Practical Ways to Bring Enchantment into Your LifeWritten by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
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Some of our best pathways for enchantment come from hopes and dreams that we had as children. Relax, and let your mind wander back to a time in your life when you were eager and excited about life. For example, perhaps you were a Brownie or a Cub Scout, and you imagined yourself becoming a Girl or Boy Scout some day, winning every Scout badge possible. Or maybe, because you like nature, you often imagined yourself climbing high in trees. You may never have actually done these things, yet now you can still remember good feelings that you had either actually doing, or thinking, about these things. Rather than holding on to disappointment or anger that may have come from unrealized dreams, think about three things that you can do as an adult that could result in your having some of these same positive feelings. For example, perhaps a course in rock-climbing might help you get back in touch with fearlessness you felt as a child when you imagined yourself climbing tall trees. Or perhaps it is now time for you to sharpen your skill at some sort of craft, and enter a competition. Or maybe its just time to order a gourmet-cooking magazine, and to have pleasure of looking at someone else's recipes. As adults, we don't always need to be a winner. It's enough just to enjoy a hobby or an interest. One of gifts of Enchantment is that you can make a variety of decisions about yourself, sometime choosing to be highly competitive, while at other times you may choose to be a spectator. Whether you relax by blowing bubbles, or by wishing on a star, fishing, or roller skating, magical yet obtainable ingredients of Enchantment lie within each of us, waiting for you to practice them an to apply them, again and again. Give yourself permission to feel good again, by recognizing true strengths and value you have as a unique human being. Welcome to your Enchanted Self!
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein , originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF®, a method of bringing delight and meaning into everyday living, invites you to view her new line of ENCHANTED WOMAN products, downloadable e-books, and free gifts at http://www.enchantedself.com. Order her book and other woman products, at http://www.enchantedself.com/ordering/ordering.htm
| | RECIPE FOR ENCHANTMENT - THE THREE R's: Remembering the Best, Restoring Yourself, RaptureWritten by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
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This "R" is extremely difficult and involves a lot of mental and emotional perspiration. We are vulnerable to absorbing criticism and negative remarks about ourselves and actually internalizing them, making them ours. So there is much work to be done when we start to sift through feelings that we are less rather than more. We need to think of ourselves as more, not less. I remember one client who had struggled to begin think of herself as more, not less. Her husband was often critical of her and constantly interruptive. For example when eating out he would often criticize her and spoil her pleasure by suggesting she had put on some pounds and might not want to order a particular item. Around house he would barge into a room and interrupt her telephone conversation or television show. He would then bring up a subject in which she was presented as culprit. It was a wonderful day in her life when she was simply able to say when her husband interrupted her, "I am leaving house for a few hours. I hope upon my return your mood will be better and you will be treating me more appropriately." She then took car keys and went to visit a friend. When she came back he was pleasant and in a totally different state. Although this was only part of correction between them, it was a momentous moment in giving her a sense that not only must she think of herself as more, not less, but she also must have courage to take positive appropriate action. Rapture is a strong, full word that incorporates a capacity for joy that affects us in our own mind, body and spirit. It is a feeling of being in harmony in a euphoric or an ecstatic way with others or universe at large. Obviously, we don't go around in a state of rapture all time. To experience even states of well being on a regular basis involves tremendous daily practice. Yet, if we work and we perspire, mentally, emotionally, socially we will be rewarded. How? For one thing, positive actions we take in our lives are pleasing to us and good for us. In my new book RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!, I talk about so many occasions when people took positive actions and then had pleasant rewarding experience of positive feelings. These positive feelings varied from person to person yet included whole spectrum of well being, including joyousness, contentment, satisfaction, pleasure and on occasion, rapture. In my book I share a reverie that I had one night. I imagined all of my friends and loved ones and then strangers from around world coming together in big circles dancing in moonlight. We danced until dawn in my reverie. There was a sense of euphoria that built leading to me to experiencing great joy and even rapture as I indulged in my visualization. I share this one with you because it points out that positive actions can take form of positive thoughts! Often we dismiss our inner life. I think it's important to document that our inner life is a very real place where we practice many of states of well being that ultimately take shape through expression in real world. Although I have not danced through night in moonlight with hundreds of thousands of people, feelings I had in that reverie certainly translate into many of positive actions that I take in sharing THE ENCHANTED SELF message. As a matter of fact, without my inner life, I doubt there would be energy to bring these teachings to others. Yes, obviously in this discussion we are moving toward spiritual. Ultimately, positive energies that we have to give world require mind, body and spirit. And so you see that enchantment is all about putting meat in your soul's soup. It is about muscle that goes with living a life of joy. Perspiration, daily practice, and daily routines that enhance possibilities of living a life of enchantment, are all of hard work. Just remember though, before you get discouraged, it is even harder to live a miserable life. We pay for misery in so many ways. We pay for it in feeling fatigued and feeling that we don't have real purpose. We feel inside that there's a hole in our hearts or that we have missed boat. We can feel aggravated, tense, fed up. We can feel that future will be as miserable as past. We can feel that we are ordinary rather than extraordinary. We can pay for a negative attitude with more physical and emotional illness so that perspiration pours off of us in a different way. I think it's smarter, since life is a struggle and designed so that we work at whatever we're doing, that we practice enchantment and enjoy perspiration and inspiration that goes with practice. So promise yourself to take JOYRIDE OF YOUR LIFE!
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein , originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF®, a method of bringing delight and meaning into everyday living, invites you to view her new line of ENCHANTED WOMAN products, downloadable e-books, and free gifts at http://www.enchantedself.com. Order her book and other woman products, at http://www.enchantedself.com/ordering/ordering.htm
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