Fasting Space

Going to be heading back into, this book that

I totally love, Atomic Habits

and, get some more help and dialing in our process

for our way of being is what a habit is, as I'm seeing it.

You know, I think all these thoughts
that we're having are merging together.

Our creative artistic potential,

creating the type of life

and way of being in the world that we want,
and then looking at our habits,

the actual actions that are taking our thoughts

and putting them into practice in the world.

And that's awesome.

And all the thinking I'm I'm loving the practice for myself.

I'm trying to, learn along with you.

This is not a channel where
I'd, claim to have all the answers.

I would say
I'm trying to have as many answers to as many things as I can.

Aren't we all?

But we all learn and grow here together as we, are moving
toward better health.

I want better health for myself.

I want better health for everybody
that I come into contact with.

You know, here on the channel.

I want us all moving toward it.

And then, of course, everywhere else,
this is what we want to do.

I loved that session we did.

Looking toward the light in the midst of darkness
and difficulty, and the struggle of life

said, let's take a few minutes here and really dial in

and make some good habits, ideas.

How do we do it?

Let's get a perspective today from genes
Clear in atomic Habits.

Listen how he talks here.

He's talking right, to us
because he's talking about our feelings of hunger.

This is going right into a space of fasting space, right?

Somebody comes in.

Oh. Simple fasting. What is that? How do you do it?

I say we're just opening up a little bit more space in our day
without food,

so that we can give some space to the body

to help bring something into balance.

Maybe that's blood sugar,
maybe that's blood pressure, maybe that's weight.

There's energy in the body
that the body can use to run, the body, but it doesn't use it

if we just are consuming all the time,

because the body will just use that energy that's coming in.

So we want to lower the weight.

We want to reduce some blood sugar that is built up okay.

Give some space to do it. All right.

So here atomic Habits this isn't a weight loss book
but it's getting us right in that mindset.

He says appetite and hunger are governed non consciously.

Your body has a variety of feedback loops

that gradually alert you when it is time to eat again.

And I would say, oh yes they do.

But how does that work?

Yes, that is also based on our habits and patterns.

So most people think, oh, that message
when it's time to eat again

is like some type of divine guidance that mean this is like,
this is what has to happen.

So, you know, this is just physiology in the body.

This is what I want to help people see.

Have you had it where you get hungry, but then you didn't eat

and then you flow through it
and then you're not hungry on the other side.

Maybe you did it unintentionally. You got super busy.

You were going to eat lunch, but your meetings ran over
and you had seven things to do.

And all of a sudden it's three,
and then you're like, oh, but I'm not so hungry.

Then I get hungry for dinner.

So this is a hormonal cycle
that's at the root of what he's saying.

Body is unconsciously tracking
what is going on around you and within you.

A craving can arise
thanks to hormones and chemicals circulating in the body.

Absolutely.

Suddenly you're hungry,
even though you're not quite sure what tipped it off.

It can be those circulating hormones
that are just part of clock cycles in the body,

part of keeping track of time and patterns
so that the body can prepare okay.

And it can be cues from the external environment,
you know, a smell or something.

He says this is one of the most surprising insights
about our habits.

You don't need to be aware of the cue or the habit.

To begin, you can notice an opportunity

like, oh, an opportunity to eat something good

and you can take an action
without dedicating conscious attention to it.

This is what makes habits useful

and also what makes them dangerous.

Have you ever had that happen?

It's like you weren't planning on eating.

You weren't planning on something.

All of a sudden you're doing it and you're like,
where did that happen?

Remember what the last time we were in this book,
he was talking about the cycle

cue, craving, response,
reward that we flow through this cycle.

Something primes the system
and then we want it for some reason.

The response is programed so that we get some sort of reward,
something that served us in the past

and we remember it,
but it's like just starts building a cycle to flow through it.

So this is where we're getting into the space today.

If you can flow through a cycle, things are happening.

Maybe things we don't even want at the present moment.

But it wasn't obvious.

As you can see, the problem, that's what I say.

That makes it dangerous.

If it's not obvious, if it's happening in the background,
it's like.

Hard to, stop it.

And we're going to say,
how do we bring awareness to this process

so that we can change it, flow through it in a better way?

As habits form, the actions come under the direction
of the automatic, non-conscious mind.

You find the old patterns before you realize what's happening.

The more you repeat the patterns, the less likely

you become to question what you are doing
and why you are doing it.

Then he tells a couple funny stories here.

It's like it's talking about a person

who had been a kindergarten teacher for so long,

and then she took some other corporate job,
and then she would always be, you know.

Telling people, wash your hands,
wash your hands, wash your hands.

Someone else.

You've been a lifeguard, for many years.

Then he's in a different job.

All of a sudden, he's yelling it.

Anytime he sees a kid running, they walk. Walk, right?

Because it's so programed in there.

So think what that's like for anything that we are
in a routine with just fades into our way of being.

You do see, we have a way of being in the world right now.

That is just a tremendous series of automatic responses
that we do to everything that we encounter.

So many processes that we make, that shape the environment
that we enforce is definitely a dynamic process

happening that reinforces, structures that things are in.

Over time, the cues that spark our habits become so common
that they become invisible.

The tree down the kitchen counter, the remote control
next to the couch, the phone in our pocket.

Our responses to these cues become so deeply encoded

it may feel like the urge to act comes from nowhere.

And for this reason,
we must begin the process of change with awareness.

This is dialed in.

I love that that's what we've been talking about.

This is where fasting is bringing us into this space.

Because fasting is openness.

Fasting is giving us a very, very clarifying lens

to take a fresh look at a lot of stuff,

especially about stuff in our dietary practices. Right.

When you open up
some space is you say, no, a lot of things can become obvious.

That's, I tell you, whoa, coming into that space.

So if you're not used to it feeling some hunger here,

and then we can ask the deep questions that we did yesterday

about, like, why exactly am I feeling this way?

And what does this mean?

How do I feel about it, and what can I learn here from it?

And can dive really deep on the question of

do I really need this physically in the body,
or do I need this emotionally?

And then and this is where I really try to help people get

to that emotional space with food,

to see that connection between the physical,
the mental, the emotional.

He quotes Colonel John here,
he says, until you make the unconscious conscious,

it will direct your life and you will call it fate.

I double underline that part,
because I thought it was really interesting to think about.

Until you make the unconscious conscious,

it will direct your life and you will call it fate.

What do you think of that?

Have you been in a cycle?

Have you been in a space where you say.

This process. This is just how it is.

This is what happens.

This is we come up with some reason.

Okay? Maybe.

Right.

Let's open our mind.

Let's open space to think about this.

If we are in a space, let's say
I don't exactly like the direction that we're going, right?

We're trying to make a change.

Like we're up against something.

It feels like we can't change. We say, this is just my fate.

Have you ever felt that way in a health process?

Like, I am not making it forward through this.

Find the unconscious process. That is.

That's the block right there.

Something deep down is that we have to bring awareness to it.

Because if we take a step out of it,
we try to be really open and honest.

Like you say, is it really impossible?

Is is the goal that you aren't? Really.

And could it never be done?

Is it fate? Is it written in stone somewhere?

Probably not. Right? Probably not.

So how do we do it?

How do we unearth it?

The process to change our fate and change the trajectory.

He tells this story of how they're running,

trains a safety system in Japan that they call the point

and call system says each operator
is they're running the trains.

They proceed through a ritual of pointing at different objects
and calling out the commands.

When the train approaches, operator will point
and say the signal is green.

As the train pulls into and out of the station, the operator

appearing at the speedometer call out the exact speed.

When it's time to leave,
the operator will point at the timetable.

State the time.

Can I go through all of this
that people are pointing and saying is not just happening.

It's not just subconscious, right?

And this is bringing the unconscious processes
and making it out in the open and overt.

It's like confirming.

Before each train departs, staff will point along

the edge of the platform, declare all clear.

Every detail is identified, pointed at, and named aloud.

They call it the pointing and calling safety system.

Reduces mistakes.

Some people would say it sounds silly, but it works incredibly

well as cut errors by over 85%.

You're not having errors, right?

Because always they're verifying these things, right.

Bringing awareness.

As a work for, train system

can work as a concept to bring into our life.

Is a mindfulness practice. Looks out.

Look how he describes it here.

He says pointing occurring is so effective
because it raises the level of awareness

from a non-conscious habit to a more conscious level.

Operators must use their eyes, hands, mouths, ears.

They're more likely to notice problems
before something goes wrong.

And this is a big thing I talk about

in the health space, in the, eating space.

Remember, like our balancing line, a fasting space

as we feel called to it, we want a healthy eating space.

Everything brought into balance.

When we are eating,
we want that to be a joyful, positive process process

that can help our eating
to be even more satisfying, enjoyable, positive.

Bringing mindfulness to it.

Like the train operator trying to involve all of our senses

into the process is, absolutely to be encouraged.

Shut off all the distractions.

Look, so, you know, no TV, no Netflix, no news.

Connecting with the food,
looking at it, smelling it, tasting it,

hearing how it sounds as we're eating
and just fully experiencing it.

You drive a lot more satisfaction from food
when you're eating that way.

Really dialed in to it.

And then, you know, the suggestion from this.

Then, like any time we're eating,
we're going to bring our mindfulness in it.

You can use the point and call system.

As I say, you want to make things.

This is make
we see make good habits ideas make bad habits obvious.

Just bring awareness to everything.

Point and call it the will you try it? Try it out.

Say like you said with a train.

Some people say, oh, does it sound silly?

But like, how much mindfulness would it bring,
you know, to what you're doing?

I am eating this treat right now.

Like to call it out and say it will bring it
out of the subconscious into the mind.

You say it'll give you a minute as you're doing it,

as you're saying it, say like, is this what I want right now?

Is this my best choice?

Is this something
that is is really in alignment with the process?

And if it is, it's like you don't have to feel bad about it,

but it's saying, like,
if you're looking for a process to like,

are you struggling with some sort of automatic

thing like this would really be a way
to bring awareness, to it?

Like, I think you could have some fun with it.

You know, this is a process where you could really dial in
and you say, and does it work to you?

You know, a lot of people you can read online about a time

like habits, people finding a lot of benefit from this.

And,
you could use it, of course, in any area where you're, doing

an, you know, but I think bring it into a mindfulness practice
for our eating.

So good point. And call it out.

He says here, we're so used to doing what we
we have always done

that we don't stop to question
whether it's the right thing to do it all.

Many of what he calls are failures in performance

are largely attributable to our lack of awareness.

Do you feel that way? Is that true in your, life?

That we are just not aware
and we don't take the time to do it.

So here would be my, suggestion for this to try this out.

Maybe, it's easiest for you to do

if you are by yourself doing it to practice,
if you feel self-conscious about it.

Or maybe you do part of it, like you could point at something.

It doesn't have to be a giant thing.

Do it for yourself.

You don't have to shout it out,
you know, but point and call it out.

I'm going to be eating this now, you know, every time reading.

I'm going to be eating this now and then. Just a tiny motion.

Remember atomic habit. It can start small.

Don't have to be something.

But even just making a mental note can help to,
I think, speak it, maybe even whisper it.

If you don't want to be your own people, whisper it out.

Be having that okay, bring some awareness.

Can do a couple things.

Can a just make you question like,
do I want to do it in the first place?

And then if you are,
if you say, no, this is my best choice, I'm eating now.

This is something so good can be a cue to to

like speak it to bring a physical movement to it.

Then you say, oh, that's reminding
or I'm incorporating more senses in this process.

Then we can bring more mindfulness to it.

Maybe it just helps us enjoy it even more.

And so this would be the process, the balance.

I want help people to flow through a fasting space.

Stop automatic decision making.

We did a whole session on that and flow
through a space comfortably and joyfully,

and then use that space then to bring more joy, positivity,

satisfaction from the food we are eating.

You know, when we increase the mindfulness of eating,

you make us dial in and, really on, like,
how good is the food that we're really eating?

You know, it's hard.

It's hard to be mindful, hard to practice mindfulness
if the food we're eating is not actually very, you know,

healthy and good, I say,
so this is where these things could can spiral together.

This is my encouragement.

And and you know, a fasting process can save money, right?

If you're eating less food in some area,
I say take, any money that you save from that

and say put that in the food budget for classing up
and improving the food that we are eating.

So make it the healthiest, most nutritious.

Thing.

And then when you say, okay, then it's more obvious, okay,
look at this delicious food.

Look how nutritious. Look at the health coming into the body.

We're making it obvious.
We're making all these things obvious.

We point at it, we call.

Can't say, hey,
I am eating this now, and look how good that is.

Like, oh, man, then we enjoy it.

Then we feel satisfied if we are in a process

where we're eating food and we're loving it
and it's sustainable and healthy

and we feel satisfied from it,
then it's easier to flow back around the other side.

Then when we're in a fasting space,
we say, hey, this is the other side of it.

Then we can look forward to healthy.

Good food is giving us energy and we can point out,
you know, you can point out the fasting sign of it.

You know, say, hey, look what I'm doing here.

Because we want to keep every positive thing going,

like what I'm doing in this space, like I'm going for it.

Do you give yourself encouragement like that?

That would be a big check in today.

How are you doing on the encouragement

front for yourself in dialing in on health practices?

You say, hey, every day I'm doing my best.

Recognizing the difficulty of, moving toward health

in a very difficult place and time to be healthy.

I say, cheers, to you.

Cheers to health.

Cheers to doing the best that we can.

Try out this process point and call the things that you want.

Whether that's eating.

You could do it with exercise.

You could do it with anything you want.

But I say maybe bring it into the,
dietary choice space over the next couple of days.

Let me know if you like it.

When you're going to be eating something.

Give it a little call out.

Maybe audibly, maybe pointing.

Think of yourself like one of these conductors on the train,
making sure everything is safe, right?

Making sure no accidents happen. Do you feel that way?

Have you had that eating something like that?

That's kind of like a little accident weight.

Like we didn't need that.

This is the type of awareness that we really want to be,
bringing.

Really nice to share this space with you today.

I hope you are very well.

I will look forward to seeing you back here tomorrow.

Be well. Everybody.