Weight Loss – LOA Style

As you might have assumed by the title, this blog isn’t about action. It dawned on me the other day that action can only take you as far as your belief system will allow.

This blog isn’t even about weight loss. It’s about alignment.

I want to tell you about my journey. Yes, I did lose weight, (I prefer to call it shedding or releasing, as losing infers that you’ll likely find it again) but my real journey has been an emotional one. I was always slim. As a teenager, I was extremely skinny. During my pregnancies, I barely gained more than the baby I was carrying. Even into my forties, I could still wear a bikini. And I always, ALWAYS, got the comment, “You’re so lucky!”

I guess I was. I could eat anything and gain nothing. In fact, in my thirties, I had to “diet” to gain weight and eat deliberately to maintain 130 lbs – a minimum healthy weight for my 5’8” frame.

After I turned 45, something changed.

I started gaining weight. I didn’t notice it right away, and when I did, I wasn’t overly concerned. I still looked good and felt okay. But as my weight creeped up to 150, and settled uncomfortably around my midsection, I began to take action: I cut back on carbs, ate more salads, ate smaller portions, etc. I began a palates routine and stuck to it daily for a couple of years. However, nothing I did seemed to stop the increase.

By April of this year (2012), I had reached 160 lbs and was embarrassingly aware of the excess – especially the muffin-top above my jeans. I hid it with looser clothing and tried to laugh it off, even accept it – as so many people I knew were dealing with the same issue.

In May, my latest novel received a prestigious book award and I made plans to go to New York to attend a gala ceremony where I would receive my gold medal. Of course, I’d need a new dress, but shopping turned out to be an exercise in frustration. I wanted to look good on my special night, but everything I tried on seemed to draw attention to what I saw as a hideous bulge around my middle. I finally settled on a dress. A knit fabric, it fit well, was high wasted and had ruching around the middle to supposedly hide my imperfections.

New York was a blast, and I thoroughly enjoyed the gala evening. All was well until I returned home and began looking at the pictures we had taken. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was disgusted (I’m just being honest) by what I saw.

I saw a fat person. 

Until then, though I’d acknowledged I had gained weight, I didn’t see myself as fat. I’d always been slim and some part of my brain still thought I was. So…acting on that extremely negative emotion (I hated the way I looked), I started on a weight loss program* that a friend had tried and highly recommended. It was incredibly difficult at first. My food intake was seriously reduced and my choices were severely limited.

Every part of my being cried out in protest!

Physically, I was hungry and tired. I had a headache for 3 days straight. Emotionally I was a mess. As a student of Law of Attraction, I’d learned that I was unlimited, that I could be or do or have anything I wanted. I’d been told – and had seen evidence of it in other areas – that life didn’t have to be hard. Something didn’t add up.

By the end of the first week, I knew I had to make a decision – either quit the program or line up with it. I decided to line up with it. I even came to enjoy the approved recipes, savoring the little I could eat, and watching my weight go down. Long story short, I lost 23 ½ lbs in 28 days. I hadn’t quite reached my goal, but I was thrilled. I felt better than I had in years. I looked great. I was savoring all the compliments I was receiving.

But somewhere in the back of my mind a little voice was whispering, “Now what?” Since I had embarked on an action journey, would I have to keep up the action to maintain the results? Again, something in me cried out, “It doesn’t have to be hard; there’s an easier way!”

After 4 weeks of dieting, I followed a strict 3-week maintenance program, (which felt like heaven after such deprivation). I was told it was natural to “bounce back” a little and that my weight would settle and maintain even when I went back to eating normal.

Maybe it was because I didn’t really believe that. Maybe it was because I talked to people who’d been on the program, lost the weight, and then gained some or all of it back in time. Maybe it was because I knew there had to be a better way. Whatever it was, I went forward feeling uneasy.

In the 3 weeks following the maintenance, I gained 5 lbs. I didn’t even “bounce” at all. Every time I stepped on the scale, my weight had increased.

During this time, I had been asking my Inner Being for guidance and clarity. I knew there was an easier way and was determined to find it. I loved Abraham’s new teaching on “The Grid” and it occurred to me one day that this was the answer I’d been looking for.

I also became aware that I had some unhealthy thought patterns and belief systems about eating, weight gain/loss and self image. I began to examine those, and I started listening to everything I could about The Grid.

THE GRID is the emotional framework for our desire. It is the basis, the beginning of all that we see in manifested form. Creating it is our work (or the part we play in the creation of All That Is), our ONLY work. Once we create a grid, its the Universe’s job to fill it in, not ours. When we try to fill in the grid ourselves, our feeble efforts produce small results that don’t last!

The unhealthy belief systems I’d been holding on to had created a grid – one that filled in with weight gain, despite my earlier efforts to keep that from happening. Some of those were:

• It’s natural to gain weight after you turn forty. (Someone told me that when I was in my thirties and it stuck)
• Some foods are good/healthy. Others are bad/unhealthy (You hear that everywhere!)
• Diet and exercise are essential to lose pounds and maintain a healthy attractive weight (Everyone seems to believe that to some degree)
• I’d unconsciously delegated certain foods as “comfort foods” turning to them whenever I was feeling a little off instead of dealing with the issue.
• I’d tried to “insulate” myself form hurts of the past, protecting myself from further exposure to pain and heartache. Physically, that resulted in weight gain in my chest and stomach area.

Awareness is so powerful and once I was aware of the grid I had been creating, I worked to replace it. I focused on the ease and comfort of wellbeing. I began to see my body – as well as the food I wanted to consume – as cooperative components to my desire to maintain a healthy and attractive weight.

I’d practiced this grid for several days when I woke up one morning with a powerful sense of wellbeing. I felt a comforting, guiding hand on my shoulder and the giddiness that comes with release of resistance.  I weighed myself the next morning and for the first time in weeks I had lost – 1 ½ lbs!

My attitude toward food changed dramatically. Suddenly I knew that anything I desired WAS good for me and would be used efficiently and affectively by my body. I began to savor everything I ate. There was no binging or eating things I didn’t even like just because I could. I just ate and enjoyed. Period.

That was three weeks ago and I have continued to shed pounds. I’ve shed 6 lbs (I weight myself every Monday and am excited to step on the scale now!) and want to shed 1 ½ more to reach my desired weight of 135 lbs.

I’m so excited. Not just because I’ve lost the weight, but because of the incredible alignment I feel. I know I’m a powerful creator, but demonstrating it in a deliberate way is exhilarating. Not only that but it gives me the confidence to apply this in other areas of my life.

In truth, I haven’t lost anything. I’ve gained so much. Thank you Abraham! Thank you Universe!!!

“So here we will drop the BIG BOMB on you- IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU EAT IT ONLY MATTERS HOW YOU FEEL WHEN YOU EAT IT. You could eat dirt, (we don’t know why any of you would want to) or CANDY, or any number of things that you have convinced yourself you should not eat, and if you were doing it in a vibration of “letting it in” your body would figure out how to make good use of WHATEVER you are consuming. On the other hand, you could eat the most nutritious of foods by the standards that have been set by your world at large, and if you are uncomfortable with yourself while you are doing it, the best of that which they call ” The Best” would NOT nurture you at all, because you’re not letting it in. Sort of like pinching it off so that even though the volume is going through you, the VALUE is not getting to you, because you are vibrationally not allowing it. So it is not about what you are doing, it is about how your are FEELING while you are doing it, you see.”

–Abraham Boston 10/7/00

*The diet plan I followed is called “Weight To Go.” It uses homeopathic (HCG) drops to maintain your body’s wellbeing while on such a limited calorie intake. I loved the quick results and felt a benefit from the cleansing it provided my body. As an action journey, I recommend it. My advice: once you make the decision, line up with it. Do it with joy and determination, expecting results…BUT do the emotional journey as well. Before, during or after, I don’t think it matters. That’s what produces lasting results!

Jeane Watier is an award-winning author of Visionary Fiction.

Life’s Song, the first novel of her Law of Attraction trilogy, won a bronze medal in the 2012 Living Now awards.

Her latest novel, A Brief Moment in Time, won a gold medal for visionary fiction in the 2012 Independent Publishers Book Awards, and honorable mention for general fiction in the 2012 Hollywood Book Festival

www.jeanewatier.com/

www.facebook.com/jeanewatier 

How to Win American Idol

I thought that title might catch a few people’s attention. Keep reading if you want to know why I believe Phillip Phillips won this year.

I was talking with a friend about this last week after the results show and got some interesting insights about how the Law of Attraction works. (Thanks Cathy)

Winning American Idol isn’t about talent (not that Phillip wasn’t talented). It isn’t about hard work, determination, or even powerful desire. All the contestants exhibited those qualities. It isn’t even about popularity – not really.

The contestants this year were amazing. The top five were outstanding. They all deserved to win on their merit, so why did it turn out the way it did?

Law of Attraction.

What my friend pointed out is that Phillip is talented, unique, confident as a performer, knows what he wants and loves to sing, but he didn’t win because of that. He won because he had less resistance, less attachment to the outcome than anyone else competing. I agree with her. I got the sense from watching Phillip, that he’s as happy jamming with his brother in law in the garage or playing at a local bar as he is performing in front of hundreds of thousands of fans. He’s passionate about his music. It fulfills him. And while he dreams of being a star (don’t all singers?) his happiness doesn’t depend on his success.

This may or may not be the case for Phillip. I don’t know him personally, but I believe it explains in a general sense why people win or succeed at anything.

I know I can apply this more deliberately in my own life. I love to write, and most of the time, I’m so happy doing just that, that I don’t give much thought to the bigger picture. There are times I get caught up in the work, or start to look at a specific goal and the effort it will take to achieve it. But whenever I do, the negative emotion swoops in and replaces the joy, the connection I feel when I let my Higher Self pour it’s wisdom and creativity through my fingers.

So thanks for the insight, Cathy. And thanks Phillip Phillips for showing us how to be successful: You dreamed big, yet you stayed true to yourself, and you remembered the reason you were passionate in the first place. You simply love to sing. You didn’t need to win American Idol to find happiness! And yet you did.

What’s wrong with being an INTROVERT??

I had an interesting experience today. Have you ever stepped into a situation that catapults you back in time, that causes old memories and feelings (even hurts and injustices) to become fresh and new? In that moment it can feel like you haven’t made any progress at all, which of course isn’t true.

I was at a book signing of a fellow author. Being an author, myself, I’ve done a few too many of those. I quickly realized after the first one, that I hated them. I hated being on display, disliked having to make conversation with people I didn’t know, and was embarrassed by the way I became tongue tied about a subject I was actually very passionate about.

I continued doing them for a couple of years because that’s what authors are supposed to do, or so people said. Lack of book sales made me feel like a failure, and pushing myself to do something so uncomfortable made me feel like I wasn’t being true to myself.

I know…this is where extroverts want to jump in and tell me I’m wrong, that if I just push past the fear, I’ll see results. That if I learn the tricks and techniques, I can actually become a confident speaker and a successful marketer. In other words, I can become like them (i.e. an extrovert).

But what if I don’t become like them? What if I don’t want to? What if I decide to honor who I am and find a way to get the results in a way that’s unique to me, to my style, my personality, my comfort level?

What if I do it my way?

Just so you know, that’s exactly the way I AM doing it. Rather than pushing against so many things that weren’t working and didn’t feel good, I gave up totally—to the point that I questioned selling my books at all. I took some time to find out what I really wanted and then found a way to line up with it.

LAW OF ATTRACTION to the rescue!!

As a result, I am now marketing my books in a way that works for me. I love what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. And I AM seeing results! But that’s another blog entirely.

The point I wanted to make here is that there’s more than one “right” way, and if it doesn’t feel good for you, it’s NOT good for you.

(Sometimes it feels good to vent, doesn’t it?)

What really set me off today was a conversation I overheard. I observed a little girl, maybe 8 or 10, looking at some items for sale. The mother was quietly browsing; the little girl was asking questions about the merchandise. An older couple was entertained by the child’s curiosity. It was their comments that ticked me off.

The man said to the woman beside him, “It’s a good thing she’s not shy.” (as if being shy is an abnormality, a handicap, a liability. In truth more than half the population are introverts.)

The woman replied, “Yes, they learn so much more that way.” (as a shy child, I can tell you I was constantly listening, observing, and then processing that information, sorting it, filing it, and then questioning further. I often asked my parents, siblings, or trusted adults questions, but I also had a much used set of World Book Encyclopedias – that was long before the internet!)

Of course, I didn’t say anything to the couple. Being an introvert, I avoid confrontation at all cost. lol. Besides that, it was none of my business, and they have a right to believe whatever they want.

But I couldn’t help thinking of what an insult it was to shy children everywhere. I want to embrace those children and tell them how wonderful they are. I want to tell them how much they are contributing just by being who they are. I also want to encourage them to be true to themselves and not give in to pressure to become extroverts by well meaning but misinformed adults.

However, being an introvert, I won’t stand on a soapbox shouting what I believe. I won’t start a group to protest the unfair treatment of innocent children. Understanding Law of Attraction, I know those methods doesn’t work anyway.

Instead, I’ll remind myself that they’re doing just fine, that they’re experiencing the contrast that will help them form their path in life. I’ll inwardly embrace them and tell them I’m proud of them—and while I’m at it I’ll tell that little girl in me that she’s doing just fine, too!

For you introvert adults (you know who you are) I recommend Introvert Power, by Laurie Helgoe, PhD. An excellent, informative and life-changing read!

Losing Weight

This blog isn’t about what you think it’s about. So if you tuned in wanting tips on how to shed unwanted pounds, you may be disappointed.

But don’t leave yet; this may apply to you, too.

Have you ever thought about how others see you. What you see in the mirror and the image you hold in your mind is one thing, but what others see may be something else altogether.

They say it’s all about perception. But what are people really perceiving?

The other evening, my husband and I ran into a neighbor we knew from more than ten years ago. We started reminiscing, had a few drinks, and filled each other in on our lives and our kids lives.

Throughout the evening, he kept making comments about how we’d both changed. Three times he commented that I’d lost weight. In the past ten years I’ve actually put on 15 – 20 lbs, so I was quite surprised at his comments. Rather than correct him (I tried but he didn’t seem to hear me) I just let it go.

The next day, my husband brought it up and made a rather interesting (and insightful) comment. He reminded me that ten years ago I was still suffering from depression and that maybe the “heaviness” our neighbor had perceived was emotional, not physical.

That got me thinking. What do we really see when we look at people? What do they see when they look at me?

Obviously people can see and even sense when a person is happy, but I’m beginning to think it’s more than that. The vibrations we’re giving off influence how others perceive us in a more comprehensive way. And that perception is what they take away with them—what stays in their memory and what image pops up whenever they think of us.

The movie Shallow Hal (2001) illustrates this in a comical way. Jack Black’s character is, well, shallow. But after an encounter with Tony Robbins, he sees women in a new way and falls for a beautiful, but large Gwyneth Paltrow. He is seeing only her inner beauty, but what is inner beauty if not our vibration, our emotional countenance?

Does that emotional countenance have the power to distort even our physical appearance?

Vibrationally speaking, I’m much lighter than I used to be. I have lost weight in that sense. I’m happy now and I can even feel the “lightness”—the spring in my step, the smile that’s genuine, the youthful desire to skip in the park or jump in a pile of leaves or make a snow angel. So it makes sense that others pick up on that, too.

I’m glad to have lost the weight of depression, glad that it shows on my face and in the vibe that I now give off. And maybe when I get too caught up in the details of my physical appearance, I need to remind myself that that’s not what people are really “seeing” anyway.

Learning to trust my Self—an ongoing journey

It’s interesting how we learn. Aha’s come by various means. Reading other’s work can inspire new realizations. Meditating can open the door to inner guidance. Friends can offer well-timed advice. Nature (even an adorable puppy) can provide analogies fitting to where we’re at in life.

Recently, I’ve gained great insight from reflecting on my past.

As I looked back, selectively sifting through past memories and experiences, one stood out to me. It stood out for two reasons. One, because it was a particularly good memory; and two, because it was something that had served me well in the past that I wasn’t using effectively in my present.

It was trust.

As a new Christian in my early twenties, I was eager to experience life in the safe, loving environment that an evangelical church offered. It was there I found true friendships with like-minded people; it was there I was first able to express my feelings and not be judged; it was there I met the love of my life, now my husband.

It was there I learned about faith.

Until that point in my life, I’d never really trusted anyone or anything completely (especially myself), but the all-knowing, all-loving God I was introduced to offered me the opportunity to try. I fully embraced the new feeling, like I’d been waiting my whole life for the experience of diving headfirst into new adventures armed with the confidence that my God was big enough to keep me safe and lead me to my greatest good.

I look back fondly on those first few years of my Christian experience.

I can think of so many times that my faith led me perfectly. I was naive then, too, and I think that helped. LOL. I was willing to do anything, go anywhere if I believed it was “God’s will.”

The particular memory that came back to me recently was this:

I was happily married with two beautiful little girls. We had just built a new house in Saskatoon. Ron had a great job. We had so many close friends. Life was good. Then one day he came home and said, “What would you think about moving to BC?” Without hesitation, I said, “Sure, if it’s God’s will.”

In complete faith, we listed our house and prepared to move. To sum up, our house sold in 2 weeks, Ron’s company paid for our move (found out later they didn’t pay for another employee that moved around the same time) and they sold him an older truck for a dollar! (we only had one vehicle and needed two). We set off—Ron driving the Uhaul pulling our little car and me driving the half-ton truck. We arrived in Abbotsford two days later having made no arrangements for a place to live. After staying in a cute little motel with a kitchenette for the better part of a week, we found the perfect house to rent. We found out later that the vacancy rate was the lowest ever and 12 other couples had been to see the house the same day we did. The house had everything we wanted and the best neighbors we could have asked for. We’re still friends to this day.

Now fast forward 21 years.

My belief system has changed; my God has expanded; I’ve tasted the kind of freedom that I couldn’t find in a religious system. I love my life more than ever…

But what about my faith?

Somewhere along the road, I lost that precious, naive, pure, innocent childlike faith.

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve learned some very important things: I’ve learned that I create my own reality, that my thoughts are vibrations I’m emitting, and that I receive back exactly what I put out there. I’ve learned that I am God, that I’m connected to All That Is.

But when it comes to trusting ME, the faith isn’t as strong, the trust isn’t as unwavering as it used to be. Bottom line: I threw out my all-encompassing faith when I turned my back on a version of God that turned out to be judgmental and inconsistent.

What is trust anyway? If you think about it, trust is really just Law of Attraction at work.

Two decades ago, I believed without a doubt that everything would work out all right and it did—in fact, better than I had dared to imagine. I got back exactly what I put out there. Somewhere along life’s path, however, doubt knocked on the door, and I invited it in, gave it a room and offered it dinner.

Now I want to recapture that trust.

I want to taste again that feeling of jumping off a cliff (I’m talking figuratively here. LOL) and knowing the parachute will not only open, but will take me on a scenic adventure, showing me life from breathtaking heights and panoramic vistas.

I want to have the same trust in ME (my Greater Self) as I did in the God of the bible. They’re one and the same. It’s only my perception that’s changed.

Stay tuned…

I have some more to say on this subject. I’ve received some interesting aha’s and I’ll try to sum then up in my next post.

Eye (“I”) Issues

I’ve been having eye issues lately—teary, watery eyes. I understand that every physical manifestation is simply an indicator of what’s going on vibrationally, but you’d think that knowing that, I would have done some soul searching sooner. I actually took the action journey first—tried eye drops, both antihistamine and antibiotic and believe me when I say I did my fair share of complaining.

But finally the other day after this dragging on for almost three months, I started to look inside. I had been asking questions: “Why me?” “What’s this all about?” “What am I doing wrong?” and generally beating up on myself for not finding the alignment and therefore the wellbeing that I know deep-down is my birthright.

So the other day I changed my line of questioning and answers came very quickly. I asked myself what emotional issues matched the physical issue I was experiencing and started making correlations between the two. This is the process as it unfolded and ultimately what I discovered.

Eye➠seeing, sight, insight, understanding, knowing

Lack of sight➠lack of insight or understanding

Cloudy/blurred vision➠can’t see clearly, can’t see a way for something to happen

Problem is worse outdoors➠outside, outside what?

• • outside my comfort zone?
  • outside my safety net?
  • outside the box?

All of this seemed insightful, but didn’t really resonate with me. So I probed deeper.

Only my right eye is affected➠right (being right, need to be right?)

➠Right body/left brain (thinking, rationalizing, organized,reasoning side of me)

Eye➠I (capital I, me)

• • sense of self
  • beingness vrs Beingness
  • who am I?
  • self worth

I’d hit on something. I could feel that this was the root of the problem. It felt like a huge issue—one that I’ve dealt with (or grappled with but not resolved) many time over the years. I decided that I wanted to really look at the issue this time with complete honesty and find a way to change my vibration

This is the conversation I had with my inner Being (using left hand writing):

(right hand) “I (eye)’m not clear. What is it I’m not clear about?”

(left hand) “What do you want?”

“Why do you always answer a question with another question?”

“Questions evoke answers. Answers are within”

“But you know the answer”

“So do you – you and I are one.”

“It seems to always come back to this.”

“Maybe because this is what you’re not clear on.”

“Really? This is it?”

“I (eye) dentity!”

I gave it a lot of thought, knowing it was truth and knowing it was the answer I had been seeking, just not clear on how to apply it.

The next day I summed up what I was feeling in another two handed conversation (I find these to be very powerful!) and asked the question:

“So how can I see myself (and everything else) through the eyes of Source?”

“Change that to the ‘I’ of Source – that’s where the issue is. You are the ‘I’ of Source.”

That one statement was a powerful Aha! I knew it to be true, could feel it resonate deeply. So my work now is to remind myself over and over of who I am.

I AM THE EYE ‘I’ OF SOURCE!

My inner Being confirmed it with the following conversation:

“It’s not an issue to be debated. It’s who you are. It can’t be changed. You can never be less than who you really are.”

“But I can feel ‘less than’ and convince myself it’s true just because I feel it.”

“A story isn’t true just because it’s been told over and over or written down for all to see.”

“So I just tell a different story—a better story. Why are the answers always the same? I know this stuff!!”

“Don’t just talk about telling a different story. Do it. Start telling it right now.”

So I started telling the story differently, but as many of you can relate, a new story can sound phony at first. My inner critic is bringing up a lot of objections, but I’m telling him where to go. I can do this. I deserve to know the truth and live the truth of who I AM.

I (EYE) AM GAINING CLARITY

I (EYE) AM BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND (SEE) WHO I AM

I (EYE) SEE ALL I NEED TO SEE IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT

I (EYE) AM SEEING MORE ALL THE TIME

I (EYE) CAN SEE THE SOURCE OF MY WELLBEING

I (EYE) AM THE I (EYE) OF SOURCE

I (EYE) KNOW WHO I AM

I (EYE) CAN SEE MY TRUE REALITY

I (EYE) CAN SEE PAST WHAT ‘IS’ (WHAT SEEMS TO BE)

I (EYE) CAN SEE WHAT CAN BE (WHAT TRULY IS)

I MOVE FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE, EASE, SAFETY AND JOY.

I AM ALL THAT I NEED. I AM ENOUGH!!

Knowing this I, here and now, make a pledge to myself to honor and uplift that which I AM! I will not devalue myself or allow myself to feel ‘less than.’ I will see myself in others and see others as a reflection of me. I will endeavor to ‘be’ who I AM, whether in the comfort and safety of my private space, or in the midst of many. I will make the JOY OF BEING my ultimate goal and see all other outcomes as merely a reflection of my choice of focus. I (eye) will strive to see good (God) in all and to see my choices and activities as being divinely orchestrated. I can do no wrong. I can make no mistakes. I can never be less than that which I AM. I AM the power and presence of the beloved energy Source I know as God. And so it is!