When one is chooses the path of awareness life starts to respond in ways that

could be called magical or even miracles. Awareness heals the mind and the body responds to that. During this time of transformation it is important to be very kind and respectful to one’s body not only emotionally but also physically.

The first step to understanding the true needs of the body is to stop all judgments about it. I say true needs because there exist so many false needs. A simple example is when the stomach is full and the mind says I need to eat more. Then the body obeys the mind and the result is that then the stomach hurts because it is too full. Or the opposite can happen. The stomach is empty, it wants food. The mind says “I’m too fat”. Then the body again obeys the mind and the result is pain from hunger. The body is very loyal.

Stopping the judgments of the body takes awareness first and then practice.

To start, stand naked in front of a mirror. Look at your body and put all your attention on what you are saying about your body. Do not edit or justify the thoughts, just observe them. Remember you are alone in front of the mirror.

You may have thoughts that are telling you that you do not like your body, and also ones that are saying that you like it. See them all. The goal here eventually is to love your body for no reason at all.

Seeing the judgments is awareness. At this point there is a tendency to judge the judgments. Watch these also because they get in the way of the next step

which is acceptance. This part can be difficult because often we don’t know what total acceptance feels like, especially when it concerns the body. One thing to do as you look at your body in the mirror is to say “this is what I look like right now”. Logically there is no point in fighting with that image in your mind that says that you should look different. This does not mean that you cannot change the way you look. You may change or not. But either way, without the judgments, you are feeling good, no matter what you see in the mirror.

Now you have some personal power. At the moment of acceptance what happens is energy releases. Energy that was invested in fighting a battle between what is real, (what you see in the mirror), and what you believe about what you see, (the judgments), now becomes available to be used in a different way. Now you have choice.

What you decide to do now is up to you. You have the option to choose

anything you want  and this is your freedom. Your attention is free and you can put it in to different actions.

To be continued……

There are two more parts that will follow this article in the coming weeks.

They will cover more specific ideas about foods, how to eat and prepare them, effects and responses of the body and how to take action.

There will also be a section called The Warrior’s diet - Mind.

To awakening spirit,

Niki