The Disenchanted Forest, The Enchanted Self - A Tale of Female Development in a Strange Land

Written by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein


Once upon a time there was a Princess who set out on a raft to findrepparttar Enchanted Forest. She took with her a canteen full of hopes and dreams, minimal provisions, and outdated maps. The raft swayed.repparttar 142635 wind blew. It was too cold. It was too hot. She was hungry. She was tired. She was scared. At times she was almost swept overboard. Finally, she arrived at what she thought wasrepparttar 142636 Enchanted Forest. At first it was welcoming. There were beautiful trees and lovely smells. However, quickly she fell inrepparttar 142637 brambles and was pricked again and again. It was dark insiderepparttar 142638 forest and she couldn't see where she was. She realized that most ofrepparttar 142639 signposts were missing, some that were there were tiltedrepparttar 142640 wrong way. Night was falling, this was not an Enchanted Forest! She was sure of that as she lay down in a pile of leaves to try to sleep. This was feeling like a Disenchanted Place! I wandered for ages through this disenchanted forest. I was alone and yet not alone as many others were wandering also. Yet there was a hole in my heart as I felt even though others were inrepparttar 142641 forest we weren't connecting. We were shadowing each other but not speaking in ways to each other that were full enough to create connection and a sense of joy! I wanted to go home. But where was home now? Then some women came along and gave me time and opened their hearts and minds to me. I listened to what they shared and went over their wisdom and knowledge again and again. I suddenly realized that more sunlight was coming throughrepparttar 142642 forest. The birds were singing andrepparttar 142643 flowers were all in bloom. I realized that I had gone from a disheartened state to a state of elation! The women had helped me discover and give life to THE ENCHANTED SELF. I realized quickly that each of us has one! For some of us, our enchanted selves are clear and central to our beings. For others our enchanted selves are vague and barely breathing. But everyone has one! It is our most special part of ourselves that is where joy, wisdom and meaning emanate from. It is a gift that we carry. It is a gift we share. It providesrepparttar 142644 light when everything is dark and it takes us again and again away from disenchantment and despair!

Believe In Yourself

Written by J. E. Burke


Believe In Yourself (Believe Your Way to Success)

Believe in yourself. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Some people will tell you it is easy and others will say it is impossible depending on their own experiences. Yet, most of us have learned that is necessary to believe in your abilities to achieve a particular goal.

Have you ever done something just because somebody told you to do it, but you didn't think you could get it done? I don't know what that task was for you, but I do know you didn't give it your best and it did not have a positive outcome for you. Think about that for a moment. You can probably make of list ofrepparttar things you failed at because you did not believe you could do it or that you could not do it well enough.

Onrepparttar 142592 other hand, you can probably think of successes in your life that were made possible because you believed in yourself and your capabilities even if no one else did.

You must learn, if you haven't already, that you can achieve whatever you set out to do. But... (there's usually a but) you must be willing to do what is necessary to build your competence and confidence; your persistence and your patience; and your knowledge and your stamina. These are but a few ofrepparttar 142593 building blocks for learning to believe in yourself through preparation forrepparttar 142594 task to be accomplished.

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