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A TASTE OF
ENCHANTMENT: October 2002 Special Edition
"Achieving Positive States of Mind and Body Again and Again"
Produced by Dr. Barbara Becker
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Welcome to the mid-month publication of The Enchanted Self's e-newsletter! Each month I typically focus on (and respond to) a question about enchantment and/or a reader's ideas on enchantment.
Question:
Where Has All the
ENCHANTMENT Gone? Long Time Passing
... - Part 2
By Dr.
Barbara Becker
Thank you for coming back to read part two of this article. We are continuing to explore our current state of disenchantment in the field of mental health care. Last week I wrote about the ways that things have changed over the year in Managed Care. This week I will identify some ways to deal with the current situation and get back on the road to enchantment. Although this article was specifically written for therapists, I ask each of you to play with the Enchanted Self process, whatever your endeavors, as you read Part II of my article.
Giving ourselves a genuine dose of positive regard, beginning to acknowledge our talents, strengths, coping skills and lost potential; learning how to negotiate, react and act; and finally finding pleasure and replenishment in all the right places are universal necessities to living a life of meaning and purpose.
As we find ourselves as "mental health providers" in a state of disenchantment, how can we utilize what we know about human potential to offset our own emotional and spiritual malaise? We know from the study of human potential that optimism and hope are extremely important factors in staying well both physically and emotionally. How can we hold on to these capacities within ourselves? How can we at the same time fight Managed Care? In my book, THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy, I discuss how important our own histories are. Each of us has accumulated many memories. Our memory banks are unique to ourselves and hold within them, the potential for hope and optimism. Let me explain.
Only you can review your life's history. Rather than looking for dysfunctional aspects of your past, search out and discover moments when you displayed talents, strengths and/or wonderful coping skills. Only you can review your life, discovering and recognizing the moments when you were filled with the potential for growth and success even if you were stymied. Now is a golden opportunity to look through your past and recognize these wondrous moments.
Perhaps as a child you excelled at playing chess or tennis. Perhaps you were the child that brought home and nurtured abandoned birds and animals. Perhaps you longed to study the piano but there was no money and you could not take lessons. Yet even now you may remember the longing you had to play, or, perhaps to fend off feelings of anxiety in a quarreling fancily, you developed marvelous organizational skills. Were you the adolescent that displayed leadership skills, becoming president of the junior high school student council? Or were you the child that loved to dance or write poetry or just sit and daydream? You, who have guided so many others in finding their paths, can take the time to review your own history to find what is most positive about yourself.
Once you have begun to review and itemize your talents, strengths, coping skills and potential you are well on your way to bringing enchantment back into your life. Even during these dark days of Managed Care you can utilize your own enchantment in several fashions. You may discover in reviewing your past that you have much more potential to help in the fight for Managed Care then you thought was possible. Directing yourself to be a clearer and stronger warrior in the battle will in and of itself decrease anxiety and lessen the likelihood of depression. We all know that from what we advise our clients.
If a review of your past makes clear that you are not cleared to be a warrior in this battle, you can still access long forgotten talents and pleasures which can make your life more fulfilling. Perhaps it is time to take up tennis again. After all, you may have a few more open hours. Perhaps it is time to join a writer's group or offer volunteer services on the local first aid squad. Perhaps it is time to finally make those plans for a walking or biking tour next summer and use extra hours to strengthen those old leg muscles. In reviewing your talents you may discover new avenues to provide mental health services to your local community.
Remember, whatever way you go, you will find yourself most successful if you are utilizing your own specific talents, and coping skills. You will soon find that you are able to expand your horizons and have a more positive sense of yourself. You will be back on the road to enchantment.
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Please give us the pleasure of sharing your responses. They may be posted on the web site or in future issues of the newsletter. You can also chat about this topic or create your own in The Enchanted Self e-group at the following URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/encself
Special
Announcement: Free Live Chat!
Chat Date and Time:
Monday, October 28 @
Topic: Enchantment in Everyday Life: What is it? How do I find it? What does it cost? Does it come in my size?
Description: A class about the nature of 'enchantment' in everyday living. Women need help in defining who they really are in positive terms, what their talents and potential are, and understanding that positive states of well-being are not just a luxury. We will explore ways to for you to achieve your own positive states of being, replenish and restore your confidence in your self and create gateways to joy. The class will be a balance of teaching, sharing and processing with me. If you are interested in this free chat session, please write to my assistant, Rebecca Trelfa, at rebecca@enchantedself.com. She will forward further instructions on how to join the chat session.
How to Order
Here are some ways to order RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT, The Secret Ingredient is YOU! as well as THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy. If you order from my website I can send you autographed copies of my two books. I can also send your free Enchanted Self bookmarks and copies of my paper newsletter, THE ENCHANTED SELF. You can also order the audio edition of my first book, THE ENCHANTED SELF, A Positive Therapy via my web site.
Tip: When shopping online use keywords "recipes for enchantment" and "enchanted self" to locate the books.
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Forwarding &
Reprinting
(C) 2000-2002 Copyright The Enchanted Self - All rights reserved.
Please feel free to pass this issue on to someone who might enjoy it. The Enchanted Self Newsletter is copyrighted but may be quoted, reprinted, or distributed in whole or part without prior permission, provided the content is not changed and attribution is given including:
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
THE ENCHANTED SELF(R)
We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as self-healing and professional psychology newsletters. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission and send us a sample issue.
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To learn more about THE ENCHANTED SELF(R) - A State of Well Being, Joy, and Happiness, please contact me or visit my web site.
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