For many years, as I began to work with people who struggled with eating issues, they’d ask me a simple question. But it seemed to have a complicated answer:
“How did you get free from eating troubles?”
I knew it was a process, but the question helped me begin to formulate how, what, why–and to notice with deep respect what could possibly have been going on (and still goes on with so many people suffering) to make something like eating go off-balance and become this strange word: “disordered”.
You may only suffer from a little weight gain, or your mind may be filled with frustration about the years spent trying to manage your body and eating behavior.
No matter what, I’ve attempted the impossible: to make an eight-day meditation on mind-feelings-body-and living a period of time where you might taste peace with eating, grow awareness of this experience, and unravel some of the most painful thoughts you have about food or how you look and feel in your body.
My hope is that you’ll drop the urge to diet or control yourself, and instead be willing to explore and wonder what’s going on–to slow down in such a way that you might discover that nothing is fundamentally missing, except perhaps your attention to peace.
In the next eight days, we’ll keep it as simple as possible.
Each day, you’ll take 7 minutes of your time to be with the morning exercise. You’ll have one thought to question during the day that’s a common underlying stressful belief in eating battles. You’ll have one feeling to practice all day, every hour.
What you will need:
- one place to write, whether pen and paper, a journal, or a document on your electronic device. You’ll write all your exercises for the eight days in this one spot.
- a way to be reminded every two hours all day of the feeling you are practicing – it may be a beautiful small sound on your phone (best) or your computer, or your watch. You’ll set this to remind you from waking to sleep, ending your day before you close your eyes with this practice.
Are you ready?
See you tomorrow for Day One of Eating Peace.
Much love,
Grace