Planets in Retrograde -- The Basics
By
Rebecca Brents
from the Mailbox
I actually got energized as I wandered through the Enchanted Spirit site the other day. Good vibes seemed to dance off the screen.
A Premium Member
New Age -- New Horizons is our information-packed free ezine to keep you up-to-date on new articles, current astrology, classes, books, ebooks, tidbits, fun facts, and other interesting things here at Enchanted Spirit
View our current issue
New and Featured
Articles
Free Astrology Ebook
Free Tarot Ebook
Free Content for Webmasters
from the Mailbox
I've been looking forward to sending you this email for years. I really wanted to let you know this, because your reading, advice and support meant so much to me as I was living through that life-changing time.
A Premium Member
Recommended Book from Amazon
The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World
By
Marti Olsen Laney
 |
|
 |
Simple Living in a Materialistic World |
| Astrology, Tarot, and Self Improvement for the New Age. | |
      |
Astrology Tarot New Age (Home) / The Reading Room
Email This Page to a Friend
| Should Parents Reward Their Children? | Mark Brandenburg Contents | Spare the Child, Ditch the Rod |
Are You a Writer? A Musician? A Photographer? An Artist?
Are you seeking a more meaningful, more focused creative dimension to life? Nourish your Inner Artist with our new creativity class. Answering Creativity's Call presents an hour and a half of lessons and lectures, packed with inspiration, information, strategies and support to help you be the creator you want to be and live the creative life you want to have. Learn more here: Creativity Class
Simple Living in a Materialistic World
by Mark Brandenburg, MA, CPCC
Cut through the confusion.
See clearly
Think better
Make informed choices
Discover why the Tarot has intrigued, informed, and interested spiritual seekers for centuries.
Our Premium Members
receive straight answers to personal questions, weekly, monthly, and "at their convenience."
Our clear, plain-English Tarot readings are one of their subscription benefits.
What is your life's biggest question?
Get a reading on your situation.
Join our
Astrology and Tarot
Premium Membership
TODAY!!
We were sitting in the family room. My kids had finished their first day back at school after the holiday break, and my wife was working late. Michael, my six-year-old son, was finger knitting. Sarah, my eight-year-old, was knitting a scarf. I sat near them and folded clothes.
Occasionally someone would share something that had happened during the day, but otherwise it was quiet.
And as we sat there doing our chores, I began to appreciate this time we were spending together. The orgy of presents, travel, and Christmas cookies was over. The routines and rhythms of the work week had begun again. My kids needed structure as badly as I did. We were getting it by being together in this quiet, simple way.
As I sat there folding clothes, I marveled at how little we really needed to be happy. It was quite enough to just be together as we did our work. Many of the gifts my kids received for Christmas were already put away. As often happens, there was a brief flurry of excitement when the gifts were first discovered.
Shortly after, the thrill of ownership faded away. And while my kids may be too young to understand it, I'd like them to know that possessions don't really make them happy. When you live in a consumer-driven and materialistic society, it's just the message you receive. As author Christopher Lasch states, "A mass advertising culture creates consumers who are perpetually unsatisfied, restless, anxious, and bored."
I'd like my kids to know someday that the pursuit of possessions has made more people unhappy than happy, and that it actually ends up limiting their freedom of choice in the world. I'd like them to know that possessions can keep them focused on their own self-interest, rather than focusing on how they can benefit others. And I'd like them to know that one of the keys to a happy life is the pursuit of simple pleasures, which, in today's day and age, is an act of courage.
I thought about all of the possessions I had somewhere in the house. How many of them had I really used in the last 6 months? How many of them really had an impact on my life or made me happy beyond the first few minutes of receiving them?
Only a handful.
And as I sat there with my kids enjoying our time together, I sensed that more trips to the Goodwill were in order, as well as a greater commitment to simple living in our family. John Burroughs, the nineteenth-century naturalist, observed that "the number of things we can really make our own is limited. We cannot drink from the ocean be we ever so thirsty. A cup of water from the spring is all we need."
As parents in America today, we're often made to feel thirsty. We're made to feel as though we need to provide the latest gadgets for ourselves and for our children. And it seems that at the rate we're going, these gadgets will cost us most of our money and most of our time.
Don't be fooled. All that you and your kids really need is a "cup of water from the spring." It may not impress your neighbors, but it will help your family to feel happier.
It may even change your attitude about folding clothes!
Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC, coaches parents by phone to balance their life and improve their family relationships.
He is an Instructor for the Academy for Coaching Parents, and author of "Secrets of Emotionally Intelligent Fathers" Ecourse.
No human creature can give orders to love.
~ George Sand ~
Born July 1, 1804
| Should Parents Reward Their Children? | Mark Brandenburg Contents | Spare the Child, Ditch the Rod |
Astrology Tarot New Age (Home) / The Reading Room
Please click on the titles to visit these fine areas of Enchanted Spirit
                            |
 | |
 |
PO Box 1080 Sandia Park · NM · 87047 |
| Enchanted Spirit is a non-denominational spiritual center of healing, support, self-improvement, personal guidance, education and writing. We publish multi-media works of New Age thought and information to encourage serenity and growth in individual life choices, advance the universal search for life's meaning, and promote tolerance for positive ideas from all philosophies and religious traditions, believing as we do that truth is where you find it. |
This site is hosted and maintained for Enchanted Spirit by
Catweasel Ink
Copyright © 1999 - 2008 by Enchanted Spirit and Catweasel Ink.
Contributed works copyright by their respective authors. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction specifically prohibited.
Last updated May 3rd, 2005
Rebecca is not available
right now.
Please check back
later
CLICK HERE FOR
MORE INFO
Arrange a Call
Departments:
Astrology Coaching
Astrology
Astrology Readings
Tarot
Tarot Readings
Consultations
Members Only
Source Shop
Classes
The Enchanted Sprite
Catweasel's Toys
New Age Writers Forum
The Auditorium
In the Spotlight
Real Life Lines
Catweasel's Corner
Inspirational Ideals
Magical Mysteries
Feng Shui Feature
Numerology Notes
Health Hints
The Inner Sanctum
Family Matters
Words of Wisdom
Weblogs
The Reading Room
Oracles
Kaleidoscope
The Writer's Wellspring
Astrology Tarot
Recommended Book from Amazon
Sacred Circle Tarot
By
Anna Franklin
|
Learn Astrology
Learn Tarot
Astrology Readings
Tarot Readings
For the best in
Astrology and Tarot
Personal Development
Self-Improvement
New Age Living
visit
Enchanted Spirit
often!!