1. If your body is out of shape, it's because you are not being in it
by Petrene Soames

For many of us, not being happy or satisfied or even disliking our body is a major block to happiness and awareness. Women especially spend a lot of time wishing their body was different in one way or another. We have not only bought into accepted concepts of what is perfect, beautiful and ideal for body shape, we also police ourselves constantly with thoughts and beliefs such as "my stomach is too big", "my thighs are too fat", "my butt sags", and so on. We each have parts of us we wish were different and it can be as simple as a basic wish for change right to an obsessive, constant battle and beating up of ourselves feeling that we will never be lovable enough, attractive enough, and that life will never be great until we loose those extra unwanted pounds. All of this adds up to very destructive behaviors and thought patterns that often seem hard to break.

How we act and react
It's important to say that being overweight or out of shape is not only about what we eat. It's about our emotional state of being, how we deal with stress, how fast we process and clear life experiences. It's about how our life is going and how we are dealing and relating to it, both now and in the past. If you are overweight or out of shape, simply ask yourself what are you holding on to, what are the things you feel stuck on? Comfort eating can be simple and relatively harmless, like a small sweet snack to give you a lift when things aren't going right. It might also get to serious overeating just to feel safe and blanket distressing emotions such as anger, fear, pain, despair and loneliness. The more we get angry with ourselves for doing this, the more stuck and out of control we feel. It can seem like a never-ending circle.

What we can do
Be honest with yourself. How much are you really in your body? How often do you feel zoned out and on automatic? Define the triggers, the situations, people, simple events and emotions that keep you out of your body and out of touch with yourself. They might be very simple, old pains, hurts and fears that you have never resolved or found closure on, unfulfilled needs in the present and from the past, lack of love from others and to yourself from yourself, insecurities, not realizing and accepting that you are indeed a wonderful and amazing being with true talents and unique thoughts, ways of being and experiencing life, not realizing that you do have a lot to give.

Follow these ten tips to get back into your body, into great health and shape and get real with yourself and your life.

1. Include plenty of room temperature water in your diet every day. Quit drinking fizzy, sugary drinks, even the diet variety. Cut back on alcohol.
2. Become aware of what you do eat and how much each day by keeping a list for a week. Later re-think your diet. Eat simple basic foods. Include more fruits, vegetables, brown bread, grains, non sugary cereals. Consider becoming vegetarian.
3. Make time every day for yourself. Even ten minutes is vital. You need to let go, sit still, relax, do nothing. Let your thoughts come and go. Breathe deeply from the bottom of your stomach. Say firmly in your mind: "I am letting go of everything I no longer need". Mean it!
4. Rub your stomach slowly backwards and forwards, then round and round with slow circular movements of your hand. Breathe deeply. This will calm and soothe you when you are tired, anxious, or stressed, and replace the need of reaching for the ice cream and cookie jar.
5. Look at yourself in the mirror. Simply look. Do not judge. If you find yourself doing so, stop. Simply look, accept what you see and look for the beauty beyond any pain in your face and your eyes.
6. Love yourself completely without condition. Use positive affirmations each day. Be open to realizing how wonderful, amazing and special you really already are. Don't wait for tomorrow to be perfect. Love and accept yourself just as you are today and every day.
Realize that you do know what you are doing at all times and that there are no mistakes.
7. Bring color into your life. Wear it. Bring it into your home or workplace. Or imagine being surrounded by color and breathe it all through your body until you are full.
8. Ask yourself at least once a day: "Where am I right now?" You may be driving to work and yet still in events in previous days or well into the future in anticipated events. Become aware of where you are and how you are more often. Make a point of also recognizing who you are being. Are you playing a role or are you simply being yourself?
9. Dream. Visualize how you want your life to be one year from now, 5 years, 10 years. Expect the best. See the positives in all negatives for they are there waiting for you to discover. Remember, nothing is ever only as it seems.
10. Lighten up. Have fun. Stop feeling responsible. Break patterns. Be spontaneous. Explore other facets of yourself. Throw away, give away or even sell everything you no longer need.

Adapted from THE ESSENCE OF SELF-HEALING: HOW TO BRING HEALTH AND HAPPINESS INTO YOUR LIFE. Copyright by Petrene Soames. ISBN # 0-9700444-0-2.

You can get our own copy at Barnes and Noble, Borders, at your favorite store or online at http://petrene.com/ordernow.html. Order your copy online and Petrene will autograph it for you.

2. Spring 2001 Book Tour

Yes, we are back! After a five weeks - twenty-city book tour - it took us a few days to recover and now I am back in great form and busy with clients doing what I love the best.

The tour started off with a good turnout at one of the first book signing in The Woodlands - my hometown - at Barnes and Noble. I really appreciated the warmth and enthusiasm generated by all who attended. Then I visited about 40 different stores, signed books and gave a presentation. The good news is that most of the stores said the book is moving well. Many stores asked us back at a later date, which feels like a good sign. Television and radio shows played their part. We had hoped for more but our PR team was a little behind on timing.

We had fantastic weather throughout the tour, sunny days in Portland and Seattle, and amazingly arrived in New York with a temperature of 90 F. We took time out in Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles and New York but mainly it was go go go!

It was great to meet old friends and clients in the different states and the workshops were a joy. Watch our list of scheduled events as I am going to be booking a lot more in the Texas area in the coming month or so, and then more nationwide.

A big thank you for everyone's support and for all the kind wishes of everyone involved. Meanwhile, remember, I am amazing and you are amazing too. Believe in yourself and let the magic be!

Petrene Soames

3. Self-Healing works by Petrene Soames

There are many good reasons for accepting the simplicity of self-healing into our lives right now, and it's important for us all to get involved in spreading the word that self-healing is simple and that it works. We can and do heal ourselves.

The placebo effect has been proved over and over: When people get a sugar coated capsule and are told it's medication, because they think they are being treated, they get well. Last year doctors at The Baylor College of Medicine in Houston went a step further and gave "sham" surgery to patients who thought they were getting real knee surgery to treat their arthritis. The results were outstanding and the patients did just as well as those who had real surgery. Recently there has been another report of surgeons who did "sham" surgery with the brain stem and once again the "sham surgery (which means no actual surgery at all) did just as well as patients who really had surgery.

The message is loud and clear: we heal ourselves. There are two main reasons why more people do not use self-healing: A lack of know how and a lack of self-belief. Which is why I wrote The Essence of Self-Healing. It does not leave you up in the air; it actually tells you what to do and how your healing process works. It also totally nurtures you and fosters your self-belief every step of the way. For those who think they don't have time for self-healing, well, it often takes just a few minutes, and you can take pain away faster than with a pain killer. What's more, you don't need to initially have faith; you just need to give self-healing a chance.

When I talk about self-healing, I am talking about you healing you from anything like headaches right through cancer. Obviously I am not saying that everyone should immediately stop taking medication or so called natural products. But I am saying that this is a step we need to take, a step towards freedom from our dependency on both pharmaceutical and natural products, because neither can be guaranteed to be 100% safe. Self-healing can also be used as a preventative so you don't get sick or out of balance either emotionally, mentally or physically.

Next month, watch this space for facts on pharmaceutical and natural products. Just how dangerous are they? See how one pain management specialist in New Mexico prescribes up to 100 tablets a day including opiates to clients, how over medicated our children are with products designed for adults and how senior citizens are facing serious addiction to drugs.

Meanwhile, please do what you can to support our effort to bring awareness to the public about our current health care situation. Contact us to arrange a lecture, or to distribute flyers about the book. Go to your public library and make sure they have a copy. Buy the book, not only for yourself but also for someone you love or care about. Finally, let us know if there is a popular radio show in your area where Petrene's voice would be welcome!

Self-healing is the next step and it is a real option!

Share your experiences, ask questions…

Share your self-healing experiences and stories; explore self-healing and discover your own amazing healing abilities. Share your thoughts, your concerns and your joys. Meet new friends; open your mind to new ideas. We welcome all comments, ideas and questions and look forward to hearing from you.

Send your questions or comments to information@petrene.com or visit our Open Public Forum at http://petrene.com/forum.html. We offer 4 messages boards: The Essence of Self-Healing, Self-Healing Experiences, ESP experiences and Petrene's Board.

4. Vegan recipe: Breakfast Potatoes Tacos

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 cups of frozen Potatoes O'Brien
• 1/2 cup of Gimme Lean Sausage Style
• 2 tablespoons of Medium to Hot salsa
• 1 egg substitute (I use the Egg Replacer by Ener-G Foods)
• 4 to 6 tortillas (Wheat or corn - to taste)

While on tour with Petrene, I checked a few supermarkets on our road and was pleasantly surprised by the availability of many vegetarian and vegan products, often stored next to the vegetables section. So check your local store and if you don't find what you need, ask the manager to start carrying it.

Let's put everything together...
Sauté potatoes and Gimme Lean in oiled pan (olive oil is my choice). When cooked, add the salsa and stir for a minute or 2. Then add the bitten "egg substitute" and stir for a minute. This will nicely combine all the ingredients together. Heat your tortillas (microwave, oven, pan… you decide). Fill each one with 2 or 3 tablespoons of the mixture, depending on size of the tortilla. Roll and eat!

Note from Etal:
I know this is a "no-brainer" recipe. I got great ideas during our visits to so many vegetarian restaurants over the last 5 weeks. I am ready to create new amazing dishes… So get ready for the next issue!

Interesting web sites about vegetarianism:

• http://www.peta-online.org/ [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]
• http://www.vegweb.com/ [Veggies Unite! - Lots of free recipes]
• http://petrene.com/articles/vegetarian.htm "To be or not to be a vegetarian" by Petrene Soames.

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