“As long as we interpret our nonphysical hunger literally, we will attempt to use food to satisfy it, and you will remain hungry forever. But when we define our hungers & develop a deeper awareness of what we are hungry for, we can begin to seek the appropriate nourishment.” ~ Dr. Anita Johnston
Have you ever felt that your eating was “out of control?” How can we build a nourishing relationship to food and eat intuitively? How can we fulfill our hunger if we don’t even know where it’s coming from or what we’re hungry for..?
Food... make no mistake, is not simply what you put in your mouth.
Food is what you feed yourself on all levels - physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. Hunger can be rooted in all of these areas as well. Today, we dive deep into the realms of soul hunger with Anita Johnston, Ph.D., a Depth Psychologist and author of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationships with Food Through Myths Metaphors, and Storytelling.
Dr. Johnston has been working in the field of women’s issues, feminine spirituality, and disordered eating for over 35 years, and is currently the Clinical Director of ‘Ai Pono Hawaii, which has a residential program on Maui and outpatient eating disorder programs in Honolulu and The Big Island of Hawaii. She is best known for her use of metaphor and the ancient wisdom found in storytelling, along with her training as a clinical psychologist, to address the struggles of women and their bodies.
In this episode, Dr. Johnston shares how food challenges begin and steps you can take in addressing your own eating challenges, her own take on the real reason behind self-imposed food restriction and binging, how to crack the hunger and cravings code, and what she believes to be the SINGLE critical skill that is required to recover from eating difficulties/disorder (and Anita has seen thousands of people recover from eating challenges and disordered eating!). I know you’re going to enjoy this magical journey through storytelling and soul food.
Enjoy!
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Show Notes
In this episode, we discuss:
How Dr. Johnston got into the work of spirituality, women, & eating difficulties
The patterns she noticed about women struggling with eating disorder and eating challenges
Where food challenges begin and how they become a coping mechanism
Steps in addressing your own eating challenges
The function that food and eating challenges have served, and how to overcome
The innate wisdom in our “stuckness”
How to stop seeing food as the enemy and eliminate the fear of food
Why using storytelling and metaphor is so effective - and what is happening in the brain
How to tell the difference between physiological hunger and soul hunger
What is intuitive or “instinctual” eating and how to begin doing it
Dr. Johnston take on the real reason behind self-imposed food restriction and binging
How to crack the hunger and cravings code, including some of the most common cravings and what they mean
Incredible stories demonstrating the power and insight of language and cravings - and what they can teach us about ourselves
Why “eating in the light of the moon” - the significance of the moon and feminine principal in this time of the patriarchy
The surprising thing that Anita discovered about the recovery process from disordered eating
3 key practices and tools to tap back into the more “feminine” way of eating
The SINGLE critical skill that is required to recover from eating difficulties/disorder (and Anita has seen thousands of people recover from eating challenges and disordered eating!)
The most common patterns and types of soul hunger Anita has identified
Connect With Dr. Anita Johnston
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Resources + Links Mentioned
>> Grab the Food & Metaphor Guide to crack the cravings code here: lightofthemooncafe.com/wr
Eating By The Light Of The Moon by Dr. Anita Johnston*
Note: Links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links. Making a purchase through these links won’t cost you anything but we will receive a small commission. This is an easy, free way of supporting the podcast. Thank you!
Wildly Rooted Resources
Sacred Ecology Activation Journey Audio
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