Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein is the originator of The Enchanted Self. She has been a positive psychologist in private practice and licensed in the states of New Jersey and Massachusetts since 1981.

Her book, The Enchanted Self, A Positive Therapy, was published in 1997 by Harwood Academic Publishers and is now in its second printing.

She has recently published her second book on the concept of enchantment: Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU! The magic of the human spirit, with its capacity for survival, growth and joy, has always intrigued Dr. Holstein.

INTERVIEW with Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF(R), Bringing Delight to Women Everywhere

Q: Barbara, tell us what THE ENCHANTED SELF® is and how it ties into women, most particularly to women in the business world.

A: Well, Deb, that's certainly an all encompassing question! Let me start by breaking my answer up into several easy to process parts:

THE ENCHANTED SELF is the name that we've given to express the special part of ourselves that recognizes pleasure, knows when things feel right, and knows when we are on the right course in life. For generations this aspect of ourselves has remained without a name. We have of course talked about being happy, feeling refreshed, feeling full of purpose, or feeling whole, and we've also used different expressions to talk about this part of ourselves. However, there has never before been an umbrella expression that immediately cues women in to that special, wondrous part of ourselves which we have notoriously overlooked, disregarded or dismissed. And this is aspect is an important part of our makeup.

Don't forget that as women we are basically caretakers, no matter what other professional roles we take on in life. So often whether raising children, helping elderly parents, taking care of domestic chores, or whatever, we give of ourselves, and give and give. Even when we are tired, depleted, or blue, we still continue to give. We deserve to recognize the "Enchanted" part of ourselves that is unique and wonderful, and to be able to call upon it to make ourselves feel better, either on an ongoing basis, or in times of need.

As THE ENCHANTED SELF began to increase in usage and make its way around the world, women have thanked me: "How wonderful it is to have a label for this special part of me!" -- or "Being able to identify my Enchanted Self causes me to have fewer times when I forsake it." Or, especially, "Being able to access my Enchanted Self gives me the strength and ability to go on with my life, to please myself as well as others!"

As a psychologist, I'm thrilled that as women we have a better shot at honoring ourselves and ensuring that we stay replenished, capable of experiencing joy and building pleasure into our lives. We deserve these experiences not only because they feel good, but because they fuel our energy tank, causing us to remain replenished and less prone to blue moments."

Q: Is THE ENCHANTED SELF particularly important to women in the business world?

A: Yes, it absolutely is! Women who work in the business world are often even more prone to emotional depletion than those who stay at home. They are so busy that they often disregard their own internal signals requesting joy and replenishment. The working woman may find herself doing countless chores before she goes to work. Then she travels to work where she constantly multitasks, and returns home by car or train, all the while continuing to multitask. At the end of her long formal workday, she comes into a home full of responsibilities, not finishing her chores until late at night. It isn't any wonder that she is often beyond exhaustion. Such a woman certainly needs to recognize her Enchanted Self and to honor it, to be able to access spiritual renewment and respite from the overload which is her usual day.

Q: So how does THE ENCHANTED SELF reach business women and help them? It can't be enough to simply have a lovely title?

A: You're right, Deb, it certainly isn't enough just to have a title. But the title helps in that it sets up a recognition pattern that we can be alert to, and then be able to access at will. THE ENCHANTED SELF is a Gateway to a world of opportunities for women, a world that it has been my pleasure to introduce these last twelve years. Let me share a little about this world with you:

THE ENCHANTED SELF world is an interactive world, which includes books, CD-ROMs, gifts for The Enchanted Woman, e-groups to join, e-mail newsletters, workshops, journaling activities, television shows, audio shows, and some very new exciting adventures that are about to be introduced.

My first book, "THE ENCHANTED SELF: A Positive Therapy," is a book that can be easily enjoyed by business women. In this book I share my own discoveries around THE ENCHANTED SELF, how it changed my life as a woman and how it changed my life as a therapist, leading me to make a paradigm shift in the treatment room that is away from the traditional "disease" model. It led me to focus on celebrating my clients rather than "tearing them apart," to look for what's right about them, rather than what's wrong, and to help them to discover and honor their strengths, talents and lost potential. I know that the above is a mouthful of a sentence, but it's a powerfully positive and workable concept!

Discovering my own Enchanted Self has led me to have the courage to play the role of Enchantress in the beautiful dance of life, passing on wisdom to younger generations. It has also given me the courage to write poetry, but most of all it has given me the courage to review my own life, seeing it through new eyes that have permitted me to fall in love with myself as a person of value and uniqueness. Falling in love with myself and freeing the heroine within me has led to a release of energies which have resulted in my work as a positive psychologist. As every business woman knows, without lots of energy, we have little else to give!

My second book, RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT: The Secret Ingredient is YOU!, is dedicated to the memory of my dad, Dr. Harry A. Becker, a very special person in my life. It is a wonderful compilation of inspirational short stories, followed by journaling activities to help the reader to find and incorporate her Enchanted Self into daily life on a more consistent basis.

Both books are available on my web site, www.enchantedself.com, and on other book sites and stores. RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT is also available at www.1stbooks.com. An e-book format of this book, which has been divided into sections with even more space for journaling and sketching, is available only on my web site.

My new book, DELIGHT, which will soon be available on CD-ROM on www.ladybuglive.com, has proven to be a wonderful new adventure for me. This book is the compilation of my spiritual journeys over the last ten years, about my journey home to my Judaic heritage. The stories are inspirational but personal at the same time. Each story offers questions and processing opportunities at the end, to help you to begin or continue on your own spiritual journey, which is something that many business women are currently doing or seeking to do.

The wonderful thing about a CD-ROM is that you will have the opportunity not only to "read" the book, hearing my voice in parts, but you will also hear beautiful music and see beautiful art, to trigger your senses as you progress through the chapters. It's a pleasant and satisfying experience, guaranteed to please your literary palette as well as your emotional palette.

One of my primary aims has been to make the whole concept of THE ENCHANTED SELF as learning-friendly as possible. For over twenty-five years, I've been a psychologist in private practice and a school psychologist, but I originally began my career as a first and second grade teacher. Therefore I am very familiar with the learning curve, and as many of us know, we need to be exposed to new concepts in more than one way, including in ways that appeal to us. This is the whole basis of THE ENCHANTED SELF.

For the past ten years, part of my passion has been finding ways to disseminate THE ENCHANTED SELF. I've embraced the internet with my comprehensive web site, www.enchantedself.com, which offers both information and teaching. I've included stories by people who have had Enchanted Moments in their lives, and archives of all my e-mail newsletters, each of which contains an article about THE ENCHANTED SELF process or an inspirational story. I also share blessings and inspirational quotes, with a "Recipe for Enchantment" to get you started. And my www.enchantedself.com web site also leads to the archives of my audio show, "The Enchantress Within," which is hosted by www.ladybuglive.com. In addition, my products are all listed for sale, with versatile offerings ranging from special and inspirational bookmarks, to CD-ROM versions of my books and other special gift items specifically offered for all of us Enchanted Women.

So avail yourself of the marvelous potpourri of offerings to be found on www.enchantedself.com. You're sure to visit the site again and again, since interesting new items will be posted on a regular basis.

Probably the most exciting part of the web for me has been the opportunity to encourage women to enter into THE ENCHANTED SELF world through offerings of inspirational and fun items that cater specifically to the whimsy, courage and wisdom of women. For example, you'll see the image of a little purse in the corner of my web site, www.enchantedself.com.

This special new item is central to a new adventure that will be taking place on my site and the sites of many of my colleagues. It will be a way for women to be givers and receivers, seekers and finders of wisdom and a lot else. My goal is to help women share in a chain of wisdom and whimsy around the world. The purse is central; however, I don't want to say more until the details are released the third week in January. As they say, "stay tuned". Come to my site on the 20th of January for more details. I hope your readers will want to be part of this worldwide purse adventure.

For those of you in the New York area, please tune into my television show on public access. It runs the third Wednesday of the month at 6:00P.M. on channel 56. It is of course, THE ENCHANTED SELF.

And, by the way, you will find information about the purse adventure on both my television show as well as on that of my colleague, Thor the Barbarian, who has a public access television show, "The Age of Heroes." His show times will be listed on my site, www.enchantedself.com

Q: Thank you, Barbara, for sharing so much of your Enchanted Self world. What concluding remarks would you like to make?

A: I would like to encourage women to continue to honor themselves every day, in as many ways as possible. Remember, it is each of you who are really the heroines of our time. You work hard and you're interested in bettering our society and the individual world you are part of. Without your magical input, where would the world be?

Each of us has the right to live as an Enchanted Self, to proudly live a daily life filled with joy, delight, and purpose. We deserve to feel good about ourselves, because we are all very special people.

We'd love it if you would be willing to share your individual stories of personal courage and inspiration, or perhaps your rediscovery of self-appreciation and how that has enhanced your life, and how you have found your own ways to have Enchanted Moments. I'm always looking for stories to include in my e-mail newsletters, or perhaps in future books, so I will gladly post many of your stories, with your permission, of course.

Please write to Dr. Holstein at encself@aol.com, join her on her site, www.enchantedself.com and visit with her on her audio show, The Enchantress Within at www.ladybuglive.com.

May our paths cross satisfyingly and often, with Enchantment and with pleasure. God bless!

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
Psychologist, Steps to Happiness Coach & Author

"Delight, Purpose and Feeling Good About Ourselves"
To learn more about THE ENCHANTED SELF®, please contact Dr. Holstein or visit her web site.

Phone: 877-B-JOYFUL
Fax: 732-571-1100
E-group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/encself

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