The Five Best Gifts to Give Your Family

•Getting Into The Holiday Spirit
What comes to mind when you think about the holidays? Do you groan, feeling burdened by all you have to do? Do you dread going shopping for gifts or cleaning up after a Christmas or Chanukah celebration? Or, do you feel a sense of fun, of delight, of joy in the celebrating, giving and receiving? Which part of you is in charge of the holidays – your judgmental self or your loving self? Think for a moment about the little child in you – the child that loved the holidays. What delighted you...

•10 Keys to Inner Peace and Joy
Inner peace and joy are spiritual gifts. The gifts of Spirit enter the heart when we make the choices we need to make to be available to them. What are these choices? PRESENCE Peace and joy exist in this present moment - not in the past or future. If you are in your left-brain ego programmed mind - your wounded self - you are likely thinking about the past or the future with a desire to have control over something. The moment you are out of the moment with a desire to control, you cut off...

•What Causes Holiday Stress
?  by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. The holidays are supposed to be a time of celebration when friends and families get together to share food, fun, gifts, and love. They are supposed to be a time of giving, caring and connection when we celebrate important and meaningful events. Why, then, are they often so stressful and what can we do to make them more fun and peaceful? Changing the holiday season from stressful to peaceful depends upon one thing: INTENT. Your intent is whatever is most...

•Family Ties When to Let Go
 by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. Ruth consulted with me because she was confused about what to do regarding her mother, her brother, and her son. From the time Ruth was born, she never felt like she belonged in her family. Her mother ignored Ruth, obviously preferring her brother, and consistently allowed her brother to beat Ruth up. Ruth had some connection with her father, but he was a weak man and never stood up for her or protected her. Ruth was a loving child and tried in any way she...

•Is It Okay to Spoil Your Kids
Is It Okay to Spoil Your Kids?   by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.The following article is offered for free use in your ezine, print publication or on your web site, so long as the author resource box at the end is included. Notification of publication would be appreciated.Title: Is It Okay to Spoil Your Kids?Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.E-mail: mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com Copyright: © 2003 by Margaret PaulWeb Address: http://www.innerbonding.comWord Count: 711Category: ParentingIS IT OKAY TO SPOIL...

•Moving Beyond Emotional Dependency
Are you ready to be your own person? Are you ready to move beyond neediness and into emotional freedom? Are you ready to stop needing others to make you feel that you are okay? Are you ready to learn to fill yourself with love and define your own worth? I hope so! Being emotionally dependent is a very hard way to live. When you are emotionally dependent, you set yourself up to be a victim of others' choices. If others are loving and caring, then you feel good, but if others are rejecting,...

•Who Are The Underminers
?  by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. How many of you had the experience growing up of being told in various ways to limit yourselves from being all you can be? The movie “The Incredibles” is a wonderful metaphor for this. In this movie, the superheroes – the people with extraordinary powers – are restricted from using their powers. When I was growing up, I was not supported in being all I could be. “Boys don’t like smart girls,” “People will be jealous of you.” I learned to hide good grades and...

•The Need to Feel Special
 by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. From the time Jennifer was a little child, she was demanding of attention, especially from her mother, Sarah. With two older brothers, Jennifer had a “special” place in the family as the baby and the only girl. She made sure to establish a “special” relationship with her mother, who relished the connection since she didn’t have much of a relationship with her emotionally distant husband. It was easy for Jennifer to control her mother’s attention. Because her...

•What to Do When You Are Alone for the Holidays
 by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. Being alone for the holidays is a major challenge for many people. Holidays often conjure images of family, of warmth and the sharing of special time. Loneliness can be overwhelming when you have no one with whom to share holiday time. Many people, however, miss the point of what holidays are really about and what makes them special. Holidays are not about what you GET – they are about what you GIVE. Many people are under the misconception that the joy of...

•Disengaging From Your Family of Origin
Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother. But what if your father and mother didn't honor you? What if instead of loving and honoring you they physically, sexually and emotionally abused you? What if you were scared every day of your growing up years? And what if, when you finally grow up and start to face the fact that your family of origin abused you, and through some therapy finally gain the courage to confront them with the abuse, they completely deny it and tell you that you are crazy? Do you stay...