by Carmel Reid, BEng DMS CertEd MCMI, Somerset, UK

When I was a teenager I used to cycle to school; it was a pleasant journey of around three miles through some beautiful countryside on the edge of suburbia in Surrey.

One day as I was going along, I suddenly realised I had no idea how I had cycled the last mile or so. It scared me – I’d obviously been thinking about something else and I resolved there and then never to drive a car – I mean, just how dangerous could that be if I did the same thing?

Well, of course I learned to drive, and guess what? I do it time and time again. Sometimes I find myself thinking about work, or some major issue in my life.

Over the years I have had the occasional accident – no one else hurt, just the vehicles involved, my pride and in one case, my neck with a whiplash injury. When I think back on each occasion I had been in a particular state of euphoria, feeling good about myself – or the opposite, very angry about something, or upset. In an emotional state of distraction and not driving with full attention. It’s time to stop doing that.

I used to pride myself on my intelligence, my ability to learn and my ability to think and organise things. I used to think while swimming lengths at my local swimming pool or walking around the countryside.

In parallel with all of this, I was a sugar-holic – I ate anything that was sweet – with loads of bread and carbohydrates: I drank tea, coffee, sweet drinks, fruit juice and alcohol.

Through the lectures presented by Serge Benhayon, I came to understand that my sugar cravings were because I was exhausted. I was living three lives in one day.

(1) There were the physiological responses due to my emotional reactions

(2) There was tension due to my thinking about past or future events

(3) There was the energy I was using doing whatever I was doing at the time.

No wonder I was exhausted!

Changing my way of living is a work in progress. So far I have cut out all of the alcohol and sugar, have considerably reduced the carbohydrate intake, particularly gluten, and am developing my awareness of how I spend my body’s energy. I still crave sweet things, so I eat fruit and some carbohydrates, but am aware that this is a symptom of my body’s exhaustion.

I still think of something else while I’m doing many things, but am becoming more aware of what’s going on. I am beginning to feel how much all the sugary stuff stops me from feeling my body, and as I reduce the amount I eat, the awareness increases.

I have been inspired by Serge Benhayon, the esoteric practitioners and many of my fellow students. My body will tell me the rest, as and when I choose to listen!