It has been nearly two months since you made those New Years resolutions…. So, how are you doing? Here are a few questions to ask yourself.
Physically: Have I been eating well, avoiding caffeine, alcohol, saturated fats, sugar and simple carbohydrates as often as possible and eating good amounts of protein every few hours? Have I packed healthy snacks to take along with me when I’m away from home, like cheese, nuts and fruit? Am I well hydrated, drinking at least 64 ounces of pure water each day? Have I been keeping regular bedtime hours, getting a sufficient amount of quality sleep? Am I keeping moderate exercise a priority in my life?
Emotionally: Have I been attending to my feelings and expressing myself appropriately; not holding in feelings or stuffing them down with unhealthy foods? Have I really been taking time to nurture myself? When was the last time I truly relaxed? Have I been writing in my journal to give myself a place to vent or explore my feelings? How often am I eating for emotional reasons?
Socially: Have I been spending time with positive people that I enjoy being with? Am I having fun? Am I paying enough attention to my relationships? Do I stay well connected so I don’t find myself isolated and lonely? Do I apportion my time with others with the alone time I need to stay balanced?
Spiritually: Have I been taking quiet time for myself? Do I spend time every day praying, meditating or just sitting and quietly breathing? Do I remind myself often to stay in the present rather than worry about the future or hang on to difficulties from the past?
Environmentally: Have I brought what I need to set up a comfortable environment in my home? Is my living space order or do I need to take a little bit of time to attend to that?
Whether on or off the road, it is essential to take gentle care of yourself. Please attend lovingly to your own needs. Only by doing so can you truly appreciate the precious time you spend with others. I wish you the happiest day today and radiant health!
It may be two months into 2009 but it definitely not too late to recommit to your own care!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
vacation
I have decided to take my own advice and to head south to the warmth of the sun for a few days of rest with my daughter. Pleasse follow my lead. You may not be able to walk out the door and head for a favorite vacation spot but think of ways you can make today a mini-vacation for yourself... an extra long walk, some quiet time with a good book, or a visit over a cup of tea with a friend. Enjoy your day, be well and I will be back on track next week....
warmly,
Dr. Denise
warmly,
Dr. Denise
Monday, February 9, 2009
Abundance and Prosperity
Lately I have been thinking about abundance and prosperity and how most people I know long for these in their lives but seem unable to actually manifest them. I wonder why that is. Have you ever wished for something but ended up frustrated because you didn’t get it? Did you dream and your dream didn’t come true? Did you wonder why?
Why are some people so blessed that they seem to get anything and everything they want? Are they just lucky? I don’t think so.
First, you must ask yourself what abundance means to you. Is it all about money or fame? Is it about fulfilling work, the perfect body or close relationships? What exactly do you dream of? It helps to ponder this question and strive for clarity because we often don’t focus and get clear and precise about our desires and then we attract through mixed messages and confusion and we become victims of circumstance.
So, step one is to stop and breathe and to clarify for yourself what really is important to you and what truly makes you feel joyful. Perhaps it is time in the woods or by the ocean or playing with a child or visiting a friend. Next ask yourself what about these experiences makes them so important to you. You may be surprised as you delve deeper into the substance of your happiness. You may find that you are already much more prosperous than you thought you were. You may discover that blessings abound in the day by day occurrences of your life.
If you love yourself and are surrounded by love then you are living in abundance. You may want more. It is part of our human condition to want to improve ourselves and to desire “more” in our days. Perhaps you would like a new car or a vacation. We are designed to have wishes and to move towards manifesting them but the trick is learning how to let our good fortune in.
It is vital to appreciate all the blessings we do have and to live each day as gratefully and joyfully as possible. We may need to remind ourselves of this repeatedly and some days will be harder than others. But if we can remind ourselves to appreciate the blessings we already have we will gradually develop an attitude of prosperity. Only then will we be ”letting it in” and allowing more blessings to flow into our lives.
So practice gratitude and love yourself and see what happens. I do not say these words to preach but instead to gently urge you to be friendlier with yourself and others. It will pay off and all good things you have dreamed of will come your way. Emotional eating will no longer be an issue and life will be joyful. Try it and see!
Why are some people so blessed that they seem to get anything and everything they want? Are they just lucky? I don’t think so.
First, you must ask yourself what abundance means to you. Is it all about money or fame? Is it about fulfilling work, the perfect body or close relationships? What exactly do you dream of? It helps to ponder this question and strive for clarity because we often don’t focus and get clear and precise about our desires and then we attract through mixed messages and confusion and we become victims of circumstance.
So, step one is to stop and breathe and to clarify for yourself what really is important to you and what truly makes you feel joyful. Perhaps it is time in the woods or by the ocean or playing with a child or visiting a friend. Next ask yourself what about these experiences makes them so important to you. You may be surprised as you delve deeper into the substance of your happiness. You may find that you are already much more prosperous than you thought you were. You may discover that blessings abound in the day by day occurrences of your life.
If you love yourself and are surrounded by love then you are living in abundance. You may want more. It is part of our human condition to want to improve ourselves and to desire “more” in our days. Perhaps you would like a new car or a vacation. We are designed to have wishes and to move towards manifesting them but the trick is learning how to let our good fortune in.
It is vital to appreciate all the blessings we do have and to live each day as gratefully and joyfully as possible. We may need to remind ourselves of this repeatedly and some days will be harder than others. But if we can remind ourselves to appreciate the blessings we already have we will gradually develop an attitude of prosperity. Only then will we be ”letting it in” and allowing more blessings to flow into our lives.
So practice gratitude and love yourself and see what happens. I do not say these words to preach but instead to gently urge you to be friendlier with yourself and others. It will pay off and all good things you have dreamed of will come your way. Emotional eating will no longer be an issue and life will be joyful. Try it and see!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What will you invent today?
Children are full of energy. They are spirits in little bodies and they are extremely creative.
Just observe a little toddler at play and you will see this. My children enjoyed endless hours of creative play using their imaginations to construct towns, tents and racetracks and to invent all sorts of imaginary activities, games and scenes. I remember Fischer-Price doll houses, fire stations and farms. I particularly remember the day my tiny daughter decided to put her gerbil into her Fischer-Price phone booth. It was a fabulous idea on the surface but she failed to realize that the little animal would protest by plunging its teeth through her finger. She learned a very painful lesson from that but still she forged on undaunted by the experience to create new forms of play.
She didn’t try to make the poor gerbil part of her imaginary play any longer but she continued to be inventive and she recruited other children in the neighborhood to put on plays and shows she directed. I remember wonderful days before television captured children and held them hostage sitting still spellbound and motionless watching the activity outside of themselves instead of delving within their minds to ignite the sparks of their own creativity. That is not to say that there are not benefits to much that we find on our television screens and in our computers but many young children spend too many precious hours of their days watching mindlessly instead of thinking and acting.
I was horrified one day when I took my grandson to the toy store to buy a toy. He had earned the toy and our much anticipated outing was very special. He looked carefully at the many choices on each shelf and picked up a toy here and there to carefully consider which would be the best choice. At one point he held up a particular truck, turned to me and asked, “Grammy, what can this toy do for me?” Instead of wondering what he could do with this toy, he wondered how it would perform and entertain him. I thought this was quite sad.
He was, and still is, a creative, loving child but I’d have preferred that he purchased clay, paints or lots of paper and crayons. I wanted so badly for him to use his imagination and take pride in thinking for himself and constructing his own reality. Do you recall playing as a small child and using your fabulous gift of imagination? A stick could easily become a magic wand or even a gun or a sword. A cardboard box could be a vehicle or tipped on its side, a doll house. It might become a bed for a favorite doll or pet or perhaps a playhouse. There was no limit to its possibilities. What has happened to the sense of inventive and creative play?
As adults we also fail to appreciate out inventive, creative selves and end up doing the same things we've always done in the same ways -- and we often end up, as I wrote about in The Taming of the Chew, eating emotionally because we find our lives boring or disappointing. So, today I challenge you to do something different. Rearrange your schedule or your furniture, paint a picture or take a break and go snowshoeing (that is if you live in snow country as I do... If not, how about a long, relaxing walk in a pastoral setting?). Do something that you normally wouldn't do. Try out a new hairstyle or outfit. Play with your ideas and see what you can come up with. Then go enjoy yourself. That's what life is all about! And, above all else, have fun!
warmly,
Dr. Denise
Just observe a little toddler at play and you will see this. My children enjoyed endless hours of creative play using their imaginations to construct towns, tents and racetracks and to invent all sorts of imaginary activities, games and scenes. I remember Fischer-Price doll houses, fire stations and farms. I particularly remember the day my tiny daughter decided to put her gerbil into her Fischer-Price phone booth. It was a fabulous idea on the surface but she failed to realize that the little animal would protest by plunging its teeth through her finger. She learned a very painful lesson from that but still she forged on undaunted by the experience to create new forms of play.
She didn’t try to make the poor gerbil part of her imaginary play any longer but she continued to be inventive and she recruited other children in the neighborhood to put on plays and shows she directed. I remember wonderful days before television captured children and held them hostage sitting still spellbound and motionless watching the activity outside of themselves instead of delving within their minds to ignite the sparks of their own creativity. That is not to say that there are not benefits to much that we find on our television screens and in our computers but many young children spend too many precious hours of their days watching mindlessly instead of thinking and acting.
I was horrified one day when I took my grandson to the toy store to buy a toy. He had earned the toy and our much anticipated outing was very special. He looked carefully at the many choices on each shelf and picked up a toy here and there to carefully consider which would be the best choice. At one point he held up a particular truck, turned to me and asked, “Grammy, what can this toy do for me?” Instead of wondering what he could do with this toy, he wondered how it would perform and entertain him. I thought this was quite sad.
He was, and still is, a creative, loving child but I’d have preferred that he purchased clay, paints or lots of paper and crayons. I wanted so badly for him to use his imagination and take pride in thinking for himself and constructing his own reality. Do you recall playing as a small child and using your fabulous gift of imagination? A stick could easily become a magic wand or even a gun or a sword. A cardboard box could be a vehicle or tipped on its side, a doll house. It might become a bed for a favorite doll or pet or perhaps a playhouse. There was no limit to its possibilities. What has happened to the sense of inventive and creative play?
As adults we also fail to appreciate out inventive, creative selves and end up doing the same things we've always done in the same ways -- and we often end up, as I wrote about in The Taming of the Chew, eating emotionally because we find our lives boring or disappointing. So, today I challenge you to do something different. Rearrange your schedule or your furniture, paint a picture or take a break and go snowshoeing (that is if you live in snow country as I do... If not, how about a long, relaxing walk in a pastoral setting?). Do something that you normally wouldn't do. Try out a new hairstyle or outfit. Play with your ideas and see what you can come up with. Then go enjoy yourself. That's what life is all about! And, above all else, have fun!
warmly,
Dr. Denise
Monday, January 26, 2009
Creativity is your Spirit
Your joyous and creative nature is the voice of your spirit. Perhaps you have heard people say that they are not creative. Maybe you are one of those people. If you think you are not creative, you are wrong. Believing that you are not comes from faulty messages received from others that you have taken in and regarded as your truth.
The truth is we are spiritual beings and each of us has gifts to be appreciated and shared. Perhaps your creativity has been suppressed. You may have heard comments that your coloring was not precisely inside the lines or maybe you chose green, purple or brilliant orange for the hair of the characters you were coloring and were told that the colors you chose were not appropriate. Chances are you learned to abandon your urges in favor of coloring pictures that would gain approval. How sad to think that the effervescent being that you were had to conform to society’s standards.
Our creative self is curious, playful and mischievous. This is our spiritual self. We are glorious, joyful beings who have been swept up in the complexities of this material world and have lost touch with the magic deep within our souls. We can do something about this and, to be truly happy, we must.
We need to rekindle our spiritual flame and recapture our essence – our joy, freedom and playfulness. We may know this on some deep, intuitive level, but how to do so is the question. We may feel confused and disconnected from each other as well as from ourselves and our spirits. The first step is reconnection.
So… do something today that will help you connect with the wonderful spirit that is you. Call a friend and go for a walk or bike ride. Pick up your Chew doll and tell it all your woes, then put it back on the shelf and leave the Chew to take care of your problems – leaving you free to have fun! Pull out that old sketch book and “play” at art. Dance around the house in your pajamas. Pick up your hairbrush and use it as a microphone while you sing at the top of your lungs! Be creative. Play. Enjoy life and food won’t be calling you so loudly. Emotional eating will become a distant memory!
My very warmest wishes,
Dr. Denise
The truth is we are spiritual beings and each of us has gifts to be appreciated and shared. Perhaps your creativity has been suppressed. You may have heard comments that your coloring was not precisely inside the lines or maybe you chose green, purple or brilliant orange for the hair of the characters you were coloring and were told that the colors you chose were not appropriate. Chances are you learned to abandon your urges in favor of coloring pictures that would gain approval. How sad to think that the effervescent being that you were had to conform to society’s standards.
Our creative self is curious, playful and mischievous. This is our spiritual self. We are glorious, joyful beings who have been swept up in the complexities of this material world and have lost touch with the magic deep within our souls. We can do something about this and, to be truly happy, we must.
We need to rekindle our spiritual flame and recapture our essence – our joy, freedom and playfulness. We may know this on some deep, intuitive level, but how to do so is the question. We may feel confused and disconnected from each other as well as from ourselves and our spirits. The first step is reconnection.
So… do something today that will help you connect with the wonderful spirit that is you. Call a friend and go for a walk or bike ride. Pick up your Chew doll and tell it all your woes, then put it back on the shelf and leave the Chew to take care of your problems – leaving you free to have fun! Pull out that old sketch book and “play” at art. Dance around the house in your pajamas. Pick up your hairbrush and use it as a microphone while you sing at the top of your lungs! Be creative. Play. Enjoy life and food won’t be calling you so loudly. Emotional eating will become a distant memory!
My very warmest wishes,
Dr. Denise
Monday, January 19, 2009
Too Busy or Not Busy Enough?
I have noticed that many of my clients say they cannot attend to themselves properly as they are “too busy” to give themselves the time and attention they need. Other clients say that because they are not “busy enough” they fight boredom and do so by using food to fill their time and their emptiness. Interesting isn’t it that we each can blame our circumstances for our failure to give ourselves personal attention.
So, what is “too busy” and what is “not busy enough?” There really is not right answer to this question because the answer is different for each of us. The commonality is the tendency to blame “out” when we fail to care for ourselves instead of looking within to figure out what we need/want to have be different. It is an inside job!
This is hard for some people who prefer to cast blame on circumstances and shirk the responsibilities of self care. These folks are likely to give up and proclaim that if their life were different they could then fit in time for themselves. These folks are in denial I’m afraid. No life is perfectly balanced at all times. Sometimes we may be over-busy and then have a little too much free time at others.
It is up to you to take the reins of your day into your own hands and make yourself absolutely top priority. There will never be the perfectly balanced day so it is up to you to make your self care number one top priority no matter if you are racing around over-busy or sitting idly in front of the television with a bag of chips.
As a friend recently said, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” That says it all! I encourage you to look at your lifestyle and to build in the best possible times to care for yourself. This will end emotional eating most of the time and you will have more energy and balance.
By the way, this month Real Simple Magazine has an interview with me about emotional eating. And did you catch the article in Spa Magazine in the Sept/Oct issue?
Meanwhile, I wish you my very best!
So, what is “too busy” and what is “not busy enough?” There really is not right answer to this question because the answer is different for each of us. The commonality is the tendency to blame “out” when we fail to care for ourselves instead of looking within to figure out what we need/want to have be different. It is an inside job!
This is hard for some people who prefer to cast blame on circumstances and shirk the responsibilities of self care. These folks are likely to give up and proclaim that if their life were different they could then fit in time for themselves. These folks are in denial I’m afraid. No life is perfectly balanced at all times. Sometimes we may be over-busy and then have a little too much free time at others.
It is up to you to take the reins of your day into your own hands and make yourself absolutely top priority. There will never be the perfectly balanced day so it is up to you to make your self care number one top priority no matter if you are racing around over-busy or sitting idly in front of the television with a bag of chips.
As a friend recently said, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” That says it all! I encourage you to look at your lifestyle and to build in the best possible times to care for yourself. This will end emotional eating most of the time and you will have more energy and balance.
By the way, this month Real Simple Magazine has an interview with me about emotional eating. And did you catch the article in Spa Magazine in the Sept/Oct issue?
Meanwhile, I wish you my very best!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Make Today Count
So what will you create today? Many of us go through the majority of our days on auto-pilot. We get up, shower, dress, maybe eat and then are off to work or we get involved in things at home. The first thing we know it is the end of the day. We may eat supper, watch TV or read and then we collapse into bed and the alarm clock soon warns us that it is time to get up and do it all over again. Days, weeks, months or years later, we look back and say, “Where did that time go?” Then we wonder what we did and why we don’t feel better. It is no surprise that so many of us eat to dull our feelings. Emotional eating is one way many of us have learned to cope with the boredom and disappointment that a "no think" lifestyle promotes.
It is easy to go through each day on auto-pilot but is that really what you want to do? Existing in a “no think” may be customary for you but what would you like your day to be instead?
How can you make today count? Please take a little bit of time each day to ask yourself this vital question. Mix up your routine a bit. Give yourself some time to play, to be joyful and to relax. Perhaps you can forego a half hour of television to engage in some activity or pastime you enjoy. What could you do differently today?
Think about you day as a gift and consider what is the very best way to use that gift today. Maybe you would like to call a friend you haven’t connected with lately, visit someone you’d like to see. Allow time to soak in a warm bath or to read a book you are enjoying. Give to yourself and you will consequently have more time and more energy for everything and everyone else.
Funny how that is!
Be the creator today and create your day as you would like it to be. Do this consciously. Do this daily and watch how much better you feel and how little importance you give to food. It will make all the difference!
It is easy to go through each day on auto-pilot but is that really what you want to do? Existing in a “no think” may be customary for you but what would you like your day to be instead?
How can you make today count? Please take a little bit of time each day to ask yourself this vital question. Mix up your routine a bit. Give yourself some time to play, to be joyful and to relax. Perhaps you can forego a half hour of television to engage in some activity or pastime you enjoy. What could you do differently today?
Think about you day as a gift and consider what is the very best way to use that gift today. Maybe you would like to call a friend you haven’t connected with lately, visit someone you’d like to see. Allow time to soak in a warm bath or to read a book you are enjoying. Give to yourself and you will consequently have more time and more energy for everything and everyone else.
Funny how that is!
Be the creator today and create your day as you would like it to be. Do this consciously. Do this daily and watch how much better you feel and how little importance you give to food. It will make all the difference!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
