Special praise for From Bagels to Buddha
“Dr. Hollis has found a humorous and shockingly honest way to follow the surrender process toward freedom. Her travels to distant lands and studies with a variety of mentors shows the self-acceptance that can be achieved by turning toward and opening up, instead of turning away and tightening. With that process comes a more mindful relationship with food.”
Shinzen Young
Author of The Science of Enlightenment
Director of Vipassana Support International
• • •
“A fabulous piece of writing. Like a descent into Hell, which turns out to be Heaven, once you get there. The idea of going there scares me, I have to say; but I might be persuaded . . . .”
Dr. Polly Howells, LCSW
Brooklyn, NY
• • •
“Dr. Judi Hollis, in a very creative, challenging, and readable way, provides us with a connection to our real bodies and our deeper souls and spirits.”
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM
Founding Director of Center for Action and Contemplation
Author of Everything Belongs, Things Hidden, and The Naked Now
• • •
“What a wonderful journey. Judi Hollis really captured her inner and outer experiences . . . and so vividly that I felt I was there.”
Laura Beecher, PhD
Port Washington, NY
• • •
“With the humor that can only come from one who’s been there, Dr. Judi Hollis takes us with her as she goes From Bagels to Buddha—the quest for a spiritual life for those who once looked for enlightenment in the bakery aisle.”
Victoria Moran
Author of Fit from Within and The Love-Powered Diet
Central Recovery Press
Central Recovery Press (CRP) is committed to publishing exceptional materials addressing addiction treatment, recovery, and behavioral healthcare topics, including original and quality books, audio/visual communications, and web-based new media. Through a diverse selection of titles, we seek to contribute a broad range of unique resources for professionals, recovering individuals and their families, and the general public.
For more information, visit www.centralrecoverypress.com.
Central Recovery Press, Las Vegas, NV 89129
© 2012 by Judi Hollis
All rights reserved. Published 2012.
Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Publisher: Central Recovery Press
3321 N. Buffalo Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89129
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ISBN-13: 978-1-936290-81-9 (paper)
ISBN-10: 1-936290-81-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-936290-89-5 (e-book)
Publisher’s Note: This is a memoir, a work based on fact recorded to the best of the author’s memory. Central Recovery Press books represent the experiences and opinions of their authors only. Every effort has been made to ensure that events, institutions, and statistics presented in our books as facts are accurate and up-to-date. To protect their privacy, the names of some of the people and institutions in this book have been changed.
© Author photo courtesy of Taylor Sherrill.
Cover design and interior layout by Sara Streifel, Think Creative Design
Dedicated to the memory of my mother for all the love, laughs, and lunacy that molded me into the powerful, resilient woman I am today, and to the spiritual midwives who melted my armor so I could bend and savor the essentials.
Contents
Intro Obesity as a Spiritual Crisis
Four Keeping the Competitive Edge
One Prayer Changes the Pray-er
Two Channel
Three No Free Lunch
Four You Spot It, You Got It
Five Stay Honest
Six Give Up to Get
Two Funky Body Booty
