Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul Part 3 of 9: Ending Craving
December 25, 2009 by dr. lam
As a follow up to yesterday’s blog on flexibilty, Chopra talks about a study of middle-aged Finnish men who were high risk for heart attacks. One group had the patients casually reinforced with techniques for better living to minimize risk, encountering the physician a few times a year for this lifestyle counseling, which they had hitherto ignored (and perhaps would continue to do so). Another group met regularly with their physicians, checking constantly their cholesterol, weight, and other factors, so as to make proper recommendations for lifestyle changes. The second group had an overwhelming greater percentage of heart attacks than the first. Perhaps the stress of these regular meetings led to their demise.
Our body is not separate from our minds. When we are living in a state of struggle with our bodies, we tend to live exasperated lives. For example, when we climb out of our beds to the kitchen to sneak a bite of chocolate ice cream, what are we doing really? We are living a cycle of “Should I or Shouldn’t I” that is unrelenting and unenlightened. We have very little self awareness for our actions, as we are forced into a never-ending cycle of struggle. Through reflection and meditation on what we are doing, we can elevate ourselves beyond the struggle and to see that we can rise above these limitations that drive us unconsciously. For most of my life, I have looked at food with craving until I went to France, which literally changed my paradigm. I am now seeing food for its social and healthful purposes rather than for it being part of an escapism that I no longer need.
We must begin to be aware so that we can change our energy so that we can change our body. Through reflection of why we are struggling and to expose that struggle for what it is, we can begin to let go of it. We can then change our energy, which ultimately changes our body. As Chopra has frequently said, “The issue is in the tissue.” We can end craving by allowing our mind to meditate beyond it and enter a state of peace.
Chopra recommends three types of meditation: focus on breathing, focus on the heart (just focusing and centering yourself on tranquility of your heart), and focus on the light (see yourself moving toward light and enlightenment). End your struggle with craving by seeing the foolish association of how ice cream has anything to do with your stress levels. Or how your hatred for your father should drive your current energy. Or whatever your situation might be. Free yourself from your own prison.
(Merry Xmas Everyone!)
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10 Responses to “Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul Part 3 of 9: Ending Craving”
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This is very interesting. I appreciate the concept very much.
Heather, Merry Christmas. Keep shining, you’re awesome.
Hope everyone celebrating had a joyous Christmas. Best wishes to all blog-buddies and future blog buddies for twenty-ten!
thanks nord! love you too!
Thanks Nord!!!! You are awesome too!!! This blog forum wouldn’t be the same without you!!! I love you, Nord!!!
Wow, a lot of insight in this blog!!! I have a different take on this actually but it’s dealing with the same concept. (BTW, Dr. Lam, DON”T feel like you have to read this.) These are just my thoughts and what has worked for me. Our body is not separate from our minds because the two play off each other, but we can get out of alignment with both and enter a state of being out of tune in the body and mind. This causes us to feel out of control and to feel the need to control.
I think that when we focus on something that is supposed to be natural, such as eating, and we try to control it because we think that by doing so, it will give us greater control or because we have a perfectionistic or extreme view of eating/food/etc, we ironically step outside of natural control and enter a state of what I call “dual consciousness.” This state is created because we are viewing control as forcing and not as an alignment of desire and want. Instead of being in alignment with ourselves in what we want and desire for ourselves on a conscious and subconscious level, we have entered a state of two wants. One side wants what is ultimately good for us, and the other side wants what is pleasurable at that moment. The one that gravitates our feelings at that moment is the one that then rules our actions. Which one do you think rules when we have a craving?…lol When we are in a state of being out of control, we cannot talk our way through a craving because we are ruled by the emotions of that consciousness. If we were in alignment with what we want and desire, we could talk ourselves out of a craving, but then if we were in alignment, we wouldn’t have the craving in the first place or it wouldn’t be very strong. Also, when we are out of alignment with both wants, we cannot control where our feelings gravitate unless we put ourselves in a situation that doesn’t allow us to crave something, which can help but isn’t the ultimate solution. After we’ve eaten that brownie or indulged in something we were craving (whatever it happens to be) that we didn’t want to eat but ate because we craved it, we now have lost any pleasure from it and now enter the other consciousness, because our feelings are then ruled by that side, and we face the consequences of what our other consciousness did, and this is felt by feeling fat, feeling guilt, feeling shame, or feeling out of control, etc. We then feel out of control because we are not in alignment with what we want and what we have done or are doing, and we feel out of control- because we are out of control at this point. That is how someone enters the cycle of addiction and why it is so hard to get out of it, because when someone is out of control, the only thing they feel they can do to get in control is to try to control whatever it is, but ironically, that just propels the cycle of whatever addiction it is to be stronger and the individual to become more out of control. One consciousness tells them they need to quit and get in control, and the other tells them they need it (whatever it is) to feel in control. It’s just part of the cycle. And the feelings that are wrapped up in that cycle also cause it to be hard for someone to step outside that cycle of trying to control to get in control and as a result becoming more out of control.
The only way to step outside that cycle is to get back in alignment with natural control: wanting something and desiring the same thing where they are the same desire. So when someone is in what I call “perfect alignment” they are in ultimate control, where everything they crave is what is also best for them. In theory (hey, it has worked for me!), when someone is in ultimate control, they will crave vegetables and fruits…lol Just as when someone is in perfect alignment fitness wise with the body, that person will probably have a natural desire to exercise. This is just what has worked for me. This is kind of your point, Dr. Lam, but just a different twist and my own psychological theory.
How does someone get in alignment? Well, first of all, the worst thing to do, is to try to be in control of whatever it is, and interestingly, this is what we think is logical; and when someone is addicted, is what feels like the right thing to do, and is the thing that our culture stresses, but it is not only detrimental to getting in control but entirely the wrong approach; that is in itself stepping out of natural control, which is false control. So to tell yourself not to eat the brownie or not to smoke (using it as in example) or to get upset with yourself, or to tell yourself that you are going to force yourself not to indulge in something is not going to work if someone is not in alignment, because what someone is feeling towards whatever craving it is and the situation and stress in their lives (even if they understand that indulging in whatever it is isn’t going to solve matters), that is what is going to rule, and no amount of logical self talking is going to influence that individual not to do what is most comfortable at that moment, because the desire consciousness and what that person is feeling is what is in control and not what is in that person’s best interest.
Also, that in itself is causing someone to focus on whatever craving there is, which magnifies the craving for that thing. It’s like telling yourself not to think of a purple elephant and thinking that is going to cause you not to think about one.
Another way to get in natural control is to refocus the craving to have a different perspective of what you originally thought it to be. A perspective that is not forcing. Dr. Lam, I think the reason why you got in alignment with yourself on food when you went to France, was because you re-shifted your perspective, so instead of viewing food as a thing you need to control as your focus of it, you changed your perspective to be a social and nourishing view of food, and that viewpoint of it gave you an entirely different psychological connection to it, and you were then able to get in alignment with what you want and what you desire for yourself by not forcing, and you started really enjoying veggies and healthful foods, probably instead of looking at them as things you should eat or have to eat. Just my take….lol
I think the best meditations are ones that help someone get in alignment with themselves, emotionally (getting in-tune with one’s emotions like you previously mentioned in your other blog), physically (as you mentioned in your other blog), getting in tune with one’s thoughts, getting in tune with one’s feelings, getting in tune with one’s awareness, self confidence, spirituality, body and mind connection, etc.
I think when someone is in tune with his/her feelings, emotions, self confidence, body, spirituality, etc, it all helps that person get in alignment with what one wants and what one desires. Not forcing but allowing is the first step to getting in alignment. Eliminating perfectionistic thinking is really important, and rather, a better focus would be to focus on accepting yourself wherever you’re at and improving. Also, changing the perspective and re-shifting one’s viewpoint of a craving and the mentality behind it, can help.
For me, if I focus too much on my breathing, or my heart, I start to feel like I can’t breath or that I’m getting a heart attack…lol My heart starts to pound faster when I think of it. It’s really weird! Man, I’ve got psychological problems…lol Maybe that group that had more heart attacks was creating those heart attacks by focusing on it.
For me, focusing on enlightenment is focusing on getting in alignment with myself in all aspects.
I think if someone focuses on what s/he is doing, it doesn’t help someone that is addicted, unless there is a immediate health scare or something. A smoker is fully aware of what s/he is doing when s/he is indulging in a cigarette, and I think focusing on that only creates greater pain that someone is out of control and increases the problem. I think a person is driven in a craving subconsciously but because s/he has a dual consciousness and not just one when that person is not in alignment, that individual’s conscious state is not going to enlighten his/her subconscious craving.
I think, Dr. Lam, it wasn’t that you became more conscious of what you were eating so much but the paradigm shift that caused your subconscious/conscious perspective of eating to change. Just my take again…lol
I think entering a state of peace is entering into natural control where there isn’t that constant fighting of the consciousnesses, and that really is a peaceful state!
Yikes! I sure made up for not commenting!!!! Dr. Lam, you absolutely don’t have to read this!!
Haha, good luck getting through that, Dr. Lam! lol It’s one of my theories…lol
Well, I had caffeine and it really makes me crazy! We can blame the long comment on that!
yes, i actually read it. i would agree about my change in perspective. that was the key. happy new year!
btw everyone, i am in Hong Kong right now so even though it says 4:31 am, it is actually 5:31 pm here.
It was that time for me…lol Dr. Lam, you are in the new year before me!!! I guess you’ll go back in time when you come back to the states.
Wow! that you got through that, Dr. Lam!! That’s cool, Dr. Lam, that that was the key for you. I think for me, because I’ve had actual disorders, that getting in tune with myself and trusting myself instead of trying to control was the key. Like I’ve had several eating disorders in my life: anorexia when I was an early teen because of a distorted body image (thought I was fat when I was too thin), anorexia in my latter teens not because I thought I was fat but because I was trying to eat perfectly healthy, which then turned into an uncontrollable binge eating disorder because eating perfectly was unobtainable….like I would eat raw fruits and veggies when I was being “perfect” and then binge on junk food when I was too stressed out to be perfect, and then the guilt of that turned into extreme exercise disorder. I’ve sure had my share of disorders…lol
Now I have a child’s relationship with food; I do not try to control, but more trust myself. I don’t try to control because I don’t need to anymore. The control issues are not there anymore. By not controlling but trusting myself, I don’t even get cravings for junk food anymore. That is just what has worked for me. People are naturally meant to be fit and trying to control that only creates problems. I think our society kind of sets people up to have a wrong relationship with food, and we also stress the wrong idea of the solution to that problem. Just my viewpoint.
wow, thanks for sharing your intimate thoughts of your past. glad you have grown so much.
namaste,
sml