Food thoughts! How we get caught

[Guest guest]

We get caught up in our thoughts...thoughts like: " I have to eat that because there's nothing else around. " Or " Just this one time. " Or " I broke my promise, so the rest of the day is ruined--I might as well eat whatever I want and start again tomorrow. " Those thoughts seem so powerful. How do they get that way?The truth is that thoughts aren't really so solid. They pass. We think we have a solid identity because our thoughts want us to think that. Those voices in our head want us to think they are really us.Some thoughts become powerful because they carry strong emotions with them. We hear them all the time, we get freaked out, and we form an idea of who we are. We pick out a certain " theme " of thoughts, and identify with that. For example, if you have frequent " giving up " thoughts, you might say to yourself, " I'm hopeless, I'm a hopeless failure, I can't do this. " But if you observe your mind closely you'll see that not ALL your thoughts are " giving up " thoughts. There are also happy thoughts, business-like thoughts, uplifted thoughts, and powerful good thoughts.The main thing is: Thoughts pass, even the powerful negative ones that think they are the Real You. If you get a compelling " EAT " thought, try holding off--don't act on it right away. You'll see that the thought that you thought you HAD to act on will pass. Yeah, it will come back, because for years you've given it lots of fear and attention; you've told it that it is a VERY important, special thought. But the more you turn away from it, let it float on by, the more that thought will get the message: " Just another thought. " And that 'gap' between the thought and your action gives you a LOT of space to do something different with your life.LaterMartha