HARK Newsletter - June 2003 Issue

Back to Newsletter main page

Welcome to the HARK Monthly Spiritual Newsletter.

In this month's newsletter:

1. Inspirational quotations
2. SPECIAL OFFERS for JUNE - discount for newsletter subscribers
3. Telephone readings
4. Article - "We are pre-programmed to comfort eat"
5. and FINALLY...

1. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTATIONS:

'Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time' Mark Twain.

'The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken' Samuel Johnson

'There is one thing more important than knowing self; it is governing self. There is one thing better than crushing impulse, it is using impulse' H R Haweis

'As my awareness increases, my control over my own being increases' Will Schutz

'Give to a pig when it grunts and a child when it cries, and you will have a fine pig and a bad child' ~ Danish Proverb

2. SPECIAL OFFER FOR JUNE 2003

< < < SPECIAL OFFER FROM PENNY - FREE DREAM ANALYSIS > > >

PENNY - CLAIRVOYANT
Penny is a natural born clairvoyant and has an ability to communicate with the deceased. She gives you exact information, dates, timeframes. You will be amazed at the accuracy and detail of her readings - Past Lives, Love & Relationship, Crossing Over, Guardian Angel, Metaphysical Techniques.

Penny is offering a FREE Dream Analysis with each reading, to subscribers of this newsletter. The normal price for a Dream Analysis is AUD$100, however, if you order any of her readings before the end of June 2003, she will include an analysis of one dream as a bonus.

View more about Penny at http://www.hark.net.au/penny.htm

3. TELEPHONE READINGS

If you live in Australia, you can also obtain readings by telephone from one of our experienced psychic readers who will provide the answers to your questions using Tarot, Clairvoyance, Numerology and other Psychic Gifts.

PHONE THIS NUMBER - 1902 293 525 - calls charged at $4.345 per minute (mobiles & public phones extra).

All of our psychic readers are professional and caring and can help you with difficult life choices, relationship issues or give you guidance from spiritual guides. Our psychic readers will not keep you talking longer than necessary.

4. ARTICLE "We are pre-programmed to comfort eat "

- by Julie Hargreaves

Do you struggle with weight problems? Do you console yourself with food? Are you aware of your inner food programming and just how easily those buttons are pushed?

Read on to discover how they got there in the first place and what you can do to "re-program" your food responses.

Firstly, how did it happen?

This goes way back to how we were "trained" as babies, toddlers and children. The reward and punishment program worked well to produce boys and girls that did what they were told and got an ice-cream or who didn't and got a smack!

It is a well known fact that rewarding "good" behaviour and punishing "bad" behaviour will quickly train your pet to act exactly how you want it to - perform tricks, use the litter tray, salivate in response to the food bell! This system works because the actions are programmed behaviours in response to a particular stimulus. And, what is mostly used for the reward is a food treat.

Even if we didn't deliberately set out to do so, we use very similar techniques on children - "eat up all your greens and you can have an ice-cream", "you can have a lolly only if you're a good boy". Or maybe it's a grazed knee which prompts "there, there, don't cry - here's a sweetie to make you better".

Growing up we learning an association with certain foods and a reward or treat. We learn that we get these things when we are "good" or if we're feeling unhappy in order to make us better again.

Now in animals where you have control over the food source, there is generally no problem. But, babies and toddlers soon grow up to be able to reach the cookie jar for themselves, or go to the shop with their pocket money or have their own wage and decide for themselves when they "deserve" a treat or not. Perhaps I didn't get a good grade in the class test, so I'll buy myself a bar of chocolate as a reward instead. Maybe, I'm just feeling down because it's "that time of the month" so I'll cuddle up in front of the TV with a tub of ice-cream or chips. Or, maybe I just cleaned out the spare room and all of it's junk and so I feel I deserve a reward of a triple helping of chocolate fudge cake with lashings of cream and caramel ice-cream.

In all these scenarios we use food as a reward or substitute for inner lack. And all these habits, these "buttons" are put in place as we grow up and are "trained" with the reward and punishment program. Sales people know all about these little buttons, which is why a lot of food adverts feature words like "treat", "deserve", "reward", "indulge".

Well, what do we do about it?

Firstly, we can stop reinforcing these habits in children, which will help them in future years, not to be a "food addict" and to enable them to make food choices based on their body's needs and not their self-esteem's.

1) Stop using food as a reward for good behaviour or to placate.
2) Don't bribe a child to do something with the expectation of a food treat.
3) Bring sweet foods down from the pedestal - they are just a food item, don't put special emphasis on them as "for special occasions only". They have to be managed along with the rest of a child's food intake, to make sure that a child gets enough nutrients, but don't make them "special".
4) Reduce children's exposure to adverts - sales companies have a vested interest in establishing "buttons" in order to trigger sales now and in the future.
5) Feed children when they are hungry, so they get used to recognising and responding to their own body signals rather than external stimulus. As a baby, they cry to tell you when they want their next feed - they are responding to their body's need. As they grow and move to solid food, don't confuse their body signals with snacks in order to train them to someone else's "meal times".

Now, for the hard part, what to do for those of us who have already been "pre-programmed". Habits that have been built up over many years will not disappear overnight, so be prepared for a gradual process. It will take some time and effort, but it is possible to change your programming. Firstly by being aware that something just pushed your buttons and then by responding with a better choice, you can gradually change your habits.

Here are some suggestions to help in your re-programming:
1) Reduce exposure to adverts - if you don't see it, it can't push your button.
2) Reduce exposure to foods that you find hard to resist - if you don't see it, it can't push your button.
3) Avoid shops selling those things you find hard to resist - if you don't see it, it can't push your button.
4) Stop reinforcing your old programming - avoid using words like "treat", "reward", "indulge" etc in the same sentence as anything related to food (the same goes for drink too!)
5) Eat a balanced meal when you are hungry - learn to listen to your body and respond to it's signals rather than external stimulus. Avoid snacks - if you are hungry your body is telling you that you are ready for your next meal.
6) Find a different "reward" that you can replace "food rewards" with - be careful what you choose though that you don't reinforce another habit that you later want to release - so avoid shopping "treats" as well as cigarettes, alcohol etc. How about a "time" reward - allow yourself some time to do something you enjoy doing (not eating!)
7) Start a Book of Achievements - you can record all the things that you did well, won, achieved something from and then in any "low" moments you can look through it again and remind yourself. No need to bury yourself in a food indulgence to "feel good" again.
8) If you're feeling low, give someone a hug - what you give out, you'll get back! And, there are no calories in hugs.
9) A balanced diet includes all food types. Don't deny yourself something you enjoy, but keep it in perspective of all the rest of the food that you eat. If you are actively trying to lose weight then planning is important to keep control over how many calories you take in versus their nutrient value. Try not to treat any food as special - it is all food, but you decide what is appropriate for YOU.
10) Recognise patterns and associations relating to food - such as do the snacks and ice-cream come out when you sit down to an evening's TV viewing? or at the Cinema, do you need popcorn in order to enjoy the movie? Try some of these activities without the food additives for a while and see if you still enjoy them just the same!

Being aware is the only way that we ultimately make our best choices. If we are responding to something with pre-programmed behaviours then we are not making our own choices, we are acting out someone else's.

So who decides for you - you or your habits?

6. AND FINALLY ...

THIN PEOPLE DON'T - BY BARBARA FLORIO GRAHAM
(From McCall's, June, 1983)

I read every diet I can get my hands on. I even follow their suggestions. But eventually, inevitably, I always get fat again. Now, at last, I've found The Answer. After living for almost 14 years with a man who never gains an ounce no matter what I serve him, I've found out what it is that keeps him thin: He thinks differently.
The real difference between fat and thin people is that thin people:
1) Avoid eating popcorn in the movies because it gets their hands greasy;
2) Split a large combination pizza with three friends;
3) Think Oreo cookies are for kids;
4) Nibble cashews one at a time;
5) Think that doughnuts are indigestible;
6) Read books they have to hold with both hands;
7) Become so absorbed in a weekend project they forget to have lunch;
8) Fill the candy dish on their desks with paper clips;
9) Counteract the mid-afternoon slump with a nap instead of a cinnamon Danish;
10) Exchange the deep-fryer they received for Christmas for a clock-radio;
11) Lose their appetites when they're depressed;
12) Think chocolate Easter bunnies are for kids;
13) Save leftovers that are too skimpy to use for another meal in order to make interesting soups;
14) Throw out stale potato chips;
15) Will eat only Swiss or Dutch chocolate, which cannot be found except in a special store;
16) Think it's too much trouble to stop at a special store just to buy chocolate;
17) Don't celebrate with a hot-fudge sundae every time they lose a pound;
18) Warm up after skiing with black coffee instead of hot chocolate and whipped cream;
19) Try all the salads at the buffet, leaving room for only one dessert;
20) Find iced tea more refreshing than an ice-cream soda;
21) Get into such interesting conversations at cocktail parties that they never quite work their way over to the hors-d'oeuvre table;
22) Have no compulsion to keep the candy dish symmetrical by reducing the jelly beans to an equal number of each color;
23) Think that topping brownies with ice cream makes too rich a dessert;
24) Bring four cookies into the TV room instead of a box;
25) Think banana splits are for kids.

Back to Newsletter main page

Return to Authentic Online Readers Home Page.

Newsletter

Psychic Home Palmistry Numerology Astrology Tarot Psychic Readers Self Help Articles Soul Soup Glossary Policy Contacts Site Map