Vol 3, No. 2

"New Leaves
always return
After the dead of Winter."

-- American Zen Saying
by Suzanne E. Harrill

This Month's Issue:

Greetings from the Editor:

Love

Valentine's Day emphasizes Eros love, which is love between two lovers. Many project their fantasies and love ideals either on their partner or a wished for partner. This is a set up because anytime you project wishes, hopes, and dreams onto another, you can easily get disappointed when things do not go according to your inner desires.

Why not take charge of your Valentine's Day this year? Do something nurturing for yourself and then extend yourself to one or more friends to practice another kind of live, philios love. This is love between friends. Here you know you can take charge of your day by giving rather than waiting to receive something that may or may not meet your expectations. Consider contacting a friend or family member you truly care about and enjoy philios love and companionship.

Love,
Suzanne

 

Relationships

Everything Your Family Never Taught You About Self-Esteem

By Suzanne E. Harrill      

Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself and is based on the things you believe about yourself, the things you say to yourself, and the images you have about yourself.  Consciously and unconsciously you send thoughts and opinions about yourself to yourself. These thoughts can be accurate and helpful or they can be false and damaging.

Many of the beliefs you have about yourself were planted in your mind when you were a child. As a young child you knew no boundaries, you were not separate from others in the family, so you absorbed, like a little sponge, all the ways of your family. You copied the spoken and unspoken beliefs and patterns modeled to you by parents and family. What was said, you believed was true. Many things you did not understand, and thus interpreted with a child’s mind....

(read the whole article)

 

Special Offer

February Seed Thoughts for Loving Yourself

By Suzanne E. Harrill

MONTHLY ON LINE AFFIRMATIONS.  Affirmations to support self-esteem and spiritual growth now available in monthly installments. This is an updated edition of the seed thoughts and affirmations in the book, Affirm Your Self Day by Day. Only available here on line.

(read the whole story)

 

Suzanne Says

Questions & Answers

QUESTION: Hi Suzanne. I am still enjoying your newsletter. Another question for you follows.....   In the introduction to your book 'Enlightening Cinderella' you state ..."we can only attract a partner similar to us in consciousness, with similar lessons to learn."

I have noted in and through my communication with my partner on 'hot' topics (important issues for our relationship) that although I learn a lot from the experience through his feedback and my own reactions, I always feel like I'm the 'baby' or 'inferior one' and he the 'superior one' in the interaction...

(read the whole article)

 

Article

On Being Stuck: Coping for Sensitive People

by Thomas Eldridge      

Why is it that we can find ourselves in a situation we would rather not be in but we can't seem to change it? It could be a relationship that is not a happy and fulfilling partnership but we just can't leave it, or it could be an unsatisfying job, yet we don't update our resume.

Sometimes it's an apartment or neighborhood that's uncomfortable for us but we cannot find the energy to go out looking for something that suits our style or safety needs. Maybe it is a health problem like an addiction that we can't find the self-discipline to begin working on. And there is that creative project in the desk drawer that we think about once in a while but don't spend any time on, or the room that needs painting or the car that needs servicing or your teeth that need new fillings.

(read the whole article)

Inspirational

UNIVERSAL MAN

By Rabindranath Tagore        

There was a time when we prayed for special concessions, we expected that the laws of nature should be held in abeyance for our own convenience. But now we know better. We know that law cannot be set aside, and in this knowledge we have become strong. For this law is not something apart from us; it is our own. The universal power which is manifested in the universal law is one with our own power. It will thwart us where we are small, where we are against the current of things; but it will help us where we are great, where we are in unison with the all....

(read the whole article)

Enlighten Up   --    Humor

Best Positions in Bed

Watch out for this one!

(read the humor)

Inspirational

The Science of Happiness

By Geoffrey Cowley
NEWSWEEK

If good lives were built on good fortune, Jacqueline Gavagan would have reason to despair. All was well when she got out of bed last September 11. She had a loving husband and a satisfying profession as speech pathologist. Her two young children were thriving, and a third was due in seven weeks. You can guess the rest.

GAVAGAN’S HUSBAND, 35-year-old Donald, worked as a bond broker in the World Trade Center. By midmorning, he was entombed in a million tons of burning rubble. So were many of the couple’s closest friends. Does she still grieve? Of course. But over the past year, the 36-year-old Brooklynite has managed to restore meaning and even some joy to her life....

(read the whole article)