Dear Mike Dooley - about your weight loss program.....

First off, I have been a fan of yours for many years. Your Notes from the Universe are profound and uplifting and inspirational. I have saved many of them over the years because they make me smile. Like this one:

No more "supposed to's," OK, Elizabeth? 

You're not supposed to work harder, look better, sleep less, sell more, run faster, talk slower, be happier, stay longer, leave earlier, cook, clean, negotiate, settle, start, stop, move, try, win, shake, rattle or roll. 

Other people made all that up. 

I love you the way you are,

   The Universe

Which is why it makes it all the more confusing to see that you now have an offering called "Losing Weight and Looking Great". Really?

What happened to the idea that I am not supposed to look better and that I am loved just the way I am?

Have you missed the boat on the true spiritual message Mr. Dooley? Or are you simply trying to make as much money as you can from the Universe before your time is done? (That’s kind of a cheap shot, but I can’t help but wonder - why do you have a burning desire to help people with weight loss?)

The true message is indeed that we are loved exactly as we are. You do say in your course description that you will help people reframe their thoughts - but if you throw weight loss into the title as well - you are likely to keep people focused on changing their bodies.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to change your body - but if people hold onto that outcome as the end all be all, they may never find true freedom and happiness. It is very hard for people to detach from that particular outcome.

You must know this right Mr. Dooley?

So I don't understand, which is it - are we loving ourselves or trying to change ourselves? Or are you promoting loving yourself to change yourself? It's not clear when you promise weight loss because I'm not sure how you can promise that.

All bodies are different and all bodies look the way they do for very different reasons. It bothers me that someone who has never even tried to lose weight is taking someone else on this journey. How do you know that it works? How do you know that it lasts? How do you know that it won't make people even more focused on an outcome that they can't control?

Can you control being thin? You mentioned always wanting to gain weight, were you able to change that about yourself? So why do you think that we can move the needle in the other direction?

I do think that we are all powerful creators and I do believe that we have not yet begun to tap into or master the ways in which we can call in things exactly as we want.

But for now, there are so many people out there in the world with the desire to lose weight. And, a majority of them don't know that they are loved exactly as they are and that they don't need to change a thing about themselves. Yet, they spend a lifetime distracted by the pursuit of weight loss and not appreciating the gifts they have been given in having a body at all.

The body is our vehicle for being here on the planet and yet we are so much more than our bodies. Does your course go over that? I'd be amazed that you have been in the spiritual world for as long as you have and still not know that our bodies and our appearance are not the most important thing about us. Unfortunately, you aren't the only one who still seems to believe our bodies need to look a certain way for us to be worthy humans (have you spoken to Oprah lately? Maybe she would like to take your course.)

Ultimately, I am disappointed but not surprised that another popular spiritual leader is promoting weight loss in an offering where they will make money. It feels like it is taking advantage of a fear that so many people have (weight and fat) - when it's the fear that is the real issue.

Maybe I am missing something and there is more to your course than meets the eye - but I won't know that until I am drawn in by the desire to lose weight and I plunk down my money for your course will I?

I'm not opposed to people paying other people money for guidance and support. How could I be opposed, I'm a coach, that's what I do, but I am opposed to promising outcomes beyond my control or promulgating weight loss which keeps people reaching and grasping for something outside themselves without seeing what is true and beautiful right now in this moment.

I watched your intro video for the course Mr. Dooley, and I hope for you that you learn that daughters don't love their fathers because of what they look like or how old they are. They love their fathers for being in their lives and for sharing their special gifts with their daughters. Every father has a special gift and it's clear that you have so many special gifts to give your daughter just by being you.

I'm curious, how would you feel if your daughter did not love herself because of her weight? What would you say to her? Would you want her to spend her life focused on changing her weight or focused on loving herself and others and on what she can contribute to the world?

You too Mr. Dooley, are worthy just as you are and you don't need to change to be loved. If everyone in our world knew this to be true, what a wonderful world it would be.