|
|
Chat transcript, Ginat Rice at CyberMacro, Sunday May 28 2006. 
Why Don’t People Do What They Say They Want to Do?
Answer: These lower levels of judgment are a partial view wherein we are seeking gratification or accomplishment.
We must accept the whole package of life, not just the parts we like
We can’t always feel good or do/have what we like
Make an active choice not to reject or resist, but to allow and direct attention
Accept and embrace ourselves without giving moral value
Recognize that nothing is so important; nothing can take away the pleasure in my life
In peace time, war is present, but we focus on the peace.
[Sun May 28 12:00:46 PDT 2006] Ginat Let's begin! The question for today is why people don't do what they say they want to do. First of all, let's discuss for ourselves what things we want to work on, and yet somehow don't...
Sheldon Sometimes we imagine that what we said has already been done.
Ginat Jnjk, Gary, Sheldon--what issues are up for you guys?
Sheldon Why do I love to eat so much?
Ginat We're talking about issues we want to improve, yet somehow don't. Sheldon asks why he loves to eat! Do you others have an issue to share?
gxpark1234 I’m still working on my eyes to heal..
Sheldon Am I attracted to the food or do I just love to use my mouth and hands? Sometimes one and sometimes the other and sometimes both.
Ginat Do you want to share with us, Gx, what you've been doing? Sheldon--maybe you should take up pipe smoking.
Sheldon The problem is that I sometimes like to eat after I have just finished eating. I actually smoked a pipe at one time in my life, but then I gave up all forms of tobacco.
gxpark1234 Ginat as you know about my sanpaku eyes.. I'm just really trying to eat healthy and live a macrobiotic lifestyle
Ginat Is eating as much a habit as smoking, Sheldon? Gx, can I push you to explain more in detail what you are doing? Are you getting any results?
Sheldon No. the need to eat is not consistent; I can go many days sometimes with being satisfied with my regular meals. With tobacco I couldn't stay away for more than a very short time.
gxpark1234 Sure.. I’m eating very healthy now.. I gave up sugar, milk, most meats.. I've been sleeping before midnight. and walk when I can.. I also been trying to stay off the computer / TV... that’s really it
Ginat Any results, Gx?
gxpark1234 I can feel this energy around my eyes trying to go back.. but nothing significant
Sheldon Actually, the whole issue is in balance. When I am in balance, I don't feel a need for more food; when I am not, I get too yang and keep reaching out for something more to yinnize my condition.
gxpark1234 So Ginat, I just don’t know what else to do..
Ginat OK, so there's some movement then Gx. It's good you can feel energy. Sheldon, how do you create balance? You seem to lose it sometimes. Is it controllable?
Sheldon It is controllable, but that means using will power to maintain control. When I am in balance, I don't need will power; I just feel good without any urges for more.
gxpark1234 Yes I can feel energy.. but there’s still cracking inside and behind my eyes.. I guess I have to be more patient Ginat??
Ginat But my question is Sheldon: How do you get in or out of balance? Gx, I need to know a lot more about what you're eating and thinking. And of course, patience is needed, but also progress.
gxpark1234 Well today I ate brown rice, romaine lettuce, carrot and a few pieces of hotdog..
Sheldon Awareness of what I eat. Yin desserts; keep away from stress; relax more; keep busy instead of thinking about food; walk; exercise--it all helps
Ginat Sheldon--how do you know (or feel) that your food and activities are in balance, or not? Why do they get imbalanced?
gxpark1234 Ginat, my question is .. and I probably already asked this.. but it boggles my mind on why my right eye shifted up and expanded and my left eye shifted down and became smaller(iris)
Ginat Gx--Have you contacted a counselor yet? The hot dogs may be slowing you down a bit.
Sheldon Often I am OK until after the first bite of whatever. for example this evening we sat with friends who kept filling up a bowl of nuts. I could easily have avoided the nuts to begin with as I was in balance after a delicious supper--but NO-- I had to start. Once started, I was off and running.
Ginat So it comes back after all to will power?
gxpark1234 Yes I’ve talked to Gabrielle Kushi and she really didn’t know if macrobiotics was the cure.. but she told me she would help .. the problem is .. I have no money..
Ginat Then let's work on money issues. Premise: There is ALWAYS enough money.
Sheldon Not really. Will power would be needed to stop eating the nuts after I started to eat them. Before I started there was no need to use will power; I was relaxed and fine.
gxpark1234 Ginat, did my eyes shift and cause the muscles around my eyes to shift??
Ginat Sheldon--will power could have stopped the first bite. After that, it gets harder. If you didn't want to eat, then why did you (we)? No, Gx, the eye shift and muscle change came together from a too-yang condition. Why don't you make more changes according to the standard macrobiotic diet?
gxpark1234 ok..
Sheldon I didn't say that I didn't want to eat. I simply allowed myself to eat. At some level it was part of the socializing to partake of what was offered. For example, when I smoked, I was OK when I stopped, until the first puff; then I went out and bought a carton.
Ginat It sounds similar to me, although quantitatively different. One bite or puff and it's hard to stop.
Sheldon That's right; it is hard to stop after the first puff or bite because immediately an imbalance is created.
gxpark1234 Ginat, should I just do a brown rice fast?? will it help me improve faster??
Ginat So back to the original question--why don't we do what we say we want to do? Gx, same question for you? If you want to do a rice diet, don't ask my opinion--try it and see.
gxpark1234 ok .. ill try thank u
Klara(C) Sheldon, you have burst a huge bubble for me. I thought if I ate the way you guys ate, I'd be on top of the world. So I'm thinking it's a LOT more than food - it's all the other issues of life we need to reflect on and see in a new light.
Sheldon I must confess that when I do eat more than I need I may not feel so OK, but I never regret it or feel pangs of guilt. I just start over again the next day. I do self reflect, however, to try to learn from the experience, but I don't sulk over it.
Klara(C) I asked at our first chat, how much is habit that we slip so easily into again? the eating whatever is in front of your eyes
Ginat Sheldon, share some more of your self reflection. Why do you do what you'd prefer you don't do? [Sheldon's on the phone....] Any one else out there doing things they wish they didn't, or not doing what they wish they were? Klara--it must be hard for you to see macrobiotic people get sick, or have difficulties, or be less than perfect. Are macro people less than human? By making us more than human you actually de-humanize us.
jayneau Yes. Sometimes I find it such a chore to do mb cooking. But once I'm in the swing, it's OK. It's the getting started that's hard for me.
Sheldon There is a big gap between the intellectual me that says what I should or shouldn't be doing, and the sensorial me that says go for it; what the heck--you only live once.
Klara(C) I think I know my own answer - I realize I'm eating better than I used to - less garbage and less overeating, but the change is very slow. Perhaps slower than my head wishes - so perhaps the question needs to be fine tuned a little - why does my head want me to go faster than my body already is?
Ginat Jayn, how do you self-talk yourself into the kitchen when you are resisting? What do you do to convince yourself?
Sheldon Klara: you idealize what should or shouldn't be; just allow and let things flow.
Ginat Sheldon--stop lecturing! Tell us more about the gap between head and mouth.
jayneau I usually just make myself put the rice on. Then once the rice is going, I feel I must cook something else to go along with it. That's how I get myself moving.
Ginat Klara--why then do you go slower than you think you'd like? You are making progress, but you are not satisfied? So why do you hold back? So you make an active choice to start with the rice Jayneau, and it flows from there. Good method!
Sheldon What helps me the most is constantly communicating the issues of overeating. Even when I am resisting the lecture of what I should or shouldn't be doing, the message penetrates and helps a great deal--till the next time.
Ginat So you recognize what you are doing, Sheldon, reject guilt, and keep practicing. Good!
Sheldon Of course I recognize it. If I didn't I wouldn't bring up the subject on this chat or any other time.
Ginat These methods of be aware, choosing a response, and recognizing progress are true macrobiotic thinking, unifying rather than rejecting opposites. In other words, war is present in peace time, but we choose not to focus on it. Weakness is there, but we focus on strengths.
Klara(C) Actually, it's inspiring for me to realize everyone has their own challenges - I'm much more at ease when I realize I'm with human beings, not gods
Klara(C) I don't think my issue is about holding back (though you may be right, I'll have to think more about it), but the issue more about not being satisfied
Ginat Accept and embrace ourselves without assigning moral value of good (or good enough), bad, right, wrong.... So what are we learning? First, to make an active choice. Second, nothing can take away my own pleasure in my life. Third, front and back both always exist. We choose to focus on the one we want.
Sara It seems that in order to feel really good about ourselves and embrace ourselves and others we need to be relaxed from the inside out
Ginat I've come more and more to define health and happiness as relaxation. I think you are right on target, Sara. How do we each relax? This is a key!
Sheldon We don't always focus on anything in particular. Most of life's activities just happen without forethought or coming from an intellectual level or deep thought. It is a process of just being and allowing and accepting and enjoying.
Sara Focusing on the one we want, how to choose to look at something requires a determination to put attention on the way that feels better is accurate from a broader perceptive, then the relaxation comes because it resonates
Ginat Sheldon, this is a sentimental level of consciousness, just letting life flow. Sometimes we want to pay specific attention when things are not quite as we'd like them. Good, Sara--we make an active decision.
jayneau I've got to learn to be pro-active instead of reactive. To make things happen, rather than just letting things happen and then reacting.
Ginat Can you give us an example?
Sara to make the active decision of choosing a particular focus can be done if there is a belief of benefit- one has to understand the principles and laws to be motivated to find better choices
Sheldon What's wrong with being sentimental sometimes. Is it necessary to deeply philosophize all the time on all issues and all things. Sometimes I just want to relax and not think so much, and simply accept what is without deep thought.
Ginat Sheldon, you exaggerate. I said that sometimes floating down steam doesn't serve us, such as when we want to make changes. At those times we chose not to reject or resist, but to allow and direct attention. Sara, do you have any specific examples?
Sara We get to choose our own timing, a step forward, a regrouping or a step ahead, its all at the speed that we choose
Klara(Q) I'm working on allowing more "quiet time" between what jumps into my head and what I allow to go out to the universe.
Ginat(A) Yes, you've been practicing this for some time now. Are you pleased with your progress? Has it helped you? How can we be satisfied with ourselves and at the same time want more? This is always the balance I seek to discover.
Klara(Q) It's amazing! I see I don't have to "control" everything, that I can allow, but best of all, I see life flows more easily
Ginat(A) I'm so encouraged to hear this! So you are choosing to relax consciously. Great tip for all of us!
Sheldon Self reflect and find joy with what is. At the same time, strive for more but don't be disappointed if you don't achieve all that you dream. Keep dreaming and keep striving but keep a level head.
jayneau I guess it's accepting the here and now for what it is, yet doing what we can to achieve what we want in the future.
Ginat So it's a two-tiered approach--accept and don't accept? I get too intellectual about it I think.
Sara(C) I like to feel my through all this. I have to know that I deserve more because that’s the nature of expansion, and also that its just right the way it is now
Ginat Nice thought, Klara
Sara I’ve learned that we cant really move toward what we want ahead until we make peace with the now, make the best of right here, right now, with these people in my life
Ginat How do you make peace when you want more?
Sara You hold a vision more in a playful way, have fun with it, yet don’t allow the emotion to feel the lack of it not being here right now
Alandra Are making peace and wanting more mutually exclusive?
Sheldon Wanting more is natural process; otherwise you stagnate and even recede. What you feel when you don't get the "more" is the issue here. What I am saying, is: keep desiring more, but allow for the possibility that it won't materialize.
Ginat Yes, now I see! Wanting is emotional level; accepting is unifying. So they are not exclusive, but different.
Sheldon Excellent
snoopybd7 Do you think macrobiotics causes more difficulties in the area of satisfaction or wanting more than people who are not macro?
Sara The more is in multiple areas such as health, relationships, creativity etc. sometimes one area is thriving and another is stuck or getting better, shifting the attention to the area that is pleasing is appreciation, that can seep over to the area that feels less satisfying
Ginat Does macrobiotics causes more difficulties in the area of satisfaction or wanting more than for non-mbs? Maybe so.
Sheldon Macrobiotics allows one to maximize the pleasures that life has to offer in a more optimal way. This is so because of the stronger energies available.
Ginat(C) Let's conclude. Can we have a concluding statement from each person? What have you learned today from our chat?
Gary That we are all human and none of us is perfect
Sara Nice to see the synchronicity of ideas
Alandra: Eating grains allows me to more easily accept what is.
Sheldon Allowing is such an important aspect of peace of mind, love, and joy
snoopybd7 Macrobiotics can be very complex at times
Kirk Day(Q) Reflection is key to change thinking. How do you value the techniques for changing the sub-conscious (affirmations, etc.)?
Ginat(A) Like Michio, I am clearly in favor of any holistic method to clarify our thinking. The criterion is that the method unify opposites. I don't try to affirm something if it means rejecting it's opposite.
Klara(C) I learned that consciousness is indeed the key
Kirk Day Communicating with other macrobiotic people is fun!
Klara I’m in total agreement with you, Kirk
snoopybd7 It’s something you don’t get to do everyday.
Ginat(C) Everyone has answered. I learned a lot from this chat, and enjoyed it. I learned that we can have a pleasant time and develop friendship! Thank you all so much!
Kirk Day Sorry I got distracted and came in late. Thanks, this is my first time on this chat.
Sara Thanks all
Gary Thanks Ginat and Sheldon!
snoopybd7 Thanks
Ginat Goodbye, everyone, till next time. Come again, Kirk, Alandra, and all others! See you next time!