{"id":23753,"date":"2021-03-01T01:10:34","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T05:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=23753"},"modified":"2021-02-23T18:26:50","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T22:26:50","slug":"witch-popcorn-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2021\/03\/01\/witch-popcorn-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Witch &#038; Popcorn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-21275\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/witch-Popcorn-logo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/witch-Popcorn-logo.png 597w, https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/witch-Popcorn-logo-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/witch-Popcorn-logo-500x330.png 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><u><b>Review of My 600 Pound Life<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">\n<p align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23754\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/witch-popcorn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"325\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/witch-popcorn.png 325w, https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/witch-popcorn-225x300.png 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 325px) 100vw, 325px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><i>Bright Blessings!<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The show I am reviewing addresses sensitive topics: body image, health, and the identity all of this creates. Magically, it addresses transformation, and the fact magic is a process that takes time. It\u2019s not flinging one spell, uttering a few words, or \u201cputting the energy out to the Universe\u201d and then going off and forgetting about it. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">My 600 Pound Life streams on Hulu, and my husband and I have watched several episodes. Multiple individuals open up to share their struggles, and successes with the public. Some allow people to see them nude. They allow camera crews into their everyday personal lives, into their homes, and they allow people to see all aspects of their relationships. They share how they feel about what their long-term goals are, and their joys and sorrows. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">I could go into various episodes, listing specifics, but I won\u2019t. I don\u2019t want to spoil it for you. Here is a portion of one of the episodes to watch.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_44959\"  width=\"960\" height=\"540\"  data-origwidth=\"960\" data-origheight=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_js9yy_iLPM?enablejsapi=1&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&rel=1&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The show revolves around a bariatric surgeon\u2019s patients who allow crews to follow them for a year on their weight loss journey. The people weigh between 400 and 800 pounds. Some are young, one lady was only 22 years old, and others are older. They are all very different from one another.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Each and every one of them had their lives drastically limited by their weight, which had disabled them in various ways. Some are unable to leave the house. Some barely walk. Some cannot work. All of them eat obsessively, and almost constantly. Each of them have somebody they live with who, as the doctor says, \u201cenables\u201d them. They cannot get all the food they eat for themselves, so friends and or family members bring them the enormous amounts of unhealthy foods they eat.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Some are parents, and some have spouses. Some have jobs. All are loved, and each of them are begged by loved ones to change so they have longer, healthier lives.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The patients all suffer from addiction to foods, and the unhealthy lifestyle they have trapped themselves in.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Each of the patients want the same thing- increased quality of life. None of them want to be rich, powerful, or famous. The word most often used to describe the kind of life each person wants is \u201cnormal\u201d. The second thing they want is more independence. They want longer, healthy life. They all know they are literally eating themselves to death.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The magic showcased in My 600 Pound Life is that of transformation. This is the truest, purest form of magic there is. Magic is not about snapping your fingers for an instant change. You don\u2019t fling a spell, go off and forget about it, and BOOM! Days or weeks later, the change you wanted manifests all on its own because you uttered \u2018magic words\u2019 and burned a candle you bought at a local shop.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Transformation magic is a process, and it\u2019s a lot of hard work. It\u2019s painful, slow, tedious, and heart wrenching. You observe and nitpick yourself while you are bringing about that change, and you reassess the journey every step of the way, altering your approach as needed. It tears you down, and destroys every last shred of self esteem you have, and you slowly rebuild yourself.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Watching each person transform over the year the show follows them is not only inspirational, but seeing somebody bare their humanity so fully is humbling and heartwarming. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Almost all the patients make great progress and meet their goals. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">I will also say the fact the show gives a year is practical and fair. Nobody sees such great results in a short period of time. The changes these people make are changes they need to make long term, or they will be right back where they started. Long term change happens over a long period of time. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Unless you have lived in similar conditions, it\u2019s difficult to understand how somebody could make daily choices that keeps them trapped. But that\u2019s what addiction is. There are many who never kick their addiction, and at least one patient on the show was unable to make the changes she needed to, and she never got better. I cannot forget the doctor saying that a patient \u201cbelieves she is permanently disabled,\u201d when she in fact, wasn\u2019t. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Almost everybody can make SOME form of changes, even if it\u2019s small changes. Almost everybody has some hope if they will do what it takes to make change happen. Almost everybody can do that which seems impossible, but it happens one step at a time, and those are baby steps. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And those baby steps do not begin to create the change until the person desiring change decides they CAN try. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">I\u2019m not saying belief equals reality. If that were the case, each patient would have gone to sleep BELIEVING they would wake up transformed, and it would have done so all on its own as they slept. But believing as the one patient did that they could NEVER change? That is going to make you not even bother to try. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The magical lessons in My 600 Pound Life are a sober reminder that magic is not always fun, it\u2019s seldom easy, and it never happens without belief one CAN get up and try.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">For somebody like me, who has struggled with my weight all my life, it is so wonderful to see so many people take charge of their lives, battle their addictions, make that magical transformation they at one point only dreamed of, and see the beauty of the manifestation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Enjoy watching this good show.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><i>Blessed Be!<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>***<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>About the Author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-20795\" src=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Saoirse.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Saoirse.png 360w, https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Saoirse-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Saoirse<\/b> is a practicing witch, and initiated Wiccan of an Eclectic Tradition. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">A recovered Catholic, she was raised to believe in heaven and hell, that there is only one god, and only one way to believe. As she approached her late 20\u2019s, little things started to show her this was all wrong. She was most inspired by the saying \u201cGod is too big to fit into one religion\u201d and after a heated exchange with the then associate pastor of the last Xtian church she attended, she finally realized she was in no way Xtian, and decided to move on to see where she could find her spiritual home.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Her homecoming to her Path was after many years of being called to The Old Ways and the Goddess, and happened in Phoenix, Arizona. She really did rise from her own ashes!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Upon returning to Ohio, she thought Chaos Magic was the answer, and soon discovered it was actually Wicca. She was blessed with a marvelous mentor, Lord Shadow, and started a Magical Discussion Group at local Metaphysical Shop Fly By Night. The group was later dubbed A Gathering of Paths. For a few years, this group met, discussed, did rituals, fellowship, and volunteering together, and even marched as a Pagan group with members of other groups at the local gay Pride Parade for eight years. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">All the while, she continued studying with her mentor, and is still studying for Third Degree, making it to Second Degree thus far.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">She is a gifted tarot reader, spellworker, teacher, and was even a resident Witch at a Westerville place dubbed The Parlor for a time. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Aside from her magical practice, she is a crocheter, beader, painter, and a good cook. She has been a clown and children\u2019s entertainer, a Nursing Home Activities Professional, a Cavern Tour Guide, a Retail Cashier, and a reader in local shops. Her college degree is a BA in English Writing. She tried her hand at both singing and playing bagpipes, and\u2026well\u2026let\u2019s just say her gifts lie elsewhere! She loves gardening, reading, antiques, time with friends and soul kin, and lots and lots of glorious color bedecking her small home!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">On the encouragement of a loved one several years back, she searched for a publication to write for, and is right at home at PaganPagesOrg.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">She is currently residing in Central Ohio with her husband, and furbabies.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Saoirse can be contacted at <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #0563c1;\"><u><a href=\"mailto:actpipe@yahoo.com\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">actpipe@yahoo.com<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Review of My 600 Pound Life Bright Blessings! The show I am reviewing addresses sensitive topics: body image, health, and the identity all of this creates. Magically, it addresses transformation, and the fact magic is a process that takes time. It\u2019s not flinging one spell, uttering a few words, or \u201cputting the energy out to the Universe\u201d and then going off and forgetting about it. My 600 Pound Life streams on Hulu, and my husband and I have watched several episodes. Multiple individuals open up to share their struggles, and successes with the public. Some allow people to see them nude. They allow camera crews into their everyday personal lives, into their homes, and they allow people to see all aspects of their relationships. They share how they feel about what their long-term goals are, and their joys and sorrows. I could go into various episodes, listing specifics, but I won\u2019t. I don\u2019t want to spoil it for you. Here is a portion of one of the episodes to watch. \u00a0 &nbsp; The show revolves around a bariatric surgeon\u2019s patients who allow crews to follow them for a year on their weight loss journey. The people weigh between 400 and 800 pounds. Some are young, one lady was only 22 years old, and others are older. They are all very different from one another. Each and every one of them had their lives drastically limited by their weight, which had disabled them in various ways. Some are unable to leave the house. Some barely walk. Some cannot work. All of them eat obsessively, and almost constantly. Each of them have somebody they live with who, as the doctor says, \u201cenables\u201d them. They cannot get all the food they eat for themselves, so friends and or family members bring them the enormous amounts of unhealthy foods they eat. Some are parents, and some have spouses. Some have jobs. All are loved, and each of them are begged by loved ones to change so they have longer, healthier lives. The patients all suffer from addiction to foods, and the unhealthy lifestyle they have trapped themselves in. Each of the patients want the same thing- increased quality of life. None of them want to be rich, powerful, or famous. The word most often used to describe the kind of life each person wants is \u201cnormal\u201d. The second thing they want is more independence. They want longer, healthy life. They all know they are literally eating themselves to death. The magic showcased in My 600 Pound Life is that of transformation. This is the truest, purest form of magic there is. Magic is not about snapping your fingers for an instant change. You don\u2019t fling a spell, go off and forget about it, and BOOM! Days or weeks later, the change you wanted manifests all on its own because you uttered \u2018magic words\u2019 and burned a candle you bought at a local shop. Transformation magic is a process, and it\u2019s a lot of hard work. It\u2019s painful, slow, tedious, and heart wrenching. You observe and nitpick yourself while you are bringing about that change, and you reassess the journey every step of the way, altering your approach as needed. It tears you down, and destroys every last shred of self esteem you have, and you slowly rebuild yourself. Watching each person transform over the year the show follows them is not only inspirational, but seeing somebody bare their humanity so fully is humbling and heartwarming. Almost all the patients make great progress and meet their goals. I will also say the fact the show gives a year is practical and fair. Nobody sees such great results in a short period of time. The changes these people make are changes they need to make long term, or they will be right back where they started. Long term change happens over a long period of time. Unless you have lived in similar conditions, it\u2019s difficult to understand how somebody could make daily choices that keeps them trapped. But that\u2019s what addiction is. There are many who never kick their addiction, and at least one patient on the show was unable to make the changes she needed to, and she never got better. I cannot forget the doctor saying that a patient \u201cbelieves she is permanently disabled,\u201d when she in fact, wasn\u2019t. Almost everybody can make SOME form of changes, even if it\u2019s small changes. Almost everybody has some hope if they will do what it takes to make change happen. Almost everybody can do that which seems impossible, but it happens one step at a time, and those are baby steps. And those baby steps do not begin to create the change until the person desiring change decides they CAN try. I\u2019m not saying belief equals reality. If that were the case, each patient would have gone to sleep BELIEVING they would wake up transformed, and it would have done so all on its own as they slept. But believing as the one patient did that they could NEVER change? That is going to make you not even bother to try. The magical lessons in My 600 Pound Life are a sober reminder that magic is not always fun, it\u2019s seldom easy, and it never happens without belief one CAN get up and try. For somebody like me, who has struggled with my weight all my life, it is so wonderful to see so many people take charge of their lives, battle their addictions, make that magical transformation they at one point only dreamed of, and see the beauty of the manifestation. Enjoy watching this good show. Blessed Be! *** About the Author: Saoirse is a practicing witch, and initiated Wiccan of an Eclectic Tradition. A recovered Catholic, she was raised to believe in heaven and hell, that there is only one god, and only one way to believe. As she approached her late 20\u2019s, little things started to show her this was all wrong. She was most inspired by the saying \u201cGod is too big to fit into one religion\u201d and after a heated exchange with the then associate pastor of the last Xtian church she attended, she finally realized she was in no way Xtian, and decided to move on to see where she could find her spiritual home. Her homecoming to her Path was after many years of being called to The Old Ways and the Goddess, and happened in Phoenix, Arizona. She really did rise from her own ashes! Upon returning to Ohio, she thought Chaos Magic was the answer, and soon discovered it was actually Wicca. She was blessed with a marvelous mentor, Lord Shadow, and started a Magical Discussion Group at local Metaphysical Shop Fly By Night. The group was later dubbed A Gathering of Paths. For a few years, this group met, discussed, did rituals, fellowship, and volunteering together, and even marched as a Pagan group with members of other groups at the local gay Pride Parade for eight years. All the while, she continued studying with her mentor, and is still studying for Third Degree, making it to Second Degree thus far. She is a gifted tarot reader, spellworker, teacher, and was even a resident Witch at a Westerville place dubbed The Parlor for a time. Aside from her magical practice, she is a crocheter, beader, painter, and a good cook. She has been a clown and children\u2019s entertainer, a Nursing Home Activities Professional, a Cavern Tour Guide, a Retail Cashier, and a reader in local shops. Her college degree is a BA in English Writing. She tried her hand at both singing and playing bagpipes, and\u2026well\u2026let\u2019s just say her gifts lie elsewhere! She loves gardening, reading, antiques, time with friends and soul kin, and lots and lots of glorious color bedecking her small home! On the encouragement of a loved one several years back, she searched for a publication to write for, and is right at home at PaganPagesOrg. She is currently residing in Central Ohio with her husband, and furbabies. Saoirse can be contacted at actpipe@yahoo.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10005],"tags":[12090,10564,10563,11024,11121,10074,10592,12805,12809,10021,12808,10276,11660,12806,10066,10490,12807],"class_list":["post-23753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-binge","tag-film","tag-flick","tag-health","tag-hulu","tag-movie","tag-must-see","tag-my-600-pound-life","tag-normal","tag-recommended","tag-self-esteem","tag-series","tag-show","tag-tv-show","tag-video","tag-watch","tag-weightloss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23755,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23753\/revisions\/23755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}