Habit Forming - Forming Habits

image by Ron Leishman: http://www.toonclipart.com/

I have always found replacing “bad” habits to be much more feasible than quitting anything. Quitting just leaves a void. Want, need, longing, fury, agitation, frustration - just to name a few - were my new companions in the void. Why not just find something I enjoy to replace the thing I enjoyed but found to be detrimental in some way.  It isn’t so much a question of will power as of energy.  Energy constantly transforms, but it doesn’t go away.  A habit is a pattern of energy.  It is constructive to work with it, creating change and transformation.

During the holidays I found myself inundated with ambivalence about all the sweets and treats I was confronted with constantly at that time of year. What should I do? I was tortured by the ice cream, chocolates, and egg nog. They made me suffer! - I want! I shouldn’t! I mustn’t! I want I want!

Ice cream was always one of my greatest addictions. Great in quality and size and challenge. Recently I have found a substitution which I find full-filling and delightful, leaving me without cravings. I make a shake. Not a milk shake! Young coconut banana shake. Delectable.

1 young coconut - water and meat
1 banana
6 pieces of ice
Blend all ingredients in a blender or vitamix

For instructions on how to open a young coconut, you can search youtube.com or google.com. If you are a beginner, just be very careful!
The consistency of the shake will vary depending on the youth of the coconut - but I find all variations to be yummy.

Good luck and please post questions!

The land of Milk and Honey

A long long time ago, I began to listen to the rumors I heard about milk. It’s supposed to be “good” but for many it is “bad.”
Allergies to dairy are incredibly common.

So I tried -

Soy milk - It tastes okay, but sits in my stomach and takes forever to digest, often giving me gas and indigestion.

Now we hear not so great things about soy. Well, it was no surprise to me and my tummy.

Rice milk - Not as difficult as soy, but still a little weird in the digestive world. Also there are a lot of ingredients - things
to stabilize for “freshness” in the long term.

Almond milk - I found this easier to digest, delicious, but lots of ingredients with weird names, again probably for shelf life.

So what is the answer?

Well, I don’t have answers, but I do have suggestions. Read more »