are made up of spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical bodies, that energy is going to affect how you process that food. Reiki practitioners often send energy to food that we prepare and eat to help us digest and metabolize food in healthy ways. Think about the movie Like Water for Chocolate. The premise of the film is that the emotions of the chef affect everyone who eats her food. The same thing is true about the energy we’re sending into the food before we eat it.
Read the rest of this entry »
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03.16.07
Posted in Discovering the Senses, Paths to Bliss
at 10:30 am
Speaking of reveling in the senses, here’s a lovely description of truly experiencing taste and food.
Try to imagine all of the sexy things that happen in your mouth. Now try to imagine a food that embodies these sensual experiences. You are imagining the Indian street food golgappa, unquestionably one of the most exciting things you can do to your body with food in public, a molecular gastronomic snack avant la lettre.
Eating golgappa is like a sweet and salty deep kiss exploding in your mouth, inside out and in slow motion.
Wonderful!
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03.07.07
Posted in Discovering the Senses, Paths to Bliss
at 8:00 am
Tickle Your Senses
How often do you really think about what you’re eating? I mean really think about it. How many of your meals involve throwing something together or grabbing a bite to eat and then eating while you do something else like watching the tv? How often do you savor a particular smell or the way something feels on your skin? How often do you tune out the sensory experiences in your life so you can run on to the next activity or project?
Today’s Trick
Spend one day this week or one hour tomorrow really appreciating how things taste, smell, feel, sound and look. When you take a shower, notice how the water feels on your skin. Decide what temperature would give you the most comfort and ignore what’s good for your skin or hair color. Choose shampoos and soap that smell wonderful to you. When you eat a meal, choose something that appeals to as many senses as you can. Enjoy every bite. Stop a moment to savor the feel of a breeze on your skin or sounds that bring you joy. Take everything into your body by breathing consciously.
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