So, in light of everything else, I'm going to take the easy route and introduce you to a woman from England. Her name is Karen Knowler. She's a "raw foods coach" (for lack of a better term). We heard her talk the other night as part of the Raw Divas "Sisterhood".
The thing I liked about Karen is her honesty. She's not into the "bling" or into being a raw food celebrity, with people fawning all over her. (OK, I like a little fawning myself on occasion). She doesn't want a flock of sheep following her. I really feel she just wants people to be happy in their own lives. That is what drew us to the Raw Divas.
So, without further introduction, I give you the obligatory statement, and then her most recent posting titled "What do You Need to Believe". Check her out please!
Ahem....
Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.
(Honestly, I couldn't have said that better myself.)
And now for the main event:
What Do You Need To Believe?
From Successfully Raw Issue 60:
Belief is one of the most powerful, if not THE most powerful, internal drivers in existence.
When we believe in something, both our head and our heart are engaged, and taking action becomes easy because we are already in alignment.Belief also rides side-by-side with imagination, meaning that even though much of what we believe may not be visible to the physical eye, we can have such a strong faith and a passion in what we believe that the path ahead, although not always clearly visible, is nonetheless compelling, exciting and perfectly beautiful to us in our mind’s eye.
Natalie (name changed) came to our coaching call on Monday frustrated because despite being somewhat into raw foods she just couldn’t fully embrace it. Her main reason was already known to us both: Her health situation had brought her to raw because quite simply it was the only thing that had helped ease her issues, and yet she had found herself really struggling with going raw despite regularly surfing the web for inspiration, enjoying some of the recipes and knowing intellectually that it is what she needs to do.
This was the challenge that was presented to me during the short 15 minutes that we had together: How can I stop fighting the raw journey and learn how to love it and not resist it?
Speaking with Natalie it became clear from some of the things she was saying that not only was she resisting the present situation, but she was also wistfully looking back to the past and wishing she was there, at a time where she did eat anything and everything she wanted to without issues. It dawned on me then that our first priority was to bring her fully into the present, into her current reality and truth and also to have her looking more joyfully to the future. Upon asking Natalie if she generally spent most of her thought time in the past, present or future, she said “Mostly the past, sometimes the future, and rarely in the present”… this confirmed some of what I had already suspected to be at the root of the problem. We cannot make progress when we are not in the NOW and don’t own and engage with the present.
Further discussion revealed that Natalie also had an issue with being potentially called a “raw fooder” if she changed her diet to mostly or all raw foods. Me too! I have a distinct dislike of labelling people, especially according to their diet, and Natalie had subconsciously and consciously decided that as she didn’t want to be called a raw fooder she wouldn’t in fact eat like one most of the time!
Clearly not the best way to get the results that she wants and needs for her health when raw foods is the only way of eating that works for her and has been helping to heal her!
So there were two main resistances: wanting to stay mostly in the past and also resisting being labelled. Both very powerful blockages to her being where she wants and needs to be if she is to get well.
But of course Natalie was speaking to me for a reason: She DOES want to eat raw. Sure, mostly it is because she wants to be well, but she is also inspired, if a little in awe, at the stories of raw transformations that she has seen on the web and other aspects of raw food eating have intrigued her.
Well, quite possibly this was the only time I had ever had someone on a coaching call who was so very split in two as Natalie was. But being in limbo is not the best place to be for any of us for more than a short while, and when your health – your very foundation for a great life – is at stake then moving forward and working with what helps heal you is, of course, the only way to go.
So we returned to the challenge in hand: How can I stop fighting the raw journey and learn how to love it and not resist it?
Already we had discussed how living in the past is not great for any of us on any level. Natalie agreed and also acknowledged that she had never really consciously realised that she was living there before. It certainly helped her understand where a large part of the resistance was coming from, and she happily agreed to consciously focus on bringing herself into the present moment and “living there” as often as possible because the former approach had definitely not been serving her.
As far as labels were concerned, it was time for the power coaching questions:
“What label would you like to put on yourself that will assist you and inspire you to continue on your raw food journey? OR -- What do you need to believe for raw foods to be a joyful experience for you?”
I shared with Natalie that as I don’t like being labelled a raw foodist either, I had come up with my own private “label” (a name I give myself) that I use to quickly and passionately align me with my needs and values that speaks to ME, inspiring me to be the highest version of myself on a daily basis. While I keep this name private, I shared enough with Natalie for her to recognise that her label doesn’t need to be about food at all, but simply needs to speak to her in a way that feels good and inspires her to embrace raw foods and enjoy them from a newer, much more expansive and excited place.
My coaching challenge to Natalie, as we neared the end of our 15 minutes, was to have a think about what she would like to believe about herself and/or the raw food journey for it to be a joy for her so that she could leave the past behind and move forward into all the pleasures and benefits that raw food can bring. This challenge really spoke to Natalie as already she was seeing that there was light at the end of the tunnel, now all she had to do was tap into herself and find out what would inspire her from within so that she could get well again.
A few hours later we had our second call of the day. Natalie was thrilled to announce that the answer to the coaching challenge had simply dropped into her mind as she walked home from work that night. She excitedly reported how it really spoke to her and had already created a shift inside her and how happy she was with what she had come up with.
I’m sure you’re itching to know what Natalie “got” as much as I was, right?
Well, Natalie gave me permission to share it with you, so you’re in luck!
At the start of Monday Natalie’s belief was:
“I’m being forced to eat raw food because of my health”
By Monday evening Natalie’s new, much more empowering belief was:
“Raw food has chosen ME!”
Quite a shift, I’m sure you’ll agree! Natalie loved the idea of feeling specially chosen by raw food, it really worked for her.
Since then I have heard from Natalie again via email reporting back on how her eating has changed this week:
“Just to let you know I am doing really well since our call even though I have hit detox! The words about being chosen are really working for me and I am repeating them through the day to help me. I have maintained about 90% raw which I am really pleased with and the cooked things have been vegan or vegetarian and whole foods so I am really pleased.”
“When I say 'raw food has chosen me' to myself, I emphasise the word 'chosen' in my mind more than the word 'me'. When I think about being chosen I get an image of my success being an inspiration to other people. That's a very powerful emotional image for me. Normally I fight detox symptoms but as you said on our call, I've learned to see them as a reward. (Who would have thought that mucous was a reward, but it is!)”
Wow for Natalie and a big wow for any one of you who have in the process of learning with Natalie recognised how your own beliefs about raw food may be holding you back!
Of course you know what my coaching challenge is going to be for you this week, don’t you? It’s the same one as I set for Natalie and here it is again especially for YOU:
“What label would you like to put on yourself that will assist you and inspire you to continue on your raw food journey? OR -- What do you need to believe for raw foods to be a joyful experience for YOU?”
If you feel that you are not quite “there” internally or externally with raw foods, specifically to the degree that intellectually or medically you desire, asking these questions of yourself can absolutely give you the breakthrough you need as long as you stay true to you and what matters in your life to YOU.
As above, it doesn’t even have to be about food necessarily, it simply has to be a belief about yourself that automatically requires you to eat more raw foods in order for you to fully realise and externally manifest the dreams or goals you have for yourself.
To get you in the groove here are a few other different examples of “labels” or beliefs that could/would work for people, depending on what speaks to them…
* Raw food is my medicine and I am on full time, full strength medication!
* Raw food is my lover
* I am a lean, green, fighting machine!
* I am strong, fit and healthy, running on living foods and loving it!
* As I eat, so shall I show up in the world
* Born to blossom
* My connection to the planet is everything to me
* I am the artist of my body, mind and soul and my palette comprises of raw foods, daily exercise and having tons of fun!
* Raw food and I are one
* I choose raw bliss
* I am crazy, sexy, cool!
* I ooze raw-ness : )
As you see there is no end to what you can come up with that might perfectly work for you!
I’d LOVE to hear from you about what you either already believe about yourself that keeps you in alignment with raw foods, or what you have now come up with to keep you aligned as result of reading this article.
As I hope you will have learned, and also as per the article of two weeks ago, those subconscious beliefs have so much power over us until we bring them up and out and consciously change them to something much more aligned and empowering for who we really are and who we wish to become.
And what’s more, the great thing about beliefs is that we can change them at any time! So you can tweak it, overwrite it, reinvent it or upgrade it at any point in the future as soon as it stops working for you or if you feel it doesn’t quite hit the spot. Very cool, huh?
Have fun with this and please DO share! I’d love to share your answers with other blog readers, with or without your name as you wish and I really REALLY do mean that! Email me at karen@therawfoodcoach.com or post your thoughts, comments or realisations in the comments section below.
© 2007 Karen Knowler.
On a personal note. If you find yourself unable to locate that stupid Eggplant Burger recipe, try looking first in the recipe book you've compiled on your computer. You might just find it, after searching for about 5 hours, in the sandwiches chapter. #@$@!
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