More from and about
Charlotte Sophia Kasl
(biographical info at bottom of page)

  

Whether or not you have children yourself, you are a parent
to the next generation. If we can only stop thinking of children
as individual property and think of them as the next generation,
then we can realize we all have a role to play.

   

Instead of waiting to be an old lady to wear purple, wear it now.  Instead of waiting for retirement to live in a beautiful place, consider finding a way to get there now. When we live our lives in accordance with our dreams, it becomes easy to cheer for other people doing so.  When we don't, it's easy to be sour grapes, unsupportive, or jealous when others break free and follow their heart's desire.

      
And remember, if all life is sacred, then today is sacred.  Ask yourself, What am I doing to feel joy today? A wonderful way to start the day is to bless it:
  
Blessings on this day, may I make it special in some way.  Blessings on my life, may I treat it with love and care. Blessings on all people, may I see the goodness in everyone. Blessings on nature, may I notice its beauty and wonder. Blessings on the truth, may it be my constant companion.
  
When I was a child, my father fixed everything around the house, my mother sewed and cooked, and all four of us children had chores.  Mother would take us out to every kind of orchard and farm to pick fruit and vegetables, which we would bring home and can. It was definitely a team effort, and one was seldom alone. Now we are often faced with running a household alone and have expectations that we should be able to do everything. In reality, most people have some tasks that reduce them to feeling about four years old.
   

Listen to your beliefs, think about how you learned them, and realize that they are not genetic, nor are they the "only way." You are free to acquire new perspectives, to absorb new ideas, and to question everything you were taught to believe. As your mind opens to exploration and change, you'll feel a new lightness and more joy.

     

Sometimes we adopt certain beliefs when we're children and use them
automatically when we become adults, without ever checking them out
against reality. This brings to mind the story of the woman who always
cut off the end of the turkey when she put it in the oven. Her daughter
asked her why, and her mother responded, "I don't know. My mother
always did it." Then she went and asked her mother, who said, "I don't
know. My mother always did it." The she went and asked her
grandmother, who said, "The oven wasn't big enough."

   

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One of my fondest memories from childhood is of looking at a globe
with my father. "What's the biggest country?" he'd ask me and my
sister. We'd spin the globe around and guess. . . . The globe brought
me a sense of wonder and adventure. I wanted to go to those
other places and see how people did things differently. And, many
years later, when I did visit other countries, I took my father's interest
and fascination with me. When we plant the seeds of fascination
and respect for other people, we are teaching tolerance and peace.

   

My father once told me of a trick question he used in a college class on forest
fire control. If there was a fire coming from a certain direction and wind was
coming from another, what was the best thing to do? The right answer was,
"Run like hell and pray for rain," but few students ever got it. So allow yourself
the freedom of knowing there are times to bail out, quit, run,
leave the struggle, and have more time for joy.

   

The planet earth has a life span of eight billion years, give or take
a few million. People have been around for approximately forty thousand
years--a virtual blink in the cosmos. It is sad that we as a species are
ravaging the natural world so fast that we are jeopardizing our
survival. If we wipe ourselves out, it would be the height of
folly, but the earth will survive even us. It will eventually restore itself.
It might take a few thousand years, and it won't be just as it was before,
but its life is stronger than death.

   

    

from her site at charlottekasl.com:

Charlotte Sophia Kasl (who formerly published under the name Charlotte Davis Kasl) has an M.A. in Piano from The University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Counseling from Ohio University in 1982.  She was a Licensed Psychologist in Minnesota for 15 years and is currently a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Montana.  She is a Certified Addiction Specialist in the areas of chemical dependency and sexuality and has had a private psychotherapy practice for more than 30 years.  She is the author of nine books and numerous articles.

Dr. Kasl has conducted a wide variety of workshops on relationships, addiction, sexuality, spirituality, community, healing from incest and abuse, casting out internalized oppression, preventing burn out, quantum healing, empowerment, and finding joy, both in the United States and abroad. Her groundbreaking book Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps, published in 1992, introduced a 16-step empowerment approach for overcoming addiction that focuses on finding one’s voice, building confidence, taking action on one’s behalf, and understanding addiction in a cultural context. It has been used throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Europe, to assist in overcoming trauma, addiction, and depression.

In 1987, she was part of a task force funded by the Department of Human Services in Minnesota to create a model treatment program for chemically dependent women. She was on the advisory board of The Women’s Recovery Network, The Women’s Action Alliance for Alcohol and Drug Education, and invited twice by the National Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to participate in a synthesis conference to make recommendations on the needs of women. She has consulted with numerous treatment programs and served on several advisory boards, such as The Organization for Secular Sobriety, known as Save OurSelves (SOS).

Dr. Kasl is also a founding member of ATTACH, The Association for the Teaching and Training in the Attachment of Children. In 1997, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, (now knows as SASH Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health) for her work with women and sexuality. In 2000, If the Buddha Dated was one of five finalists for the National Books for Better Living Awards. In addition, she was listed in Self magazine as one of 50 “sage” psychologists in the United States.

In her psychotherapy therapy practice, Dr. Kasl takes an empowering approach by helping people address the core issues underlying depression, anxiety, addictions, and relationship difficulties. She works with numerous therapeutic approaches, such as ego state therapy, hypnosis, quantum psychology, EMDR, cognitive therapy, and emotionally focused therapy for couples. She is also an avid hiker, pianist, and has been a Reiki Master Healer since 1983.

  
  

    

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Other people:  Alan Watts - Albert Einstein - Albert Schweitzer - Andy Rooney - Anne Frank - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Anne Wilson Schaef
- Annie Dillard - Anthony Robbins - Ari Kiev - Artur Rubenstein - Barbara Johnson - Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Franklin
- Benjamin Hoff - Bernie Siegel - Bertrand Russell - Betty Eadie - Booker T. Washington
Charlotte Davis Kasl
- Cheryl Richardson - Cristina Feldman - C.S. Lewis - the Dalai Lama - Dale Carnegie - Deepak Chopra
Don Miguel Ruiz
- Earl Nightingale - Elaine St. James - Eleanor Roosevelt - Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emmet Fox
- Frederick Buechner - George Bernard Shaw - George Santayana - George Washington Carver - Gerald Jampolsky
Harold Kushner
- Harry Emerson Fosdick - Helen Keller - Henry David Thoreau - Henry James - Henry Van Dyke
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Henry Ward Beecher - Hugh Prather - Immanuel Kant - Iyanla Vanzant - Jack Canfield
James Allen
- Jennifer James - Jim Rohn - Joan Borysenko - Joan Chittister - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - John Izzo
John Ruskin
- Joni Eareckson Tada - Joseph M. Marshall III - Julia Cameron - Kent Nerburn - Khalil Gibran
Leo Buscaglia
- Leonard Jacobson - Leslie Levine - Lucinda Bassett - Lydia Maria Child - Lynn Grabhorn - Marcus Aurelius
Marianne Williamson
- Martin Luther King, Jr. - Maya Angelou - Melody Beattie - Michael Goddart - Mitch Albom
Mohandas Gandhi
- Morrie Schwartz - Mother Teresa - M. Scott Peck - Nathaniel Branden - Nikos Kazantzakis - Norman Cousins
Norman Vincent Peale
- Og Mandino - Oprah Winfrey - Oriah - Orison Swett Marden - Pau Casals - Peace Pilgrim - Phillips Brooks
Rabindranath Tagore
- Rachel Carson - Rachel Naomi Remen - Rainer Maria Rilke - Ralph Waldo Trine - Richard Bach
Richard Carlson
- Robert Frost - Robert Fulghum - Robert Louis Stevenson - Russell Baker - Sarah Ban Breathnach
Shakti Gawain
- Soren Kierkegaard - Stephen Covey - Stephen C. Paul - Sue Patton Thoele - Susan L. Taylor
Sylvia Boorstein
- Thich Nhat Hanh - Thomas Carlyle - Thomas Kinkade - Thomas Merton - Tom Walsh - Victor Cherbuliez
Wayne Dyer
- Wilferd A. Peterson - Willa Cather - William James - William Wordsworth - Zig Ziglar

  

       
    

Yes, life can be mysterious and confusing--but there's much of life that's actually rather dependable and reliable.  Some principles apply to life in so many different contexts that they can truly be called universal--and learning what they are and how to approach them and use them can teach us some of the most important lessons that we've ever learned.
My doctorate is in Teaching and Learning.  I use it a lot when I teach at school, but I also do my best to apply what I've learned to the life I'm living, and to observe how others live their lives.  What makes them happy or unhappy, stressed or peaceful, selfish or generous, compassionate or arrogant?  In this book, I've done my best to pass on to you what I've learned from people in my life, writers whose works I've read, and stories that I've heard.  Perhaps these principles can be a positive part of your life, too!
Universal Principles of Living Life Fully.  Awareness of these principles can explain a lot and take much of the frustration out of the lives we lead.