Spirituality and Weight Loss

Ok, so, I consider this my before picture. Let’s get that straight. I will post another one when I hit the 30 pound lost mark. I promise you, it won't be long!

I am one of those stubborn people that sticks to their New Year’s Resolutions. Is anybody reading this doing the same? I decided to lose weight this year. Not a little bit, I consider it a whooping amount. I’m down just about to the 20 lb. mark after 6 weeks. It feels great but there is a lot more to go. I have been gaining and then losing the same amount of weight for years, since child-bearing really.

4 years ago (and I can’t quite believe it’s been that long but that’s what Microsoft Word says so I have to believe it) I started a book that is a spiritual guide to weight loss. Considering my battle and my use of magic it seemed a fitting premise. Finally, I got the courage to submit it to a few places. It is being considered but so far nothing has happened with that. I will keep you posted.

I just finished eating that dieter’s classic, cottage cheese and a half grapefruit. Ugh! Can anything in this world be worse? Nothing at all spiritual about that, no matter how I look at it, though the pink grapefruit was quite good, cottage cheese remains abysmal, except for when it's hidden in a smoothie.

The journey of weight loss, especially losing a lot and having that weight loss stick for good, is no easy journey. It is fraught with setbacks, temptations and yes, fear. Any big change presents challenges, not just for you but for those around you.

Yesterday I watched an episode of “My 600 Pound Life.” I don’t know why exactly, but it inspires me. The people on that show have swelled themselves up to an enormous proportion. Still, they have the courage and steeliness to battle their weight and lose 100's of pounds over the period of a year. Most of us can only imagine what that must be like. The word struggle doesn’t even begin to describe their way of being.

I have been watching that show as a part of my research for the book. The stories presented there are truly touching and they stick with me for days. There is so much more than food intake that makes a person overweight. The psychological issues that surround the person play an important role. Spirituality can also enter into the picture. Through a deepening connection to Mother Earth, I find that my spiritual beliefs help the cottage cheese go down a lot more smoothly.

Gran Bwa

Gran Bwa is a lwa that helps you connect to ancestral roots or the spiritual home of Vodou. A friend of mine, who is an expert on Haitian Vodou, who has spent a lot of time in Haiti with the artists there, told me I had painted Gran Bwa when I made this spontaneous work out of walnut ink and sumi-ink on handmade paper. I had considered this painting a self-portrait. She now holds this piece in her private collection: Quite a few people are afraid of Vodou but it is an awe-inspiring tradition of bringing together plant energy with divinity, spiritual and personal energy. My friend who is very involved with Vodou, especially the art that surrounds it, is from European ancestry. She is light in spirit and bubbly, with a close relationship to nature and her garden. Vodou affirms the relationships between cycles of life, trees of knowledge and spirit. The Vodou vision of lwa , understands them as the intelligence of energy present in humans, nature and thoughts. Mysteries ca

Xochitl--Flower

(Winter Poinsettia by Stephanie Rose Bird, oil on wood) One of my Facebook friends does daily posts and shares called "I love Flowers." I love flowers too, in real life, in my garden, in paintings and as they are related to the gods and goddesses, in healing, as well as their use in folklore like Hoodoo. Not long ago I posted about Xochipelli (Sho-CHEE-pee-lee) prince of flowers and Xochiquetzal (Sho-CHEE-ket-zul) goddess of flowers in anticipation of April's blooming season. The Goddess and Prince of Flowers post is here. Today, I want to focus in on the root word of their names and it's symbolism. This word is Xochitl (Show-CHEE-tul) in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs. This word means flower. ( Frida Kahlo "Self Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser) In many different belief systems there are nature gods and goddesses connected with flowers. Flowers possess symbolism,

Follow Fest Interview and Sharing

When I first became a blogger it was difficult to know if I had readers and visitors coming to my blog. I’d post and be met by the sounds of crickets. Then, I branched out into the world of the blogosphere, a world I didn't know really existed. From my ventures, I met a lot of interesting bloggers. I've started following and commenting on numerous blogs, for you see, prior to my outings, I too was out among the crickets. Lurking about but seldom saying anything. A fellow blogger I've met through my journeys around the blogosphere is Melissa Maygrove . She had the brilliant idea to have a Follow Fest , where we share about who we are, what we do and most importantly, how you can connect with us further. It is my intention through joining Follow Fest, that I’ll connect with many more readers and people interested enough in what I do to want to learn more by following. So, here goes my entry for the fest. Name: Stephanie Rose Bird Fiction or

Stephanie's Studio

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