Body Beautiful Ezine

IN THIS ISSUE:

November 24, 2009

Published weekly. If you do not already receive this E-zine and would like to, simply enter your name and email address in our Signup Box located in the right-hand column of our main website http://breakfreebeauty.com

A Note From Sarah Maria
Dear Friend,

Well, we are in the midst of the holiday season here in the United States. This Thursday is Thanksgiving and I am very blessed that my beautiful parents are coming down from Northern California to visit me in San Diego. I am aiming to remove myself from the computer for at least a few hours and enjoy their wonderful company. smiley

Things are continuing to move right along with book publicity and promotion. I am still doing a lot of radio interviews. Good Morning America contacted me again to comment on recent scandal with Kate Moss, who was quoted as saying “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” – a popular slogan on pro-anorexia sites. We did the taping in Los Angeles at 9pm Pacific time on Thursday night, and it ran at 8am Eastern time Friday morning.  I also had the pleasure of participating in a podcast with Paula G.  Rapidly evolving technology continues to amaze me. I am scheduled to do a television interview for a local Florida TV station over Skype. I am learning more and more about video conferencing options so that I can offer helpful courses and content to people anywhere in the world.

Along those lines, I am going to be offering a 5-session tele-course starting in January. You will be able to listen online, so you can participate from anywhere in the world. More details about the course will follow, but in order to make the information available to anyone who could benefit, I am launching an Affiliate Program. Affiliate Programs are a great way to generate additional revenue, while also getting valuable information to people to help improve their lives. Learn more about my affiliate program in the "What's New" section.

This week's article is excerpted from an interview I did for First30Days.com. It answers many commonly asked questions about my book and work, so please enjoy!  As always, I invite you to post any questions or comments to www.BreakFreeBeauty.com/blog.

Please also check out our Book Recommendations and What’s New sections to learn more about upcoming events and opportunities.

For everyone in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving! For everyone around the world, may every day be filled with gratitude and abundance.

With love always,

  

Feature Article
Love Your Body, Love Your Life Q&A
 
Part I:  Excerpts from an interview with Sarah Maria on Love Your Body, Love Your Life.

Question:  I’ve heard many people say that disliking your body is just a normal part of being a woman [or a man in today’s culture]. What do you think about such a statement?

I am glad you asked this question because I address it specifically in Love Your Body, Love Your Life.  Yes, many people, probably most people, say that disliking your body is a normal part of being a woman.  If by “normal” they mean that the majority of women, 80-90%, dislike their bodies, then yes, it is “normal”.  The vast majority of women in this culture at this time do dislike their bodies.

But to think that this is normal as in natural, as in necessary, as in a normal function of being alive, is ridiculous. This belief is part of the problem.  Since it is so ubiquitous, many women have come to accept that it is just part of being a woman.  This is ludicrous!  It is settling for what happens to be the situation for many, instead of envisioning the possibilities that are available for all.  It is accepting mediocrity instead of creating grandeur.  It is maintaining the status quo instead of envisioning the truth.
 
Disliking your body is only normal in that most women experience it.  It is in no way natural, and in no way necessary. You have the ability in each and every moment to love your body and love your life. Negative Body Obsession is a modern cultural epidemic. It has not always existed, and it need not always exist. It is in no way a natural part of being alive and can therefore be completely eradicated from your psyche and experience.    

Question:  What led you to write Love Your Body, Love Your Life?

I decided to write this book because I experienced first-hand the intense pain, suffering, and agony that can accompany Negative Body Obsession, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. I also know that freedom from this hell is completely possible. I want this book to reach people who are struggling with any and all of the above.

I also wrote this book to help people think critically about concepts such as beauty, as well as the beliefs, thoughts, and ideas that so many people take for granted. Beauty is a socially-constructed phenomenon. Different body types, different looks, different sizes are considered beautiful at different times in history. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, curvy and voluptuous was considered stunning. In this culture in this century, thin and muscularly toned is considered sexy. When people recognize that there is no inherent truth in these concepts of beauty, that it is in fact a cultural preference that changes overtime, it helps to dissolve this illusion that how they look is somehow tied to their value and self-worth as an individual.

For many people struggling with a negative body image, they believe that how they look is somehow indicative of, or related to, their self-worth as individuals. Nothing could be further from the truth. When people realize that it is a cultural phenomenon, they can begin to free themselves from the whims and preferences of other people and the world around them, and instead discover and experience their own inherent and unique beauty.  

Question:  In Love Your Body, Love Your Life, you teach readers how to break free from Negative Body Obsession or NBO. What exactly is NBO?

Negative Body Obsession, or NBO, is the negative rumination about one’s physical appearance. It is the entire delusional thought-construct that causes people to believe that something is wrong with their bodies and themselves. It encompasses thoughts such as “I am too fat”; “I would be more attractive if I lost weight”; “I looked so much better when I was younger”; “I need to purchase anti-wrinkle cream – I look so old!”; “No woman will find me attractive without my hair”; “The cellulite on the back of my thighs is hideous”.

These are just examples – only you know your particular negative body thoughts. Negative Body Obsession is essentially the condition of having negative thoughts and beliefs about your body and yourself.

It is important to know that NBO exists on a spectrum. You might have an occasional negative body thought that affects your mood and well-being, or you might live with a near-constant barrage of negative body thoughts on a daily basis. No matter whether your condition is mild or severe, complete freedom is possible. Many people think that it is a “normal” part of everyday life, and therefore it is considered acceptable on some level. In reality, there is nothing normal about it, and if it affects you, if even just a little bit, you are not living with all the freedom that is possible.

Question:  The media plays a role in fostering body dissatisfaction. In your book, you write “when you master the art of talking back, you can reclaim your control and become an influencer of the media, instead of being a victim influenced by the media.” What are the ways we can talk back?

There are many ways to talk back. In fact, you can probably think of many powerful ways to talk back to the media. I outline a specific exercise in Love Your Body, Love Your Life but the key theme underlying any talking back to the media, or any other “influencer of your thought life”, is by refusing to participate in the process of internalization.

The problem with the media occurs when you allow it to influence you, when you allow the messages to be internalized. The problem occurs when you look at a picture in a magazine, or on the television screen, and then take that image to have something to do with you, to be some reflection on you and your body. The fact is that the image has nothing to do with you at all. The problem occurs when you look at the picture and then look at yourself in the mirror and conclude that your life would be better if you looked like that image, or that you would be more attractive if you looked like that image, or that the person in the image is somehow better than you, whatever your particular story is. The fact of the matter is that the photo is in no way a commentary on you.

So the best thing to do with talking back is to tell the media, the magazine, the movie, whatever, that you are not going to allow it to influence you. Remind yourself that it has nothing to do with you, that it is in no way a reflection of you. Tell this to whatever you sense is influencing you. Tell the media that it has no power over you at all. You can choose what you allow to influence you.

Next week we continue with Part II: Excerpts from an interview with Sarah Maria.


 
What's New
Love Your Body, Love Your Life
Companion Teleseminar
 
 
Sarah Maria's Love Your Body, Love Your Life Companion Teleseminar
Give yourself a gift this holiday season – the gift of true and lasting transformation.
 
Sign up for the complimentary Companion Teleseminar to Love Your Body, Love Your Life. This engaging teleclass is available at no charge for everyone who has purchased the book.
 
  • To help you get maximum results from your recent purchase, I designed this class as a quick-start guide to get you moving rapidly and easily in the right direction.

  • Finding your way is infinitely easier with the use of a map. This tele-seminar call is designed as a roadmap for effortlessly implementing what you read in the book.

  • My intention is to give you a special “boost” so that the book actually begins to change your life, instead of gathering dust on the shelf, along with the other books in your “to-read” pile. (I know, because I have a large “to-read” pile myself…)
Mark Your Calendar: 
The Teleclass is December 15th at 6 pm PST, 9 pm EST.

Remember – you can call in on the phone, or you can listen from anywhere in the world using the live webcast feature. 

Also, I am going to be announcing a new class on the call that is starting in January. I am very excited to tell you about this upcoming class, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for more information during the call and in this e-zine!
 
 



 
Now that the book has been released out into the world, I am looking for new ways to connect with people and get the message of peace, love, and beauty to all those who can benefit. Toward this end, I am launching the Break Free Beauty Affiliate Program and am currently looking for partners.

The first affiliate offering will be for an upcoming tele-course starting in January. It will be titled You Were Born Beautiful – How to Experience Your Inherent Perfection.

  • The course is about helping people come to see and experience the fact that they are already perfect, whole, and complete. Once you realize this, anxiety drops away, compulsion drops away, suffering drops away, and you are free to live your life with peace, love, and beauty.
  • The goal is to make this course available to people who are looking for freedom, for people who are looking to experience who and what they truly are and who they can be.
So, if  you have an email list, Facebook friends, and followers on Twitter who might be interested I would love to have you join me as an affiliate.

After the January course, there will be ongoing courses, products, and services that I will be letting you know about as everything develops.

In short, if you know people who want to learn how to love their bodies and their lives and discover the beauty and perfection that they already are, in this very moment, please go here, read all about the Break Free Beauty Affiliate Program perks, and sign up:  www.BreakFreeBeauty.com/affiliates 

  • You will receive compensation for every referral at a sizeable 25% commission rate.
  • One small caveat, please only sign up if you are truly interested in actively promoting my courses and products because you perceive that there is some value in them. I am primarily interested in building an ongoing and mutually beneficial relationship with committed affiliates who are interested in, and supportive of, my work in the world. In my view, strong relationships are the key ingredient in the success of any venture, and in fact any life.

If my work resonates with you, please sign up and become a Break Free Beauty Affiliate and begin making a difference in the lives of the people around you.

Book Recommendations
Virus of the Mind
by Richard Brodi
 
Virus of the Mind by Richard Brodi

Here is a book that I want to recommend to you. It is called Virus of the Mind by Richard Brodi.

If you have been listening to my interviews, you know I have been talking a lot about the negative thoughts that can infiltrate and dominate your psyche. These thoughts are not your own and the sooner you can realize this, the clearer will be the path to freedom.

Your negative thoughts about yourself are not your own, and in fact have nothing to do with you at all. Negative thoughts and beliefs are literally like a virus that can infiltrate your psyche unannounced and cause tremendous pain and suffering.

If you are interested in learning more, check out Richard Brodi's book Virus of the Mind

 

About Sarah Maria

Sarah Maria is the author of Love Your Body, Love Your Life. The book outlines her 5-step process for helping you feel great in and about your body and yourself. Her work embraces the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, so that true and lasting healing can occur. Click here to purchase your copy and begin to love your body today. To learn more about Sarah Maria and her work, you can visit her website at www.SarahMaria.com and www.BreakFreeBeauty.com.

Sarah Maria is a body-image expert and teacher who can help you discover the beauty that you already are so that you can create a body and a life that you truly love.
 
She has studied with the leading experts in health, spirituality, personal development, and success, including Deepak Chopra, physician Dr. David Simon (co-founder of the Chopra Center for Well-being in Carlsbad, CA), Dr. Wayne Dyer, Jack Canfield, renowned Ayurvedic physician Vasant Lad, and many others. She is a lover of eastern philosophy and spiritual wisdom and passionately shares these teachings that have so transformed her own life.

Before founding Break Free Beauty, Sarah Maria received her law degree from Stanford University and her Master's in International Affairs from Columbia University in NYC. She has lived and traveled throughout Latin America, and has also visited many countries around the world. Her greatest passion is helping people discover the beauty and the greatness that resides inside so they can live from this place of grandeur, transforming themselves and the world.

© 2009 Break Free Beauty by Sarah Maria. All Rights Reserved.