PowerPrayer for Overcoming Constant Hunger and for Permanent Weight Loss

I have gotten lots of feedback from the before and after pictures of myself I posted on Sunday. I know there are many who have tried over and over to lose weight, only to be discouraged in the end. Without going into detail here about living overweight in a society that sees overweight people as legitimate targets for scorn and shame, let me just say that I have experienced the pain that goes along with this my whole life. 

It all changed for me when I really accepted and embraced the fact that if I had this problem, well, then it truly HAD to be my mission to change it and to help others. That's what problems are FOR, after all, when you're a practicing Buddhist. But, as many of you know, some problems go away quickly when you chant about them. Some do not. Some take extraordinary perseverance and determination. 
For me, weight loss was one of these problems. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with the clear determination to overcome this problem ~ and Not ever giving up ~ was the key!

It still amazes me that I am FREE of this suffering. I am no longer hungry all the time. I don't hunger in the same way for anything. I have absolutely raised my life condition, enjoy shopping for clothes and am happy with the way I look. I'm always improving my health and strength, but it's fun, not a chore. I have DONE the impossible. 

Julia, my writing partner and I both have a shared karma around this subject. We have different experiences but they stem from the same core longing. We wrote this PowerPrayer for you, and for the book. At some point we will be offering personal weight loss coaching and other tools as well. 

As always, I am very interested to hear your results. And believe me, there is noting I would rather do than help be a catalyst for YOU to overcome this suffering once and for all. If I can do it, so can YOU!

PowerPrayer for Overcoming Constant Hunger 

and for Permanent Weight Loss

I am determined to grip this karma 

of insatiable hunger for food by its root, 

yank it out of my life and throw it away forever. 

Everything I need to make this happen 

comes to me right now 
with each Nam-myoho-renge-kyo I chant.

I am now filling the space within me 

with the fulfillment my soul needs. 

I nourish my body with the best possible foods for me 

and I nourish my soul by doing the things I love:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

I’m too busy enjoying my life 

to think about food the way I used to. 

I find comfort in so many things besides food. 

I’m strong enough to turn to my spiritual practice 

in the most effective way, 

and turn my hunger into the hunger for enlightenment. 

I am really proud of myself 

and I reward myself in many deeply satisfying ways:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

I turn my thoughts 

to all the things I appreciate about my body 

and about me:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

I now experience the enlightened state of hunger: 

I hunger for the happiness of all people.

I happily embrace the challenge 

of transforming my body

for the sake of sharing the power of this practice 

with everyone I know! 

Changing Weight Karma!

I have absolutely changed a deep part of my karma.

Remember, in this practical form of Buddhism, karma is the result of every cause you've ever made through every existence you have ever lived. That is not the same as saying it is your FAULT. No, it is not your fault. You are not guilty and there is no original sin in this practice. There is karma. How do you know it's karma? You know because you try everything you can think of to change it...you watch what other people do...and still your life does not budge...that is why we need to chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! Check this out:

I was born into a heavy family. My mother took pills for her weight the whole time I was growing up...and my birthright, my karma, was insatiable hunger. There was a little voice in my head constantly telling me to eat more and more and more. Starting from the first grade I felt different from the other girls. Soon after that the boys began making fun of me for my weight and my fate was sealed. I had to shop in the special section and finding clothes was so hard.
When I was in third grade I got asthma. Scary asthma. And they didn't take you to the hospital in those days. And they didn't have inhalers. One day when I was running and I just stopped breathing...barely made it back to my house. From then on I could never run or walk up stairs or play tennis or do ANYTHING or I'd suffer for hours gasping for breath. That, of course, didn't help with the weight problem.
Throughout my life I dieted every way you can think of...weight watchers...Atkins... optifast (I was on that for 6 months and am so lucky to still have my gallbladder...everyone else I know who was on it lost theirs!) And each time I would lose the weight I would gain it all back...either through pregnancy or through eating cheese popcorn.
Honestly...that is not a joke. I felt as long as there was a bag of cheese popcorn in the car I would survive. I was soothing something within me that was just crying out for more and more.
I was deeply in the world of hunger.
Over the past few years I have changed this karma. I think it is no coincidence that I have lost this last 35 pounds while chanting 2 hours a day. I am filling my life with daimoku. I would like to show you a picture I just found. It is of me and my Mom and my aunt. You can clearly see the family karma. I am at least 70 pounds lighter and I look at least ten years younger.
My body no longer cries out for food all the time, and I no longer have asthma. I have chanted for this for years...visualized it. I put together a book of pictures of how I wanted to look. And chanted with a vow and determination...knowing I could change this through my prayer. And it has worked!
I have changed this karma that caused me so much suffering!
If I can do this I can do anything, because, I'll tell you - for many years this was impossible! But that's what this practice is all about...making the impossible possible!!!!