Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Self PortraitTuesday


52 Figments/5
Originally uploaded by chestofdrawers.
I will be devoting my S.P.T. entries to the new "me". The me that´s lurking inside, waiting to be let out,the defined me that wants to look fabulous, feel great and spread energy and sunshine all over the place without being held back by feeling fat.
This is a collage I made a few years back and I have decided to use it as my entry for "52 Figments". The collage was inspired by a book I have read over and over again by Sarah Ban Breathnach called " Simple Abundance". This book is so full of inspiration, quotes and wisdom...I absolutely love it!
Here is what Sarah writes about weight-loss: "Self-love is the only weight-loss aid that really works in the long run. Don´t fight your hunger, respond to it with nutritious food that appeals to all your senses, not just taste but sight and smell aswell.Trust your body, it will tell you what you need. Eat when you´re hungry, drink when you´re thirsty, sleep when you´re tired, get in harmony with your body through regular exercise, nourish your soul with meditation.
Every woman has a weight that´s ideal for her, at which she feels the most comfortable, has the most energy, feels well and likes the way she looks.
Go within and visualise her, See what weight she carries and ask her to help you achieve it with the power of love."
Isn´t that amazingly simple!? How often do we forget to love ourselves? Forget to treat our bodies with respect? I remember that Jamie wrote a post about balance , matching what´s on the inside with what´s on the outside that opened a new perspective for me. Now, let´s get those beautiful women inside us OUT for all the world to see so we can stop dreaming about what we´d like to look like and finally become that person on the outside too!

7 comments:

meghan said...

Amen sister!!!

Fabulous post! I have a whole book filled with those collages a la Sarah BB. I LOVE doing them. Maybe today I'll look at them again. I'm on the same path as you & I hope that together we can make it happen THIS YEAR. LOTS of LOVE!!

Alex S said...

Hello! There is just so much to say about this post in response but it will have to wait until tomorrow unfortunately. AND I also wanted to tell you Yahoo is moving so crazy slow so I promise to respond to your email tomorrow- in the meantime, have a wonderful, healthy, and nourishing day!!! You're in my thoughts.

Frankie said...

This is so empowering!! I love this post. Thanks so much for sharing this wisdom that I so often overlook. I always feel unbalanced, as though my inside and outside don't match at all. I've spent my whole life trying to get the inside of me to shine through, and this entry helped me take a small step forward. Thank you.

Laini Taylor said...

Great post, Claudia! I was talking to Jim about why it is women have such massive issues with body image and food and all that, compared to men, and I know some of the easy answers, but it's still so interesting. Why do WE use food so differently than they do (mostly)? Anyway, I know for me, when you think about something so long, like weightloss, without any success at it, you begin to feel like you're helpless, like your own patterns are inescapable -- but then I finally found the thing that worked, and it was weirdly easy after that. Like you read about in magazines when people finally one day find their own motivation AND the system that works for them and it falls into place. It DOES happen, and it gets easier as you begin to feel more and more in control. Best wishes!
(Alexandra shared a great quote with me: Inside every thin woman is a fat woman trying to get in. I love that visual!)
-Laini

HoBess said...

Wow! You lifted me right out of my chair. I'm so glad to have found you ... Here's to your inner you!

How fun was it to make that collage? I used to do that all the time as a teenager, I bet I could learn a lot by doing one now.

Perhaps we should all create one and post them some Tuesday?

Jamie said...

Beautiful! What an awesome post! I feel inspired, motivated, supported and nurtured by what you've written. You spread some of that sunshine today!

And on the eating front, I found advice that totally worked for me in The Joy Diet by Martha Beck.

The Joy Diet food rules are:

1. You must only eat what you really enjoy.

2. You must really enjoy everything you eat.

This totally broke me of that habit of just eating something until it's finished or boredom eating when you're not actually even tasting what's going in your mouth anymore. Now I definitely eat less and savour more!

iHanna said...

The books sounds great, and your collage is fun and filled with life!