You Are What You "Eat"

Very often we think about what we put in our bodies via the food we eat, but do we forget about everything else that gets digested through our senses? Our bodies and minds are so amazing, and everything that goes in gets processed – including smells, sounds, sights, thoughts that enter from other sources, etc! Just as we need to eat foods that nourish us to be healthy, we also must ingest nourishing content. We are most literally what we “eat” – our body turns food into energy and transforms it into our bodily makeup - and we are also what we see, hear, say, etc! The things we watch, the people we talk to, even the things we say out loud create and transform the person we are, for better or for worse, and whether we realize it or not! Just as you may consider how nourishing your food choices are, I challenge you to consider the level of nourishment you are or are not getting from the rest of the contents that enter your body through the senses!

Here are some ways you can start to consider what you are 'ingesting' and decide whether or not you need a serious detox!

• Take a hard look at your social media feed. This is an amazing place to begin! We tend to spend a LOT of time on social media, and we all know it can be a deep pit of negativity. But it doesn’t have to be. We don’t have to follow people who constantly post negative messages, complaints, and other things that will instantly bring us down. Fill your feed with people and companies that post positive words and pictures, and things that are uplifting. It’s a way better experience and your subconscious mood will thank you!
• Consider the shows you watch (including the news). People often joke that when they watch horror films they can’t sleep because they are too scared. This is totally not random; it is a direct effect of the digestive process of what you just watched! The typical American spends a LOT of time in front of the TV… and many of us use watching TV as a chance to relax and decompress from the other stressors in our lives. But it’s dang hard to relax when we are taking in something stressful! Keep it in mind when you choose your shows. (Side note: everyone is affected differently by content – just like we all have a different reaction to foods. If scary movies don’t stress you out and cause you not to sleep, that’s OK too! This is about the concept of becoming aware of how things affect us, and that will be specific to each person.)
• Start to notice what you listen to. This includes positive or negative messages through music, the people that you talk to and what they say (if they are always complaining or saying negative things about themselves or others) and basically anything that enters through your ears. Now this isn’t about cutting out your friends that complain, but just be aware of it, and you can choose the amount of time that you spend with them! Take responsibility for protecting your space.
• Watch what you say. What you say is not only an action that carries energy, but you also hear it too! Start paying attention to the words you use and the things you say. Are they focused on your joy, your goals, and filling your life with love? Or are they focused on things that bring you down? What we focus on, continues, so be careful!
• Examine what you think. Thoughts are always running through our head (and it’s OK, that’s just the mind doing its job!) but they also act like a constant mantra. And mantras (traditionally) are used to focus on the things we want to manifest in our lives! So, it doesn’t matter if you are thinking intentionally or unconsciously, your thoughts will make you who you are, especially when you believe them deeply. So this is not to say that you have to nitpick every thought and be constantly examining everything that goes through your head – just start with the bigger things, what you think about yourself and others, or anything that pops in that’s really negative but not necessarily true, and know that at any moment you can choose to let that thought go and replace it with a new thought that serves you.
• Choose what you see every day and what you keep in your own space. This one is huge for me. When I can see clutter in my space, my mind is completely cluttered and it’s exhausting! When we see beautiful and relaxing things, it translates into our lives. Of course, we can’t always choose what we see out in the world, but we can completely choose what we see in our own space – our homes and offices, etc! A great way to start is just by becoming more mindful of what we keep around – are we surrounded by beautiful and inspiring things, or are the things in our space old, broken, dusty, and not taken care of? Now this isn’t about getting rid of things or even getting new things, but you can start by organizing your things in a way that feels intentional. I’m a huge fan of the KonMari Method and I noticed a difference when I got rid of things that don’t bring me joy, my home felt way more joyful!  And in my opinion, why waste space with things that don’t lift us up?

OK, I realize all of this can be overwhelming, but start with just one small change! Pick one category to be more intentional about (and by doing this you may find some of the other things start changing naturally!) And we don’t have to be perfect, but the point is to know that you have choice and when we bring more awareness to this, it can have a big impact!

I’d love to hear what you’ve tried in the past, and your one small plan to change something starting now. Today is the perfect day to up-level what you “eat”!

Big Hugs, 

Bernadette