STWDM5 - Getting Out of the Hunger Dilemma

Day 5 Message: When you are in a fix, often the fix is in you.” ― Ashok Kallarakkal

When any hunger or need doesn’t get satisfied, our bodies keep asking for more. This explains the dilemma: The hungrier you are, the hungrier you stay, no matter how much food you eat.  Mentally, we are hungry for nourishing experiences. If you are emotionally nourished, the physical cravings stop. However, you can’t change what you aren’t aware of. This means that you must connect your hunger to a real need that can actually be satisfied. That is how we end the hunger dilemma.  When you apply self-care to your real needs, life becomes much lighter.

O:  The most loving discovery is that our bodies, most of the time, want to be well-nourished, balanced, strong, energized.  It’s really habits we form –  thinking and habits of behavior that unbalance our state of being nourished in both body and spirit.  There are simple ways within us to restore our natural harmony of mind and body and shed the weight that throws us off balance. Rebalancing your body’s natural rhythms of movement, relaxation and sleep are the first step toward overcoming this mind/body confusion that leads to hunger of every kind.  Breaking up patterns of unconscious behavior is the next step in overcoming the hunger that holds us back.  By recognizing thoughts that just aren’t true but are habits, we begin to affirm our positive truths and move towards a more satisfied whole place.
Self-awareness has the power to affirm our truth and free us from unconscious behaviors.  It’s really a daily commitment to just stay awake, stay aware and be centered.  When we do, we can move confidently from hunger to feeling a sense of bounty.  From the center of your Being, being connected to the energy of everything that’s around you in the universe, you can, as one of my favorite poets, David Wolcott, says in Love after Love, ‘Sit and feast on your life…let’s partake of the banquet abiding in each of us”.

D:    Some situations, you can’t overcome and the more you try, the more you fail.  This leads to the hunger dilemma.  The hungrier you are, the hungrier you stay, no matter how much food you eat.  It would be easier if our bodies could automatically pinpoint what they need and send us to go get it.  But cells are chemical factories and they respond to signals from the brain as well as the rest of the body, coded in chemical language.  This leads to mixed or garbled messages. For example, a small child can turn cranky and begin to whine as though everything is wrong.  The child’s brain is actually expressing something as simple as fatigue and all it takes is for the mother to put her child down for a nap and the problem is solved.  As adults, we must rely on self-care which means we must see through the confusion our bodies can fall in to.  For example, it’s common to react to a lack of sleep by overeating.  The two hormones that control hunger and satiation, known as leptin and ghrelin normally tell our body automatically when the stomach is empty or full.  Lack of sleep throws this mechanism off but few of us, when reaching for a sugary snack stop and say, ‘Oh, I’m not actually hungry – I just didn’t sleep well last night;’.

To get out of the hunger dilemma,

First you must get into the natural rhythm of waking and sleeping

Secondly you must reduce chronic stress.

You have to establish a daily routine that is always the same or as close as you can get.  These steps are about allowing your body to restore it’s own natural balance.

Next you need to address the ways you’re are perpetuating the hunger cycle.  The chief reason for getting caught in any mental loop is that we don’t pay attention.  We slide into unconscious behavior.  Therefore the remedy is to insert awareness where it is needed.  When you find yourself sinking into a pattern of unconscious behavior, pause and say, ‘I am fine as I am right now’.  Just this small step can be quite effective.

The next step is to recognize that the thought pattern is not true.  For instance, you might find yourself thinking that nothing ever works out.  If you catch yourself with this thought, pause and remember something that did work out and which you are thankful for.  For example, ‘many things have worked out for me in the past’ and ‘discouraging myself is never helpful’.  Self-awareness has the power to affirm our truth and free us from unconscious behaviors.

Journal Ideas:  1.  Sleep is vital to our body’s ability to communicate its needs correctly. In considering how you can better support your natural biorhythms, write down three things you could do to improve your sleep.  2.  Apart from daily meditation, write down one thing you can fit into your schedule to relieve everyday stress. It could be as simple as taking a 5-minute walk.  3.  List five things you can do to make your daily routine more regular, looking at diet, sleep, and physical activity.