Finding Your True Purpose

Intuitive eating is the idea that if you listen to yourself you will find balance.  You will eat in a way connected to you and what your real needs are.  Each of us intuitively knows deep down what we need.  This goes for food as well, and what we eat can be a reflection of our body’s true desires. Do you ever crave something deeply without knowing why?  This kind of craving doesn’t necessary linger for it is not picked up by the mind and obsessed over.  It is not a thought of what you would like to eat, what you deserve or want.  Instead it is your body sending you clues of what it needs, a flash of a message.  These can be easy to overlook if we are not accustomed to listening. 

 It can be very easy to think our body is sending us a message to eat cake.  But remember this is a thought being processed not an instinct.  To listen to your instincts, to allow yourself to be guided in this way, start by asking yourself with an open mind what you need.  It can be quick and easy, no thoughts, no overriding desires, just a quick response. Your body knows what it needs; it doesn’t really want to be buried by the things we obsess about. 

 Give your body the chance to be heard before you start eating, before you go shopping or have a snack.  Be aware of your impulses and before you react, ask yourself what you need.  For that moment it could simply be a glass of water.  You will find by listening you can nourish your body in a whole new way.  By feeding yourself this way you will find unhealthy desires falling away, because your body’s needs are being fulfilled and because you are listening.  It can be easy, by practicing this method before you eat, before you make a meal.  Open the fridge or cupboard and let yourself intuitively guide your choices.  Listen and you will become a far healthier you.

 We relate to food in many different ways.  We find it exists to satisfy us on many different levels.  So it is not a surprise that it is used as a tool and is manipulated as such.  It can be a friend to turn to in moments of crises or depression.  It is something that takes our mind off things so we can relax.  We are feeding our hearts and minds, not our body.  When food is accessed in this way, when it becomes a stabilizing factor for our behavior it has become more than just food.  Yet that is all it is, food, substance and energy for our body. When food is used to calm us, distract us or make us feel better we will find ourselves overweight.   Because if it has become a tool, we may be overusing it.  By coming to depend on food to satisfy ourselves we are not helping the true problem. In fact we are merely covering it up, layer by layer until we can’t hear or see the real issue.      

Now we all know what it is like to gain satisfaction by eating the foods we enjoy.  But the real picture of using food to distract and to try to heal problems will not work.  We have to see the difference, feel the difference between eating for hunger or even pleasure to eating for peace and comfort.  We cannot mask our problems by eating. This is why so many people become overweight.  The drive to eat and keep on eating is not natural.  To eat just to eat, to eat mindlessly, to eat in moments of distress, all of these leads to being overweight.  These habits were founded by a need.  That need, that desire to eat unnaturally comes from a place within you.  It is a learned and then accepted as your method to deal with what is happening.  Food can not heal.  In truth, eating too much only makes things worse and you are creating another battle to overcome.

 We are rather simple beings when it comes to food.  Eat to satisfy your hunger.  That is all that is needed.  So know when you go beyond this, to the point when it feels uncomfortable, that is when it is helpful to look at why.  When and where does this need arise to reach for food?  What are you doing? How do you feel?  What were you thinking before you thought of food?  These are just some of the clues to the real issue of why you want to eat.  Remember food can not heal; only you can do this for yourself.  When you look at your reasoning does it feel real to you?  What do you really believe about your behavior?  By trying to understand, by looking past the urge to the beginning, you may find reasons and a way to help yourself let go of food as a tool. Now I understand there are many levels of using food and this might seem a bit drastic, but if you honestly feel that you have any issues with food this can help.  Wouldn’t you love to only think about food as you get hungry?  Not all day, no obsessions, no excuses and no reasons.  To only eat as your body needs.  This is the true secret to weight loss. It is not about control or diets; it is about healing yourself from within so you can let go of food as a tool.  Remember there are many ways of using food and there is no reason to be overweight.  Even if you only eat more than you need at meals, this can be helped.

 You can find peace with food by addressing the need to keep eating.  Where does it come from?  Look at yourself deeply and honestly to find the desire.  The need spurs from many different sources, all of us are unique.  Just know it doesn’t have to be a continual occurrence, you can become your ideal weight by letting go of the desire, by choosing to seek out the true reason for your behavior around food.  By doing so, whatever level you’re at, it will become easier and you will be able to look at food differently.  You will be able to release the hold food has on your life.  Best of all you can heal yourself, feel better, and lose weight.

As parents, we feel drawn to do our best, to provide all that we can to our children.  We want to give them everything they will need to grow up and succeed at life.  But each child is different, just as we are as parents.  The connection between parent and child is immense and so important.  How you interact, provide, listen, and behave with each other is the groundwork for their life.  For you as a parent it can be hard to grasp and understand what your child needs, the uniqueness of the issue, and how to respond.  How do you find the way to help your child, allow them to be their happiest, and for you to feel like you are doing the right thing?  Here is where it is valuable and important to listen to your intuition.  On how you really feel and what feels right for your child.  To listen to this, to your intuition, for it provides a vast gambit of possibility.  It gives you something else to rely on, something true.  For it is for both of you, it gives you hope and a new way of connecting. 

 Every moment is different, what one child needs now could be different next week.  And without pushing or restraining you will see your child develop fully.  By listening to your intuition in child rearing you will form a true bond with your child.  You could find problems ceasing and your child flourishing.  This goes for you too as a parent.  By listening to your needs you are better able to provide them to your child.  How do you do this, how do you raise a child intuitively?  It is different for everyone; again all of us are unique.  But by starting each day with the thought, the question of what does my child need?  You will and can feel the answer.  If your child is upset and you’ve tried the usual, go inside of yourself and ask.  See what it is that the child really needs.  

Even when there is no moment of crises, simply another day, feel your child and use your intuition to guide the day.  Help your child develop and grow on their true path by giving them the way.  Don’t react to situations with old habits, instead stop, ask, and feel within yourself the truest method to help.  What does your child need?  Often, because of their age they do not fully know.  But you can see clues and by being present with them and your intuition, find the way.
 

We as parents through our deep connection with our children know them far better than anyone.  Trust yourself then to be guided by your intuition in their best interest.  For you do know how.  Just as you are always there for them, let yourself be guided by what is right within you.  Listen and ask what is best, try not to second guess or fall back on old ways.  You will find it gets easier and even fun the more you trust it.  The proof is in your child and you as the outcome will benefit you both.