Losing Weight Journal

Look into the eyes of the dragon. December 14, 2011. Moscow

This is a personal journal.  I am journaling about my intentions on losing weight using psychological tools, which are called a “Process Work”(PW), created by a great psychologist of modern times, who is also a physical scientist, philosopher and mystic-his name is Arnold Mindell.

From a psychological perspective, this journal is my “Inner Work”. You could say, a practice of a special meditation or awareness, developed by Mindell and used by “Process Work” psychologists (I am one of them) for self-growth, self-healing, self-exploration.
PW tools help to bring awareness to various parts or tendencies of a person. They help to discover and follow personal inner flow, dreams, to be in peace with who you are. This method works with both the objective and subjective reality of a person. There is an idea that our body also dreams and all its experiences, good and unpleasant, are its dreams in a way.
In my journal, I’ll try to reflect on my feelings, thoughts, experiences and the way they change, evolve. Also, I’ll reflect on my life events, actions, certain results, on the way they affect my weight research.

As we all know there is a time-honored idea about a healthy body in classical literature: you can regulate your weight with proper healthy food and physical exercise. I consider this approach to be quite reasonable, and I’m going to pay attention to this classical approach in my work as well. But what I’m really excited about is a… ”Shamanic” idea of “Process Work” – to find a ”Deeper Message”, hidden behind a problem, a symptom or an unpleasant experience. Discovering this message is necessary for a more vibrant and whole life, it brings health not only to one’s body but it enriches the whole being of a person. I will express this idea through a metaphor, “Look into the eyes of your dragon and take its power”.  They say there is a solution within every problem.  In PW psychology, we think that my problem is a part of me, and the task is not to just to toss it out, but to become more whole, happier in the world. I’m interested in the meaning, the essence, the message of the thing that has been bothering me since I was 18. I believe that the result of such an investigation can turn out to be much more interesting, bring much more harmony than just losing weight with the classical approach.

It’s important for me during this exploration and writing to come to real fundamental changes. This is why I think this work will take place in the form of writing during the next several years as I work on myself, write reports, write about my feelings and results.