Tag: self love diet

Empowering Discussions

Upcoming Workshop: “Go Into the Darkness: An Emotional Exploration”

Impower You

On Saturday, January 23, you’re invited to “Go Into the Darkness: An Emotional Exploration” a workshop hosted by Michelle Minero, MFT and Emelina Minero.

Further exploring some of the prompts from the 31-Day Self-Love Diet Writing Challenge, You Will:

  • Learn the gifts of your darkness.
  • Experience the healing power of sharing and being witnessed.
  • Liberate yourself through emotional honesty and vulnerability.
  • Experience the sacred space of a circle.

 

Register Now: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=CRN7ED7X743ZA

 
This event is hosted at Qulture Collective, a multi-use and community space in downtown Oakland serving the LGBTQIA+ and allied community with a focus on building visibility for queer and trans people of color.

 
Location: Qulture Collective, 1714 Franklin St. Oakland, CA 94612, 510-419-0552
When: Saturday, January 23, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $50

 
Register Today: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=CRN7ED7X743ZA

Empowering Discussions

What Does Self Love Mean?

Impower You

Today is day 12 of the 31 Day Self-Love Writing Challenge hosted by Michelle and Emelina Minero. This is one of the most important questions to answer for me because it leads to recognition of what I need most for my present and my future.

You can read todays prompt and join the challenge at: Lovewarriorcommunity.com/self-love-diet-writing-prompt-day-12-what-does-self-love-mean-to-you

Here is my answer.

Self love means placing self-care above negative thoughts, unhealthy cravings and easy fixes.

It means using gentle self-talk when I feel lost, sad or can’t appreciate “where I am and what I have”.

Self  love is putting forth effort to care for myself daily. It is holding myself accountable to my actions for the reaction to my choices.

Self love invoLves compassion, forgiveness, release of regrets, discipline, focus, belief in myself. It means following MY dreams and living in a way that is HEALTHY for my individual needs. Self love is unconditional. I need self-love ever moment of every day.

WHAT DOES SELF-LOVE MEAN TO YOU?

 

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Empowering Discussions

Let’s Celebrate the New Year With a Self-Love Letter to Ourselves

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The new year is here and while it’s really just any other day on the calendar, each new years day fills me with renewed hope and energy.  There is a certain magic in having a specific day set in time to celebrate new beginnings. After all I’m never completely know what joys, accomplishments, challenges and pain will greet me in the future days.

January also starts the 31 Day Self-Love Challenge, part of the Love Warrior Community. A “Love Warrior” may sound like “Sparkly New Age Woodiedoo”, but it’s not! A love warrior is simply someone who chooses to energize themself with love instead of fear, greed or anger. As someone who previously fueled her life with fantasies of revenge, of needing material wealth to be happy and from the fear of never having enough, my intent is to embrace love as my energizing force. I will gladly accept the label of a Love Warrior.

So what’s the reason behind a 31 day Self-Love Writing Challenge? “Writing is one way to discover the many aspects of you. Embrace all of yourself, those parts you love easily, and those parts you don’t.“-Michelle E. Minero, MFT and Emelina Minero, Love Warrior Community Co-Founders.

In the first writing prompt we are invited to write a personal manifesto (prayer) letter to ourselves. You can read an example here on the LoveWarriorCommunity.com. Write as short or long as you feel comfortable. You can always add or take away to your letter at a future date. Below is mine. You are welcome to take from it what you like. 🙂

sunset new year

Dear Self,

I am on a journey, on a road paved with self-love and layered with love from many others in my life present and past. There is always new love being laid down to help my journey and I promise to share that love with others without expectations.

I allow myself to feel a range of uncomfortable emotions, to fail and to stop if I’m putting myself in a bad situation. I have already lost so much and this taught me it’s okay to lose everything as long as I keep moving forward with self-love.

I am imperfectly perfect which means I’m always learning and learning involves failing.

Each day is a new opportunity and I will do my best to work for my goals.

I will succeed at many of my goals, maybe even all of them.

I know it’s been a difficult few years. I’ve lost loved ones, seen death up close, faced financial problems and made reckless decisions, but I am going to be okay. I am okay right now. From this moment I know that I’m whole and complete. All that I learn and add to myself in the future is extra credit to give life more joy, more meaning.

Please remember I’m still healing from grief. Also I’m still healing from the years of crippling and mind-numbing depression. I’m so grateful to have left those pains behind. I’ve worked hard on my personal issues and learned so much. I’m slowly returning to become that wild little girl who believed in magic and her own power.

This is my time to succeed in my professional goals. I will write and or create art every day. I will ask for guidance from those willing to share their wisdom. If I cannot solve a problem I will reach out for help.

Nurturing relationships is one of my goals. This past year has taught me the value of having not just friends, but friends who I can trust, who won’t judge me and who have similar ideals as mine. By surrounding myself with these friends I become stronger.

Self-love means living for myself and making sure I take time for self-care. It also means living for others. I will live for the memories of those departed who loved me so strongly.  I will live for those still here who continue to love me. I will live for those who I’ve never met, for those struggling and succeeding, for those who were once cruel to me, for all life because we all deserve love no matter what we have done or will do.

This self-love message is my foundation for 2016.

You can also join the SELF-LOVE WRITING challenge!

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Find my BOOKS on Amazon.com and Bookemon.com.

Take a look at my ART on Zazzle.com/OviedoStyle.

Ready to heal from DEPRESSION? Read my D.I.Y. Therapy posts.

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Book Reviews

Book Review: “Self-Love Diet: The Only Diet That Works” by Michelle Minero – This isn’t a traditional “”diet” book!

Impower You

“The Self Love Diet: The Only Diet That Works” is not a book about losing physical weight or how to diet better. It is an opportunity to lose the mental weight of our issues that chain us to eating disorders.

Author Michelle Minero, a licensed therapist, shares invaluable lessons and therapies that any of us can use to create a healthier life which doesn’t involve obsessing over our pant size. Her book may be that extra tool you need to retrieve your inner strength and heal from an eating disorder. As she says in the book, “We need to be able to tap into the potency of the power that comes from loving ourselves.” She cautions that though it is “tricky”, it is absolutely possible.

diet book, self love, michelle minero, eating disorder bookSome of the points I really enjoyed were about the damaging effects of becoming malnourished from eating poorly, the effects of family, religious and ethnic beliefs which can cause hate or love toward our bodies and learning how to see our bodies as instruments vs. ornaments.

She also writes about the science of mirror neurons which are a relatively new discovery that explain how we learn by watching others and absorbing ideas. Have you ever tried the exercise of looking into a mirror and telling yourself “I love you”? The first time I tried this I felt silly, but over time I’ve noticed that it does make me feel good to see myself saying I love you. It’s similar to when a family or friend tells me they love me. Self-love is indeed as important as receiving and giving love to others.

Each chapter offers action steps and loving exercises you can take to heal or help someone heal. My favorite action to take is starting a self-love journal. For most of my life I’ve used writing to help me with issues and heal from trauma. Starting a journal can feel daunting so I recommend you personalize your journal and make it fun. In my journal I write inspiring quotes to myself and decorate each page with colors and illustrations.

While I don’t personally have an eating disorder, this book is a great reminder to love my own body after the many years I spent degrading myself in a vain attempt to look as beautiful as an airbrushed model.

I highly recommend reading this book if :

-You are dealing with an eating disorder.

-You have a loved one, or even a co-worker, who is dealing with an eating disorder.

-You have a poor body image.

-You want to learn more about eating disorders.

Get this book on Amazon.com/Self-Love-Diet-Only-That-Works

*Be aware the author does mention God, however it is not to push a specific religion down your throat, but as a spiritual resource. If it was religious I wouldn’t be reading it.

Michelle E. Minero is a Licensed Marriage, Family Therapist who has dedicated her work to helping people recover from eating disorders and body-hatred. Michelle graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in psychology in 1976 and a master in counseling in 1988. She created the Quest Program, an intensive outpatient eating disorder program for PsychStrategies Inc. in 2000. She brought the ANAD support group to Petaluma and founded Eating Disorders Recovery Support Inc. in 2005. Learn more at TheSelfLoveDiet.org and LoveWarriorCommunity.com

What do you love about yourself? What parts of yourself could you learn to love more?

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Intrigued? Read these similar posts:

Ending Eating Disorders: Meet the Nominees for the 2014 Self Love Diet Award

D.I.Y. Therapy Silencing the Self Hate

Show Love For Yourself in the January Self-Love Challenge

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 Want ideas for a healthy lifestyle free of depression? Read my other D.I.Y. Therapy posts.

Find inspiring books I wrote on Amazon.com and Bookemon.com.

Looking for books that support your personal development? Read my book reviews.

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Available at Bookemon.com

Read this book before you buy at Bookemon.com/book-profile/word-art-and-affirmations/153646

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Empowering Discussions

Are You Tired of Feeling Bad About Yourself and Your Body? Show Love for Yourself This January in the 2015 Self-Love Writing Challenge

Impower You

Self-love is important because deep inside YOU truly know what is best for you, how you need to feel good, what you need and why you deserve to be the best person you can be. Life is challenging and along the way others will be wonderful guides for you you, but why rely solely on others when you can be your own guide. I really support this idea of self-love. It’s one way I was able to overcome my depression and start living without fear of not being good enough.

January 1st marks the Love Warrior Community’s 5th Annual 31-Day Self-Love Diet Writing Challenge. In 2014 there were 100 participants who wrote over 500 self-love writing posts.

“Each day, we’ll focus on a Self-Love Diet Tip or action for you to follow on the Love Warrior Community. You can share your writing here and post it on this Facebook event page, you can submit your writing to be published on the Love Warrior Community website, anonymously or not, Lovewarriorcommunity.com/contribute-to-group-blog  or you can write in your own Self-Love Diet journal Zazzle.com/self_love_diet_journal-130306327837716121.”

Learn how to participate at: Lovewarriorcommunity.com/31-day-self-love-diet-writing-challenge-2015

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 If you like this blog check out my books and art at Leahis.com or Amazon.com. 

 

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Empowering Discussions

A Mid September Mish Mash and Roundup of Interesting Articles and Blogs

Impower You

There’s not enough time to post all the important and interesting news I want to share on this blog so here is a round-up of some great stuff. Leave a comment and link of a great blog or news article that you enjoy. 

Ha! Growing up with a unique family across several different states, I’ve seen all this in different forms. There’s seemingly no escape from the straight up ignorant comments to the really mean prejudices, but I think it’s getting better because of talking about it. Justsimplyinlove.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/being-a-jasmine-is-a-struggle

Am I the only one here who walks down the street with various hero fantasies playing in my head? Probably not, so here is a link to a funny video about what we can do in real life to create a better world. Spiritbath.com/2014/09/16/save-world-fantasy-have-hysterical-wrong/

Looking for a beacon of light in the world. A baby turtle named Ishi has survived the odds and brought us some hope. Check it out: Walkingwiththealligators.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/finally-we-have-a-baby/

Grief is a nasty place to be. It’s hard to go through your days when you miss someone so bad that the emotional pain is often accompanied by physical sadness. Still it’s a good idea to keep ourselves from going too far into darkness. Can you find 3 positive things about grief or other painful moments? Selflovewarrior.com/2014/09/18/death-grief-gratitude-and-positivity/

Are you ready to rebuild? “Sing over the bones of your lives. Sing loud and long over those places that speak to your survival and your authentic core. Flesh them out into the beautiful creature ou are.”  Kimberlyharding.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/rebuilding/

This is almost a month old, but a great article about peaceful activism. In August, hundreds of people marched in Ferguson, MO protesting police violence and in memory of the killing of young Mike Brown. Stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/hundreds-of-protesters-march-to-ferguson-police-department/article_6aa58550-4c8a-5df5-8fa3-e00b45a4b1fc.html

Sport commentator and former NFL player Cris Carter, speaks out about child abuse and refuses to “discipline” his kids with violence.. “You can’t beat a kid to make him do what you want.” Upworthy.com/the-nfl-may-get-a-lot-of-things-wrong-but-a-former-player-is-right-in-his-epic-rant-on-parenting?c=hpstream

A profile of Native American women who are actively destroying stereotypes, breaking the rules, and making a splash. But why is this article in the UK version of Marie Claire? I’d like to see them on the cover of TIME as well. Marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/547176/meet-the-generation-of-incredible-native-american-women-fighting-to-preserve-their-culture.html?utm_campaign=nativeamericanwomen&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social 

But wait there’s more…. what’s a post without some art! Creativity abounds with photos from 10 amazing FEMALE street/graffiti artists. Huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/04/female-street-artists_n_5759430.html?utm_hp_ref=arts&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000027

Let’s get this fiesta started! Share a favorite blog post or article in the comment section below.

If you like this blog, share this post and check out my books and art at Leahis.com or Amazon.com. Thank you.

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