The Spiritual Benefits of Relaxed Weight Control
Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!
Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!
Do you feel your best when you are overweight? I know that I don't. In fact, I am acutely aware at such times of feeling uncomfortable. My clothes are too tight. The seat is too small. My stomach feels bloated. You get the idea.
The worst part of those feelings is that the sensations often translate themselves in my mind into unpleasant thoughts about myself. The internal dialogue machine runs nonstop as I criticize myself. It's even worse than my high school English teacher who loved to run me down!
Imagine yourself feeling a little overwhelmed by your weight and all those negative internal messages. Now, try to think about God, peace, happiness, forgiveness and all the other spiritual subjects and states. I'll bet you're thinking about a hot fudge sundae instead. That's what I mean about being overweight. It takes you away from your soul's food which is nourishment for your spirit rather than your oversized waist line.
Anything that comes between God and you isn't good for you. Our purpose is to serve God. How can we serve God well when we're distracted by our weight?
The problem can become even greater if we obsess about our weight. Some people become even more spiritually distracted when they are on a diet. They feel rotten. They spend endless hours buying and preparing their meager meals. Even after they lose weight, they criticize their appearance when they look in the mirror.
A better approach is to focus on your spiritual side and spend as little time as possible thinking about your appearance and your body shape. Find a healthy way to eat that you can follow for the rest of your life (something like South Beach rather than Atkins) and simply do it. At some point, you will start feeling better physically, you'll look better, and the spiritual focus will help eliminate all those nasty cracks you used to make to yourself. What could be nicer?
Here's one piece of advice. Visualize God surrounding you with an energy field of goodness that will help you eat in a healthy way and reach and maintain a healthy weight. Then pray to God to help make that happen.
Tomorrow, we'll look into how teaching can make you smarter than a billionaire on five dollars extra a day.
Wednesday, I'll look more closely at how to prepare for the college football season.
Friday, I'll tell you about an exciting new and inexpensive way for people with dyslexia to learn to read well.
Saturday, I'll share with you how you can automatically water your indoor plants while you are away . . . so you can give your butler and maid time off while you're away!
Next Sunday, let's take a minute to think about the best ways to spend a day not working.
Next Monday, leisure time during a busy day is our subject. So just get ready to chill.
Next Tuesday, let's look at new ways to enjoy visiting mansions!
Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.
August 17 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!
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May God bless you.
Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge