I have found that meditation and visualization have been the greatest tools for me this term. With meditation I am able to calm my overly active mind to a calm place of tranquility. Feeling positive energy run through you is as addicting as any drug that I have tried. I have tried lots of different drugs by the way. None has ever made me feel as good as just concentrating and my inner peace. While it seems like such a simple concept to sit and concentrate on your breathing while closing your eyes, it is amazing how it can truly change your life.

  Through visualize I have learned to see myself in a more positive light. I have lost 35 pounds in the last year and when people ask me how I did it I am almost embarrassed to say I mentally willed it away. That is the reality though of how I accomplished it. I simply chose to see food as a energy source instead of a delicious treat. While changing my eating habits to visualize myself and food differently it was am,amazing how easy it was to allow those positive feelings to translate into every part of my life. Implementing visualize has allowed me to keep the weight off since August. I began my mental visual diet on May 16th weighing 198 pounds. I am now 153 pounds and have been so since August the 10th. Whenever I catch myself slipping into the bad habits that I once I had I stop myself and examine why I am doing that. It is usually to reward myself. I now have a different reward system. Through focusing and concentrating willfully I have made a positive change in my over all being.

 The practice of meditation and visualization have helped me to develop my mental fitness by keeping me accountable for my actions. By making me accountable to me I no longer cheat on my eating habits. I am the only one who loses when I do not utilize the control over my mind that I know exists. I enjoy the calming feeling of peacefully slipping off into a state of bliss that I find within the Meditation practices that I have been taught in this class.