Spiritual weight loss
US-based author Marianne Williamson says there are some spiritual lessons to learn before the weight comes off. Amber Wilson chats to Marianne to discover more.
If you think the reason you can’t shift weight is because of the delectable taste of Twisties, or the unappealing thought of spending an hour on the treadmill, think again.
US-based author Marianne Williamson says there are some spiritual lessons to learn before the weight comes off. Amber Wilson chats to Marianne to discover more.
If you think the reason you can’t shift weight is because of the delectable taste of Twisties, or the unappealing thought of spending an hour on the treadmill, think again.
According to Marianne Williamson, author of new book A Course in Weight Loss, neither poor diet nor lack of exercise are the cause of your expanding love handles. She says in truth, your weight problems are caused by your mind – in fact, the fear inside your mind. She says your fear will express itself in unhealthy eating habits or resistance to exercise. Put simply, Marianne’s course aims to take you through a series of 21 spiritual lessons that will help heal the ‘inner’ you, so that the ‘outer’ you will follow naturally. When people are ‘missing’ something emotionally or spiritually, they tend to overeat or avoid exercise. Marianne says that once you learn these spiritual lessons, your excess weight will drop off – without too much conscious effort.
Marianne says that if your thinking hasn’t changed, even if you’ve lost weight on an eating or exercise program, you’ll still have an overwhelming subconscious urge to put it back on. That explains why people’s weight tends to ‘yo yo’ as people struggle with all their might against these intense internal urges. Marianne says you’ll need to work on the inner you if you ever want the outer you to change for good, otherwise the weight will almost certainly return. If you believe that you are a food addict or compulsive eater, this book is a must-read.
Weight – a spiritual issue
Marianne says the true cause of excess weight is that we have a place within us where we have forgotten our ‘divine perfection’, and fear has taken over. As you become more aware of what’s happening inside your mind and learn to replace that overriding fear with love and trust, so you will become the person you were destined to be.
Marianne says that our weight problems are caused by our ‘disconnection with God’, however, she says you don’t need to be religious to take this concept on board. When she refers to God, she’s talking about higher energies or love.
“In modern life, we have been disconnected from our divine centre, a sense of ourselves that is authentic,” she says.
“We feel a kind of terror, a kind of hysteria, of being removed from our creator, and we manifest that hysteria in our lives.
“Some people don’t think of this in religious or spiritual terms, in sense of God, and that’s fine. What I’m talking about is not theology, what I’m talking about is experience. I’m not necessarily talking about someone who believes in God, I’m talking about being a person who walks in love.
“Some people consider themselves very pious, but hate, and some people are anti-theological and love, and it’s the love that’s important.”
She says that in our modern life of hectic schedules, ever-increasing workloads and reliance on technology, we’re being taken away from a deep sense of self, which creates fear and/or anxiety.
“We all have fears due to being separated from a deeper sense of self,” she says.
“The spiritual path is about unravelling these places and choosing a more loving path. The weight loss is often secondary to living in a more deeply reflective and loving experience.”
So what is the most important thing for the person with a weight problem to do?
“Prayer, meditation, forgiveness,” Marianne says.
The weight epidemic
Marianne says the reason obesity is such an epidemic in the Western world is partly because of the food we’re eating.
“I certainly know there’s an epidemic in the US. I think one of the problems we have in the US is so much of diet is from processed foods. If your ancestors didn’t eat it, then your body doesn’t recognise it,” she says.
“It’s like the digestive tract is saying – what is this? I don’t recognise this. It recognises cumquats, but not the macaroni and cheese.
“The technological aspects of modern life, the overworked aspects of it, there’s so many ways the spirit is trying to cope with the assault. People act out this ‘hysteria’ with alcohol, drugs, sex or food issues. We act out to escape from so much of the stress of modern life.”
So does this mean diets don’t work?
“Diets do work. The issue isn’t that diets don’t work, but if someone has a serious food compulsion or addiction, then even if they lose weight on a diet they’ve got an oceanic drive to put the weight back on.”
Divine perfection
Marianne says that in truth, we are all created perfectly, and it’s simply a matter of reconnecting with that perfect creation.
“I know we are all programmed for divine perfection – everybody’s heart knows how to beat and everybody’s lungs know how to breathe. We know about small children who are obese and we can point to the behaviour of the parents, but we don’t hear about newborns being born obese,” she says.
“Your natural perfection in this area has been knocked out of whack. The idea is bringing it back.
“I remember being a compulsive eater and thinking I was somehow abnormal in this area. I learnt I was no different than anyone else, it’s just that my system had been knocked out of whack.”
Making the first step
Of course, we’ve all got to start somewhere when undertaking a new task. Marianne says that when embarking on your weight loss journey, it’s important to take stock of where you’re at, right now.
“Ask yourself if you are ready to stand up for yourself – and this is about so much more than the weight issue,” she says.
“Are you ready to live your life from a different place? If you’ve come to a place in yourself where you feel you have suffered enough, you might want to pick up the book.” NH
