Coming To Your Senses, Again and Again!


When we talk about the Enchanted Self we are referring to positive states of mind and body that are unique to each of us. We are also referring to the process by which we tap into our Enchanted Self. (The name I have given to this delightful, happy, elevated part of us that knows how to have fun, feel alive and be joyful.) One step in the process is learning how to heighten and how to return to positive states of mind and body. Our memories always assist us.

As autumn flows into winter this a time when most of us prepare ourselves emotionally and physically for the Holiday Season. Many of us have just come off or a great American tradition: Thanksgiving. In fact, I am sitting at my computer right now feeling stuffed--too much pie and too many nuts, sweet potatoes, ice cream and who knows what else!

I am literally thankful to be sitting here, though, already 'full' both in the tummy and the heart with more good memories to bank in my personal memory account. I had the pleasure of time with my children and grandchildren and some other dear relatives. The minor aggravations already look smaller as I move away from Thanksgiving, and the good moments look larger as they take a place in my personal story. How can I even further enhance feeling good right now? How also can I get a quick fix of good emotional energies, when I need them, when I don't feel as great as I do now?

The most important first step is to focus on, review and then 'bank' our current positive moments. For example, rather than focusing on how tired I felt this morning as the weekend came to a close, I reviewed all the good moments over the last few days. I used my senses to help me. I remembered visually the pleasant scenes--sitting with family, joking in the car. I remembered sounds--my grandson's sweet little voice and laughter. I remembered aromas--the smell of the fresh applesauce I made on Thursday. I remembered touch--hugging our cousins. I remembered tastes--the pecan pie brought from Pittsburgh ... yum!

So, because I had some current wonderful moments I took advantage of them and literally savored them! I practiced tasting them again and again. I looked for the sensory part of each memory. A very important way to stimulate positive memories is to utilize your senses: taste, smell, touch, hearing and vision. Very simply stated, your senses provide information, which are transmitted to your brain helping you to perceive the world in which you live. You may never have paid any particular attention to your five senses but when focused upon individually or in groups, they can provide the stimuli necessary to recapture positive experiences either to help 'bank' them for further review and uplift or to go to your memory bank when you need to and take out some old memories that you can once again enjoy by remembering the smells, tastes, feelings, sights and sounds that went with them!

I hope the above serves as a little 'present' for you and that you will try the following play-date with enchantment.

A Play-date With Enchantment Using the Past to Your Pleasurable Advantage

Here is an exercise that can help you to retrieve positive images and sensations focusing on one or more of your senses. Begin by closing your eyes and listening to the sounds around you. Listen for a few minutes. When you feel drawn to a particular sound, stay with it. Allow yourself to mentally wonder remembering to focus on the positive. When you are ready, open your eyes and find an object to hold in your hands, such as an article of clothing. Close your eyes and explore the object, listen to the sounds around you. What positive memories and experiences are evoked by focusing on two of your senses, i.e. touch and hearing. Try this exercise mixing and matching your other senses.

About The Author

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. Chat with others in Dr. Holstein's e-group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/encself/join, and sign up for her free e-group at www.enchantedself.com. Order her book, THE ENCHANTED SELF: A Positive Therapy, or the CD-rom or tape version and her book RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT: The Secret Ingredient is YOU!, or the ED-rom version, at http://www.enchantedself.com/ordering/ordering.htm.

encself@aol.com

MORE RESOURCES:
RELATED ARTICLES
Believe in Yourself!
A near middle-aged man in one of my last workshops had followed his calling for the past decade with unbounded zeal. Alas, his career had never developed into long-term employment but rather, was fraught with numerous set-backs, lay-offs and even dismissals.
Learn to Deal in Challenges
(Excerpted from the 2004 Jim Rohn Weekend Leadership Event)To really help people in extraordinary ways, learn to deal in challenges. That is what sports is all about, challenges.
Martial Arts CHARACTER And the Universal Law of Interdependence - The Keys to Life Mastery, Key #2
In the philosophical teachings which form the foundation for the Ninja Warrior's lifeways, there is a principle known as the 'law of interdependence.' This so-called 'law' is not a must-do rule which one must follow, nor is it to be confused with dependence or co-dependence as it is seen today where one or more individuals who cannot or choose not to provide for themselves, lean on and 'depend' on the work and resources of another for the fulfillment of their needs.
Create Your Way Out of It
When life has you feeling less than happy, and you would like to see things different than they are, here are some tips that can help you.I learned that there IS a way out of and beyond any situation that we are less than happy about.
Persistency - Element In Reality
One of the keys to being successful in anything you do is persistence. Lets clarify the word 'persistence' :- It is ability to be persist on instances.
Playing with Matches
Matches are all about power; a new world opens up when you strike a match and see it burst into flames.Most all children go through a period of fascination with matches.
A Little Blessing Changes Everything
"We're on a one-game winning streak!" That's what freshman Dawan Boxley said after his basketball team, the Rutgers-Camden Pioneers, beat Bloomfield College 77 to 72, snapping a five-year, 117-game losing streak. Imagine losing every game for five years; how depressing that must have been for the team, the coach, and the entire school! But what a joy when that buzzer sounded and game 118 turned out differently.
Count Your Blessings
Each day brings a new beginning. It's a new leaf in the story of your life.
The Shoemaker and the Brat
At seventeen years old, I was a brat. A mixture of innocence, immaturity and righteousness.
Inside Secrets On How To Stay Afloat During Tough Times
Do you find yourself asking questions when tough times come like, 'Why has this come my way?' or 'What did I do to deserve it?' It has sometimes crossed my mind, 'Why me?' when I'm faced with what seemed like an insurmountable problem.Never allow negative thoughts to rule when you have the temptation to quit!I have learnt not to dwell on negative thoughts when I am tempted to quit.
Your Support Network
Quick. Who's in your support network? Huh? What's a support network? Do I have a support network? Honey, who's in my support network?Your support network is that group of people you can go to with problems, questions, to vent, to cry on their shoulders.
Heavy Weather Guide
Direct Answers - Column for the week of April 26, 2004My girlfriend and I are basically the same age, just a six month difference. When I went to buy the engagement ring in February, I felt certain she was the right one.
Tomorrow May be Too Late
A high school senior, looking forward to going to college, inspiring to become a doctor kisses her parents and dashes out the door to go to school, smiling, and waving goodbye -- never realizing that before day's end, she would meet the fate of a deadly bullet.A husband and wife have a lover's quarrel, laying back to back in bed -- he, thinking about apologizing, she, thinking about talking tomorrow.
Have a Green Day, Every Day!
Green symbolises growth. Growth requires change and transformation.
Attitudes - The Overlooked Inventory
It goes without question that any business intending to thrive will, sooner or later, be forced into making an honest inventory of assets and liabilities. Yet, whether from a business perspective, or in the going concern of a single human life, we often lose track of our most vital product, our own attitudes.
Death Wish
I tremble at the thought that millions of people suffer enough to entertain a death wish. Perhaps it is as common a component of the psyche as suffering is a widespread phenomenon among humans.
A Resurrection Story
My mother often wound up in the hospital during the last decade of her life. She had good health insurance and a good many ailments, and she generally outstayed two or three hospital roommates.
Its Not My Job to Free Tibet
I hate saying that. It feels so very wrong.
Keep Hope Alive
"Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all..
Whats Simple?
If you walk up to a stranger in the grocery store and ask them to define "simple," as in "simple life," they'll probably say something like "having less stuff." Or they might hit you with a frozen turkey.