Now that we’ve established that there are different aspects of your being, and that they are all interrelated and affect each other, you may be wondering, What is the title of this book all about? What is “power” as it relates to weight loss and looking good and being happy—you know, Kimberly, the good stuff?
True power originates in you. It is the result of unity within. Have you ever met someone who was so passionate about what they were doing—no matter what it was—that you could just feel the energy surging through what they were doing? They demonstrate a complete alignment of their will and the thoughts behind their actions, and consequently, there is almost an electric charge infused into anything they focus on. That is true power. True power is when there is alignment and consistency flowing through all aspects of you—your thoughts, core beliefs, words and actions. When you achieve this alignment, you become extraordinarily powerful, healthy and beautiful, and you can shape the body and life you want, surpassing perceived limitations.
On a recent trip back to Thailand, I met a jewelry maker on the streets of Bangkok. She was so absorbed in finishing threading the chain of a necklace that she didn’t even notice all the people who were browsing through her finished pieces, which were draped over a small blanket at the edge of the sidewalk. When I asked her about the stones in one of her necklaces, she looked up and peered at me for a moment, as if she had been off in another world. Her face lit up as she explained the significance and properties of her jewelry and stones. Even though her English vocabulary was very limited, her vibrant energy told me a lot more than words ever could. And, of course, I would want to wear a necklace that she had made with so much care and passion, and I purchased one. She was completely aligned with what she was doing, and it was truly powerful.
You might be able to rattle off your weight goals in a flash. But you may also be dealing with a lifelong struggle to maintain your weight. There may be underlying beliefs you have been harboring and repeating to yourself, which keep you from achieving your goal weight, or even subconscious reasons you keep fat on your body as a form of “protection.” I have designed each of the Power Alignment Shifts in this book to guide you on your journey to becoming conscious of the thoughts, beliefs and patterns that are creating blocks for you, and to removing them to allow your true power to shine forth.
True power and ego cannot coexist. Ego (which we’ll talk about in much greater detail a bit later) involves focusing on achieving an outward goal that others can perceive, regardless of whether your means are aligned with your beliefs or whether they are nourishing for you on all levels. For instance, you might stay in a job you despise for the title and the salary, or you might stick to an overly restrictive diet focused solely on hitting a number rather than nourishing your body. Ego also creates habits and patterns that are rooted in fear. And fear takes away your true power.
Why Shortcuts Don’t Work
In my work I see a lot of fear around eating any kind of carbs, which is perceived by many (due to information put out by mainstream diets) as a cause of weight gain, though unrefined carbohydrates are a macronutrient that make up many beautifying, natural foods. But fear and operating on the ego level can create a drive to just get to the weight “no matter what,” and can result in extreme dietary imbalance by trying shortcuts. I define a shortcut as something you do in the belief that you are getting one up on the system. In this case, the “system” is your body, and the reality is that there is no fooling your body. Many people fall into the trap of believing that they’ve found the perfect way to eat as little as possible without being hungry or gaining weight, or believing that they’ve found a trick of eating processed foods that are designed to be low carb so they can prevent themselves from feeling deprived. They believe they can accomplish their weight-loss goals without having to do it the “real” way, which is by eating actual whole foods. But this dieting strategy is not aligned with the true needs of your body and thus will never provide lasting results.
When you choose a diet filled with artificial this and low-calorie that—meaning shortcuts rather than whole foods—your life will start to reflect that diminishing of consciousness, that disconnect between mind and body. Shortcuts do not work for long (if they work at all), and rarely if ever do they result in the magnetic, all-around beauty and health that come from living and nourishing yourself in an authentic way. When you embrace the practice of eating a whole-food, plant-based diet, there is no need for shortcuts. In Power Alignment Shift 6, I provide over sixty delicious new Beauty Detox recipes to help get you on your way to living beautifully and authentically whole.
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DITCH THE SHORTCUT |
DISCOVER WHOLE FOODS |
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Processed protein bar Artificial energy drinks and shots Low-calorie microwave meal Diet soda |
Almonds or chia seeds Veggie soup and salad with avocado Water with lemon, coconut water |
Embrace Your Wholeness to Balance Your Weight
It is widely accepted that the mind and the body are connected, but the term mind-body connection is not quite right. The word connection implies that the two entities are separate and are joined at various locations. Connection is a form of dualism.(1) A mind-body fusion, on the other hand, implies that there are no areas of separation between one entity and the other, that one does not begin where the other ends. You can’t isolate single waves from the sea; they are part of a unified entity. And there are similar fluid interactions between all aspects of the complex being that is you. Your mind and body are like two waves in the ocean: they flow from the same source and meet again at that source. They are not independent or disconnected in any way.
This pattern of wholeness is exemplified in every aspect of the universe. Australian physicist Paul Davies, PhD, illuminates this fundamental aspect of the universe in his book Superforce: “To the naive realist the universe is a collection of objects. To the quantum physicist it is an inseparable web of vibrating energy patterns in which no one component has reality independently of the entirety; and included in the entirety is the observer.”(2) Similarly, David Bohm, a protégé of Albert Einstein’s and one of the world’s most respected quantum physicists, speaks of how everything in the universe is part of a continuum. In his 1991 book The Holographic Universe, in which he uses as one of his springboards Bohm’s contributions to quantum physics and his model of the universe, Michael Talbot writes, “Despite the apparent separateness of things at the explicit level, everything is a seamless extension of everything else… . Things can be part of an undivided whole and still possess their own unique qualities.”(3)
This aspect of “wholeness” includes you. You are an integrated system: all your parts are designed to function in a unified manner, not just on the physical plane, but also on the formless mental, emotional and spiritual planes. Most of your body, which seems solid, is actually space. In fact, every solid particle of matter is composed of more than 99.999 percent empty space.(4) What fills up this space? Energy. This energy is dynamic and fluid and can be shaped by you when you are in tune with your power.
Love is a formless energy, and the impact of love on the body has been well examined. In a study performed in 1987 at Yale University, men and women were surveyed before submitting to angiography tests. Using regression analyses, they found that those people who reported feeling loved and supported were far less likely to experience blockage in their arteries.(5) Dr. Dean Ornish, whose low-fat, plant-based diet is famous for reversing heart disease, conducted many studies on the power of love for his book Love and Survival. “The diet can play a significant role,” Ornish concludes, “but nothing is more powerful than love and intimacy.”(6)
There is clearly a physical response to emotional feelings. According to Jerry Kiffer, a heart-brain researcher at the Cleveland Clinic’s Psychological Testing Center, when an individual experiences anger, there are more fat globules in the blood vessels and higher levels of glucose in the blood. In addition, the pumping of the heart increases and blood pressure surges.(7) An analysis of findings from forty-four studies published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology supports the prevailing view that a link exists between negative emotions and heart disease.(8)
The wholeness of everything—including you—is rooted in an authentic Oneness that connects us all. Oneness and fusion are repeated all over the universe, as evidenced by the spiderweb that trembles when just one thread is jostled to the symbiotic ecosystems on planet Earth. The name of this Oneness doesn’t really matter. Some refer to it as the Divine, God, the universe, cosmic energy, prana, Qi or chi. Tune into the collective, interconnected pulse of all the molecules and sub-molecules in the universe. It’s beautiful and mysterious and amazing all at the same time. We don’t have to understand how it all works to appreciate it and to benefit from acknowledging it.
Unity Magnifies Your Creative Potential
The opposite of fusion is disembodiment, a practice that creates divisions in the oneness of your mind and body. Unfortunately, there is a pervasive undercurrent of disembodiment in modern society. At the gym, for instance, people read magazines or watch TV while using cardio machines to work out their body. They are actively trying to keep their mind from being fully present to their body’s motions. This is not wrong per se, but it encourages the ever-widening split between body and mind.
Popular nutritional beliefs and weight-loss strategies generally place a strong emphasis on numbers: caloric counts, grams of carbs and grams of protein. Yet despite all the formulas out there that have come up with the perfect mathematical equation for weight loss, we still struggle. Why? Because our bodies are multidimensional. Strictly one-dimensional approaches are not in alignment with our bodies’ optimal functioning, and trying to follow these approaches is a form of disembodiment, of misalignment.
The philosophy behind Western medicine is that medications cure disease by working purely on a physical, biochemical level. But there is research to show that our whole being participates in healing. One study found that when anesthetists verbally encouraged their patients to get over their postoperative pain, those patients needed fewer narcotics than those who did not receive the same encouragement.(9) In another remarkable experiment, a doctor held positive consultations with his patients, saying that he knew exactly what was wrong and then either telling them they needed no treatment or giving them medication. Then in his negative consultations, the doctor said he did not know exactly what was wrong. He either offered these patients no treatment or gave them a medication, stating, “I’m not sure that the treatment I am going to give you will have an effect.” Two weeks later, there was a substantial difference in the health of the patients who had positive and negative consultations, but not in the patients who received treatment or did not. Their results seemed to depend largely on what they were told rather than on the treatment they received. Similar results have been achieved when treating depression.(10)
The mind and the body are not separate or merely connected. The mind and the body are one. But despite all the research supporting this accepted view, modern society encourages a disconnect between your body, your mind and even your spirit. Do you sometimes think of your body as a separate entity, as an object that you have to “deal with”? I hear my clients lament, “My belly is so fat.” This declaration diminishes their feelings of self-worth. And by making such negative statements, even casually, you are identifying your body as your possession while equating what you own and who you are. When you reduce yourself to separate parts you lose your power to lose weight, find happiness and reach your full potential. Shift your focus to feeling your strength or your overall energy, which is much more empowering. Your power is in your wholeness.
Today, Western medicine is based on highly specialized physicians who focus on treating specific areas of the body. This approach has some positives, but also limitations, because some medical tactics and medications designed to support one bodily system can create an imbalance in, or even injure, another. That’s why it is beneficial to treat your body as one integrated unit.
Separation creates suffering. Separation also creates struggle. When you refrain from nourishing yourself on a whole level, this separatism cuts you off from your creative potential to manifest the body you want. Later we will discuss specific ways to embrace your unity. For now, focus on internalizing the idea that you are whole. You are truly complete. And you are perfect just as you are. It’s exciting, and it may be hard to believe or take in (what are you saying to yourself right now?) but it is the truth. To realize this, you just have to tap into your power. Keep reading, Beauty, and you will learn to do just that.