Mind Set

Just saw that Dr. Oz is about "Can you think yourself skinny" C'MON!!!! Why would any of us be overweight then if all it took was a mental change??? Don't I wish!!!!

I saw this quote today and it struck me instantly as an amazing opportunity.  I should specify that I did not watch the Dr. Oz show, so I cannot speak to the thoughts or ideas that he presented.  I can, however, present some (mostly) educated comments and a (unique?) perspective in regard to the statement above.

"Can you think yourself skinny?"  At face value, this may seem absurd.  The thought that we could say to ourselves, "I'm skinny", and then have all of our "extra" mass disappear into oblivion, seems outrageous to say the least!  I mean, we all know that if we just sit around on the couch just "thinking" about weight loss, all we will do is expand exponentially.  Right? 
Let's first take a look at why we might expand in such conditions.  (and by "expand", I do mean at the waist line, NOT in the field of awareness; although, we would certainly be more aware of the tightness of our britches!)  Follow me into the "field of expansion" for a venture into the world of Wanda Weighinscale, if you dare.....

 

Wanda returns home after a stressful day at work.  She has been busy all day and is tired, hungry and feeling unhappy about her body condition.  In short, she is uncomfortable with her current place in life.  She saw a preview for a show about "thinking herself thin", so she decides to try it.  After all, there are no hours left in the day to go to the gym, besides, she's just too tired to go.  She's tried all of the weight loss plans and diet foods, and nothing has worked for her.  She steps on the scale and consistently sees an unsightly number, bringing her attention over and over again to the fact that she weighs much more than she would like.

Wanda plops herself down on the couch and begins to think.  She thinks and she thinks and she thinks about how she would like to be thin.  All the while she is thinking, she is feeling more and more resentful of her current condition.  She is envisioning in her mind's eye the many thin models and athletes that she has seen on television and in the magazines.  Now she is reminded of the "fat jokes" that she hears around the office and that she used to hear in high school.  Her self loathing is increasing, her frustration is off the charts.  But, she is still thinking about being thin, so surely it must be working.  She continues this process for a week, gradually placing more and more thought on picturing herself thin, even though each time she looks in the mirror she sees someone who is not her image of "thin".  Wanda finishes her "work out" on the seventh day and heads to the scale.  She is disheartened when she sees that she has actually gained a pound.

"How can this be possible," Wanda wonders.  "I've been picturing myself thin, I've been thinking about being thin....."

 

What Wanda has not realized is this.  While she has been picturing herself as thin, she has been harboring resentment that she is not thin.  She has actually been placing her focus on her LACK of thin, which has been pushing her thin away. 

 

So does this mean that it is not possible to "think ourselves thin"?  In my humble opinion, absolutely not!  (Not exactly, anyway)  Let's go back to Wanda....she's still staring in the mirror, feeling sad.  Maybe we can cheer her up a bit.

 

Looking at her over sized reflection, Wanda steps off the scale and slides it angrily across the floor. 

"I love you"....

Wanda jumps and looks around.  She is the only one home. 

"I LOVE you"....she hears it again, this time from the direction of the mirror.

Wanda turns and looks at herself in the mirror.  It's as though her reflection is speaking to her.  She hears distinctly, "I love you just as you are.  Don't you love me?"

Wanda is perplexed.

"I LOVE YOU!  YOU!  As you are!  You are beautiful and you are all I have.  Without you, I cannot exist in this world.  I need you and I Love You!"

Wanda stares intently into the mirror and says, "Who are you?"  

"You!"

Now Wanda thinks there is an echo.  She repeats more slowly and distinctly, "Who.....are......you?"

"YOU"!  She hears, this time sounding much more forceful.  "I am YOU.  I am part of you and you of me.  We are one.  Together, we are you.  Without the you of us, we cannot exist.  I love the you that is you and the you that is in me.  I need only for you to love me back so that we may be One again."

Wanda is not a fan of riddles, and thinks carefully about this.  Suddenly she understands.  Her reflection is telling her that she must love herself as she is and for all that she is.  It is her self-loathing and frustration that is keeping her from feeling complete.  It is not that she is too heavy or too tall or too short or too "whatever".  It is her mind-set that is keeping her from feeling good about herself.  If she is to bring her body back to a state of wholeness and well being, she must begin within.  

Wanda stares intently into the mirror and says, "Thank you".

Her reflection smiles back at her.

Wanda gazes into the most beautiful eyes she has ever seen and a smile that is as vibrant as the sun.  She blinks and the cobalt blue eyes blink too.  It is then that Wanda realizes that she is gazing at herself, not a disembodied reflection.  She recognizes her own beauty.  She sees past the appearance that she has long perceived as over-weight and unattractive and recognizes the glorious light that shines within her being.  Wanda finally feels what it is like to be beautiful, in her own mind.  

From that moment on, Wanda no longer felt the sense of frustration or anger about her physical appearance.  She no longer paid attention to the newest "fad" diet.  She had no need.  Her intention was to love herself and care for her body, knowing that this "vessel" is all that she has to remain part of the physical world today.  Wanda began to honor her body, her spirit and her mind.  Through this sense of honor, Wanda found herself drawn to nutritional teachings that she understood and enjoyed.  She found herself meeting others with similar experiences and she began to exercise more than she had ever thought possible.  

Wanda experienced a change in her mindset.  She learned to love herself and learned that she IS enough, just as she is.  She released the stressful thoughts of "needing" to lose weight and shifted her focus to well-being and gratitude for her life experience.  Wanda's new love of self brought her to a place of joy and thanksgiving that she had never thought possible and with this joy came a new sense of vibrancy and energy.  This change of mind set lead Wanda to a new physique.....one that she had always dreamed of experiencing, but never thought possible.

Thank you, Wanda.

Wanda's story may be one of extremes, but I think it illustrates my point.  While we may not lose weight or gain our ideal circumstance by simply sitting and thinking, a change of our thought patterns is an excellent first step.  It is the CHANGE OF MIND SET and the FEELINGS associated with this change that lead us on our desired path.  A very wise woman has said to me MANY times, "When the intention is clear, the mechanisms for it to occur will fall into place."  And so it is with anything that we desire.  As we set our intention, allow our mind set to shift and feel that what we intend already is, it SHALL BE SO!