Self-loathing

Self-loathing is beating ourselves up, a form of self abuse that there is a logical, reasoned, treatment for. First, it is my first time through life, so I can expect to make mistakes. Second, it is not the event, but my thinking about the event, that causes me these concerns. I can change my thinking.

I have power over only my will. I may have some influence over my thinking and actions, but not control or power. All else is beyond my power and control; it is none of my concern. What you do, think, do not do or say is none my concern, none of my business. That are your issues. Is what I am self-loathing over in my power or influence or none of my concern?

The mind is composed of a number of parts that communicate with each-other. The memory or knowledge; ego, a construction of mind, and the reasoning part and consciousness are separate parts. We may be doing what we think is our best action, and someone takes offence. That is their problem. We need to get along to survive, be part of a community, but also have a bit of space. We have too dense of population here, that is all there is to it. This planet cannot support the beautiful too many. Nature will decide who dies off and who remains. Oh, well, shit happens.

Well..

It is not the event that causes us pain but what we think about the event.

So it is all in our heads.

How to Win

The only way to win at this overeating game, is to not play.

aka. complete abstinence.

one idea away from recovery

Could it be that recovery is just one idea away? The difference between people, those who have no weight issues and those with weight issues must be small. Suppose it just one idea we have, or do not have, that separates us? Could it be that simple? Or just a group of ideas? When I read the stoics, all the long held resentments and control issues dissolved. Could it be that simple?

Chance ...Step 2 & 3

Developing a concept of god that works is crucial in recovery. After we have a concept of god, even if it is the sum of all random generators, what the ancestors did not understand, an atheist concept, what ever, we need to separate out what we have power over, and let god take care of other's and gods responsibilities. We can only be responsible for what we have absolute control over, our wills. Our directing mind, volitions, and some decision making is in our control.  

Our conscientiousness may not be included, our ego is not included within our power, our body is out of our control, making our life's beyond our control, aka, unmanageable.

We work with impressions, and we can decide what we consider before our volitions, our impulses, positive or negative, are released, or if they are released. This we have control over. We can let go, ignore ego, impressions, and decide what we are going to look at. Life get simple when we ignore other's responsibility, and leave it to them, or to god, in their time. 

All I need do is keep on breathing, everything else is a bonus. And if I do not keep on breathing, that too, will be some one else's problem.    

Wrong Attitude

On page xii of Fat Chance, Robert repeats what I believe to be a wrong attitude for recovery from overeating and obesity. He states " Most important, food is pleasure." As long as I hold that attitude, I could not recover. The only purpose of food in recovery can be to sustain the body, the carriage of the mind. I cannot control my body, I do not have power over my body, but I can control some of my volitions.

My own attitudes and needs are most important in the control my environment.

Avoidance of foodies is one thing I can do. What is the proper relation that I should have with a foodie? None. At least none that involves food. I had a difficult lunch the other day, seated at the same table with a incessant food babbler. No relationship require. Mind my own needs, silence, and mind elsewhere.  That is simple.

Descartes

"I undertook to conquer myself rather than fortune, and to alter my desires rather than change the order of the world, and to accustom myself to believe that nothing is entirely in our power except our own thoughts... Here, I think, is the secret of those ancient philosophers who were able to free themselves from the tyranny of fortune, or, despite suffering and poverty, to rival the gods in happiness."

Descartes said a lot there. Happiness is all a matter of attitude, and we can be about as happy as we make our minds up to be. The stoics had it.

Gone are resentments, fears, angers, desires, aversions. Now what am I going to do?

Hope

In stoic philosophy, hope is not a virtue but a desire. We stoics need to let go of desires, and do something on ourselves instead, something within our control, and within the power of our wills.

There is two path that lead to the inevitable death, one taking actions in the now that are within my will, and the other in hope. Which will I choose today?

Today, I can move over to the path of recovery, an small moderate breakfast, and the Sunday meeting. No hope, just planned actions. Perhaps a bit of reading Fat Chance in between.

Fat Chance is a wonderful book by Dr. Robert Lustig that describes this problem that some of us have, defines the causes, and some of the things we need to do to recover. Get temptation and convenience out of our main environments.

Behaviour = (cognitive inhibitions) X (sum of (genetic, epigenetic, hormonal and biochemical) drives). Rap your brain around that one.

obesogenic attitude

There are people in these rooms that want to maintain there obesogenic attitude, keep on eating and also want recovery. They are none of my concern. The stoics give a way of removing fear, resentment, and control issues. Just complete removal, gone. Why not use them, the softer, easier way?

All we need do is to understand the only thing I, we, have control over is our will, and then it is some days iffy. All else is beyond our control, and just is as it is. Our impressions are the point of separation. Mental objects can be controlled. That which is beyond my control is of no concern. It just is.

faith to reason

When we are young, we need to take things on faith, but as we age, we have time to study, learn and believe things based on reason and knowledge. This is the foundation of the analysed life that Socrates was so fond of. Analysis shows that some of our early beliefs are wrong, we need to accept that they are wrong and to change.

In order to accept that we are wrong, ego must be dropped. After that, change is possible. Just how much of the bull-shit we were taught is wrong? Quite a bit, and there are those who are pushing those wrong beliefs as right, but if they do not stand up to the light of reason and knowledge, then they are fiction, or concepts. Any concept is suspect; we need to pick the best available and consider the ratchet philosophy, use it until something better comes along.

Faith verses reason and knowledge can go along way in recovery, as can the inventory concept in analysis. It it does not stand up to reason, what other concepts are there out there, or create your own.

Consider Christianity; faith, hope, charity, love, everlasting life (death denying) as the founding principles. Or the Stoics, with justice, prudence, fortitude, temperance, impermanence or Marcus Aurelius with self-control, justice, wisdom, and courage and death, be it atoms, relocation or dispersal. Which is faith based and which is reason based?     

Dance to the strings

We puppets dance to the strings, pulled by habit, desire, impulse, temptation, stress, or society. Reason can remove some of these strings. Is compulsion just one more string?

Zeno 11

http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Stoicism-Zeno.htm

Stoicism teaches ..

1. One to live in accord with Nature; worldly Nature and human nature.
2. The Unity of All; all gods; all substance; all virtue; all mankind into a Cosmopolis (Universal City).
3. That the external world is maintained by the natural interchange of opposites (poioun / yin, paskhon / yang)
4. That everyone has a personal, individual connection to the All; a god within.
5. That every soul has Free Will to act and that the action of the soul is opinion.
6. Simple Living through moderation and frugality.
7. That spiritual growth comes from seeking the good.
8. That Virtue is the sole good, Vice the sole evil, and everything else indifferent.
9. That the Cardinal Virtues are Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.
10. That the path to personal happiness and inner peace is through the extinguishing of all desire to have or to affect things beyond ones control and through living for the present without hope for or fear of the future; beyond the power of opinion.
11. The sequential reabsorption and recreation of the Universe by the Central Fire; the Conflagration.