Wellness Billionaire's Blog

A Basic Spiritual Overview and a Look at Overeating

Feeling empty is a painful experience whether that emptiness is physical, emotional, mental or spiritual.

When we feel empty, we must fill ourselves – but when we do, our response will be extreme. The real tragedy is that feelings of emptiness trigger overindulgent actions – which derail any good intentions we have for ourselves.

The greater the depth is of our emptiness, the greater the depth of our overindulgence – and the greater the consequences to our well-being.

Let’s look at some of these consequences…

When we feel empty physically, overindulgent actions can manifest in our lives as overeating, excessive drug or alcohol use, or high-risk behaviors. All feelings of emptiness can become manifest in the physical but not all of them do.

For instance…If we feel emotionally empty, we are depressed or angry and will search out anything that reduces our distress. This will be extreme situations that create drama in our lives and make us feel full and alive. Emotional emptiness can also be expressed in the compulsion to isolate ourselves from others where we sadly become entangled in our misery.

Being mentally empty leaves us feeling ‘less than,’ unaccomplished or incapable of resolving our dilemmas. When this happens, we do whatever we can to abate the feeling. Depending on our predisposition, we may deny the reality of the situation, become very dependent on others to solve our problems, or make rash inappropriate decisions.

When we feel spiritually empty, we feel abandoned and very alone. We will reach for anything that makes us feel full and align with it in an obsessive way. This can be newly adopted beliefs, the dictates of a spiritual leader who we feel fills this void, or a fanatical dedication to a cause.

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The Devolution into Guilt and Shame

When we overindulge in the attempt to fill ourselves, we find the situation complicated by burgeoning feelings of guilt and shame. We will ride these emotions down into desperation unless we can stay present in the Now.

Why is it so important to stay in the Now? Because feeling guilt and shame are reactions to past events or choices, and focusing on the Now frees us from the shackles of these repressive feelings which, in turn, allows us to heal ourselves.

Let’s look at this in more detail…There is nothing more devastating than being found out for our overindulgence. When our greed and entitlement issues are in full view, we feel naked and exposed. Since we feel we are powerless over our indulgent behaviors, we begin a concerted effort to hide. Our feelings of emptiness are now punctuated by our shame. As a result, our overindulgences escalate. The spiral downward into further dysfunction or denial will be evidenced by us now voraciously filling ourselves.

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Living in the Present

Our life is a manifestation of our past decisions – if we live through that past. Most of us think that who we are is a conglomerate of our past choices. This thought leaves us powerless to change ourselves, but if we put ourselves fully in the present or the Now, we redefine our relationship to ourselves and change our relationship to What Is. We are then no longer victim to our past choices. We are fully in charge of our lives in the Now.

We are each vibrant, brilliant and perfect for our life’s journey. This is always true but gets muddied with the shame and guilt that overshadows us from past choices.

Healing will involve letting go of the feelings associated with the past and choosing wisely in the present. Change can only be affected in the present moment.

Here is something to think about…Holding onto thoughts and emotions that are “heavy” show up in the physical on the scale in actual pounds.

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Right Thinking

One way to begin to heal the strangling and derailing emotions of guilt and shame is to look at how we think.

Our thinking can cause us as much harm as our actions. We know this through physiological studies and the published scientific research of Bruce Lipton, PhD in his book called “The Biology of Belief.” He has proven in the lab that our cells respond to every word we say and every intention we have. Right Thinking then is an imperative to healing feelings of emptiness.

Right Thinking is defined as thoughts that support the movement towards well-being.

The physical body is fully of the Earth plane. It is the physical manifestation of what we think and emote. Thinking and emoting exist in the physical world, but they are not specific to the physical world. Our thoughts and emotions are also non-local which means that other people can sense our thoughts and feel our emotions without physical contact.

How we think directly affects how we feel; and, how we feel directly affects how we think.

It is possible, but much more difficult for most of us, to change how we feel than it is to change how we think. With Right Thinking, we can change everything that is mental, emotional and even physical – but not spiritual. The physical body is the part of us bound by linear time. We have, though, already in this moment mastered what we are striving for from a spiritual perspective. Our spiritual self is not bound by linear time – and is already fully everything we desire. With Right Thinking we bring the wisdom we know spiritually down into our physical world.

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Here are some specific practices that support Right Thinking:

• Right Thinking is supported by a dedication to positive affirmations – as long as we believe them all the way down to our cells. Personal Declarations (which are crafted by or for the individual) must be clear and reasonable or ‘ring true’ to be effective.
• Right Thinking is enhanced when discipline is applied to our intention.
• Right Thinking must be associated with an attitude of patience – because the physical body will take time to reflect a change in thinking.

The effectiveness of Right Thinking depends on the level of dedication, discipline and patience in the individual.

Overweight Issues: An Example

In the past, weight was a sign of wealth. The more indulgent and overweight we were, the wealthier we were considered to be. Today we have very different, harsh social views levied on those carrying extra weight.

Let’s breakdown overweight issues:

• Physically, being overweight is manifest overindulgence.
• Emotionally, the greed played out in overindulgence creates depression and/or anger which then probably devolve down into shame and guilt.
• Mentally, it creates defiance and self-punishing thoughts.
• Spiritually, overweight issues indicate that we have taken more than our share or more than we need to survive, and we feel out of balance with What Is and disconnected from who we are at Heart.

“Acceptable weight” has always been associated with popular opinion and peer pressure. Today, though, the medical community promotes a much thinner version of the human body than it once did. Fifty years ago an acceptable and recommended weight for women was about fifteen pounds heavier than it is today. What researchers have discovered is that a thinner body is healthier physically.

The goal to have a thinner physical body, as influenced by public and medical opinion, is further complicated by the fact that emotional, mental and spiritual issues are not adequately addressed in pursuit of that goal. It is very common for weight to be quickly regained after the restrictions of a diet are stopped.

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A Few Answers

We must find ways to eat without guilt. Guilt is a heavy, restricting emotion. Mindfulness will help. We must intend to eat nutritionally not emotionally.

The “more is better” theme shouts loudly in the overweight person’s life. Many feel they deserve more. After they indulge, they begin to feel that they are eating more than their fair share, they feel guilty – and they spiral out of control.

Another concern…Studies show that many overweight people do not have good eating habits or understand their nutritional needs. Learning to eat nutritionally and seeking out support from a trained professional, helps to eliminate punishing self-talk and has helped many people to maintain a healthy body weight. But it is not the total solution because the spiritual aspects of weight gain would also need to be addressed for success to be long term.

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Using Personal Declarations

The following declarations can assist in the process of growing dedication, discipline and patience. They were created specifically for managing overindulgent issues. They communicate to the mental aspect of the individual about spiritual issues.

Many of us do not know how to eat nutritionally – but we are absolutely aware our overindulgence. This awareness should be the inspiration to redirect our thoughts towards Right Thinking.

The following declarations are to be recited as needed. A minimum suggestion for usage would be to recite them once in the morning upon rising and once at night before retiring. You could also print out the declarations and read them before each meal to maintain focus on your commitment to Right Thinking.

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Declarations to Heal Emptiness and Overindulgence

I dedicate myself to living vibrantly.

I intend to make my impulses

reasonable expressions

of my needs,

and my choices

in Harmony with What Is.

I stay in sync with

the best of what can be.

I recognize with clarity…

that which is mine to borrow,

that which is mine to own,

and that which is mine to ingest.

I have enough wisdom,

in this moment,

to make the clear choices

that allow me

to live a vibrant, healthy lifestyle.

I do all of this to the best of my ability,

and ask for help if I feel lost.

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Further Explanation

The topic of overindulgence is very important and broad reaching. As we can see, it manifests in our lives in many ways.

It is actually harder to derail our life than it is to ‘right’ it. Getting it ‘wrong’ takes hard work that vies with the natural healing process. Our body strives endlessly to heal The Cut whether healing is needed on the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual levels of our Being. It is our own misaligned intentions and lack of understanding that maintain our suffering.

Just to be clear…A diagnosed chemical imbalance creating dysfunction must be managed with medication prescribed by a medical professional. Right Thinking is an additional wellness tool for those with a diagnosed dysfunction or a chronic health issue. For more information about choices that can assist you with your personal goals, please go to http://www.Spiritual-Healthcare.net/Network.html

Making It Personal

Do your best to rally your dedication, discipline and patience as you begin Right Thinking. It is within you to be successful! Wellness is your natural state-of-being.

Be kind to yourself. You are healing wounds that run deep. Even if you were to place a bandage on sutures, it would take time for the wound to actually heal. This holds true for emotional, mental and spiritual healing also. Begin your healing journey today. Ask for support if you need it. Know you are innately worthy of well-being.

See yourself filling up with Joy.

Breathe in the best of your life,

and let it flow through your veins.

It is a deeper understanding of What Is

that leads you to True Wellness.

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Feel free to reproduce this article, but please remember to include the personal information below.

Written by Corinne S. Ramage, Leader in True Wellness© Studies

Creator of The Spiritual Healthcare Network of online programs and personal healing options

Author of “The Art and Practice of True Wellness” and many other enlightening and inspiring books

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Corinne, thank you so much for contributing! ~ Wellness Billionaire

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