Nirvana Diet

A Diet For the Mind

You are here: Home / Archives for Blog

In search of your Creativity: The Real Hunger Game

by Leave a Comment

Young blond woman eats chocolateLet me just start out with saying stories and movies like the Hunger Games are not feeding the soul.

If you stopped to think about it, you might ask yourself what you hunger for that you cannot name or do not recognize? Some would say it is creativity that really feeds the sou. Creativity is what we really hunger for and the capacity for creativity comes from deep within… an authentic place the yogis and Carl Jung called the Self. To access this creativity requires you to know yourself differently. Most of us never go beyond the lens of the ego. The ego is a filter thru which you experience your reality that is based on the past, the culture and may not reflect who you really are. As creativity is denied in our culture and marginalized in the educational system, we feel a hunger we mistakenly try to fill by consuming things. For more information on how we are stifling creativity see Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk.

James Hillman the founder of what we call archetypal psychology said that “creativity is in and of itself an instinctual drive just like the drive to eat” This means that the satisfaction of creativity is a requirement of life. We all have the need to fulfill our creative drive. How you go about doing that is what you need to look at. Most of us focus on our work and the roles we play in life such as parenting. This may not feed the creative drive and cause one to feel a sense of dullness about life that also lacks meaning. If so you are not feeding your creative drive properly, this could spill over into other drives like eating, shopping and other escapist modes of behavior that do not fulfill or fill.

So how do you get back on track? First we have to redefine creativity. I love this definition: “The genie of creativity is bottled up for most of us-to liberate the genie is to become a genius” (Goswami, 1999, p. 17). Stay tuned to find out how to become a genius.

 

Goswami, A. (1999). Quantum creativity. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

What does vulnerability have to do with losing weight?

by 2 Comments

woman-on-rockRecently I came across a great Ted Talk by Dr. Bren Brown more on the role of shame as the root of addiction, depression and the tendency to be or feel small in life. Shame is something that is perpetrated by our culture to keep us down. All you have to do is to look at the advertising on that is on TV. Either one is being made to feel small, not being able to keep up the “Jones” or one is offered ways to dull the pain… food, drugs and various other ways to escape.

I would agree with Dr. Bren’s research, the most powerful thing that changed in me is my capacity to be and feel vulnerable. This is what led to be being loveable ironically. I just do not care what people think anymore. How liberating!  Really vulnerability is the key to freedom. But then, that is the problem for the capitalistic model, it needs people consuming. Consumption is driven by feeling not good enough. This really saddens me. What I have found is that without shame you do not need to consume as much… you lose weight, want to exercise, take care of yourself….feel happier naturally.

I would not say that guilt is a close second to shame and is no better in terms of its destructive abilities. The irony is that people want to be with other people who are human… vulnerable.  This means having the guts and ability to tell your story, be with the emotion, the vulnerability, and feeling like you are not defined by your story. I was given two books years ago when I got on the transformational journey that really affected me: Healing the Shame that Binds You by John Bradshaw and Power vs. Force by David Hawkins, MD, PhD. The book gives you a way to move out of shame, and the second explains how shame is the lowest human emotion one can calibrate. The lower the emotions with which we resonate, the weaker we are. To me empathy and of course acceptance are the high roads.  To me acceptance is the real antidote to shame. I would also add to that laughter… having the capacity to laugh at it all.

Personally, I am still working on vulnerability because I learned to survive by not feeling certain emotions and just being in my head. I am happily still a work in progress  and I am ok to admit that is ok. Why not try the vulnerability diet… make sure you add a dash of acceptance!

 

Values drive change

by Leave a Comment

woman-on-rockWhy is it so difficult to change established patterns of behavior especially when those patterns do not serve us? The answer lies perhaps in getting clear about what you value. Recently I made the acquaintance of a website www.kairios.com which has a very helpful interactive way to get in touch with your values.  Once you get clear on that, it helps you to tap into the right energy you need to bring about the changes you might be struggling with from losing weight, getting motivated to exercise and putting an end to procrastination.

I recommend you go on the site and take the values assessment. This will help you to see your priorities and understand why we do what we do that we are not always conscious. The clearer you get about what is important to you or what value, the more power you have to change a habit you want to change. This is what gives you the “stick to it-ness” you need to change those habits that are resistant to change.

Values are by definition something you feel is worth it. What is it that is worth it to you to catalyze you to stop eating processed and packaged foods? How can you use the energy inherent in the value of having self-control and self-respect that transcends the need to eat food that is harming you? Getting clear about what you value will empower anything you want to change. Taking action for three months doing something differently can actually  help you to change your brain chemistry.  What really matters to you?

Motivation tips for exercise

by Leave a Comment

Stretching at the beachWe all know that exercise is one of the single best things you can do to lose weight, stay at a healthy weight, boost your mood, reduce stress and even sleep better. Exercise is also the best preventive medicine to ward off the life- style induced diseases that are now treated with prescription drugs…high blood pressure, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome and adult onset diabetes. This list goes on and on as to how beneficial exercise is to be healthy happy. Why do so many people resist exercise?  

The first reason is that when you get out of shape, overweight, or have not exercised in a while it does not feel good when you exercise. So people resist it. The key is never to let yourself go, never to let more than two days go by without at least going for a walk.

Once people are out of shape, they tend to overdo getting back into shape and this creates negative stored memories or associations with exercise. This is also the key of how you get back in. Build positive stored memories and let that work for you and not against you. This can be done using visualization and while lying in bed.

Athletes use visualization to rehearse their movements. Research has proven that the brain doesn’t make different between an imagined event and a real one, providing that you are able to visualize things with clarity and intensity. What you have imagined or visualized in your mind can have the same value as a real experience. This why you can mentally train for any ability and even for physical changes in the body, it was demonstrated by studies at the Manchester University that people were able to have muscles growth during one week of sessions of hypnosis, during hypnosis sessions the group were asked to visualize themselves having bigger muscles.

For sports performance enhancement, an athlete will use visualization to correct his weaknesses, improve his game and increase his motivation. Dr. Murray who wrote “The Essence of Imagery in Tennis  says “Imagery, also called visualization, is described as a mental technique that programs the human mind to respond as programmed, by using all the senses to recreate or create an experience. Imagery has also been described as one of four categories of cognitive skills important in athletic performance.”

So here’s how to start getting motivated to exercise. Wake up each morning and before you get out of bed imagine yourself doing some form of exercise you have chosen that you will enjoy. Focus on the immediate payoffs of not only how you will feel after exercising, but all the benefits you will receive as a result of incorporating exercise into you life on a daily basis. That is the key… doing some form of exercise every day.

To get started I recommend walking. You can download my E-Book The Key to Successful Weight Loss for a great plan to start walking every. Once you start doing it I guarantee you will feel so much better you will want to continue. The visualizations will make it easier and have been proven to have a physical effect on the body. Why not give it a try and let me know what you think?  You can also download my MP3 hypnosis on motivation for exercise. Here’s to your health and well-being.

 

 

 

6 Tips that take off the weight and keep it off

by Leave a Comment

Housewife divides healthy rye bread sandwich in halfIt’s really important that we strike word diet from our vocabulary unless we use it the right way. Your diet means your manner of living, how you live, not a short term fix to lose weight. It is really a disservice to look at losing weight as going on a diet. Once you are on this diet you never go off. That is why you really have to avoid quick weight loss strategies and the diet mentality.

Here are some behaviors you can change that will really help take and keep off the weight. In creating this I was inspired by the article in Bazaar: Lose the last 5 Pounds for Good. I would say the tips given in this article are not just for the last five pounds but for any pound you want to lose and keep off.

1st tip that helps you lose and keep weight off: It really helps to understand that when you eat real food it is a natural appetite suppressant. The more you eat packaged processed foods which are foods that contain sugar, flour and other addictive ingredients, the more you will think about food and feel hungry. Salad and green vegetables are something you want to grow to love.

2nd tip that helps you lose and keep weight off:  Foods that say diet or fat free usually contain artificial sweeteners that act on your body just like sugar. It is not so much about taking out the fat or looking at the calories, if you eat real food there is not a lot of fat. It is about focusing on the amount of sugar and calories the food has. This is once again mostly only a problem is you eat packaged food. Real food has the micronutrients that balance each other out and naturally suppress your appetite. Don’t be fooled by focusing on calories alone.

3rd tip that helps you lose and keep weight off: Yes it is true, by taking out or cutting back the alcohol and caffeine you will be surprised how much of a difference it makes. Now I am not saying you have to live like this but consider going on a three week cleanse. This will give your liver a rest and make you more efficient metabolically. Alcohol and caffeine can cause you to eat more, alcohol lowers your guard and contains a lot of sugar, and coffee can make you hungrier. So yes, if you stop for three weeks you may drop a few pounds but that means you have to mindful going forward when you resume.

4th tip that helps you lose and keep weight off: We’ve all heard this time again; you have to stay hydrated, get off the diet soda and other sugar laden drinks. Instead you can think about incorporating a regimen of hot water with lemon at least once a day. This works wonders for flushing out the system.

5th tip that helps you lose and keep weight off: Do something about your sleep if you have sleep issues. There is a lot of research that shows if you are sleep deprived your body produces more ghrelin the hormone that makes you feel hungry and less leptin the one that keeps you feeling sated. Getting enough sleep and dreaming helps keep us healthy, smart, and affects weight loss.    

6th tip that helps you lose and keep weight off: Learn a self-motivation technique. Why not wake up every morning and before getting out of bed tell yourself how much you like to exercise and see yourself doing it. This is called autosuggestion and yes it works but you have to do it.

You can also download one of my hypnosis MP3’s and give yourself a head start. If you really get serious and want to make progress order the Nirvana Diet™ for weight loss. You will have all the structure and support you need to succeed.