http://www.care2.com/greenliving/6-principles-of-transcendent-beauty.html
6 Principles of Transcendent Beauty
Adapted from Face Value, by Hema Sundaram (Rodale Press, 2003).
It seems to be hard-wired into our genes to want to be attractive and beautiful. The cosmetic industry knows it, and so do cosmetic surgeons–and their profits continue to pour in. But there are secrets to an ageless and infinite beauty that is within reach of all of us, without makeup, chemical peels, botox, or the surgeon’s knife.
These six principles of transcendent beauty are worth being passed along to your friends: they are real keepers. Read them here:
1. You must feel beautiful before you can look beautiful.
As the old saying goes, “There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.” When we connect with our inner beauty (which we can do with meditation), we connect with an ageless, infinite, and divine beauty that exists within all of us.
2. Get past the ordeal by mirror.
We need to get past the compulsion that drives us to root out our tiny imperfections and then feel guilt and shame when we see our reflections as inadequate. We need to get rid of negative feelings that cloud our vision of ourselves and instead begin to see ourselves the way our loved ones see us. And it also wouldn’t hurt to get rid of all our magnifying mirrors, which magnify “flaws”, and instead use lighting that enhances our reflections when we look into our non-magnifying mirrors!
3. Take responsibility for your own happiness.
Think of your inner self as a lighthouse standing steady with a constant beam despite the buffeting of the surrounding ocean. How powerful it is to envision your inner self as a sanctum protected from the vagaries of the outer world! It can also be empowering to analyze our situation, choose to be happy despite the aspects you can’t control, and take positive steps to change what you can control.
4. Live in the present.
One of the often overlooked ways to recognize the beauty within you is to concentrate on living in the present and to avoid basing your actions and feelings on thought and memories of the past. If you can become aware of this tendency, even for just for brief moments during your life, you’ll come to understand that others’ reactions to you are the result of what you project. If you want to elicit positive reactions from those around you, you need to express positive emotions and perform affirmative acts. From the beauty viewpoint, living in the present means accepting yourself as you are while not denying yourself as you were or might be.
5. Surround yourself with beauty.
Surrounding yourself with beauty–both tangible and intangible–is a time-honored technique for nurturing your soul. Keep living plants and animals in your home. Clothe yourself in beautiful garments–or, rather, garments that make you feel beautiful. Keep company with people who elevate you rather than bring you down–people who love you and show their love. Whether you believe in fortunes or fate, your life is yours to shape. And the most important and positive decision you can make is to bring beauty into your life.
6. Do at least one thing a day that inspires you.
We draw oxygen from the air we breathe, but we draw life from our passions. Keep your passions at the center of your days, whatever they may be–music, sports, cooking, reading, or writing. Whatever feeds your soul and makes it sing.
Go to the Source
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36 comments
add your comment »Look for the beauty in others, it seems to spark the beauty inside us.
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Good article, Annie B., but you forgot No. 7: ya gotta bust a move! Stretching, dancing, walking, biking, yoga, weights all contribute to inside-out youthfulness. Regular exercise fairly eliminates the aches and pains which slow, stoop and age us. We enjoy improved posture and self-confidence. We carry ourselves better.
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Nice recommendations-- I long ago decided that inner beauty was my quest. The "Big bosom, full pouty lips, thick and long eye-lashes, " etc. were not in my assigned DNA.
r4 dsi
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WE HAVE ALL HEARD THE OLD ADDAGE, "BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP", WE NEED TO REMEMBER THE ONE THAT TELLS US "IT ISN'T WHAT'S ON THE OUTSIDE THAT COUNTS, IT'S WHAT COMES FROM THE INSIDE, THAT COUNTS." THAT'S THE
NITTY-GRITTY OF IT ALL! VIOLET Y.
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i feel beautiful when i feel happy so i always keep the moments in my journal, there so many things to be grateful in life.
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This article has some good advice for feeling better about our looks -- but there is more to it than that. Research has shown that our perceived attractiveness influences potential employers, not to mention potential mates. We need cultural change as well as individual change!
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believe me when i say that the joy of offering kindness, empathy, compassion and love make me feel truly beautiful...
thank you as always, with gratitude and Light
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Thank you verry much! yes! I agree with Ashley Cathers! I do the same :^)
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I never wear make-up and that in itself makes me feel beautiful.
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Its refreshing to read that beauty is within every woman. doesn't take a plastic surgeon or anything like that. it takes finding that one thing that you love about yourself and let it guide you to the goddess within.
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