Feeding My Soul In Myanmar

I just returned from traveling around Myanmar for a few weeks.

I love exploring Southeast Asia for many reasons, from its picturesque landscapes, rich culture, and ancient temples and monasteries, to its sublime spiritualty, sacred rituals and kind, peaceful people. And, of course, I love all its vibrant and exotic food. 

The interesting thing is—when I’m on a travel adventure like my recent trip, I rarely think about food.

The act of travel feeds my soul on such a deep level that eating often becomes an afterthought. This also happens when I’m immersed in other pleasurable pursuits, such as hiking along the coast, reading a captivating book, stretching on my yoga mat or losing myself in a creative project.

Lack of Soul Food
When you don't regularly engage in soul-satisfying endeavors—whether it’s traveling, singing, dancing, drawing, gardening, volunteering or communing with Mother Nature—your life can become pleasure deficient.

As a result, you can become over-reliant on food to fulfill your inherent desire and need for pleasure. Of course, food should be a tremendous source of pleasure. Problems can arise, however, when it becomes your only source of pleasure.

If you struggle with cravings, overeating or binge eating, consider if your life is lacking "soul food." Jot down a list of everything that feeds your soul and gives you genuine pleasure, then reflect on how frequently you engage with each item listed. If rarely, consider what needs to change so you’re experiencing more pleasure in your daily life.

Although there are many reasons for cravings, overeating and binge eating, once you start nourishing your soul with more pleasurable pursuits—the things that make you feel truly alive, energized and free—it’s quite likely you’ll rely less on food to enrich your life. This has been true for me and for many of my clients. It certainly can be for you, too.

If you’d like more help connecting the dots when it comes to your relationship with food, I invite you to schedule a complimentary consultation call with me. 

What's Your Story?

For years, I believed the farthest I could run was three miles. That was my limit. End of story.

Then one day I went to cheer on a friend while she ran a half marathon. As I watched hundreds of runners cross the finish line, I was totally surprised and inspired by the tremendous diversity of racers. People of every size, shape and age ran those 13.1 miles. Seeing them made me reconsider my story. Was it true? Or, was it in need of a major rewrite? If they could run that far, maybe I could too.

So I started running a little bit more every week, challenging myself to go further and further. Eventually, I ran my first half marathon. As I crossed the finish line, I remember thinking there was no way I could run twice as far to complete a full marathon—that would be 26.2 miles and I was dog-tired after just 13.1!

Yet, I was intrigued by the idea...

My half-marathon experience had boosted my running confidence and opened my mind to new possibilities. So, I continued to rewrite my story. Soon, I was running multiple full marathons—and loving every minute.

Our Stories Create Limiting Beliefs
We all have stories that create limiting beliefs that disempower us, shape our identity, and hold us back from manifesting the best version of ourselves. Here are some common ones in the realm of food and body:

• I can’t love my body until I lose weight.

• Everything will be better when I’m thinner.

• I can’t [swim, dance, clothes shop, date, etc.] until I weigh less.

• I’ll always struggle with eating and my weight.

• I can’t be trusted with food; I have no self-control.

• Eating intuitively isn’t possible for me.

• I’ll never be a good cook.

• I don’t have the discipline to exercise regularly.

• Taking time for self-care is selfish.

Change Your Story, Change Your Life
Often, the stories we believe about ourselves come from other people. When we buy into them, we become a passive participant in our life, living according to other people’s stories about us and the way the world works.

The good news is, you can change your stories, just as I did with my three-mile tale.

Start now by asking yourself these questions:

• What are the dominant stories in my life?

• How are these stories disempowering me and holding me back?

• How can I rewrite them so they are more empowering?

• What actions can I take to reinforce my new stories?

• What evidence can I find to support my new stories?

• How will my life change as a result of my new stories?

Helping my clients recognize and rewrite their disempowering narratives fuels the transformation they're seeking. If you'd like support with changing the stories that are keeping you stuck and unhappy, click here to schedule a complimentary consultation call today.

Curiosity Killed the Craving (and the Bingeing)

I used to binge on cookies.

Giant peanut-butter chocolate-chunk cookies. 

Each binge was followed by relentless self-attack and self-loathing...feelings of guilt, shame and weakness....and, of course, promises to never ever do it again.

Yet, somehow, despite my best intentions, I’d find myself right back in the same place days later. Standing in my kitchen in the dark shoving cookies in my mouth. Crumbs scattered on my shirt. Chocolate smeared across my face. Belly beyond stuffed.

I haven’t binged like that in years. 

I no longer experience such intense cravings.

It’s not because I have tremendous willpower.

It’s because instead of beating myself up, I became curious.

Instead of shouting at myself, “You have no self-control, you suck!,” I started gently asking myself, “Hey, what’s this all about? What’s going on here?”

By pausing and becoming compassionately curious, I was able to cultivate greater awareness for why I was doing what I was doing. 

Stillness coupled with expanded awareness is far more powerful than willpower. 

Often, before we can say "no," we have to understand why we say "yes." Every action has a positive intention and every action is to fulfill a need. 

When I finally understood what was driving my compulsion—a rigid diet, false persona, pleasure deficiency—and the deeper needs I was trying to meet, my binge eating ended. 

I stopped focusing on keeping sweets out of reach and started focusing on fulfilling my unmet needs and desires. When I quit depriving myself of food and the life I longed for, I no longer relied on cookies to give me something they were never meant to.

How can you bring more compassionate curiosity to your relationship with food?