The DIY Diet

I use meditation for a number of things: to relieve pain, to relax, to solve problems, and to fall asleep when there are too many things going through my mind. It also helps keep me focused on my weight loss goal and reduces stress, which can be a trigger to overeat.

I suppose meditation is really a form of self-hypnosis. They seem like pretty much the same thing to me and certainly nothing to fear. I quit smoking using private session medical hypnosis nearly 20 years ago. I call it medical hypnosis to separate it from the theatrical version some people think makes good entertainment at the participants’ expense.

At the time, I was regularly meditating, so I was unafraid of trying medical hypnosis and was an easy subject to deal with. I quit smoking that very day with no withdrawal symptoms or after-effects at all. It was like I had never smoked from that day on.

The hypnotist asked if I would also like to include a hypnotic suggestion regarding weight loss. He explained that weight loss was different than quitting smoking.

With smoking you could stop the practice entirely. With weight loss, you could not stop eating entirely. You have to eat in order to survive so the hypnotic suggestion had to relate to making good food choices or concentrate on some part of eating that you wanted to avoid such as eating sweets.

I didn’t find medical hypnosis of any help in making good food choices. I also have a weight loss meditation cassette tape that I used to use. I didn’t find it of much help either.

I meditate on an irregular basis these days. There was a time when I meditated every day, and one of these days I’ll get back to doing that again. I’m not one of those people who can do the same things the same way every day. My life is volatile, changing all the time, and I do the best I can to meet the challenge of each new day.

My Meditation Technique

I learned the technique I use for meditation from Jeanne, a friend who was taking a series of classes about the subject when we were both living in Denver in 1971.

Here’s what Jeanne taught me to do:

1. Lie on your back on your bed, finding a position that is comfortable for you. I usually do my meditation at bedtime so I like to get into bed under my covers, ready to fall asleep. Wriggle into a good comfortable position that you can stay in for the time it takes to complete your meditation.
2. Close your eyes and relax. Clear your mind the best you can.
3. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply, releasing your breath through you mouth. Feel your body and mind relaxing.
4. As you continue to breathe deeply, visualize the number 3. Continue to breathe deeply, visualizing the number 3 twice more.
5. Continue to relax and breathe deeply. Starting at your toes, totally relax each body part, moving slowing up you body from toes to feet to ankles, up your legs to your knees and thighs and stomach and waist. Slowly continue moving up your chest to your shoulders and neck, and to your arms and hands, allowing all the tension to leave your body as you breathe out through your mouth.
6. Continue to breathe in and out deeply, relaxing and drifting. Begin to count backward from 20, 19, 18, and so on until you reach 1. That is the point where you are in the deepest, most relaxed state. This is the point where I think about the issues I need resolved, and listen for ideas to come to my mind. I just enjoy the moment, being totally relaxed and at peace. I often fall asleep at this point, too, and that is OK, especially if that is the purpose of my meditation.
7. When you wish to return to the present, begin counting up from 1 to 20, telling your mind as you do that you will awake feeling refreshed and relaxed and ready to face the world. That’s it. Simple and straightforward and easy to learn on your own.

I sometimes get no further than Step 5 in the meditation process. As I relax my toes and ankles and such, I do it so completely that I no longer feel them. This is what I’m looking for when my body is experiencing arthritic pain. It provides such relief that I often drift off to sleep at this point. I’ve done meditation for so long that I can lie on my side and go very quickly to this point.

I like using this meditation technique because I can do it myself without the aid of tapes or CDs. That’s not to say I don’t use meditation guide cassette tapes; I do, and I enjoy them.

I love the sound of the ocean or the mesmerizing music. One of the old meditation cassette tapes I like a lot is Meditation 1 and Meditation 2 by Jon Shore with music by Frank Smith. The tape was published in 1982 by Light Unlimited Publishing. While I couldn’t find copies of this cassette available, Mr. Shore has other similar cassette tapes and CDs available through the Light Unlimited Publishing website. The Progressive Relaxation tape appears to be a good replacement for beginners at meditation.

I sometimes use an environments cassette tape while I’m meditating. Since I am mesmerized by rain, my environments tape is of a rainstorm - another item I’ve had for many years and was unable to easily access a source. The producer is Syntonic Research, Inc. Good classical music will provide a restful background to your meditation as well.

"The early morning breezes have secrets to tell." That’s a quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer’s PBS program Inspiration, Your Ultimate Calling. It’s the one thing I clearly remember from the program and from the book. Now, when I wake in the quiet, early morning hours, it sit motionless in my bed and listen.

Dr. Dyer says you are closest to Spirit at that time of the day, and it is easiest to communicate with Spirit then. To me, it is meditation in another form. The quote from the PBS program inspired me to buy his book Inspiration, Your Ultimate Calling, plus his earlier book, The Power of Intention. He also inspired me to buy another recommended by him, Ask and It Is Given; Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther and Jerry Hicks. I was so impressed with that book that I gave it as gifts to family members last year.

The other book on meditation that I refer to on a regular basis is Meditation as Medicine; Activate the Power of Your Natural Healing Force by Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, and Cameron Stauth. It uses specific meditation techniques to target specific afflictions and activate the healing forces within you. The book is recommended by both Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Deepak Chopra. I find the contents useful and the techniques described very clear. There is a lot of information packed into this book. It’s a treasured part of my small collection of reference books.

I believe meditation is an important part of a weight-loss program not only for its stress-relieving benefits, but also because it teaches you to pay attention to your body and understand the the mental triggers that cause physical outcomes.