Here is some feedback we received from a reader on our last issue. We thank you for sharing your experience and insight so courageously! We welcome feedback and input from our readers - it's helps us to tailor this publication to your wishes, and is a great source of sharing and inspiration for us, and for everyone who reads The Genuine Article. So, thank you - and don't hesitate to let us know what's on your mind or in your heart. V & M.

'I really found this issue of The Genuine Article helpful. I have been struggling with the question of Do I really have a eating disorder? The counsellor I see in my area just thinks I need to change my thoughts and obsessive workout habits, and this confuses me because I would love to pretend that is all it is, but it consumes my whole life, how I look, what I weigh, what I ate and how many hours I worked out that day. I feel confused, and this issue of being connected and getting inside yourself made me see that maybe there is more to me, and to all that is going on with me. Thanks.'

I went to see 'This is Beautiful' at The McPherson Gallery Library last week. The photography exhibit by Amanda Koster features local women of all ages in all their naked glory. It is inspiring to me to see women inhabiting their bodies in this way - and so publicly - and to feel the heart and spirit that infuses that project. It is wonderful to see an innovative project whose purpose is to show women living - in their bodies, in the moment - without much of the self- imposed and socially-sanctioned prejudice and disdain for our female forms. I love to see the age range depicted in the photographs; little girls, women; young and mature, soon-to-be mothers growing life inside their bodies, all with the common goal of being 'unveiled' somehow - seen in a way that we don't normally see other women, except maybe in the privacy of our homes, or the sanctity of our intimate relationships. It feels really good to me to know that women are creating in this way, both as artist and subject, and pushing the envelope of what they imagined possible for themselves.

I read the words that hung on the walls along side the photographs - excerpts of women's experience around body image and being female, statistics on current rates of dieting behavior in adults and children, participants words', people's hopes for their children in the realm of self acceptance and self love. I found those words sobering - even shocking, moving, saddening, and inspiring. It reinforced for me how deeply the fear of 'fat', and the 'grooming' and taming of women's bodies - has been entrenched in our culture. Don't be 'too much',the message seems to have been; not 'too there', 'too present', 'too joyful' or 'too powerful'. It's like that nagging voice of the 'body' police', the silent watcher who's always there, critiquing, straightening, retucking, smoothing the blouse, making sure nothing is revealed; no form that could be seen as untoward, or unflattering, no errant body part that gives away the truth of the matter.

The truth is that we are all 'flawed' in some way (or so we think), all imperfect and soft and vulnerable, and rolling and firm, solid and fluid and weak and strong. We've tried so hard, and for so long, to find a body shape and size, a demeanor, a clothing style, an impression, an image, that would protect from ourselves, and the unchanging truth of our 'unbearable' humanness. Our secrets don't, and can't protect us from this, and hiding ourselves behind closed doors, and closed walls and layers of clothes, and layers of falsehoods doesn't prevent us from experiencing our vulnerability and tender frailty as human beings. Only by reclaiming that softness and vulnerability do we learn to stand in our strength, by embracing both gentleness and boldness, terror and joy, sadness and peace, reverence and confusion, and all the shades between do we come close to inhabiting our fullness as people, as women.

It's fascinating to see the expressions of the women in those photographs and to guess at the life experiences they may have had that all lead to that moment in time - that click of the camera shutter; that distillation of thought, memory, experience, mood, that is captured in that second. And to know that their pains and joys and embarrassments and foibles and victories have all been similar to my own in some way - that we all share this journey together - and the ordinariness and shared nature of our experiences gives comfort. There can be such a sense of separateness, of 'specialness' to our internal and external struggles. It gives me peace to know that on some level we connected by the most basic commonality; that we are all human and struggling to know and experience ourselves in truer ways.

I can see that reflected in those images; the facial expression, the look in a woman's eyes, the almost palpable sense of freedom, exhuberance, stillness or hesitation. Whatever that moment captures, it's what we belong to - our human family; our family of women, of mothers, and daughters, of sisters and wives, and partners and friends, loved ones, and of strangers. We belong to that circle; of shared experience, and uniqueness, of women who've held that same expression in their eyes, the moment when something drops away, and there is a deeper truth, a deeper, more authentic self revealed. That is a preciousousness to that moment - a powerful, raw beauty in that. And there is a ripple felt in the cosmos, the extent of which we can't know. I thank Amanda, and those courageous women, and myself, and us all.

This IS beautiful.

"This Is Beautiful": University of Victoria, McPherson Gallery. Exhibition run: 8/31-9/30 For more information on this project, visit www.thisisbeautiful.org

By Michelle Morand, Founder and Director of The CEDRIC Centre

Hello out there, I would like to share something with you that will have a profound and positive effect on your recovery process.

In brief (and you know that's not easy for me J ), when we actively begin the process of letting go of our old coping strategies - see last months edition of The Genuine Article for a fabulous tool on how to go about that! - what happens is that we frequently feel awkward, uncomfortable, phony, forced and inauthentic. I implore you, don't judge this as an indication that you're doing something wrong or that you are doomed to fail at this recovery process. These feelings of discomfort and unfamiliarity are not bad, wrong or in any other way inappropriate. They are simply so very very different from your "norm" , from what you're accustomed to, that they naturally feel strange. And, as human beings living in our western industrialized society, we have been trained to judge anything different from our regular behaviour and experience of things as wrong.

This is simply not accurate and if you continue to allow yourself to think that way you run the risk of not witnessing and experiencing all the benefits of the change that is happening. This is because you're judging it as bad or wrong because it feels strange or different from what you're accustomed to. You have begun this process of change because you want things to be different; because you recognize that you have need for a change in your thoughts/feelings and behaviours around certain things. So how much sense does it make to judge yourself as failing in your process because things are feeling different when that is what you wanted in the first place!?

You're expecting yourself to have complete comfort and familiarity with a brand new way of thinking/being and feeling about yourself, your body, food and relationships. Does that make sense? Does that seem like a realistic expectation to have of yourself? Of anyone? Please tell me you said no!

Over time, typically a few weeks, you will begin to authentically perceive the difference between the old and the new ways of approaching any life situation and you will authentically feel that, although it is different, the new way does feel better. This will create it's own motivation to pursue the new ways of thinking/feeling and behaving that you're learning and in a relatively short period of time (a few months typically) the old way of coping with life's stressors seems so foreign, so unnecessary, so draining and unproductive that you naturally and freely choose the new way.

This entire process is the same for us all with any behavioural change - even if you were a hunt-and- peck typist and then learned to type "properly" you will go through this process of feeling forced and uncomfortable at first and arrive at a place where the new is so much more peaceful, effective and life enhancing that you choose to use it exclusively and it becomes second nature to the point where hunting and pecking takes too long for you to even consider it as an option. This is the exact process you'll experience with food/body image/substance abuse/co-dependency/anxiety/depression/post- traumatic-stress and more common coping strategies of our society.

So, do your best to welcome that new, strange, inauthentic feeling and know that it's a great sign. After all, if you felt exactly the same at the end of this process as you did coming into it I don't think you'd feel that you had been very successful! So, prepare for some gentle discomfort - don't force yourself to challenge yourself to extremes - be kind and only ask of yourself what is doable for where you are right now and know that change is what you're looking for, and change feels a little unsteady and shaky and creates doubt and uncertainty initially. Ultimately these changes will result in a very safe, secure, trusting and peaceful state of being that you carry with your everywhere at all times. So, trust in me as best you can. Trust in this process. Trust that feeling different and unnatural is a very good thing right now - providing you're not doing anything life threatening! And, if this resonates with you and it's a part of what's up for you right now in your recovery, give us the gift of supporting you with this. Bring it up in your sessions - group/individual or otherwise - and give yourself the gift of receiving feedback and support that is specific to you and your process or specific life situations. Have a great month - let yourself truly enjoy life as best you can. M.

So, trust in me as best you can. Trust in this process. Trust that feeling different and unnatural is a very good thing right now - providing you're not doing anything life threatening! And, if this resonates with you and it's a part of what's up for you right now in your recovery, give us the gift of supporting you with this. Bring it up in your sessions - group/individual or otherwise - and give yourself the gift of receiving feedback and support that is specific to you and your process or specific life situations. Have a great month - let yourself truly enjoy life as best you can. M.

We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit. - E. E. Cummings

At the center of - your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. - Lao-tzu

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Eating With Family More Often Promotes Healthy Eating Habits - By Kelli Miller, WebMD Medical News

In today's on-the-run society, the traditional sit- down family meal has pretty much gone by the wayside. But researchers say restoring regular family meals can help teenage girls avoid dangerous eating disorders.

"It doesn't have to be a home-cooked meal. The idea is to bring people together," University of Minnesota researcher Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH, RD, says in a news release. Armed with data from more than 4,700 ethnically diverse adolescent girls and boys, Neumark-Sztainer and colleagues examined family meal patterns and eating behaviors.

They found that those who regularly ate meals in a structured, positive atmosphere were less likely to show signs of eating disorders, such as vomiting, chronic dieting, and using diet pills.

Nearly 18% of girls who ate one to two family meals each week showed signs of eating disorder behaviors. This number fell to 9% of girls who had family meals three to four times a week. Girls who ate five family meals weekly had an even lower risk of eating disorder behaviors. While boys also benefited from the family meals, the association between eating disorder tendencies and family meals was not as strong.

"Making family meals a priority, in spite of scheduling difficulties, emerged as the most consistent protective factor for disordered eating," the authors write in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. Researchers suggest that parents keep conversation light and positive at the dinner table, especially if their children have issues surrounding food.

SOURCES: Neumark-Sztainer, D. Journal of Adolescent Health, November 2004; vol 35: pp 350- 359. News release, University of Minnesota.

"The soul has an absolute, unforgiving need for regular excursions into enchantment. It requires them like the body needs food and the mind needs thought."--Thomas Moore

1. Allow yourself some private time each day, even if it is only a half hour. 2. Take a long walk. 3. Buy flowers for yourself. 4. Develop an intimate circle of friends and family. 5. Turn off ringer on the phone. 6. Put on your favorite music, turn it up loud and dance. 7. Call your best friend and settle in with a hot cup of tea, for a long talk. 8. Snuggle up in bed with a good book. 9. Sink into your tub for a long, luxurious soak at the end of the day. 10. Indulge in getting (or giving) a massage. 11. Meditate. 12. Remember a time when you felt loving - try to amplify that feeling by 100 times. 13. Write a love letter (to yourself, your partner, children, parents, friends...) 14. Treat yourself to a manicure and a pedicure. 15. Rent a great video. 16. Start a gratitude journal. 17. Go to the beach and sit in the sun. 18. Visit your favorite bookstore and browse. 19. Cry. 20. Write in a journal. 21. Make a collage. 22. Perform a random act of kindness. 23. Hug a friend. 24. Spend time with your pets. 25. Clean out your closet. 26. Eat foods that you like. 27. Say 'No' when you want to. 28. Say 'Yes' when you want to. 29. Take a class or a course that interests you. 30. Spend time with children.

Choose from our list, or add your own nurturing suggestions - and try out a few (or more!) this month. You deserve it. Taking the time and space for yourself makes all the difference to the quality of life that you experience, and can have a huge impact on the use of food for comfort and coping.

The CEDRIC Centre is pleased to announce that the first batch of clothes for our new clothing exchange has landed, and we are the happy hosts to many lovely items! We wanted to create the opportunity for client's who are in various stages of recovery and healing to bring in any of their clothes that no longer fit. Nothing feels worse than having a closet full of things that aren't comfortable - and it's always good feng shui to oust the old and welcome the new!

So, in that vein, we extend the invitation to come in and check out what we have 'in stock' - we currently have a great and varied collection of items - casual work clothes, hand-bags, work-out gear, t-shirts, etc - some of it brand new! Sizes range from 12 - 16.

We are also have shoes, shoes and more shoes! Again, many in excellent condition - sizes 8 and 8.5

A big thanks to the donator of this current selection of goodies. I must admit I found a few treasures myself. My wardrobe thanks you! V.

If you'd like to come by and have a look, or drop off some clothes, just give us a call or an email, and we'd be happy to arrange a time.

This 12-week group will give us the opportunity to develop an appreciation of our spiritual nature without having to prescribe to a specific doctrine. In this group we will explore spirituality as an important part of our human experience, one that often gets short changed with our obsession of secular issues; setting boundaries, good communication skills etc.

It is our hope that after the group, participants will continue to explore their spirituality through art, ritual, nature, contemplation, music, community and any other avenues that they are drawn to.

This Group is the creation of Beth Burton-Krahn and she will be faciliating this offering in the fall. If you're beginning to ask those big questions about purpose and meaning or wanting a safe place to explore different meanings and expressions of spirituality this is the place for you.

email: info@cedriccentre.com

phone: 1-866-383-0797 / 250-383-0797

web: http://www.cedriccentre.com