I still get letters from people who took the original Thin Within seminars long ago, saying just those words. Recently a graduate managed to track me down on Facebook despite my married name. She now runs The Red Tractor Farm, an inn on Kea, a Greek island (poor dear).
Dear Joy — Many years ago I had the transformative experience of attending a Thin Within course that you taught in Palo Alto, California. I hadn’t thought much about that seminar for a long time, even though it obviously changed my entire relationship with food and made me into a lifelong mindful (and thin!) eater.
I’ve recently begun writing the Red Tractor Farm book, a compilation of recipes, thoughts, ideas, and tips from what we’ve learned running our inn.
As I write about food I suddenly realize that something must be shared about how we eat, not just what we eat; hence my sudden remembrance of you and the amazing work you did in the founding of Thin Within. So this is a thank you note more than anything else, from someone on whose life you had a profound positive effect nearly 40 years ago that continues to this day.
Best wishes, Marcie Mayer
“You’re kidding!” Portland/Vancouver friends ask. “You had a weight problem?” Well, yes, once upon a time I did.
If you only met me after I left the Bay Area in 1992, you many not have known about this phase of my life. Let me say that by far the greatest contribution I’ve made to the world (not counting my three amazing children) was the creation in 1975 of the Thin Within seminar program. At the time I was a weight-obsessed self-loathing out-of-control diet-cheater. Out of desperation I put together a series of tools to help me face my problem head on—to get to the root of it, rather than bandaiding over it with yet another diet. I had no idea how powerful a program it would turn out to be, first for me and then for thousands of others back then.
I’m not even going to try to be modest. Thin Within was a life-changing program.
It was much more than a sane diet-free way to lose weight once and for all. Participants shifted how they related to their bodies, to food, to their sense of self, to their sense of control, to stories and beliefs that kept them stuck, and even used it as a model for resolving other perplexing problems. (After I left in 1980 my former business partner Judy Halliday repackaged it as an evangelical Christian program, and even in this very altered state the bedrock principles continue to change the lives of thousands—Judy says “millions.”)
I believe that my book—when it’s finally done—will be great. And yet nothing beats working through a weight problem in an ongoing experiential program like this, face-to-face with a supportive group of fellow travelers.
The “Becoming Thin Within” class at Clark College begins October 12 and runs thru November 23. It’s a version of the original, but updated and enhanced with all I’ve learned about human behavior since. Perfect preparation for staying sane and slim thru the holidays. Space is limited, so if this sounds like something you or someone you know would find valuable, I encourage you to sign up ASAP.
Here’s a letter from my archives (1979).
This letter is long overdue. In case you don’t remember me, I took Thin Within two years ago in San Francisco. I’m barely 5’ tall and weighed 138 pounds. Now I’m at 117 and still losing. I love it! Food is no longer a threat and an ordeal. I feel great about my body and that feeling overflows to my whole life, job, friends, and everything. I share my Thin Within experience at every opportunity. Thank you, thank you.
Joni Kaufman
If you have any questions about the class, give me a call. 360-903-3659.
Or just register. You will not regret it.