by Barbara Becker Holstein

Thank you for staying with me. Let us continue to explore our basic needs and find ways to bring a sense of wholeness and enchantment into our lives. We will end with an exercise for you to practice.

Enchantment involves more than merely meeting one’s basic needs, it also involves valuing one’s basic needs. Yet it cannot be activated and maintained without certain negotiating skills. It also involves valuing one’s own Positive Fingerprints and Shadow Prints of the mind. Positive Fingerprints are actual memories were we have intentionally gone by and gleaned positive feelings and/or knowledge. Shadow Prints are more vague, but also contain within them are positive feelings and impressions from the past.

Without these unique memories and impressions that create a pathway to building a positive self-narrative, these positive building blocks of our uniqueness are lost to others and, more sadly, to ourselves.

We need our Positive Fingerprints and Shadow Prints of the mind so that our present and future will be able to reflect our talents, interests and potential. For if I deny the beauty and specialness of my own uniqueness, I am again locked out of the real experience of enchantment.

Personal enchantment is not a group activity. It remains a private exercise … leading to a sense of integrity and wholeness. Only the person herself knows if she is in a state of enchantment or disenchantment. Here is an activity to get you started, geared to emphasizing positive self-regard.

Exercise: A Play Date with Your Own Enchantment!

1. Please write down five positive comments about yourself. For example, “You are a most courteous and helpful person.” “You are always there for me.” “I can always trust you.” You can make these statements in the first person or the third person, whichever is one comfortable for you. For example, you could state, “I’m a courageous person who tries to help others out, even at great cost to myself.” Or you could say, “You are a most courageous person who is willing to help others out, even at great cost to yourself.”

The Enchantment of Modern Life: Attachments, Crossings, and Ethics

After you have made your list of five positive remarks you’d like to hear about yourself, put this piece of paper in your wallet or pocketbook. Read it to yourself at least once a day for one week. You may think of other positive statements you’d like to add, or you may get tired of certain ones and delete them. That’s fine. Just keep the number around five.

2. After a week, answer the following questions:

(a) How did you feel reading these remarks?
(b) Were there remarks you wished you could have made but honestly felt you didn’t deserve? If so, what do you think are some of the things you might need to work on before you can legitimately make a particular statement? Jot down some of those things. Try to be objective. Is your list realistic? Too perfectionistic? If it is perfectionistic, try to make it more realistic.

Remember that incorporating positive self-regard requires practice and repetition just as incorporating negative self-statements required repetition. If you find this exercise uncomfortable at this time, return to it later.

*This article–with minor changes throughout–came from my book, THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy. The body of the article can be found on pages 184-l85 and the exercise on page 104.

Dr. Holstein speaks regularly on radio programs around the country, and appears on television in New York and New Jersey. Her inspiring audio files can be found on the web at http://www.Ladybuglive.com. She also gives lectures, seminars, and retreats on the concepts of enchantment and is currently in private practice in Long Branch, New Jersey with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein. You may find more about Dr. Holstein and her work at: http://www.enchantedself.com

The Enchantment of Modern Life: Attachments, Crossings, and Ethics

by Barbara Becker Holstein

Thank you for joining me for this two-part article. In this segment we will learn how practicing positive self regard enhances our every day lives.

Time continues to increase my conviction that the old adage “Practice, practice, practice” is as necessary to experiencing a state of enchantment as anything else. Unfortunately, I am convinced, in general, we work much harder than we realize to stay in state of disenchantment rather than to let ourselves enjoy moments of enchantment.

We seem to practice staying in bad mood and seeing our faults and weaknesses rather than our strengths. Do we really feel that worry will help a situation, rather than patiently figuring out appropriate, more positive action? The ultimate solution is often simple, though the road to a permanent state of well-being requires practice and continual awareness and work.

The truth is: most of us get in the way of our good mental health. We may experience a lonely or sad emptiness inside, suffer a sense of disconnection from ourselves, or have repetitive occurrences of bad moods or self-generating negative messages.

We constantly interrupt our potential for achieving positive states by permitting fears or the counting of our woes to take away potentially precious moments. Many of us lack a sense of comfort about being with ourselves in our own mental space, and within our own body. We forget how to recognize and emphasize our blessings.

My clients remind me every day of how we can get in our own way. I remind myself too, as I strive to maintain the wonderful sense of oneness with myself and the world that I call THE ENCHANTED SELF.

This “oneness,” if examined, is a reflection of and a daring to use in new ways suitable for the present moment, our own unique talents, interests, potentials and individual life experiences.

More and more I realize that maintaining enchantment is not a trivial activity. It involves more than positive self-regard, yet it has no psychic power without the foundation of positive self-regard.

Please stay with me. Next time we will continue to explore our basic needs and find ways to bring a sense of wholeness and enchantment into our lives.

*This article–with minor changes throughout–came from my book, THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy. The body of the article can be found on pages 184-l85 and the exercise on page 104.

Dr. Holstein speaks regularly on radio programs around the country, and appears on television in New York and New Jersey. Her inspiring audio files can be found on the web at http://www.Ladybuglive.com. She also gives lectures, seminars, and retreats on the concepts of enchantment and is currently in private practice in Long Branch, New Jersey with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein. You may find more about Dr. Holstein and her work at: http://www.enchantedself.com

Medicine Cards

by Sandra Mizumoto Posey, Ph.D.

The materials are laid out before you: cards, stones, coins, even the stray leaves in your teacup. You puzzle over the swords, cups, wands, and circles, or perhaps an unfamiliar alphabet, or even something as seemingly simple as a series of lines, broken and unbroken. And let’s face it, of all the world’s most perplexing mysteries, certain questions assert themselves at the forefront of our thoughts: Does he/she still love me? Will I get a promotion? How can I improve my health? Where will this road take me? They’re personal issues, the stuff of daily worries, the building blocks of our days.

But is this sort of divination really about the future or is it about now? Divinatory tools are triggers. We begin by recognizing its symbols, picking out the ones that resonate with us first. Some tools already comprise a sophisticated and complex language. When you learn its symbolic alphabet, you can begin to read its message, which is really a message from you to you. While the same symbols may present themselves to you or another reader, how you build the sentences from these esoteric words is yours alone. And by bypassing the language you use daily to communicate the mundane, it’s possible for you to leap from left brain to right, delving into personal truths that are beyond mere logic.

Before casting runes or dealing cards, ask yourself what it is that you are seeking of divination. Determine whether or not you will only see what you want to see. What will change about your outlook or your actions if the answer is the opposite? Will you repeat your reading until you find what you were hoping for? Or are you truly ready to take what is given and accept the fact that what you hope for may not be what is best, that the problem you hope to solve likely has its answer within yourself rather than without, and that no matter what promises you perceive the cards to have given you, you still have to live with your reality today. Divination, in other words, is not an escape. It is not an easy way out. If used mindfully, it will help you to see the mountains you must climb, not avoid them.

Once you have accepted this, the method you choose for divination is largely irrelevant. There is no one way that is better than the rest. Ultimately, you need to go with the form that resonates with you most. While it may seem like an ambiguous statement, you will know what form is right for you. Don’t belabor the issue. You are not tied to this deck or this method for the rest of your life. If something feels right, go with it. At a later point, more likely than not, this will shift and change, probably many times.

The most popular forms today are probably tarot cards (in one form or another) and Norse runes. Divination tools, however, are diverse beyond imagining. You can divine with almost anything. In ancient times, there were those who found truth by looking at the fresh entrails of a newly slaughtered beast, so if you want to find answers in the specks of fat dotting your breakfast sausage, go to it. A few more common methods include cartomancy, divining with cards; palmistry, analyzing the lines and contours of the human hand; tasseography, divining in a tea or coffee cup; phrenology, the analysis of the human head; and bibliomancy, finding answers by choosing random passages from the bible or another text.

The key to successful divination is to achieve an almost meditative state before your chosen instrument. For this reason, the practice of meditation in general is a valuable habit to acquire. Essentially, you are seeking to achieve a waking dream state in which your mind is not chattering on in its normal manner, preoccupied with sundry worries, and begin a journey of free association and storytelling with a willingness to let your mind go wherever it chooses to take you. No matter how unrelated an image, idea, or word may seem when it first flits across your thoughts, do not fight it. Don’t get in your own way. Your mind knows where it is taking you.

If you are an artist, this state of mind is familiar to you. It is that place you reach when you are not consciously choosing your colors or where the next stroke of paint will go. You are simply flowing along with it. Like driving a car, the minute you stop to analyze what you are doing, the process becomes awkward and ultimately detrimental.

The answers come from within yourself. Let them come.

Document Copyright © 1999 Spiritualitea.com & Sandra Mizumoto Posey, Ph.D., author of Cafe Nation: Coffee Folklore, Magick, & Divination (Santa Monica Press, 2000). This article may be reproduced as long as no changes, additions or deletions are made to the text. All the information in this paragraph must be included on the document whenever it is distributed or reproduced.

by Robert Rabbin

“In the hearts of people today there is a deep longing for peace. When the true spirit of peace is thoroughly dominant, it becomes an inner experience with unlimited possibilities. Only when this really happens, when the spirit of peace awakens and takes possession of men’s hearts, can humanity be saved from perishing.”
Albert Schweitzer“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.”
Jawaharlal Nehru

The greatest weapon of mass destruction is the attitude of militarism within the human mind. The missiles and bombs from this arsenal are more lethal than anything we could find in trailers and bunkers and silos. However many weapons might be found, however many might be destroyed, ten more will appear for every one that disappears. We will not be safe until the attitude of militarism is dismantled; we will not be safe until the attitude of true peace is created as the rule of law for persons and nations alike.

The human race has come to this precise point in its brief history: change, or perish. There is no middle ground. Weapons of mass destruction are proliferating like toxic clouds within the minds of so many people whose power threatens civilization throughout the world. Change, or perish. Let us change. We already know about militarism; we already know about this barbarism. We do not yet know about peace. So let us learn, and then change.

There is no more urgent question than this: How can I make peace real? How are we to meet violence with nonviolence, to meet war with peace, to meet fear with love, to meet hatred with compassion? How are we to dismantle the attitude of militarism and install the attitude of peace, within our own minds and within the very structure of society? It is, first and foremost, a choice, a decision, a commitment, a stand. In this moment in which the world is trembling and reeling with angry passions and violent convictions, we must call for peace, stand for peace, and act for peace. We must accept only peace. But first, we must become peace itself, not an idea or image of peace, not the rhetoric of peace, but actual peace, the peace in which violence cannot arise, the peace in which the attitude of militarism cannot survive.

We must seek that peace, know that peace, and become that peace. How do we do this? We can do this through understanding, and through reflection, and through empathy. We must understand that we already are peace. It is called the soul, and it is given to all in equal measure as a flame of the Creator’s fire, full of love and joy–this is the soul, and this is peace. Regardless of what our mind may say, regardless of what today’s headlines may say, regardless of what society may say, peace is the essential nature of all human beings. This is the savage irony of our times and of the human condition: within each of us is the loving and peaceful flame of the Creator, and yet we continue to accept violence and war as though they were as natural as sunlight. They are not. They are an aberration, a disease; and the medicine is experiencing the reality of the soul. We cannot kill our way to peace. We cannot bomb our way to safety. We must understand that within the soul of all human beings is peace.

A Course in Miracles (Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers)

How do we find our way to the soul? How do we live from the soul? We have to reflect deeply on the nature of the mind, we have to reflect deeply on the nature of thoughts and beliefs. Even if this seems unrealistic, we must do this. We must come to know that Silence which waits for us just beneath the ragged surface of the mind. We must sit together in Silence. We must join with others in Silence. We must let Silence illuminate and transform the hateful delusions of demagoguery. This is how we enter the soul. We must learn to be Silent, and from within this Silence we wash ourselves clean of anger, fear, and hatred. And we must question our beliefs about self and other, we must inquire into the origin and nature of anger and retribution, of fear and hostility. We must, in a word, become wise, in the way towering trees are wise, and glaciers, and tides. We must become wise, like deserts and mountains: Silent, profound, majestic.

Entering this Silence is discovering our soul, and from within the infinite beauty of our soul, we know peace, we become peace. We must do this now, today, and tomorrow, and every day for the rest of our lives: for our own sake, and for the sake of our families, our communities, our world.

But do not be fooled: Silence is not passive. Silence is not weak. Silence is not mute. The Silence of which I speak is the mind and heart of the universal soul: it is active, strong, and loud. And it is peaceful. And it is unconquerable. When we become truly peaceful within, we will create peace without.

This is the work that we must all take up, now and for the rest of our days. There is no greater work than this. There is no greater wealth than this. There is no greater philosophy than this. There is no greater security than this. There is no greater justice than this. There is no greater contribution than this. There is no greater truth than this.

You do not have to take my word for it. You know this for yourself. You know it now, resting in your soul, resting in the depths of your being. Here, we find each other. Here, we find our lost love and compassion. Here, in this depth, we find that truth which is beyond differences, beyond dogmas, beyond justifications. It is the universal soul, and its face shines with beauty, with tenderness, with love, with compassion, with forgiveness. But most of all, it shines the same in all, and we must learn to feel this as a living truth.

Our world risks losing this soul, if we do not find it within ourselves and if we do not then stand and move and speak and act in the world with the full weight and measure and power of this soul found again within our own depth of being where the Creator placed it.

Do not be fooled by the shrill voices that call upon your fears and urge you to war, to violence, to brutality. Do not do this. Turn away from this noise and enter the Silence of your soul. Entering this place, then find new mouths and new words, new hands and new actions, new hearts and new compassion. Let the children waiting in celestial realms be suddenly happy at the prospect of coming to Earth.

Let us now resolve to enter the depths of Silence every day, let us resolve to purify our mind and heart in these still waters, let us resolve to wash away all anger and hatred and fear in these still waters, that we may find the peace, the love, the joy that is within us and that we share these soul-treasures freely with one another in friendship and mutual respect.

Let us affirm that we are peace, and knowing that we are peace, let us also affirm that we will stand for peace, speak for peace, and create peace in each hour of each day.

Though there is a great army of those who prefer violence, we must create an even greater army of people who choose peace. Once we find our way into the spiritual heart, into the silence of the soul, into the very mind of God and then into Oneness with all of life — we have no choice but to live in peace.

But we can be strong and active in our love. We can be mighty in our peaceful ways. We can work long and hard to eradicate the true cause of violence, which is poverty of spirit. We must work to enrich our own understanding, to unfurl the flag of peace within our own heart. We must find strength and solace in our own inner light and peace, and then we must spread this light and peace throughout the world in real and telling ways, even dramatic ways.

© 2004/Robert Rabbin/All rights reserved
Robert Rabbin is a writer, speaker, and spiritual activist. He is the author of numerous books and articles, and the creator of TruthForPresident.org, an online spiritual activism center. For contact information, please visit www.robrabbin.com or www.truthforpresident.org

by: B. Marlain Morrison

“Almost everybody walks around with a vast burden of imaginary limitations inside his head. While the burden remains, personal success is as difficult to achieve as the conquest of Everest with a sack of rocks tied to your back.” J. H. Brennan

Edward Lewis: “You could be so much more.”

Vivian Ward: “People put you down enough, you start to believe it.”

Edward Lewis: “I think you are a very bright, very special woman.”

Vivian Ward: “The bad stuff is easier to believe…you ever notice that?”

From the movie “Pretty Woman” with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.

“You can change your beliefs so they empower your dreams and desires.” Marcia Wieder

~~~~~~~~~

In part 1 of this article, we unveiled the inner critic to be the self-saboteur of our lives. In this section we are going to address tackling our self-defeating inner thoughts with a technique called Affirmations.

Affirmations are a method, albeit slow, to replace the destructive and limiting scripts/dialogues with the beliefs and dialogs you choose. It makes sense that you must “reprogram” the ingrained scripts you have been running for scores of years. But it also follows that, since it took a number of years to get yourmind so doggedly programmed, that it definitely won’t be an overnight job to change it.

But, if a course of affirmations is committed to and faithfully carried out, you will see changes in your thought life for the definite better. Louise L. Hay has even published a book entitled “You Can Heal Yourself” which employs affirmations to assist in healing physical conditions. Affirmations are a safe and highly recommended method to take control of your inner critic and open up to the possibilities of a vibrant life before you.

Affirmations are constructive, positive statements that you repeat to yourself aloud at least once daily, more often is better. Make it part of your morning and evening ritual so you incorporate it in your habits. Each statement should be said three times and absolutely aloud. One time in the first person “I deserve success in my life.” The second time as “You deserve success in your life.” And the third time as “your name deserves success in his/her life.” Repeating each statement three times may take a while depending upon how many you are working with, so give yourself enough time. In addition, all your affirmations should be in the present tense as though they are already fact.

I strongly suggest writing your affirmations on 3X5 cards for convenience. To reinforce a particularly “hard to accept” affirmation, post it around the house, car and office on post-it notes. You can even create a mini poster on the computer with specialty paper to hang in a prominent place as your new “motto” for change.

As one set of affirmations becomes easier for your mind to accept, add about five new ones (that raise the bar a bit) and thus continue to challenge that inner critic and pry open those prison doors. As an additional reinforcement to your affirmation course, you may wish to use some subliminal tapes to assist. Louise L. Hay has some specifically geared towards self esteem and anything by Stephan Halpern are widely accepted as safe and well done.

Create your own affirmations by using the previously mentioned one as a template and replace with those limitations you are facing. To see a pretty extensive list of affirmations go to: http://www.AbundantLivingCoach.com/affirmations.html

I personally use affirmations, have been for several years now, and will continue to for many years to come. I know that it has had a profound impact on my life, opened new vistas I never would have allowed myself before. To me, it is the foundational stone to realizing abundance and vibrancy in your and my life. Before any of us can reallydesign and create the abundant life we want, we must do the preparation work to ensure our success. I know that the life I live now would not have been possible if I hadn’t done this foundational work and created an environment where my dreams will be supported, not torn down by my inner thought life. After all, we are supposed to be our own best friend, not our own worst enemy.

Until next time, I wish you abundance in all areas of your life,

B. Marlain Morrison

About The Author
Ms Morrison has spent nearly twenty years in the fortune 500 corporate settings as well as the Department of Defense industry. She holds a Bachelors in Business Administration with an emphasis in management and a Bachelors of Arts in Sacred Theology. She is a member of the International Association of Coaches and is trained through Coachville.
www.AbundantLivingCoach.com
abundantliving@earthlink.net