Perhaps with summer upon
us, the thought of wedging bodies into bathing
suits brings weight issues to the forefront.
There are several points relevant to
overabundant weight that have filtered through
my own guidance and experience these past 15
years, including my history in a family of women
with eating disorders. These findings are not
hard and fast for everyone, yet hopefully will
lend some insights to those of you struggling
with weighty issues:
RECOGNITION: Big people
are often that way because of a need (inner or
outer, conscious or not) to be recognized and
noticed. They may be intelligent, talented,
creative, or all of the above. Most of all, they
are frustrated at not getting the recognition
they deserve. Again, this might not be obvious,
even to them. There is, however, the feeling of
a void in their lives needing to be filled.
Their souls yearn to express themselves. When
they cannot get a handle on this yearning, the
void gets filled with food.
NEEDING TO RELEASE:
something or someone from our lives. It is hard
to let go, even when circumstances and people no
longer serve our growth. If we commit to a
better life, begin our spiritual journey, or
choose to be the best we can be while at the
same time remaining stuck in the past, it
becomes almost impossible to move ahead without
looking as though we are carrying a huge burden.
Not only this, but our bodies respond to the
excess baggage by slowing down our elimination
cycles. We hold on, so does the body.
Unprocessed toxins exist in many forms, and may
be called the fat of our lives, physically or
symbolically speaking.
CULTURE HYPE: Too many of
us fall victim to the cultural hoax that women
should be reed-thin and Kate Moss look-alikes.
Famous runway model Kate may be naturally thin
or starving herself. The point is, body types
are varied and different. Just as you can't plug
a round peg into a square hole, you can't make a
mesomorph (muscular) or an endomorph (round)
into an ectomorph (thin). Genetics are genetics,
and you can't make a thin reed out of root
stock.
We need to be realistic
and work with what we have, the first step being
ACCEPTANCE. A person who is obsessive about
their body shape and size usually has a lot more
on board emotionally than just a desire to be
"fit," though that's often an admirable goal. We
all like to feel our best. Yet the definition of
"best" is relative in a striving culture such as
ours.
PROTECTION: Even in the
most well-intentioned family, parents subjected
to the stresses of modern life can forget just
how sensitive and open children really are.
Different children have different needs, and
some adapt to daycare, school, and stress better
than others. Others cannot, and begin using food
to insulate themselves from the harsh realities
of home, school and work. Until we grow enough
emotionally to realize that we have a choice to
honor our requirements for privacy, quiet and
self respect, many of us end up with weight
issues.
OVERLOAD: We live in
incredibly stressful times. Our need to ingest
massive amounts of technological information
merely to keep up with communication is one
gross example. We take in, take in, take in. No
wonder we turn to take-out to relieve yet one
more burden of responsibility, the care and
preparation of nutritious food. We live on the
go, and eating on the run is all-too common.
I've heard somewhere that it takes the human
stomach 20 minutes to register that it's full.
We all know how much food some can ingest in 20
minutes, especially if we lack the time to
thoughtfully gather, share, bless our food, and
chew slowly. Face it, our lives ARE super-sized!
GROUNDING: Believe it or
not, the body has the wisdom to energetically
slow its metabolism down to keep us fully
present within it. I would term this a survival
mechanism. Most of us know the feeling of
driving from point A to point B without
remembering how we got there. Almost everyone
who comes to me for care lacks adequate
grounding. What does this mean? Our bodies
generate energy, similar to house wiring. If our
house grounding is inadequate, wires short out.
We humans do this energetically, as well. The
physical body is also our buffer, like a giant
sponge. If that sponge doesn't get wrung out
occasionally through physical and emotional
release, body size can and will increase.
ATTACHMENTS: I'm not
asking you to believe or disbelieve, but in fact
weight can be the result of spirit attachments.
Sometimes I'll find a deceased loved one
attached to a client's energy field. This can't
be explained easily, and the reasons are varied.
But there is some kind of agreement which allows
the living person to play host to this entity.
Most often it is grief and guilt which bond the
two together, a kind of unfinished business. The
entity can rob the host of energy, causing the
metabolism to, again, slow down. Release of the
entity can create, at the very least, a renewed
sense of vitality. This can play out as an
increased metabolism, and body size is often
reduced, over time, without great effort.
Humans are not
self-maintaining systems. We need to consciously
attend to our bodies, minds and spirits with
equal respect and care. What affects one,
affects the others. Above all, we must learn to
be gentle and loving with ourselves, first. Then
we truly will have more energy, more vitality,
and more to give in this endless cycle of
give-and-take which makes up the human
experience.
