You’re Not What You Eat, You’re What You Believe About What You Eat (WD)

Dear Jake, Your beliefs reflect the current relative state of health that your body is in, just as much as your diet and exercise regimen do. If you desire a gloriously healthy body but behave in unwholesome ways, you’re obviously going to be out of balance. But even more telling are the kinds of thoughts and beliefs that you have about your health. Obviously, just like everyone else, you want to have perfect health. So let’s put this idealistic wish at the top rung of an imaginary ten-step ladder. There, at the apex of your desires regarding your health, is this longing for a body that’s healthy and feels great. Now, visualize this ten-rung ladder with these two questions in mind. At what rung of the ladder are your behaviors in relation to your tenth-rung desire? At what rung of the ladder are your beliefs about your behaviors in relation to your tenth-rung desire? I’d make a calculated guess that anyone who’s overweight, and so out of shape that walking up a few flights of stairs leaves them breathless, is contributing second-rung energies to tenth-rung desires. In other words, they’re way out of balance. The same is true for people with any number of physical maladies attributable to lifestyle, such as ulcers, high blood pressure, indigestion, palpitations of the heart, and so on. To create a balance where you can honestly say that your body is enjoying its optimal level of health and that you’re grateful to live in such a glorious House of God means making some new decisions around the two questions I’ve posed. It may be surprising to read that I’m not suggesting a radical change in diet or advocating that you embark on an exercise program designed for a bodybuilder or a marathon runner (although these are distinct possibilities). No, I’m suggesting a radical realignment in the energy of the beliefs you give to the tenth-rung desire. If you’re overweight, out of shape, and suffering unnecessarily from physical maladies that are related to your lifestyle, this radical idea may require a lot of determination to overcome your disbelief. Isn’t it strange to think that your diet or lack of exercise aren’t completely responsible for the state of your health? Maybe it has to do with what you believe. Your tenth-rung desire to enjoy living in a healthy body will manifest when you sufficiently desire it. And this is precisely how you can correct the imbalance that has one end weighted down to the ground by behaviors and beliefs that are diametrically opposed to what you desire.

Excerpt taken from Being in Balance