“Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order.”
Anne Wilson Schaef (American Clinical Psychologist & Author; March 22nd, 1934 to January 19th, 2020)
“How much of our lives is frittered away—spoiled, spent, or sullied—by our neurotic insistence on perfection?”
“Today, accept, that perfection is unattainable. In real life we should strive to be our best—not the world’s.”
“Perfection leaves so little room for improvement. So little space for acceptance—or joy. On the path we have chosen, progress is the simple pleasure to be savored. Daily.”
“I have what I lnow is a particular way of things, and it it not perfect. What is perfect anyways?”
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 160 to 162 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
“Intuition is a spiritual faculty, and does not explain, but simply points the way.”
Florence Scovel Shinn (American Artist & Book Illustrator; September 24th, 1871 to October 17th, 1940)
“Intuition has been called our ‘sixth sense’ and is often an ability ascribed to women.”
…believed that the intelligence that “arises out of sex and beauty is intuition.”
D. H. Lawrence (English Novelist & Short Story Writer; September 11th, 1885 to March 2nd, 1930)
…feminine intuition was a result of our “age-long training in human relations.”
Margaret Mead (American Cultural Anthropologist and Author; December 16th, 1901 to November 15th, 1978)
“Intuition is the subliminal sense Spirit endowed us with to maneuver safely through the maze that is real life. Wild animals rely on their intuition to stay alive; we should reply on ours to thrive.”
“It is only by following your deepest instinct that you can lead a rich life and if you let your fear of consequence prevent you from following your deepest instinct then your life will be safe, expedient and thin.”
Katharine Butler Hathaway (American Writer; 1890 to 1942)
“One such intuitive signal is the emotional trembling that accompanies creative discovery or warns us not to take an action. Another intuitive message breaks through when we suddenly grasp that to try something new might be delightful; we do so and are surprised by joy. A third intuitive nudge occurs through revelational the inner knowing that helps us arrive at the right place at the right time so that we can be swept away by the benevolent flow of synchronicity that gets us where we’re meant to be as easily as the Universe can arrange it.”
“…one in whom persuasion and belief/Had ripened into faith, and faith become/A passionate intuition.”
William Wordsworth (English Poet; April 7th 1770 to April 23rd, 1850)
“I have always had a strong intuitive sense of my experience of the world. It has served me well and I trust it. Combined with my synesthesia, I feel bolstered by my intuition in understanding and navigating my world.”
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 135 to 136 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
“With stammering lips and insufficient sounds, I strive and struggle to deliver right the music of my nature.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (English Poet; March 6th, 1806 to June 29th, 1861)
“Psychologists say that deafness, or a severe hearing loss, acquired after a human being has known hearing, can be te single greatest trauma a person can experience.”
Hannah Merker (Writer)
“I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of the earth…”
Kate Chopin (American Author; February 8th, 1850 to August 22nd, 1904)
“I love my ability to hear. I have been having so much fun listening to decades of music and film. I delight in waking up to the birds chirping outside our bedroom window.”
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 132 to 134 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
Aromatherapy: The Restorative Comfort of Fragrance
“Smells are surer than sounds and sights to make heartstrings crack.”
Rudyard Kipling (English Journalist and Novelist; December 30th, 1865 to January 18th, 1936)
“Our sense of smell is our primordial link to our brains. When we inhale a scent, neurotransmitters in our brains trigger the production of biochemical secretions that affect our moods, feelings, and emotions. When an aromatic essential oil permeates our skin through the bath or a massage, the oil penetrates the epidermis, stimulates our sophisticated lymph duct system, and enters the bloodstream, eventually delivering well-being to our frazzled minds.”
“…smell is a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived.”
Helen Keller (American Author; June 27th, 1880 to June 1st, 1968)
“Smell has always been a huge part of my experience of the world. Lately I have been playing with scent in a new way against the natural pheromones between my husband and myself…DELISCIOUS! One of the ways I knew Neil was my man, is that he always smells like snickerdoodle cookies to me. One of my favorite cookies!🏆“
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 126 to 127 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
“There must be quite a few things a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.”
Sylvia Plath (American Poet and Author; October 27th, 1932 to February 11th, 1963)
“…a kind of mystic ceremony substituted for religious worship.”
Ambrose Bierce (American author and journalist; June 24th, 1842 to January 1914)
“My philosophy in life is very simple: when in doubt, take a bath.”
“I grew up as a swimmer and have been immersing myself in various bodies of water my whole life. Baths for me are a self-nurturing reset and not for cleansing.“
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 125 to 126 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
Vita Mary Sackerville-West, Lady Nicolson, CH (Known as: Vita Sackville-West) (English Author and Garden Designer; March 9th, 1892 ~ June 2nd, 1962)
Playing Dress-Up: Empowering Your Authentic Self with Fun
“Learn the craft of knowing how to open your heart and to turn on your creativity. There’s a light inside of you.”
Judith Ann Jamison (American Dancer and choreographer; May 10th, 1943 ~ )
“What the heck! The delights of self-discovery are always available.”
Gail Sheely (American Author, Journalist, and Lecturer; November 27th, 1936 ~August 24th, 2020)
“Before my story began…” (Heather Houston 4-1-22)
1972 Me…at my Aunt Carrie’s Baby Shower
“Spring has arrived, time to go through my closet and look at my clothes newly.” (Heather Houston 4-1-22)
“Today wearing my NICWA Conference shirt in native community was powerful. I saw so many relatives wearing items I have rotated in and out of my closet over time. Reassuring that my authentic self speaks to me in this way. Soaking up on as much as I can on the last day of the conference.” (Heather Houston 4-1-26)
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 103-104 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
“Don’t you love it when some incredibly beautiful woman like Linda Evans or Cindy Crawford tells us that the real beauty secret is finding your inner light? No shit. But I’ve done the dame things these women have done to find my inner light and while it’s true I’m happier, I still don’t look lie them.”
Marianne Deborah Williamson (American Author, Spiritual Leader, and Political Activist; July 8th, 1952)
“We can’t all look like Linda Evans or Condy Crawford, but we can each look our best. Simplicity plays a part in striking the right chord of self. This occurs naturally as we begin to rethink how to put together our best look. Our authentic look. Gradually we learn that the ‘less is more’ approach applies to makeup and fashion as well as to decorating and entertaining.”
“Ironically, this desire to look our best comes after we have committed to our inner work. As we go within, searching for spiritual groth, we begin to blossom on the outside. Time well spent in meditation gives us more serenity, and it shows on our faces. Learning to love ourselves exactly as we are gives us motivation to move forward…”
“Why does working on our inner beauty produce outward charm? Perhaps it is because the two are inexorably connected.”
“As is inner, so is the outer.”
Gnostic axiom
“Women who realize thei full potential delight the Great Creator with their brilliance.”
“Before my story began…” (Heather Houston 3-20-22)
1972 Me…at my Aunt Carrie’s Baby Shower
“I have mostly ignored or underestimated my outer beauty. My story whispered to me that I was unlovable, unworthy, not enough. I pursued my inner beauty in hopes of others seeing me and being able to overlook my outward packaging. Ho-Hum…not what I wanted my life to be. I want to feel beautiful inside and out. I strive to work on my own self-image daily.” (Heather Houston 3-20-22)
“I am really at a point where I genuinely like my inside and out. With love in my life for the first time where I can give it freely and receive it without reasons, I am feeling happier and more beautiful than ever. I really love my 50s and my 60s are going to be smashing!”
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 86-87 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
“Any little bit of experimenting in self-nurturance is very frightening for most of us. There is a connection between self-nurturing and self-respect.”
Julia B. Cameron (American Teacher, Author, artist, poet, playwright, novelist, filmmaker, pigeon fancier, composer, and journalist; March 4th, 1948 ~ )
“Perhaps we are all Scrooges when it comes to self-nurturing because if we were kind to ourselves, our creativity might begin to blossom like a plant moving toward the light. Of course, this would mean we’d want to make some changes in our lives, and we all know how we feel about changes, even positive ones. We may be in a rut, but at least our own familiar grooves are comforting in their own insidious fashion.”
“The way to take giant leaps and strides toward authenticity, however, is through small changes.”
“True life is lived when tiny changes occur.”
Count Lev “Leo” Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian Writer; September 9th, 1828 ~ November 20th, 1910)
“Today, make a list of ten nice things you could do for yourself. Now select one and do it.”
“Before my story began…” (Heather Houston 3-15-22)
1972 Me…at my Aunt Carrie’s Baby Shower
Ten Nice Things To Do For Myself: (Heather Houston 3-15-22)
Pedicure
Manicure
Color Hair
Buy Conditioner
Buy Leave-In Conditioner
Face Mask
Go See A Movie
Make Myself A Cocktail (Pour an apple whiskey on the rocks) 3-15-22
Listen To Fun Music
Take A Nap.
Ten Nice Things To Do For Myself: (Heather Houston 3-15-26)
Pedicure
Manicure
Buy Conditioner
Purchase 2 Boxes to hold our Malaysian/India Spices and Mexican Spices
Schedule therapist appointments to deal with past trauma. ✅
Purchase indigenous medicines at the NICWA conference in Oklahoma.
Exercise a minimum of 5 days/week.
Bake 1x/week.
Practice my violin.
Plan to get motorcycle to the shop to get a tune-up and repair the speaker system.
It seems some things keep reoccurring as I am not following through with nurturing myself.
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 81-82 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
“I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the years washing away my pain, the same way carvings on stone are worn down by water.”
Amy Ruth Tan (American Author; February 19th, 1952 ~ )
“Life batters us whether we are rich or poor, public or private. The wound we suffer may be an open cut or a slow, silent hemorrhage of the soul. On the outside we may look as if we’ve got our act together, but each of us encounters those dark stormy days when we feel very small, very fragile, and very frightened, as if we might shatter into a thousand pieces and break into heartrending sobs at something as simple as ‘How are you?'”
“When this happens we have to be kind to ourselves, not beat ourselves up. Leave that to the rest of the world. Our feelings are valid, our fears very real, even though they are probably not based on reality. Always remember that the best description of fear is ‘false evidence appearing real.'”
“When these occasions occur in your life, recall that your first duty is to love yourself into Wholeness. How to do this? By pampering yourself with simple pleasures and small indulgences. By treating yourself like the baby you are right now.”
“You don’t have to do everything and be everything for everyone else all the time. If you think you can’t possibly do one more thing without screaming or crying, you.re probably right. Start by saying, ‘no, I’m sorry. I’ve got a prior commitment.'”
“For, of course, you do. Today you need to be there for yourself. Remember, we did not lose ourselves all at once. But we recover our authentic selves one kind gesture at a time.
“Before my story began…” (Heather Houston 3-14-22)
1972 Me…at my Aunt Carrie’s Baby Shower
“I’ve been blue lately. Missing my kids. Trying to understand why getting a job has been such a nightmare. I just need a break. I need to be kind to myself.” (Heather Houston 3-14-22)
“‘No, I’m sorry, I’ve got a prior commitment’ Is harder to say sometimes. However, learning to put yourself first is how we heal ourselves. This is one of the hardest lessons I have embarked on learning and yet I know it true to my own happiness.” (Heather Houston 3-14-26)
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 80-81 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
My Distilled Life 