ON EMOTIONAL EATING

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I am done with Fake Foods! Processed little helpers for wives,  mothers and bachelors everywhere! Done! I have started to notice lately that everytime I buy for example french fries when I'm on time crunch I feel so bad after eating them, like they truly block my Solar Plexus Chakra. So no more! Just needed to say this before you read on about On Emotional Eating.

I am a vegetarian, and I love cooking with prober ingredients, or at least what I currently think are prober ingredients! ;) That said - I have been batteling with food issues lately, and I have been confused about why I am drawn to food that isn't really food at all, maily processed foods and sugar. And I haven't really found a lot of prober spiritual explanations for it! Go figure. ;)
Being attuned to my body has been helpful but not really helping enough to break the cycle. The cycle being sugar in it's candy form ( pretty much the worst graving  you can imagine ), see my mind knows how extremely bad sugar is for me, mind and body, but it is a powerful addictive subject so it's hard to get rid of it.

I stopped drinking alcohol in April 2010, which was easy as I've never really been into drinking in my adult age ( of course when I was young and in school alcohol was part of the group experience hense it happened every now and then ), I stopped because it wasn't in my spiritual path anymore.
Then I stopped drinking coffee in November 2010, now that was harder, not that I graved it, no, but my body went through 3 days of withdrawls of headaches, muscle aches and nausea. I stopped drinking coffee because of the caffein, a artificial pick me up. Now candy, being pretty much just sugar is trickier for me as it's a mood enhancer, literally sugar gives you a high ( not druggy high but sudden burst of feel good that only last a little while ). So when it's been a tough day at work ( I feel like I should talk in past tense as work's been good lately, less stress ) I notice the pick me up for me is going to the store as I get food and get candy as well, and when I eat it it does make me a little happier or relaxed for a while.

I can regocnise this behavior, which is good as it's probably the first step! Now the next step is to figure out how to stop doing this, how to break the cycle, and this is where I'll introduce you to this video of Leija Turunen's!



From YouTube:

❞ Do you ever eat when you feel stressed, overwhelmed, sad, lonely, hopeless, angry, confused, lost, or even bored? Do you sometimes (or quite often) use food to suppress/ numb that pain you feel or use it in attempt to fill some void you feel through not (essentially) connecting to the heartspace and creative, spiritual self? I share my personal experience with emotional eating, why I feel I did it, and share some of the ways I worked through these issues. Of course there are going to be different reasons for why people eat emotionally, but for the majority of people, it usually comes down to one or more of the following:

• Not being in alignment with your passions / having a stressful job - Believing you can't pursue a career that is in alignment with your passions and support yourself financially.
• Not knowing how to manage emotional pain / stress in a healthy way.
• Not speaking your truth / suppressing who you really are in some way.
• Feeling bored and entertaining yourself with food.
• Trying to escape or distract yourself from your problems with food.
• Being a very sensitive / empathic person and feeling completely overwhelmed with life on this planet, and not knowing how to nurture your sensitivity / protect yourself from the harshness.
• Having an overall feeling of stress and anxiety, which could be for a myriad of reasons, but when it comes down to it, it's a disconnection to the heartspace.
• Feeling a void within - Not even knowing who you are, what you're truly passionate about (feeling disconnected) because of the influences from the media, education system, food & "disease-care" industry- ie. processed foods, fluoride, pharmaceutical drugs like prozac.Not connecting to your creativity and spiritual side enough, and instead listening to once again, to the external influences and your ego's ideas about why you're not good enough as you are right now.
• Perhaps having experienced something really traumatic, and using food to try to suppress/ numb that pain you still feel. Whatever the reason is, I feel that some of the things I talk about in this video can help you to some degree. ❞

I really liked her tip to go and do something when you grave food, when you don't Need food for nutrition.
And her idea of connectin to the sweetness of life, so we don't have to fight boredom with chocolate, hit home for me.

So what I am taking from this video, mainly, is Calm Down, Get Out when I have candy graving ( 08:15 - 10:05 ) and workout the body and mind to solve emotions instead of eating candy.

Also tackling my personal habit of shopping for food daily, and instead doing it two to three times a week, so I have no reason to go to the store daily and pick up bad fake foods.

I'm excited to try this! I feel like I have to find my own right way to do this, what is right for my body and mind and soul. I don't want to go in anyway against my body and what is right for it.

Another experiment begins!

Love, Light and Joy!

Niina

DAILY "INTEGRAL" PRACTICE TELESEMINAR (FREE)

"Greetings!

It's been a long time since I've sent an email to you as a part of my "own" email list (apart from Beyond Awakening, which, together with what I'm announcing here, has kept me very busy!)

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PS - Please feel free to invite your friends and loved ones to attend this teleconference. Simply forward them this email."

ADULT "TIME-OUTS" AND THEIR BENEFITS

"Just like adults can't ignore their emotions without building "luggage" to carry-on with them, children can't just ignore their feelings. The common method of "time-outs" is where you are removed from the situation to calm yourself down, which works wonders on kids - how come adults have forgotten that trick?"
~ From Niina's Dream Interpretation below the Dream

The dream interpreting triggered a great  idea, first this was all about the dream and my role at work, but ended up being a truly spiritual experience on how to live a happier life, exercise on being human and the other side of forgiveness.
You can skip the dream and go straight to the Dream Interpretation, that's where the idea struck me.

And if you are interested how this idea was brought to daily exsistence proceed to The Dream.

~ ☆ ☮ ☆ ~

The Dream: I was with the kids at work and we were interviewing people for an available job there. Later alone there were people surrounding the place, ominous but doing nothing.
In the next dream, there was a stage on a mountain where we were putting on a variety show with a car crash set. We couldn't get the car to go down.

Work = Indicates that your dream applies to work as well. ( We actually are missing a co-worker but she has already been replaced )
Children = Carl Jung claimed that the dream symbol of a child is a motif for the forgotten things in our childhood. For example, your dream may be telling you that you've forgotten how to play or should take a more innocent, carefree attitude. The symbol of the child also represents possibilities. It paves the way for future changes in the personality. In addition, the child may represent the part of you that needs reassurance and security. ( Security and reassurance for what? )
Anxiety = Experiencing much anxiety in your dream state may be related to your current difficulties and everyday life. Gaps may exist between the way things are and the way you would like them to be. Older interpretation books suggest that when you dream about anxiety, the contrary is true and that your worries will be lessened. However, always keep the compensatory nature of dreams in mind. If you are not feeling anxiety during the day, it could be that you are ignoring it and that it will appear in your dream. Therefore, look at the details of your dream and attempt to identify the anxiety-provoking situations in your daily life. ( I sure am not feeling anxiety in daily life, so it's important to figure out why that is - I have had anxious dream few in a row which is why I wanted to do this dream interpretation to begin with )
Theater = Theaters may be a metaphor for our physical lives. To paraphrase Shakespeare, life is a stage and we are merely trying to make the best of it. Maybe in your dreams you are acting out some of your personal issues and concerns. Think about the details of your dream and what is going on in the theater. Is it a comedy or a tragedy? Are you having fun, or are you very uncomfortable or bored? All of these will give you clues in regard to the meaning of based theater dreams. ( It was a comedy, Variety, but I wasn't comfortable with it, I recall everyone thought I was a guy playing a girl role that sometimes turned to a guy in the comedy, and we couldn’t get the car to work )
Car = A car is most likely to represent yourself and your ability to control your life. Are you a good driver in your dream? If so, you may also be steering the right course in life. However, if you drive badly or have an accident then your unconscious may be warning you that you are making mistakes. You may be driving yourself too hard and heading for an emotional crash. Maybe someone else is driving the car? You may feel that this person, or the qualities they represent, is controlling your life. The dream may be expressing your over-dependence and lack of control. ( I was just trying to get the freaking thing going! ;) LOL! )
Mountain = Climbing a real mountain is not always fun but it usually challenging and rewarding. Some say that the mountain may represent spirituality while others suggest mental development and self-awareness. The most literal interpretation of climbing a mountain is that it represents attainment of goals. If you are ascending a mountain you may be are working hard and trying to accomplish your goals, whether they are spiritual, emotional, or material. ( Yes, there was mountain climbing going on - working hard to accomplish tying together my spiritual and material life )

~ ☆ ☮ ☆ ~

Niina's Dream Interpretation: This dream indicates that in my working life I am looking for security and reassurance, I want to be doing the absolute right thing spiritually and materially. This is something I have felt anxiety for, I have been thinking about how I can bring forth my Highest Purpose at work where I battle with the super clear emotions of children, the good are amazing and infectious, the bad are muddy and infectious. I am, now that I think about it, sort of unsure with my role, and wish to change it a little, I want to change my role when it comes to negative emotions of children in general. 

Perhaps it is my lesson to learn to decide how to help children with their emotions, I have tried different ways, but I think there is Gem I haven't quite figured out yet. Just like adults can't ignore their emotions without building "luggage" to carry-on with them, children can't just ignore their feelings. The common method of "time-outs" is where you are removed from the situation to calm yourself down, which works wonders on kids - how come adults have forgotten that trick? Perhaps there is a way to perfect the “time-out”, generally we discuss with the child what went wrong and what the consequences of their rash actions could be at the end of the minute-per-year time out ( for example a 3 year old can handle 3 minute time out, it adaptable to attention span ).

Why can't we do this as adults!?

I'm 28, so let's say I did something bad, hurt another adult's/teenager's feelings, I remove myself from the situation, spend 28 minutes in contemplation or meditations, or ideally both. At the end of 28 minute I return to the one I did wrong to and tell them how I am aware of what the consequences of my rash words were to him/her and to me and tell them I am sorry. 
And then take a hint from the kids, we forgive in an instant and that incident is let go and we play together again like it never happened, we don't reminisce it and think about it, like kids we let go and live in the present moment where there is only the playing, the game, the fun and the joy!

If this method that works for us as kids… why do we let go of it as adults and start packaging our emotions, upset and troubles to convenient size portions that can be picked up and showed to the person we argue with "as see look at this, you remember this hurt, huh? Yeah you better feel sorry about that one as well!" what useful purpose does old troubles serve you at this moment, how do they make you feel better? They don't. They might make you feel more "Right" at that moment but with the consequences of perhaps loss of love or loss of respect in the near future.

Very interesting - see how good it is to interpret dreams, they give you all sort of insight. :)

So next time an occasion rises, no matter who or what age your opponent, give yourself a "time out" minute-per-year, contemplate and mediate on it, on the consequences of your actions on both sides of the party, then tell your opponent what you discovered and apologise, trust me this guarantees forgiveness ( I see it everyday after all ;) ) as well, after all when you are aware of all aspects of the situation you give out amazing honesty and heart felt apology, the other person feels it and it awakens their heart to listen to and to forgive.

We can only lead by example - as we can only affect our own actions.

Let's bring out “time outs” for us all - you know how to do it, I'm sure you did it as a kid as well. ;) But let's make this a spiritual exercise in stead of punishment.

If you try this - I'd be glad to hear how it went and what you consider the benefits of it, so please comment or e-mail me. :)

Love, Light and Joy!

Niina