{image via pinterest}

There’s so much amazing stuff going on around here at NTS, sometimes it’s hard for me to wrap my head around it all! I’ve been feeling so blessed to be launching some great, and hopefully inspiring, new things like the Start Write Now Series and (hint! hint!) soon the 2012 Nourishing Body Image Awards.

My mind hasn’t stopped though, and I want to introduce you to another new series that is kicking off right now. It’s called If You Really Knew Me.

Here’s what it’s all about: It’s a series of guest posts in which contributors share a personal story or aspect of their lives with NTS readers. It’s a double opportunity; a chance for the writer to share something true and real about themselves that perhaps they don’t find themselves talking about openly and a chance for us as readers to bear witness to another’s narrative and expand our own sense of understanding and empathy.

What it really comes down to is sharing our truths, and giving readers a forum to do so. There’s nothing that I love more than being honored with the opportunity to hear someone else’s journey (hence the whole therapist thing, I guess), and I think many of you can and will relate. We can learn so much from connecting with one another in this way.

If You Really Knew Me is about stepping out of the shadows and reclaiming your voice through narrative. Should you choose to participate, you can write your post in any way that you choose. You can write a list, a story, or just wax poetic about something important in your life. It can be about overcoming self-hatred, coming out, feeling jealous of your sister, struggling to get pregnant, being secretly bankrupt — whatever you want the world to know more about. The only requirement is that your post is honest and heartfelt and answers: If you really knew me, you would know… 

You do not have to share your name or any identifying information. You also don’t have to be a blogger. Simply drop me an email including your submission at nourishingthesoulblog [at] gmail [dot] com and let me know what (if anything) you want shared about your identity. I do reserve the right to not publish any post that is I feel could be harmful to readers. All that said, I will be so honored to read your truth. I hope that you will share it.

{image credit :: thebookofsecrets.tumblr.com}

The term addicted gets thrown around a lot, probably far more often than it should. I am a big advocate for carefully selecting words, because they are the building blocks for our realities, and so when people say they are addicted to Giuliana and Bill or strawberry milkshakes, I get annoyed.

But when it comes to the idea of distraction, I think many of us are truly addicted. In fact, I would suggest that we have a cultural addiction going on. Hear me out.

First of all, I can write this post honestly because I am a total player in the game.

Hello. My name is Ashley. I’m addicted to activity.

I’m not talking about ADHD or just how busy we all are in our world, though I’m certain that those issues contribute to our problem. No, I’m talking about the fact that I look around the train on any given morning and every single pair of eyes is glued to an iPad or Blackberry. Crossing a busy street, people are texting. We watch movies with our laptops on our bellies, totally unaware of the plot. We eat at the refrigerator as we plan our Monday. We chat on the phone at the spa. We can’t even use the bathroom without a form of distraction!

It’s enough to make you want to scream, “Enough already. Turn it off!”

It makes me wonder, what’s so threatening about quiet? What’s wrong with stillness?

My guess is that it frightens us. To turn off the distraction means we actually have to sit with ourselves – our true selves. Stillness gives us the space to be with our own thoughts, to connect with our own emotions. And for some of us, that’s scary stuff.

For some, it’s the fear of being disconnected from others. The thought that things could be going on, that someone could be reaching out, and that I might not be available? Well, that’s terrifying for individuals who use that connection as a means of feeling whole. Without it, they suddenly feel incredibly isolated. It’s the irony of our generation – all of this incredible technology, built for us to connect, has left us often feeling even more alone.

For others, it’s the fear of feeling unaccomplished. If I’m not engaged in a task, how can I be productive? And, by extension, if I’m not productive, who am I? Do I matter? Granted, we aren’t asking ourselves these questions directly. But I believe that they are lingering beneath the surface.

And for still others, their own thoughts and feelings prove too distressing to bear. If they’re not enveloped in the hustle and bustle, then perhaps they would be able to experience the loneliness that they’ve been trying so hard to keep at bay. Or perhaps the frustration with a job that’s going nowhere. Or the fear that their partner is going to pack it in. Whatever the emotion, as a culture we are not particularly adept at feeling it. And so we busy ourselves with everything we can imagine to forestall it.

But stillness, on the other hand, it allows for the sense of deep and true connection. It allows us to listen. It allows for the full expression of our own experience. And it allows for us to feel whole, without the focus on the external.

Stillness is heavily underrated, and it’s time that we changed that. To be still doesn’t mean that one is unproductive or a hippie. It means that we are allowing ourselves the opportunity to be, the fundamental function of human beings.

Let’s hear you’re favorite ways to cultivate stillness in your life. I’ll start –

Coloring mandalas helps me to refocus my intention and energy and to just be present.

Your turn!

{credit prettystuff; via pinterest}

I used to wear glasses, and when I did you could frequently find me running frantically around my house, late for work as usual, as I searched for them. If you were looking in the window during this charade, you would undoubtedly laugh, as I would estimate at least forty percent of the time they were on my face or folded on to my shirt. To me, this demonstrates just how disconnected I was from my own body. I could have glasses resting on my skin, making my vision clearer, and have no awareness in the moment of what was, literally, right in front of me.

Thanks to LASIK and mindfulness practice, I am much more connected to myself these days and don’t lose any glasses. I know that I’m haven’t been alone in this disconnection, however. Every day I see individuals who are utterly unaware of their bodies unique signals, and I see how this unawareness wrecks havoc on their ability to properly care for themselves.

When it comes to feeding ourselves, our bodies have an absolutely incredible system for keeping us healthy. Many of us believe that if we really listen to our bodies, it will tell us to eat Hostess cupcakes all day long and send us spiraling into a state of obesity. In fact, our bodies just don’t work like that. That belief itself is worth exploring, and is often tied to messages that we’ve gotten throughout our lives about how bodies just can’t be trusted. We’re told this by our parents growing up (“You can’t be hungry yet – you just ate!”), by our friends (“Watch out or your Twinkee addiction is going to catch up to you.”) and by the diet industry (“Trick your body into losing weight!”), and even by the government and food industry, (“Follow these food pyramid guidelines, not your hunger! Don’t worry that they are the result of dairy and beef industry’s advice to the USDA.”).

What we often fail to hear through all the white noise is the sound of our Inner Nutritionist, despite the fact that he or she is wailing to get our attention. Our Inner Nutritionist is comprised of all of the internal wisdom that resides in our amazing bodies. It’s built on millions of years of collective evolution and decades of your own personal experience. To put it frankly, it knows what it’s doing – a heck of a lot better than your Aunt Sally, Slim-Fast, or the USDA.

Our Inner Nutritionist tells us things like when we are hungry and when we are full. The Inner Nutritionist even has cool hormones at his or her disposal that can make certain foods more or less appealing.  Linda Bacon talks about the restrained eater, the subject of many studies, in her book, Health at Every Size. The restrained eater is someone who has kicked their Inner Nutritionist to the curb, and instead responds to external cues to determine their eating. The restrained eater responds to things like the amount of food available, peer behavior, and their emotions to determine how much and what they eat. While these things can influence all of us to some degree, those with a tight relationship with their Inner Nutritionist are able to observe and acknowledge these factors and return to their own sense of what’s right for their body in the moment.

Utilizing this resource can take a lot of practice, particularly for someone who has long ago fired the Inner Nutritionist. Bringing it back happens when we can practice mindful eating and develop a more balanced relationship with our bodies. An Inner Nutritionist packs his or her bags when her boss doesn’t believe she exists, ignores her, or, worse, berates her.  Just for today, practice being curious as to where your own Inner Nutritionist might be.

Do you believe you can trust your body for your food choices?