Enchanted Life , livre ebook

September Publishing - Sharon Blackie

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193 pages

English

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A book of natural wonders, practical guidance and life-changing empowerment, by the author of the word-of-mouth bestseller If Women Rose Rooted.'To live an enchanted life is to pick up the pieces of our bruised and battered psyches, and to offer them the nourishment they long for. It is to be challenged, to be awakened, to be gripped and shaken to the core by the extraordinary which lies at the heart of the ordinary. Above all, to live an enchanted life is to fall in love with the world all over again.'The enchanted life has nothing to do with escapism or magical thinking: it is founded on a vivid sense of belonging to a rich and many-layered world. It is creative, intuitive, imaginative. It thrives on work that has heart and meaning. It loves wild things, but returns to an enchanted home and garden. It respects the instinctive knowledge, ethical living and playfulness, and relishes story and art.Taking the inspiration and wisdom that can be derived from myth, fairy tales and folk culture, this book offers a set of practical and grounded tools for reclaiming enchantment in our lives, giving us a greater sense of meaning and of belonging to the world.

Informations

Publié par	September Publishing
Date de parution	27 février 2018
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781910463895
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0450€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Dr Sharon Blackie is an award-winning writer and internationally recognised teacher whose work sits at the interface of psychology, mythology and ecology. Her unique approach to working with myth, fairy tales and folklore highlights the insights these traditions can offer us into authentic and meaningful ways of being which are founded on a deep sense of belonging to place, a rootedness in the land we inhabit.
Her first non-fiction book, If Women Rose Rooted , became a word-of-mouth ecofeminist bestseller across the UK and North America. Her second, The Enchanted Life , offers insights into the art of belonging, and the everyday magic that comes from deepening our connection to the natural world. Foxfire, Wolfskin and Other Stories of Shapeshifting Women is her first collection of short stories. Her work has been translated into multiple languages.
Sharon lives on a smallholding in the Cambrian mountains of Mid Wales with her husband and dogs. www.sharonblackie.net
Readers praise for The Enchanted Life:
This book has changed my life for the better. It s made me think of how I relate to nature and myself in a completely different way than before. It s made me pay attention to the small things, the real things that matter. It s also brilliantly and engagingly written. Tahirih
I was completely absorbed by the enchantment Blackie has weaved. It has depth and resonance and is eloquently written A very engaging and pertinent read for our times. Deb
Sharon has written a beautiful, magical book that reminds us of what matters most in life - connection, place and nature. I felt like I was coming home to where I belong. Paul
Wow, this book was so good for my soul! Louisa
The Enchanted Life offers even more than I expected because all the points are backed up by research. Josephine
Absolutely fantastic In addition to holding a lot of wellresearched and important information, personal anecdotes and stories, this book contains a ton of really good exercises and journal prompts! I honestly think everyone should read this book. It is life changing, truly. Julia
This is a wonderful book, full of questions and invitations to reflect and to act. If you feel that your soul longs for expression and you long for wonderment, read it with beginner s eyes and an open heart, no matter your age. Patricia
One of my absolute favourite books of all time. I have never seen such a concise and joyful telling of the truth of this world Sharon Blackie s stories themselves shift my perspective back to the place where I belong, and I am forever grateful for the magic she shares. Steph
If you have ever lived in a place you felt you didn t belong, this book is the cure. Carolyn
It is a book to cherish, and read again when I need a boost. The section of homework at the end of each chapter is just perfect. There are some real thought-provoking things to ponder, and some of my answers surprised myself. This is a very beautiful book. Cartwheeling Dragons
I thoroughly recommend this beautiful book - everything Sharon writes resonates deeply within, and she has such a lovely, eloquent style. If you re feeling a little jaded or depressed, this book will lift your spirits and remind you of what really matters in life. Kit
The most beautiful book I ve read for a long time. Connect with your landscape; search for the myths and stories; look for ways to live that draw out your true human soul. This is a perfect place to begin re-finding ourselves. Amanda

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This paperback edition published in 2021 by September Publishing First published in 2018 by September Publishing
Copyright Sharon Blackie 2018
The right of Sharon Blackie to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder
Quotes illustrated by Leo Nickolls Typeset by Ed Pickford
Printed in Denmark on paper from responsibly managed, sustainable sources by N rhaven
EPUB ISBN 9781910463895
September Publishing
www.septemberpublishing.org
Contents
Why Enchantment, and Why Now?
1. Enchantment matters
2. The unendurable everyday
What Is Enchantment?
3. To inhabit the living world
4. The wonderment
5. At home in our skin
6. The mythic imagination
The Magic of the Everyday
7. Coming home to ourselves
8. An ear to the ground
9. Kinship and otherness
10. Hands on the clay of life
11. Life as if it mattered
The Enchanted Life
12. A manifesto for an enchanted life
Acknowledgements
References
Why Enchantment, and Why Now?
1. Enchantment matters
The wind at dawn has secrets to whisper Don t go back to sleep!
Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi

I MAGINE THAT YOU are entering a small wood on a Sunday morning in late spring; you ve come here to walk. You have an immediate sense of wellbeing. How peaceful, you think, as you look around you; how pretty. The trees are lovely and the birdsong is beautiful. There are ferns under the trees, and bluebells. You turn your attention to them briefly and tell yourself how attractive they are. You check your watch as you set off down the gravelled track; you have half an hour for your walk before you have to head back home. You keep to the path; it rained last night and you don t want to get your shoes muddy. Your shove your hands into your pockets; you keep your eyes straight ahead, mostly, but every now and again you look around you and tell yourself how nice it is to be away from the crowds and the traffic fumes.
After you ve been walking for a few minutes, you start to think about other things. You can t help yourself; something in your head just takes over. You ve been to mindfulness classes but it never seems to stick, and most of the time mindfulness seems a bit boring, to be honest. You hum the same notes of a tune over and over. You replay an argument you had with your husband yesterday and remind yourself how unreasonable he was - just how unreasonable he always is; the muscles in your stomach start to clench as you relive the irritation. You think of all the things you could have said differently, and refine your sentences until they re the deadliest of barbs. Suddenly someone else appears on the path ahead of you, walking towards you; you jump, and realise that you haven t taken in anything around you for the past several minutes. This is ridiculous, you think to yourself; I m supposed to be walking through a wood, and you try to turn off the voices in your head. You begin to feel a little anxious, because you can t. Your mobile phone buzzes, and though you briefly sigh for the impossibility of ever being truly lost in the world, you re really quite relieved to have the distraction of a text.
It starts to drizzle, and you sigh again and hunch down into your coat. You start to walk faster. So much to do when you get home, and although it s nice to have this break from the vicissitudes of real life, the truth is that you just can t afford the time, really. You start to worry about how you re going to pay for the haircut your teenage daughter wants, at the expensive new salon that just opened down the road. How she seems always to be asking for something you can t afford and how inadequate that makes you feel. How you re going to pay for the summer holiday abroad (and you shudder, remembering the crowds at last year s airports). Whether the interest rates are going to rise, in spite of all the government s promises, and then how will you pay your oversized mortgage . . .
Suddenly a large black bird (is it a crow, you wonder, vaguely? Maybe a raven . . .) flies across your path, right in front of your face. It settles on a low branch, looks you right in the eye and squawks. For a fleeting moment something in your head cracks open a fraction and you glimpse it - a sense of wonder, a sense that the bird is in some way interacting with you - but then you shake your head and tell yourself not to be so silly: it s just a bird, for heaven s sake; you re making things up - and all at once the feeling is gone. The bird flies off. You hurry on along the path, and leave the wood feeling vaguely dissatisfied, looking at your watch and your heart sinking as you realise how little of the weekend is left, and then it ll be Monday and you ll have to face the commuting crowds and five more days doing a job you hate before the weekend comes around again, and you have the chance to relax and take a nice walk in the woods.
Take two . Imagine that you are entering a small wood on a Sunday morning in late spring; you ve come here to walk. If you brought a mobile phone with you, it is on mute: there s a time and a place for gadgets, and your attention is on what is actually here, right now in this moment, yourself in this wood. You close your eyes and listen. Rooks chattering high up in the canopy; the warning call of a smaller bird - three sharp notes in succession. A few trees away, another bird replies. News of your arrival is spreading through the wood.
The air is scented with bluebells, and you breathe in deeply. You are breathing in bluebells, you think, and you smile, because that means the bluebells are a part of you now - or are you a part of them? There are nettles under the trees and you have always loved nettles, ever since you heard the story of The Wild Swans as a child, about the girl who had to pick nettles with her bare hands, and spin them into shirts to save her brothers who had been transformed into swans by a wicked stepmother. You bought a ball of nettle yarn which you found by accident in a wool shop you happened upon, a few weeks ago. You re not quite sure what you ll do with it, but you like to finger it, and remember that old story which ev