Personal Development
In the first part we began to talk about freedom. Personal freedom is essential for one to feel comfortable as an Enchanted Self-someone able to access positive states of meaning again and again, while living a life of meaning and purpose.
In part I of the series of passover articles, I used the Exodus from Egypt as a metahporical example of some of the struggles that we all face in obtaining personal freedom. Today, let's look at the notion that the Hebrews kept their own language. We could expand that to mean they expressed themselves in words that had essence to them, that fit what their world view. We know that words have subtle meanings attatched to them. Every time we speak in a different language, we slightly change the world view of what we are saying and what it means. An easy obvious example is 'snow'.
Eskimos have 40 ways to talk about snow. We, as far as I know, we have only one way. Now this means when I go out to look at the snow in New Jersey, (occasionally we have snow), I'm looking at it and I'm saying "Gee it snowed". While an Eskimo could go out and look at the snow and have at least 40 different ways to talk about what he was seeing. He would actually see subleties that I'm not even seeing. Thus we each carry our world view, composed of the unique memories, feelings and impressions we have collected through our lives. Everyday, we have reactions and interpretations of what we do, what we see, what we feel. These may be quite consistent with the world we live in, but will still have an uniqueness based on what we give to the experience of being alive. Everyday, as we step out of our homes, as we get on the bus, as we go to work, as we talk to our friends, as we process information we do all through our eyes, not someone else's. In fact,if we try to live exactly like someone else, it just doesn't feel right. It feels lousy. We feel like we've been pushed and sometimes we feel diminished-that how we feel or think doesn't really count.
Let me talk a little about how this works by sharing what a friend told me awhile ago during a bad time in her marriage. She had gone to a lecture where the speaker talked about how we all have to go out of our own personal Egypt, at times in our lives. She said that was certainly how she was feeling, struggling through some bad days with her marriage where she often felt criticized or misunderstood. She felt that the language between them no longer worked. All words seemed to lead to further arguments and put-downs. She was trying to find ways to honor herself through speaking 'her own language'. Again, I mean that metaphorically. For example, one day she went out with her fiends, shopping and having so much fun. She felt as if she and was leaving her Egypt for a day and meeting her own needs. She could speak in ways that were understood, and relax without fear of conflict. She could laugh. Her friends 'got it' -whatever 'it' was, they all understood each other. She quickly found herself feeling uplifted during that day's outing.
Whether it is at this time of year when Passover comes, or any other time of year, we need to work toward our own personal freedom in every significant area of our lives. My friend left her own Egypt by maintaining a sense of her own needs and what made her joyful. In her case shopping, good conversation, and laughter with friends was a successful recipe for well-being.
She knew she hadn't reached the promised land yet. She knew she had a difficult marriage to work on and/or ultimately leave, but she found a way to at least temporarily release herself and be was true to herself.
That's what THE ENCHANTED SELF is all about. If we can keep achieving positive states of mind, body and spirit, then we move closer to really working on the expression of our true selves, in ways that can only bring us personal satisfaction and be of positive benefit to others and the world at large!
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein , originator of THE ENCHANTED SELFˇ¦ 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 www.enchantedself.com
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