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ENCHANTMENT IN AN E-MAIL – NOVEMBER 2000 SPECIAL EDITION

"Achieving Positive States of Mind and Body Again and Again"

Produced by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein Psychologist, Life Coach, and Originator of  THE ENCHANTED SELF(R)

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Welcome to the new bi-weekly publication of The Enchanted Self's e-newsletter!  Each month I will focus on (and respond to) a question about enchantment and/or a reader's ideas on enchantment.

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Question of the Month

"In this wondrous world of senses, what moves you to a heightened experience?" 

Answer

It is often color, as beautifully illustrated by Emily Doherty in her essay, Prism.  The following is an excerpt from her essay.  To read the full text, go to the following URL: http://www.enchantedself.com/stories.htm#PrismI hope that you enjoy her insights and unique ways of connecting with enchantment.

Prism

By Emily Doherty

I cannot remember a time when I was not seduced by color.  Was it the petunias, perhaps, the firm grip of my father's aging hand as we climbed the short hill beside our house to browse briefly in the palette of fuschias and magentas, violets and lavenders blue?  Was it the haphazard piles of velvet upholstery samples tossed invitingly on the play yard floor of my grandmother's linen closet, beckoning me to cavort with kings and queens?  Or the bright balls of wool stored in the shiny brass potato chip can awaiting her dedicated fingers to transform them into rainbow squares for afghans?  Perhaps it was the color words themselves, the tantalizing tongue twirls of fairy tales and Crayola wrappers: heliotrope, delphinium, vermilion, celadon, burnt sienna... endless as imagination, they lured me to delight.

I am drawn to the mesmer of color as the musician is to melody.  Song colors my ears; image colors my soul.  I cannot choose a favorite, like chocolate or vanilla ice cream; life remains incomplete without all 64 in one box.  From the earliest remembrances of childhood, my favorite few possessions were books with "coloured plates", a rare find among my mother's vintage novels, and crayons. 

I amassed color everywhere: postage stamps, ribbons, fabric switches, buttons, flower petals, butterflies, marbles, in endless and varied collections.  While my mother shopped, I crawled invisibly under the tables in the millinery department, risking spots on my shopping-white gloves and hoping that an elegant bloom or two, a feather or a bright sequin, had somehow hidden in the pale, plush carpeting.  I traced the paisleys in oriental rugs, and retraced them as I rubbed my eyes and journeyed through my very own Arabian Nights to sleep.

Dresses, many ill-fitting and old, hide in the depths of my closet, appearing as briefly as butterflies in Spring cleaning, and then carefully return to their hooks and hangers because the loss of their colors would somehow diminish my being.  Like my relationships, they stay safely in the shadows, each waiting for the vibrant moment to emerge from its Plastic bag chrysalis when the light changes seasons.  My mother's coral wool dressing gown, my father's tasteful maroon ties, my daughter's first velvet gown, an unmistakable Evening-In-Paris blue, a length of bright Marimekko left from my son's window curtain--each has a spot in my Technicolor memory.  Bred on the still enticing black and white films, a secret part of me breathes a quick sigh of relief when the movie is in color!

Like my mother, I find myself chasing Tiffany windows in obscure towns and places, their brilliant tones enveloping me in awed silence as they did on Sunday mornings long ago.  Unable, to rationalize a splurge on the real thing, I have carefully arranged a pauper's ransom of colored glasses and bottles on the eastern sill to greet the early morning light. Drawers burgeon with sheets of wrapping paper too beautiful to be sacrificed yet to packages; silk scarves spanning the generations lie in neatly folded piles looking for a more swan-like neck than mine ...

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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://www.egroups.com/groups/encself

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Have an "enchanting" month.  I wish you all many enchanted moments!

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FORWARDING & REPRINTING

(C) 2000 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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