Even though I am a Fat loss coach, I occasionally find myself torso deep in the refrigerator rummaging for food like that homeless person I once spotted in a NYC dumpster. Occasionally, I still find it tempting to go back for seconds of my mom’s chicken and pastry even though I’m stuffed.. And yes, I still hear the faint call of my name around 8 p.m. from the Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate on the third shelf of the pantry. However, unlike the time in my life where I would have thrown out every bit of common sense and pragmatic behavior that humans were blessed with and eat like a mad animal, something interesting happens. This “something interesting” is a result of a lot of practice and meditation, and it has changed the way I eat and feel in my body.
So, what’s this “something interesting” thing that keeps me from inhaling the jar of Nutella? Well, I’m going to tell you, but understand that it may sound a bit “woo-woo” at first, but it works. I promise.
I become the watcher of my experience.
Huh?, you’re wondering.
Well, bear with me as I explain how this works (and it does work). I consciously take my very practical, common sense filled spirit that desires to live a whole and healthy life, and I witness that poor thing panicking because the Ghiradelli chocolate has fallen behind the third shelf (and she doesn’t know it), and there she is trying to find a comparable substitute.
The watcher watches with compassion. The watcher does not judge or criticize me as I find a pack of stale cookies that are at least a month old and tries to convince myself that they are good enough.
The watcher watches with curiosity. The watcher looks over this experience and wonders what I am really searching for. It’s not the cookies because they taste like… well, stale, one-month old cookies.
The watcher intervenes. This is the best part. I (the girl with the stale cookies in her hand) notice my watcher, and she grabs me by the hand and, as a guardian, she sits me down and asks me the following questions:
My dear, why are you foraging through your pantry like a starving animal? What are you really hungry for? What will you feel like after you eat that? Guilty? Sad? Depressed? Disappointed? Don’t you deserve better? What can you give yourself that will leave you feeling energetic, alive, and whole?
With that said, she reassures me that there will be many opportunities to have my piece of chocolate, but suddenly that “something interesting” thing happens, and I no longer want it. What I really want on this particular occasion is to go soak in the tub with a good book. I throw out the stale cookies, turn off the kitchen lights, and walk away feeling alive, joyful and full of love.
We all have a watcher. She is that part of us who loves us unconditionally and desires that we live a full, amazing life. She is the tugging feeling that has gone numb in many of us, but she still lives.
Find her. Listen to her. Trust her. She will never lead you astray. She will never punish you. And yes, she will even encourage you to have a piece of chocolate every now and then, because she knows that sometimes a bit of chocolate is what you need. The watcher will guide you back to yourself where love replaces stale cookies, because you know you deserve better.
