This is the third article for the series RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT - THE THREE R'S. Remembering the best, Restoring yourself, and Rapture. In this we are going to be talking about the third "R," which is the wonderful concept that I like to call RAPTURE.

Rapture is a strong, full word that incorporates a capacity for joy that affects us in our own mind, body and spirit. It is a feeling of being in harmony in a euphoric or an ecstatic way with others or the universe at large. Obviously, we don't go around in a state of rapture all the time. To experience even states of well being on a regular basis involves tremendous daily practice. Yet if we work and we perspire, mentally, emotionally and socially, we will be rewarded. How? For one thing, the positive actions we take in our lives are pleasing to us and good for us.

In my book, RECIPES FOR ENCHANTMENT: The Secret Ingredient is YOU!, available on Amazon and at www.enchantedself.com, I talk about so many occasions when people took positive actions and then had the pleasant rewarding experience of positive feelings. These positive feelings varied from person to person, yet included the whole spectrum of well-being, including joyousness, contentment, satisfaction, pleasure and on occasion, rapture.

In my book, I share a reverie that I had one night. I imagined all of my friends and loved ones and then strangers from around the world coming together in big circles dancing in the moonlight. We danced until dawn in my reverie. There was a sense of euphoria that built, leading to me to experiencing great joy and even rapture as I indulged in my visualization. I share this one with you because it points out that positive actions can take the form of positive thoughts! Often we dismiss our inner life. I think it's important to document that our inner life is a very real place where we practice many of the states of well-being that ultimately take shape through expression in the real world.

Although I have not danced through the night in the moonlight with hundreds of thousands of people, the feelings I had in that reverie certainly translate into many of the positive actions that I take in sharing THE ENCHANTED SELF message. As a matter of fact, without my inner life, I doubt there would be the energy to bring these teachings to others.

Yes, obviously in this discussion, we are moving toward the spiritual. Ultimately, the positive energies that we have to give the world require mind, body and spirit. And so you see that enchantment is all about putting the meat in your soul's soup. It is about the muscle that goes with living a life of joy. Perspiration, daily practice, and daily routines that enhance the possibilities of living a life of enchantment are all of hard work.

Just remember though, before you get discouraged, it is even harder to live a miserable life. We pay for misery in so many ways. We pay for it in feeling fatigued and feeling that we don't have real purpose. We feel inside that there's a hole in our hearts or that we have missed the boat. We can feel aggravated, tense, fed up. We can feel that the future will be as miserable as the past. We can feel that we are ordinary rather than extraordinary. We can pay for a negative attitude with more physical and emotional illness so that the perspiration pours off of us in a different way.

I think it's smarter, since life is a struggle and designed so that we work at whatever we're doing, that we practice enchantment and enjoy the perspiration and inspiration that goes with the practice. So promise yourself to take the JOYRIDE OF YOUR LIFE! And let the wisdom of your years help you steer in the directions that are most suitable to you, and may you always come home safely to your ENCHANTED SELF!