Horizons Magazine
Andrea de Michaelis, Publisher
Photo taken 2005
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MARCH 2005
Breaking old habits, getting fit after 50, changing our internal dialogue
Hello and welcome to the March 2005 issue of Horizons Magazine. As I look out my west
window now, I see a very different landscape than I am used to seeing. I had deep pine,
palmetto and oak woods surrounding me since I built my home here in 1984. Last year, some neighborhood kids set a fire which destroyed about 20 acres to the west of me, stopping just short of my property. Now tall, dark lumps of charcoal stand in stark contrast against the sky, no longer shielded by the former stand of trees. It took the hurricanes of September 2004 to take the burned and broken trees down to the ground. So as I gaze out my west window just now, as the sun is beginning to glow orange on the horizon, I see a much wider vista than I've seen in decades from this window. I see a broader expanse of sky. My home has always been under the high shade of big oak and pine trees, and the view outside my window was always of leaves and trees. So to see the sky, and a whole big wide view of it, is pretty exciting.
At first it felt scary, it felt as though something had been ripped away. Well, it had actually... The big oak in my back yard fell on my back porch, so its lofty branches were no longer blocking the north view of the sky. The whole living room is now flooded with natural light, so everything I have now has a different glow to it, a different cast to it. I love it when things happen to let me experience - in a new way - something I already have. Last month I also replaced all my closet doors with mirrored doors, doubling the light in each of those rooms. My home feels so light and bright now!
I was in Barnes & Noble lately, researching all the nutrition books, and it occurred to me that many of the titles that just a few years ago were lumped under "New Age" are now under "Alternative Medicine". Funny how that works, huh? People I haven't seen in months have been asking me how I lost so much weight. Obviously they aren't reading the magazine, which gives all the details the past few months. The bottom line months later is: that after researching and learning more about nutrition and how the body assimilates what we put into it, I've begun eating normal portions of healthy food and that has made all the difference. Sounds simple, huh? I just have to remember that it's a choice... And I have to stick by my rule that if I'm relaxing in front of the tv, I don't eat there. Especially if I'm in the recliner! I've known too many people who come home from work, park themselves in front of the tv and snack there all evening long. All of them are overweight and have relatively sedentary lifestyles. This is because - like all of us - they program their future with every action they perform in the now.
I know it's not easy to break "bad habits," especially if they give us momentary pleasure! We become like those rats in the lab which had a choice to dispense food for themselves, or dispense pleasurable, orgasmic-feeling shocks. Almost without exception, they starved themselves because of their bad choices, although at any time they could have made the other choice. When I find myself getting into habit patterns that don't lead me toward my goals, I'm glad when friends point it out to me so I can make course corrections if I want to. And I don't always want to *hehe* but I LOVE being reminded I have the choice.
I've also begun working out a few times a week with friends and find I have - surprise - more energy than I've had in a long time. I never felt low-energy and have always been very healthy and motivated and upbeat, but the change is remarkable. I feel 20 years younger! I've done yoga every day for years but find that on my own, I tend to get into a limited routine and forget to work entire muscle groups. I notice that anytime I do someone else's class! I'm excited about building some strength in my body, I never cared much about that before. I figure I'm turning 53 this year, so I'm focusing on getting fit and strong. I'm loving that the cooler weather is hanging around so long, it is fun to play and walk and bike outside in the dry, chilly air. I tend to use the excuse of "it's too hot and humid" to stay indoors during the summer months. Maybe now that I've dropped 40 pounds, I won't let the heat bother me so much. Again I have to remember that I can choose how I wish to perceive the heat. A Course In Miracles reminds me that "Nothing has to change except your perception of it. " and so I can choose to think of the heat and humidity in a different way.
Historically, if I went outside and found it hot and muggy, my internal dialogue would begin. I'd begin to run the movie in my head of every other time I suffered in the heat; every other time it was so humid I hated being outside; every time I got ill tempered because I had to be in the heat and humidity. The trick is if I can stop that movie from playing in my head, I've won half the battle. If I can catch my internal dialogue as soon as my thoughts begin to make me feel bad, and change that dialogue, I can change how I perceive that situation. My signal is to be attuned to how I feel in each moment, because that's how my inner guidance communicates with me. If I am feeling good and hopeful and uplifted, and anticipating the next good thing, that's my inner guidance telling me that what I am thinking about and what I am doing, and want I want my future to be, are in alignment with each other. If I am feeling bad, if I am feeling hesitant, if I am feeling sad or resentful or frustrated or angry or lethargic, my inner guidance is telling me that what I am thinking about, and what I am doing, and what I want my future to be, are not aligned. And the remedy is always simple - stop that line of thought as soon as I realize I am doing it. Change that thought to something more helpful, more to look forward to, and for a few minutes purposely run that new tape in your head.
It helps me if I can write down some replacement thoughts ahead of time, so I have an ongoing script to refer to when the old thoughts come up. I take the time several times a day to go over my replacement script so I know it by heart. I have notes around my house asking me "What Are You Thinking Right Now?" When that catches me unconsciously thinking the old thoughts, it's a reminder to do a few minutes of reading my new script to myself. I read it until how I am feeling shifts. As soon as I feel the shift, I know I've successfully rebooted my internal system and helped program in some helpful good replacement thoughts. I've come up with some good scripts, and we use them during my Replacement Thought Therapy (copyright symbol) sessions.
For instance, right now - today - I am using my replacement thoughts to get this March issue of Horizons Magazine out smoothly and on time, despite the fact that my layout program and internet access have both locked up on me and my computer expert is unavailable before the magazine needs to be at the printer. Thankfully, the magazine is mostly done and there are less than half a dozen pages to finish. My old thought pattern used to be "Oh, phooey, my Pagemaker 7 for Windows has locked up and no one I know has this program, so I can't just go put a disk in their computer and print out what I need. If I in fact saved it to a disk at all. And if I did, it's a big program that takes a zip disk, and not everyone has a zip drive. And the likelihood of them having a zip drive AND Pagemaker is even less likely." And as I was thinking these old thoughts, I'd get an increasing sense of dread, which was my guidance system telling me that what I was thinking about, and what I was focusing on, was not what I wanted in my future. That's why it felt bad as I was thinking those thoughts.
So NOW, my NEW thoughts, my replacement thoughts go like this: "Ok, the computer is acting up again, so now is the time to remember that I have an excellent computer system with huge capacity and capability. I have an excellent computer guy who keeps my system in tiptop shape and is very affordable, as well as fun to be around. I've had lots of computer lock ups in the past, and Chuck has managed to always, without fail, retrieve all files or programs that seemed lost or damaged. I've never lost a file. I've never been late getting the magazine to the printer, no matter how much chaos I might seem to be going through to get there. Something always happens to make it turn out fine and on time." As I think those thoughts, not only am I bringing to mind the truth of the situation, but I am reinforcing my belief that good things happen to me because I expect them. So, by feeling good as I read my script over a few times, my guidance system is telling me that what I am thinking about and what I want in my future are in harmony with each other, and are aligned. How we think and feel, and what we believe, is all a result of the programming we've gotten through the years. How totally cool that we can choose to re-program ourselves whenever we want to!
Go outside and enjoy this beautiful Spring weather. I'm going to set up a tent in my back yard, just outside my woods, and spend some time there this month. I love to hear the critters as they move along the trails all night long; the raccoons, squirrels, opossums, armadillos and rabbits. I love being in nature and out of the "electrical box" that is my home, even if I am just in a tent in my own backyard, or having a sundown marshmallow toast at my little chiminea. It sure beats reclining in front of the tv all night long eating bonbons and channel surfing *hehe*
Finally, we had a successful John Edward Book Contest Giveaway and got about 10 times more response than we anticipated. The winners are: Nancy Pettine of Venice, FL and Kathleen Cunningham of Vero Beach. Kathleen was also the very first to enter the contest, which was done by random drawing. How very synchronistic for her!
Enjoy our offering this month. Hari Om.