Is Moderation possible? ......thats what I wanted to know.....
CURIOUS ON LIFE: the Blog vol. 11
Rebecca Guevara Wingler
Creator of COLOUR: Language of the Soul Workshop Series
Artist/Creative Life Coach/ Certified TNM Coach
I was curious about that when I begin thinking about cutting back my daily pour of red wine, a little over 2 years ago..
I had no idea what that even meant or what it would look like for me.
Did I mean I would just drink one glass each evening?
Maybe it meant I wouldn't have a glass (or several) every evening, or maybe just on Fridays, Saturdays or "special events & dinners?"
Usually this internal conversation would be had if one glass to many had been had by me, the night before.
After having wine each evening, for decades, usually beginning at dinner preparations, and cooking,
My tolerance was way high.
I could easily finish off a bottle by myself by the end of a night. Especially during quarantine, when we couldn't go anywhere. I was tired of feeling sluggish and low energy. I began thinking about moderation.
Is moderation possible? yes it's possible, for some.
Clients in the TNM programs or coached by certified TNM coaches can and have successfully moderated their drinking habit.
If a discussion around cutting back resonates with you because you have tried yourself, and have not had the success you sought, then
I have a question for you.
What has "moderation" meant to you?
Has it meant a list of rules....... like the ones I would make for myself? It's what most people do or are thinking about. It makes sense.
The problem is, unless you shift your thinking about alcohol first, you most likely won't be successful in moderation.
Alcohol is an addictive substance, 100 percent of humans on the planet can become addicted.
Very often, moderating our intake doesn't go well because we don't get to the root of the problem.
When you are drinking more in quantity, or drinking more often, then that is a symptom.
Moderating with rules and then breaking them often leads us to drink more.
As a certified coach, I get asked, so how do you shift? The answer and what worked for me is something called LIBERATION VS FIXATION.
Moderation that comes from a place of liberation, means it doesn't matter whether you drink or not!
Alcohol holds NO lure for us any longer when we experience liberation.. You can take it or leave it. No problem.
(I would never have believed that I would be living in the liberation space 2 1/2 years ago.)
Fixation is coming from the other end of the spectrum. When you are thinking and making plans and are plotting around when and how much to drink next.
This type of energy takes up too much space in our brain, internal fighting, and rules. The reality is, fixation is based on fixation of the will, or will power which is not the most effective
So then how do we get to liberation?
Here are a few steps in the process:
1. Compassion for yourself and where you are at. This is not your fault. You are able to make changes but, it may not be working as well as you want it to. You are working on it. You realize it's not your fault but it is your responsibility.
2. Learn as much as you can about alcohol, and your life and how the 2 interact. Get clear on where you want to go,
3. Take a break from alcohol, ..........why:?
Because where you are right now, it's not effective with the shame and blame cycle, around trying to stop or moderate.
You need alcohol free time under your belt, to feel comfortable with out alcohol. Sometimes you need community, or hire a certified quit-drinking or gray area drinking coach, A coach can help and guide you using tools and tactics along with one on one coaching through the process.
I love to say I can drink when ever and how ever much I want to, but I just haven't wanted to in over 2 years!
I began to feel so good and truly had a mind shift around alcohol and everything I thought it was doing for me, that indeed it was not.
As an artist, my creativity elevated to another level when I made alcohol small and irrelevant in my life.
I have married art and coaching to guide clients and participants through transformation to a higher self and purpose.
To learn more about my programs and virtual art workshops sign up for all the news
and learn more.
Thank you for reading!
with love and wonder
Rebecca
Next one day art workshop coming Saturday March 25th.