How Can We Build Enchantment Into Our Lives? - Part 2

By Author: Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
Total Articles: 22
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Thank you for staying with me for this two part article about how our environments add enchantment to every day living. This week I invite you to read about how my Virtual Assistant, Rebecca, put beauty, meaning and form into her home. Her story is different from mine, as each of ours are, but it is the same in the sense that it is her way of building enchantment into her life.

Building Enchantment
By Rebecca Trelfa

I wanted to share a little note about creating enchantment in your home. I recently moved into an
old Victorian house that needs serious redecorating. A previous owner loved dark woods and shag carpets. (Not my style!)

Since I work at home, I found it necessary to temporarily add some enchantment to 'this old house' because I spend so much time here. I took down dark drapes and replaced them with sheers to let the light in and, and sanded down and refinished some of the dark wood to give it a lighter appearance.

What a difference! Now I love my new home and am even happier to spend my days here. We have a nice back yard that I plan to plant some flowers and shrubs ...
... in once the weather is nice. I have even developed a new interest in Feng Shui and sit glued most nights to the Home & Garden channel watching dreary homes get enchanting face lifts.

I am reminded of an article of Dr. Holstein's called Positive Spaces, which focuses along the same lines. When you are surrounded by enchantment and things that really reflect your own personality and things that you love, you create new warm memories by bringing out the best of the past.

For example, my love of New Orleans has inspired me to create a Creole-style kitchen and my love of the Caribbean has inspired a soft bathroom with unusual colors. It is so fun to be creative and pull the best from your experiences.

A Play Date with Building Enchantment

You have now read two different accounts of making a house come alive with personal history. Take a few moments to reflect on what you have loved in the past. Was it what you saw on a vacation? Perhaps, actual household items, as I talked about. Perhaps a certain style or time period makes you feel great.

What else would you like to bring into your life ... new things ... a new home ...a garden ... new clothes? Perhaps it is nothing physical, but things like more music, or time with friends. Whatever it is, take some time to daydream. Let our stories wet your appetite and give you encouragement to bring more enchantment into your life.

About the Author Dr. Holstein is the originator of The Enchanted Self and a psychologist since 1981. She is the author of two books: The Enchanted Self, A Positive Therapy and Recipes for Enchantment, The Secret Ingredient is YOU!
Dr. Holstein speaks on radio, and appears on television in NY and NJ. She gives lectures, seminars, retreats and audio interviews on LadybugLive.com and is in private practice in Long Branch, NJ with her husband, Dr. Russell Holstein.