What did or do you have to comfort you as a kid and now an adult?

Did You Have A ‘Blankie’ As A Kid?
Hug that blankie a little closer tonight.

Whether it’s a blanket, a stuffed animal, or any scrap of something soft, comfort objects, also known as transitional objects, are used by many children as a way to soothe themselves without the help of their parents.

In 1951, child psychologist Dr. D.W. Winnicott first defined the transitional object as “any material to which an infant attributes a special value and by means of which the child can make the necessary shift from the earliest oral relationship with the mother to genuine object-relationships.”

In other words, these security blankets enable children to establish connections to the outside world, apart from the mother.
Such objects are commonly adopted when children go off to school or daycare as a way to ease the separation anxiety they experience away from Mom and Dad.

Contrary to the popular wisdom of the past, children with comfort objects are not defective or overly “babyish.” In fact, their comfort objects may empower them to be more independent than their peers. With the trusty reassurance of a teddy or blanket by their side, children can feel more secure in unfamiliar situations like daycare or school. When you fall on the playground and Mom isn’t there to kiss it better, that teddy or blankie makes it all okay. Studies show that kids with such objects are less shy and more focused than children without them. Their lovey objects are like the first training wheels for telling themselves “you’re all right.” With a built-in sense of security, children feel safe enough to take small risks, explore and grow.

As a child’s first chosen “not-me possession,” comfort objects help kids self-soothe and establish themselves as individuals separate from their parents. Because of the profound importance bestowed upon these items by the child, experts posit that any criticism or denial of the chosen toy may lead to attachment difficulties later in life.

Comfort objects are incredibly common: 60% of children have them, as well as 35% of adults.
It’s essential that children decide for themselves when to reject or put away their comfort object.

That’s not to say that comfort objects must be “outgrown.” Therapist Gerri Luce, LCSW says that even adults can benefit from the presence of beloved items to get them through difficult periods, as long as the object doesn’t interfere with one’s intimate or professional relationships (it’s probably best not to take blankie to work).

Many adults, whether they realize it or not, adopt other kinds of objects to cope with daily stresses.

Journals in which we express our feelings, keepsakes that remind us of a loved one, or even phones that connect us to others when we’re alone can serve functions similar to those of a child’s security blanket. While we may leave behind the beloved teddy bear, the need for a physical object that brings us joy and comfort is not specifically childish.

As psychologist Colleen Goddard puts it, transitional objects “represent the process by which [a person] can navigate life, and experience a homeostatic inner balance, a cohesive sense of well-being at every developmental milestone.” So hug that teddy bear or blankie a little closer tonight, because according to famed psychologist Abraham Maslow, having that kind of basic need met “matters more than anything else in the world.”

There is nothing sweeter than sharing your love wrapped up in a bonding blanket.

Click on the link for your special bonding blanket and give the gift that keeps on giving.

Our bonding blankets come in six patterns. When you check out just write the name of the pattern you want. Happy New Year to you and yours.

Camouflage Bonding Blanket- 'CAMI'

it represents the warrior, survivor, rock, strength, hero and a brave one.

Monkey Bonding Blanket- 'BABBS' 

represents the key to right living. See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil along with playfulness creativity, positivity, truthfulness, sixth sense development.

Peace Neutral Bonding Blanket-'Inner Peace'

Represents freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility. A loving presence of kindness, stability. Peaceful Warrior, a high vibration of the heart!

Peace Pink Bonding Blanket- 'PEECEE' 

expresses the feminine peacemaker, calming one, grounded, serenity, and open heart.

Pink Bonding Blanket- 'DOTTIE' 

who is the color of the universal love of oneself and others; it also represents friendship, affection, harmony, inner peace, and approachability. Pink is the official color of feminine power and represents sugar and spice and everything nice. 

Giraffe Bonding Blanket - 'GEMMA' 

the jewel and it represents the wild side of life, symbolizes protection, visionary. Giraffe animal magic, foresight, and intuition. Giraffe Power Animal Symbol Of Grounded Vision Farsightedness.  

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Article from Anna Walters and rearranged by Dolby Dharma

"Swing within"

We are still basking in the Magical Super Full Moon energy, at least I am.

As the moon begins to decrease in size and move toward the New Moon in Sagittarius, it is a perfect opportunity to start setting new intentions, leave old limiting habits, beliefs behind, assess where we are, and focus on endless possibilities. The beauty of another breath brings a gift of another opportunity to begin again.

Time to nurture ourselves, go within, give ourselves permission to put ourselves first. All things, people, and situations in our lives depend on us keeping ourselves together.

If our foundation within is taken care of, we can handle when things fall apart, and they do. We need to care for ourselves in healthy ways, by nourishing our body, mind, and spirits. Let's fill our hearts by aligning our thoughts in divine order of priorities, self-care first.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung

 💙— feeling the energy of the full moon!

Acceptance!

When I think of acceptance, I think of mindfulness. When we consciously accept a situation that we have no control over changing we change our course of action; the biggest change is our attitudes towards the unwanted situation.

When we can't change it, do we lean in or do we carry on complaining about the situation 'as if' that is going to make it more acceptable?

The practice is not to push against the undesirable, not to tear it apart, but to become mindful of our existence to whatever it is that we can change and change what we can, quietly, without notice.

Acceptance helps us stay in the balance, stay healthy and steady. It raises our vibration and affords us the stability to make changes that can benefit us and everyone.

Pushing against life is what throws us off, and ultimately makes what we don't like worse than it already appeared.

By accepting life, it is to experience the rawness, the unaltered moments, to meet life as it is, feel the experience and make changes if acceptable. Some things in life cannot be altered, and that is our greatest moment of accepting 'what is,' and let go of the struggle.
Acceptance is Mystical, Powerful, and healing. It affords us peace within our hearts for ourselves and others. Dolby Dharma

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” 
― Lao Tzu

Aren't you worth your own love and approval?

How do you define your self-worth? Do you view yourself through your looks, education, performance, material assets, etc.;? 
These are aspects of our wounded self, seeking approval that we are ok, we matter, we are accepted. If you find yourself always seeking the approval of the external to gauge who you are, where you are, if you are loved and why you exist, that creates internal anxiety which continues to feed the unexcepted self.

What are the signs; feeling anxious, unsafe, always apologizing for BEing you, afraid of making a mistake, giving your power over to another to steer your course and rejection of the self.

Waking up to ourselves is looking at the truth about who we are, what we do and who or what we give ourselves away to.

Seeking the truth is creating an inner bonding with YOURSELF. We must seek internal guidance from what we know to be true for us. Our answers lay in wait validating our truth, acceptance, and approval when we are ready to listen and trust ourselves.

We have all heard that tiny voice that we sometimes ignore because of our insecurities. Deep down we know that we allow the external world to control us in some ways. It is time to break free of the hold of other people's opinions, ideas, and beliefs and begin to love ourselves more.

When we start to trust ourselves more, our views of ourselves goes up, and we gradually stop seeking so much attention and validation from others. Believe in YOU, after all; you are your best friend who never leaves you unless YOU abandon yourself. Dolby Dharma

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.”~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bonding with ourselves!

Bonding, a natural, nurturing, internal process that is crucial for our development. Rushing life takes away the experience we need to survive in this world. Inner bonding is a healing salve that lubricates the body, mind, and soul. Let life unfold naturally in its own time.

Cocoon and the Butterfly

Many of us know that a beautiful and colourful butterfly comes from an unappealing worm! Here is the story of a butterfly that was never able to live its life as a normal butterfly.

One day, a man saw a cocoon. He loved butterflies and had a craze for its wonderful combination of colours. In fact, he used to spend a lot of time around butterflies. He knew how a butterfly would struggle to transform from an ugly caterpillar into a beautiful one.

He saw the cocoon with a tiny opening. It meant that the butterfly was trying to make its way out to enjoy the world. He decided to watch how the butterfly would come out of the cocoon. He was watching the butterfly struggling to break the shell for several hours. He spent almost more than 10 hours with the cocoon and the butterfly. The butterfly had been struggling very hard for hours to come out through the tiny opening. Unfortunately, even after continuous attempts for several hours, there was no progress. It seemed that the butterfly had tried its best and could not give any more try.

The man, who had a passion and love for butterflies, decided to help the butterfly. He got a pair of scissors and tweaked the cocoon to make larger opening for the butterfly and removed the remaining cocoon. The butterfly emerged without any struggle!

Unfortunately, the butterfly looked no longer beautiful and had a swollen body with small and withered wings.

The man was happy that he had made the butterfly come out of the cocoon without any more struggles. He continued to watch the butterfly and was quite eager to see it fly with its beautiful wings. He thought that at any time, the butterfly might expand its wings, shrink the body and the wings could support the body. Unfortunately, neither did the wings expand nor the swollen body reduce.

Unfortunately, the butterfly just crawled around with withered wings and a huge body. It was never able to fly. Although the man did it with a good intention, he did not know that only by going through struggles the butterfly can emerge to be beautiful, with strong wings.

The continuous effort from the butterfly to come out of its cocoon would let the fluid stored in the body be converted into wings. Thus, the body would become lighter and smaller, and the wings would be beautiful and large.

If we don’t want to undergo any struggle, we won’t be able to fly!

Struggles make us shine!