Inspired ACTION ..that's the part where many of us get spooked or get stuck. Perhaps that is the source of the expression, "He who hesitates is lost."
Before I saw this video, I took the first steps on a project I had invested in, but had stalled on for a year and a half. I told myself I needed a stable foundation first, then I had health challenges, then the pandemic reminded us it's impact was not done. My life, schedule, energy and income have been fluctuating, so I kept letting the uncertainty paralyze my initial enthusiasm. Having had an unexpected good test result, I felt like I got my life back, and I released a lot of fear. So I decided to take action at last and at least plant the seeds for this back-burner project that could change my life, despite the uncertainty and challenges. We can never really put those "on hold". We must forge ahead anyway, and taking this critical first step during the New Moon Intention Portal seemed to be a most auspicious move. Time will tell, but if I keep taking the small action steps towards my goal, things should move in the right direction.
Showing posts with label Self-Confidence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self-Confidence. Show all posts
Saturday, March 5, 2022
INSPIRED: If We Can Do It So Can You | This Story Might Change Your Life
Mar 1, 2022
441K subscribers
Thursday, September 14, 2017
THE ORACLE REPORT: Thursday, September 14, 2017
PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY WISE OWL LOUISE
THE ORACLE REPORT: Thursday, September 14, 2017
Third Quarter Moon Phase: revise, realign
Moon in Cancer
Sun: 23 Virgo - "a lion-tamer rushes fearlessly into the circus arena"
True Alignments: skillful application of energy, believing in oneself, temperate, courage, considering consequences
Catalysts for Change: control issues/self control issues, overly dependent, drama/dramatic shows, impulsivity
Earth: 23 Pisces - "a 'materializing medium' giving a séance"
True Alignments: sensitivity (be cautious around electrical currents), considerate/consideration, untethered from a burden, expanded awareness, accomplishing or completing something, coming out of a negative mind loop
Catalysts for Change: confusion, questions about how authentic something is, false, anxiety, placing power outside of yourself
Today. let's look at the energetics from two perspectives - the small screen and the big screen, so to speak.
SMALL SCREEN
It is a good idea to S L O WD O W N today. The tendency to rush things and act without thinking is high when the Sun discharges "a lion-tamer rushes fearlessly into the circus arena." Proper consideration should be given before making important decisions or signing important papers. This does not mean stop or cease. In fact, the energetic really prompts and supports action that is taken. The key is to take any fears out of the equation and proceed from the strength of knowing your own mind and what is in alignment with truth and love.
In other words, when we know we are on the "right" side, we are unstoppable under this energetic. Now is the time to "get right" because there really is no other choice. Defeat is now a guarantee for those who are not on the right side. Ugly actions bounce back quickly now. ("Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on." -Led Zeppelin)
The Earth discharging "a 'materializing medium' giving a séance" also advises us to sit with things and consider them before acting. The word "materializing" is key here, as it references things actually made manifest. Things that have been cloudy or unclear become concrete and visible under this energetic.
Moderate then activate. And do not let fear and the control issues it brings stop you today. The Moon will oppose Pluto at 10:51 pm ET/2:51 am UT, bringing in the tendency for control issues all day. Confrontations with ourselves are happening. Be brave enough to look. Acknowledge the process of life and learning.
BIG SCREEN
Today, Mighty Jupiter moves within three degrees of Shocking Uranus, beginning their opposition through September 27/28. Jupiter expands while Uranus changes. The speed of our "collective adjustment" will increase during the time the two planets are making opposition. This is a very good thing because Uranus always puts things the way they need to be, and it will do so in whatever way necessary.
Shocks and surprises come with the territory with Uranus. But Uranus is a true friend. It only has our highest and best interests in mind. Oftentimes it takes a long time to see that there were silver linings with things that happen (especially things that seem "negative" at first). Blessings in disguise befall us.
The two symbols (energetics) involved right now are Jupiter at 25 Libra, "the sight of an autumn leaf brings to a pilgrim the SUDDEN REVELATION of the mystery of life and death." Sudden revelations indeed. Uranus is retrograde (moving backwards) at 28 Aries, "a large disappointed audience." It is hard to witness much of what is happening in the world.
The unknown story is the symbol of "a man in deep gloom; unnoticed, angels come to his help." This is 28 Libra, the degree where Jupiter will be when it makes exact opposition with Uranus on September 27/28.
So let's not suffer the disappointment and gloom. Let's get in the gno. Let's jump ahead to the story arc: the intervention by higher forces. Let's hold on to this notion through September 28.
If we become caught up in the displays in front of us, it will be harder to remember that intervention by higher forces is in process. Then we would fall into the disappointment and gloom that these energetics engender.
Today, we slow down, keep it real, and notice the angels.
Pinellas county, florida after Irma on Monday. sent by wise owl betsy.
THE ORACLE REPORT: Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Third Quarter Moon Phase: revise, realign
Moon in Gemini - moves to Cancer at 6:13 pm ET/10:13 pm UT
Sun: 22 Virgo- "a royal coat of arms enriched with precious stones"
True Alignments: family heritage, standing up for/representing something, grounded, abundance, symbolism
Catalysts for Change: elitism, spoiled, bragging, financial fears, feeling unworthy, fraud
Earth: 22 Pisces - "a prophet bringing down the new law from Mount Sinai"
True Alignments: launching something, revelations and new information, truth comes to light, code of conduct, decoding, seeing ahead/seeing the signs
Catalysts for Change: pushy, narrow views, spiritual arrogance, harsh (self) judgment
Good tidings, wise owls!
Good tidings come to us today courtesy of the conjunction of Venus and the North Node. Venus involves themes of love, beauty, money, relationships, security, and comfort. The North Node involves the future, destiny, and alignment. What is the destiny of love today?
Venus and the North Node make conjunction at 23 Leo, "a carrier pigeon fulfilling its mission." In context of this solar-lunar month's theme of "an unsealed letter" (things revealed/uncovered/released/unleashed), whatever message the universe wants us to have should be received by today.
This is good timing because we enter the Third Quarter Moon Phase today, the phase that "completes" the month and realigns us. Third Quarter Moon phase is the natural time to make revisions, take personal responsibility, and recommit ourselves.
Additionally today, the Sun makes one of its four yearly squares with Saturn. In astrology, "squares" produce changes. There are two types of squares: First Quarter squares and Third Quarter squares, akin to Moon phases. A First Quarter square facilitates new changes and stepping out with new things. A Third Quarter square facilitates realignment and revision of existing things. Today's square is a Third Quarter square and relates to anything that is already in play, but specifically things that began around December 10, 2016 (when the Sun and Saturn made conjunction or started a new cycle).
So there are a great deal of "realignment" energetics in effect today. Ways will be shown.
Much will be revealed.
(If you want to delve a little deeper, we see that the Sun is located at 22 Virgo, "a royal coat of arms enriched with precious stones," and Saturn is located at "a Chinese laundry." Royalty. China. Precious gems/minerals. Laundering. For more information on what this astrological aspect is about, we look to the energetic that the Sun and Saturn began this round with on December 10: the conjunction at 19 Sagittarius, "pelicans disturbed by the garbage of people move their young to a new habitat." What became intolerable and required change? What needed to be put in a different place or order or location? What still needs to be changed?)
Venus and the North Node make exact conjunction at 8:42 pm ET/12:42 am UT. The Sun and Saturn make exact square at 10:44 pm ET/2:44 am UT. But before all of this, the Moon will oppose the Galactic Center at 12:05 pm ET/4:05 pm UT, activating and bathing us in high-level spiritual frequencies. There is a definite message for each of us today, and it is a blessing.
Today, like every day, we line up with truth and love, but with a little help from a Higher Power. How precious.
Copyright Oracle Report 2009 - 2017. All Rights Reserved.
Permission to repost is granted provided credit is given to www.oraclereport.com.
Permission to repost is granted provided credit is given to www.oraclereport.com.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
THE ORACLE REPORT: Thursday, May 26, 2016
"LATE SPRING FLOWER" From wise owl neslin
THE ORACLE REPORT: Thursday, May 26, 2016
http://www.oraclereport.com/Disseminating Moon Phase: communicate, share
Moon in Capricorn (Aquarius 10:27 am ET/2:27 pm UT)
Aspect of the Aeon Sophia (Wisdom): Tara, Goddess Who Guides; Shodashi, Goddess Who Aligns With the Highest and Best, Goddess of Beauty
Aspect of the Aeon Thelete (Will and Desire): Ian, God of the East
Skill: confidence (in self and the Divine)
True Alignments: risking rejection and vulnerability, the power of belief, rewards from hard work and effort, the beauty of form, guidance, the heart's desires, respect, inviting, tapping inner wisdom
Catalysts for Change: rejection before consideration, fear of opening up, commitment issues, trust issues, elitism, rigidity, controlling, unwilling to look deeply, feelings of powerlessness, overthinking, overcomplicating
Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Month: "a symbolic battle between swords and torches" (realizations, the might of light)
Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Year: "the magic carpet of Oriental imagery" (transcending worries, challenges, and old beliefs/systems)
Welcome to a beautiful day, courtesy of beautiful energetics.
One of the primary dynamics in effect today is to not make things harder than they need to be. When we ease up, things will begin to flow and even lead to something fulfilling (dare I say fun?).
In the spirit of this theme, let's lay out the day's the energetics, and then get on to something else.
1- RELEASE STRUGGLE - We are in the time of the solar-lunar year that is like a month-long Crescent Moon phase. Crescent phases are characterized by perseverance through challenges -- what could also be described as struggling through difficulties. The struggle is not necessary. Struggling involves judgment. Perseverance means we just keep showing up, keep going, head forward, without stopping. The wisdom of the Crescent phase energy is "Don't give up; don't ever give up." - basketball coaching legend Jim Valvano. Struggling is exhausting. Releasing the need to push for a specific outcome is much easier on the body, mind, and soul.
2- OPEN UP SPACE - If and when things become complicated, mentally stop and step out of them. Take a few deep breaths. Allow the field to realign. Doing so enables the interplay of the energetic that the Earth is discharging today: "Cupid knocking at the door of a human heart." Allow things to take different forms.
3- CONFIDENCE - Today the theme of confidence in self and confidence in Divine guidance and direction repeats within the Sabian symbols today. The Earth is located at "an old fashioned well" and Venus at "the garden of the tuileries in Paris." These are about things that are reliable and supported. We can draw deeply from the well of consciousness that dwells inside of us - our inner resources. The exact things we need are neatly laid out for us to visit or revisit.
The energy takes us somewhere specific today - someplace where light will enter, someplace that helps us understand.
This is what's in store on the magic carpet ride today.
Now, on to the beautiful part. (I am publishing this main part of the report and continuing with the P.S.)
Thank you for supporting The Oracle Report!
Copyright Oracle Report 2009 - 2016. All Rights Reserved.
Permission to repost is granted provided credit is given to www.oraclereport.com.
Permission to repost is granted provided credit is given to www.oraclereport.com.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Eclipse Cycle Preparation: Imagining More Fulfillment Message from the Archangel Michael Channeled by Meredith Murphy
Eclipse Cycle Preparation: Imagining More Fulfillment
Beloved Friends,
Today we turn our attention to those you love, to the people closest to you.
For some of you those relationships have not tracked with your own growth as well as you might have wished. For some of you, you actually have a void space in what we might think of as your closer relationships for you don’t have closer relationships right now. They don’t exist. For others you have perhaps consciously chosen or unconsciously chosen not to create partnerships or relationships out of a sense that your emotions and you, will settle at some point and then these things will happen and then you will find your tribe.
We want to start out our conversation today by saying any way in which you are waiting for something to happen does not serve you.
We would also like to say something else and this will be a catalyst for much of what we talk about over the next week together and that is this. Sometimes the reason that you hold yourself back is you don’t have the confidence to create what you really want.
Being sovereign is best described perhaps as the way of discovering how to be fulfilled. We have talked about this quite a lot and really this is about how to become fulfilled in your own unique way in the ways that really meet you as you are. This might be the most powerful way to think about becoming sovereign, to be more and more skillful and clear, aware and capable of understanding and creating your own fulfillment.
We also want to acknowledge today something unique about the realm in which you are focused because it is an essential component of your lives. For all human beings connection is an essential component to feeling happy.
What kinds of connections, are unique to you. How much connection, is unique to you. How you wish to create connection is unique to you. Yet all of you in your embodied human focus share a deep, fundamental need to experience connection in order to have embodied happiness. This is just part of the nature of your realm.
The human body is created in such a way that it actually needs touch. The human being, which all of you are in this particular experience of focus, therefore, needs to be connected not just for touch but for many other reasons with other humans. Again, the ways in which you choose to do this and what fulfills you and how much of this you need will vary based on each of you and your own personal indicators for this are your happiness.
We would like you to consider all of these things as we talk today a little bit about the various ways in which you are connected and what ideally we sense would be most supportive and wonderful for you.
We would like you now to imagine this inner circle of your life, this inner circle of your life, this day to day connection possibility. This would include the people or the animals closest to you or that space, that they might be in if they are not currently there. Imagine this space however filled with a few people or perhaps a few more than a few if you like and if you wish to put animals in the mix that too.
Imagine this inner circle of your life, the part of your life, the people, the animals if you choose, that you see daily. This is an incredibly joyful circle. You have regular, wonderful, uplifting interactions. You feel entirely supported. There is a deep sense of trust. You have each other’s backs. You can count on each other.
All the other nuances of this are particular to you. But those are the ones we would encourage you to include.
Then there is another circle of connection, what we might call your friends. People you see perhaps weekly or talk to on the phone. People you love dearly who make you laugh, people who really get you. People you share important news with, people you love to support and cheer on. People you comfort when they have had something terrible happen, people who comfort you. People you intrinsically trust. People who respect you and care about your happiness. People you can count on and they can count on you too in all of these ways.
Imagine and feel the fullness being generated by considering these layers of connection.
Then there is another circle. Let’s call them perhaps your acquaintances.
They are people you see less often but you like them and they like you. They know your name and you know their name and you know something about them more or less depending on how often you see them, but you see them less often. Maybe it’s your hairdresser or your accountant, your doctor, people who you see when you go on vacation because they go to the same place you do every summer. People you know online in a casual way. These people never have given you any reason to not trust them. You enjoy them. You feel uplifted. The experience is good to wonderful. They are an additional supportive element of connection in your life.
Then there is everybody else. People you have met, people you have not met. Some may fit into these circles but you haven’t met them yet. Some you may know well but they don’t really qualify these circles if this is the criteria for who is in these circles. That’s something to consider.
This is a way of considering the fulfillment of your relationships and since being connected is an essential component to being human and your fulfillment is the pathway to sovereignty we cannot have this conversation with you without talking about the way in which your relationships currently exist and the way in which your relationships potentially might exist.
You see my friends taking care of your fulfillment is how you become more unconditional with others and more importantly with yourself.
Becoming sovereign and unconditional does not mean spending time with people you don’t trust or making people who are unreliable members of your own most treasured inner circle. Being sovereign actually is supported by your circles of connection being much more like what we have just described. Reliable, consciously chosen, created for your joy and the joy of sharing and supporting. Revealing yourself and knowing you will be honored and knowing you will do the same for another is a powerful way in which your world is being uplifted.
When you are in that kind of relationship there is more openness because you are more open and you are how the world changes. How you are you is the only way you can change the world.
Since we have shared that connection is an essential element to being human why not choose to consider all of the relationships in your life and the various layers we have talked about today and see how you might make them something that you treasure.
We would like to focus on creating a radiantly happy and fulfilled life and we would like to focus on how you might do this by consciously creating more connection and support for yourselves.
We are not advocating leaving existing relationships, unless you feel that is right for you. We are talking more about how you might view your relationships. The kind of expectations you might have when you envision new relationships that you hope to create and to consider how you might increasingly harmonize your experience by creating the kind of relationships in your life that will be increasingly sovereign too.
All of these qualities that we have described of the ways in which you relate to people in different levels of intimacy, in different rhythms, in different levels of closeness are empowered by sovereignty. There are people in your lives who are sovereign without even thinking about it in that way. They are just people who have learned how to take care of themselves and how to be with others in the way in which both of you feel free.
We hope you notice that when we talked about all of this we did not talk about who is spiritual. We didn’t talk about people who shared your beliefs. We didn’t talk about any of that. We talked about the way in which these people can be present in your lives and the way in which you can be present with them. This leaves it wide open for tremendous diversity in the way in which you enjoy creating your relationships. What you enjoy doing. What you enjoy sharing, the kinds of people.
There is tremendous opportunity for you to connect with lots of different people but many of you throughout your experience of awakening have gone through tremendous changes in your relationships. One of the most difficult and painful parts of opening up to a fuller expression of yourself has been handling the emotions that you have felt as relationships moved in and out of your life as you saw things more clearly, as you discovered that something you thought would last actually didn’t, as you discovered your beliefs around these things and began to learn how to let go, how to let things rise and fall, how to be more open to the fluidity, how to identify more with your eternalness.
We have talked about all of these things together for a couple of years now. Now we would like to encourage you to consider how would you create the most abundant constellation of connection and support for yourself in your life?
What would that look like?
What relationships would you like to have that you don’t have?
What might they be?
Today we are hoping you might begin dreaming. Not feeling bad about relationships you have in your life that perhaps don’t meet your standards yet. Maybe they never will.
What if today you let all of that be just as it is and you consider, “What kind of connections do I choose to create now so that I can experience an abundance of fulfillment and satisfy my inherent human desire to share?”
I am Archangel Michael.
http://www.expectwonderful.com
Monday, July 14, 2014
Couple shed 280 pounds and get noticed for the right reasons
Thanks to a thyroid issue, I no longer need to lose weight, however, I DO need to gain muscle tone and be more active, multiple knee/thigh injuries be damned! I find their story inspiring. It makes me want to move, and get myself even stronger than I already am, so that my body mirrors the inner health of my recent annual physical lab results. People tell me I look younger than I am, healthy, but I am healthier than I look. So I share this not as a judgment about anyone, but in the spirit of inspiration I found in their story of transition to a healthier lifestyle for themselves and their family. What they accomplished together without a trainer is remarkable. They achieved on their own the kind of results that contestants on The Biggest Loser series reach with much support. They simply started adding more good things to their diet and increased their activity level by doing enjoyable things that didn't feel like a workout. They FEEL better, and are setting a good example for their kids. "Rob and Jess now each weigh 167 pounds, down a collective 280 pounds. Jessica has lost 120 pounds from the start of their journey; Rob has lost 160. They feel healthier, happier and ready to tackle the world." -PB
Couple shed 280 pounds and get noticed for the right reasons
iReport CNN iReport
By Daphne Sashin, CNN
(CNN) -- By the time he hit 327 pounds, Robert Foster had been playing "the fat guy" for decades. His size was the thing that made him stand out.
Publicly, he embraced his lifestyle as a "BBQ-lovin', beef-eatin', no-veggie-buyin'" male who wore T-shirts flaunting his hefty size. There was a particularly perverse one, he says looking back on it, which read "I beat anorexia."
Privately, he was resentful that he wasn't thinner. He felt angry when he couldn't bear to take his four little girls to the park because he was too exhausted from unloading groceries. He resented being told he was too big for the seat-belt latch on amusement park rides.
His wife, Jessica, was also obese, at 287 pounds. Unlike Rob, she felt invisible. Customers at the bank where she worked stared past her as they made their transactions. In late 2011, a close family member made a comment at the dinner table that stuck with her:
"She used to be something to look at. Not anymore."
In late March 2012, the Colorado couple had an emotional conversation. Jess was coming up on her 30th birthday and was sick of the way she looked and felt. They had had talks like this before, where they talked about needing to change, but something was different that night.
"I adore my kids and I love my husband very much, but there was that point I hated myself so much. I wasn't giving them the full me because I was disgusted," Jess said. "You have to look in the mirror and say, 'Am I going to allow this to continue or am I going to stand up and make those changes?' A light turned on upstairs."
The next week, she began taking Zumba classes. In just a few weeks, she had lost 14 pounds -- enough to motivate her to take on new physical challenges. She moved on to bikes and treadmills and made sure to sweat for an hour at least three times a week. After that, there was no turning back, she said.
Rob was a little slower to change -- the thought of going for a run was "unappealing to the point of agony" -- but he started playing tennis and stopped taking seconds at dinner.
In the summer of 2012, they added other physical activities that didn't feel like working out, like hiking and recreational swimming with their kids and friends. They got hooked on the physical highs and wanted to do more.
Rob joined Jess in training for a 5-kilometer race that December. He walked as much as he ran, and Jess finished way ahead of him. But something in him changed.
"The race environment and the high fives and the feeling of accomplishment became addicting to me," he said. "After that day, I swore I would work to run a 5k without slowing to a walk."
In Rob's words, "it got crazy from there."
The more he ran, the more he felt he needed to run. When he put on his sneakers and took off, "I felt like my whole life was skyrocketing upward," he said.
A few months after that first 5k, he ran his second, this time without walking. Then he did his first 10-mile run. And in May 2014, he ran his first marathon. By then he was 160 pounds lighter.
Throughout the process, the couple used a calorie-counting app to keep track of everything they ate. They knew they wanted to break their family's cycle of unhealthy relationships with food while their children were still young.
"It got to the point where we realized it didn't matter what we fed them," Rob said. "If we weren't eating the same way or if we were overeating, they were going to follow our example."
The Fosters began shopping only the periphery of grocery stores, never entering the aisles unless it was for cereal. They added more fruits, vegetables and lean white meats and fish. They also began cooking everything they ate from scratch, including breads, dressings and sauces.
"Our whole philosophy towards food was adding good things," Rob said. "What we found was, the more and more good things we added, the less we craved the garbage."
After months of a diet rich in whole grains, green vegetables and lean meats, they recently made the decision to go vegan for health, environmental and ethical reasons.
Rob and Jess now each weigh 167 pounds, down a collective 280 pounds. Jessica has lost 120 pounds from the start of their journey; Rob has lost 160. They feel healthier, happier and ready to tackle the world.
Rob, a former bank branch manager, has gone back to college to pursue a bachelor's degree in integrative physiology with the goal of entering medical school. This May, he completed his first year of college.
He's not "the fat guy" anymore, and he's fine with that.
Jess feels pretty great, too. Now a size 10, down from size 24, she's still getting used to people paying attention to her. She re-entered the workforce in July 2013 after five years as a stay-at-home mom and was surprised at the difference in how people treated her.
"A lot of people became very friendly and were really looking at me in my face, instead of this blank stare. ... And obviously, the opposite sex was more playful, always complimentary. I never had that. Never, ever, ever," she said.
"I love myself. I like what I'm seeing in the mirror. I know there's some work to still be done, but I'm such a different person than I was before."
~~~
Couple shed 280 pounds and get noticed for the right reasons
iReport CNN iReport
By Daphne Sashin, CNN
(CNN) -- By the time he hit 327 pounds, Robert Foster had been playing "the fat guy" for decades. His size was the thing that made him stand out.
Publicly, he embraced his lifestyle as a "BBQ-lovin', beef-eatin', no-veggie-buyin'" male who wore T-shirts flaunting his hefty size. There was a particularly perverse one, he says looking back on it, which read "I beat anorexia."
Privately, he was resentful that he wasn't thinner. He felt angry when he couldn't bear to take his four little girls to the park because he was too exhausted from unloading groceries. He resented being told he was too big for the seat-belt latch on amusement park rides.
His wife, Jessica, was also obese, at 287 pounds. Unlike Rob, she felt invisible. Customers at the bank where she worked stared past her as they made their transactions. In late 2011, a close family member made a comment at the dinner table that stuck with her:
"She used to be something to look at. Not anymore."
In late March 2012, the Colorado couple had an emotional conversation. Jess was coming up on her 30th birthday and was sick of the way she looked and felt. They had had talks like this before, where they talked about needing to change, but something was different that night.
"I adore my kids and I love my husband very much, but there was that point I hated myself so much. I wasn't giving them the full me because I was disgusted," Jess said. "You have to look in the mirror and say, 'Am I going to allow this to continue or am I going to stand up and make those changes?' A light turned on upstairs."
The next week, she began taking Zumba classes. In just a few weeks, she had lost 14 pounds -- enough to motivate her to take on new physical challenges. She moved on to bikes and treadmills and made sure to sweat for an hour at least three times a week. After that, there was no turning back, she said.
Rob was a little slower to change -- the thought of going for a run was "unappealing to the point of agony" -- but he started playing tennis and stopped taking seconds at dinner.
In the summer of 2012, they added other physical activities that didn't feel like working out, like hiking and recreational swimming with their kids and friends. They got hooked on the physical highs and wanted to do more.
Rob joined Jess in training for a 5-kilometer race that December. He walked as much as he ran, and Jess finished way ahead of him. But something in him changed.
"The race environment and the high fives and the feeling of accomplishment became addicting to me," he said. "After that day, I swore I would work to run a 5k without slowing to a walk."
In Rob's words, "it got crazy from there."
The more he ran, the more he felt he needed to run. When he put on his sneakers and took off, "I felt like my whole life was skyrocketing upward," he said.
A few months after that first 5k, he ran his second, this time without walking. Then he did his first 10-mile run. And in May 2014, he ran his first marathon. By then he was 160 pounds lighter.
Throughout the process, the couple used a calorie-counting app to keep track of everything they ate. They knew they wanted to break their family's cycle of unhealthy relationships with food while their children were still young.
"It got to the point where we realized it didn't matter what we fed them," Rob said. "If we weren't eating the same way or if we were overeating, they were going to follow our example."
The Fosters began shopping only the periphery of grocery stores, never entering the aisles unless it was for cereal. They added more fruits, vegetables and lean white meats and fish. They also began cooking everything they ate from scratch, including breads, dressings and sauces.
"Our whole philosophy towards food was adding good things," Rob said. "What we found was, the more and more good things we added, the less we craved the garbage."
After months of a diet rich in whole grains, green vegetables and lean meats, they recently made the decision to go vegan for health, environmental and ethical reasons.
Rob and Jess now each weigh 167 pounds, down a collective 280 pounds. Jessica has lost 120 pounds from the start of their journey; Rob has lost 160. They feel healthier, happier and ready to tackle the world.
Rob, a former bank branch manager, has gone back to college to pursue a bachelor's degree in integrative physiology with the goal of entering medical school. This May, he completed his first year of college.
He's not "the fat guy" anymore, and he's fine with that.
Jess feels pretty great, too. Now a size 10, down from size 24, she's still getting used to people paying attention to her. She re-entered the workforce in July 2013 after five years as a stay-at-home mom and was surprised at the difference in how people treated her.
"A lot of people became very friendly and were really looking at me in my face, instead of this blank stare. ... And obviously, the opposite sex was more playful, always complimentary. I never had that. Never, ever, ever," she said.
"I love myself. I like what I'm seeing in the mirror. I know there's some work to still be done, but I'm such a different person than I was before."
~~~
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Charlie Chaplan ~ “As I Began to Love Myself” | Laura Bruno's Blog
“As I Began to Love Myself” by Kim and Alison McMillen
Oft attributed to Charlie Chaplin because he recited it...
Charlie Chaplan ~ “As I Began to Love Myself” | Laura Bruno's Blog
“As I Began to Love Myself”
As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering
are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY”.
As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
As I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time
was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this
person was me. Today I call it “RESPECT”.
As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life,
and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.
Today I call it “MATURITY”.
As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance,
I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens
at the exactly right moment. So I could be calm.
Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE”.
As I began to love myself I quit stealing my own time,
and I stopped designing huge projects for the future.
Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do
and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in
my own rhythm. Today I call it “SIMPLICITY”.
As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for
my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything that drew
me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude
a healthy egoism. Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF”.
As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since
I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is “MODESTY”.
As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry
about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING
is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT”.
As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me
and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my
mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this
connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART”.
We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems
with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing
new worlds are born.Today I know THAT IS “LIFE”!
Oft attributed to Charlie Chaplin because he recited it...
Charlie Chaplan ~ “As I Began to Love Myself” | Laura Bruno's Blog
“As I Began to Love Myself”
As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering
are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY”.
As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
As I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time
was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this
person was me. Today I call it “RESPECT”.
As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life,
and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.
Today I call it “MATURITY”.
As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance,
I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens
at the exactly right moment. So I could be calm.
Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE”.
As I began to love myself I quit stealing my own time,
and I stopped designing huge projects for the future.
Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do
and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in
my own rhythm. Today I call it “SIMPLICITY”.
As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for
my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything that drew
me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude
a healthy egoism. Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF”.
As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since
I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is “MODESTY”.
As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry
about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING
is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT”.
As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me
and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my
mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this
connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART”.
We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems
with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing
new worlds are born.Today I know THAT IS “LIFE”!
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