In the Moment: Celebrating the Everyday
by By Barker, Teresa and Rich, Harvey L.
Category: Psychology , Interpersonal Relations

In this enlightening work, popular psychoanalyst Harvey Rich offers a philosophy for living that transforms the flow of everyday moments into a celebrated life. Most of us recognize celebration as an event, but as Rich describes it, celebration is much deeper; it is the internal experience of ourselves in the moment that leaves a long-lasting imprint on our psyche. Whether we are experiencing the beauty of a sunset, the pain of loss, the chemistry of love, the sting of harsh words, soul-crushing boredom, or the thrill of accomplishment, what we learn when we fully engage ourselves in the experience of a moment can affect us forever.Rich describes a celebratory process that unfolds when we recognize a moment as special, and open ourselves to the fullest sensory experience of it. In this deliberate engagement we enrich our understanding of ourselves and our lives in the context of family, friendship, love relationships, and work. Celebration carries us through the joys and adversities of life, and connects us to our spiritual center.Drawing upon his own life experience, family history, and his training in theology, art, literature, medicine, psychiatry, and psychoanalysis, Rich shows us how we can capture the moments of our lives and bring our own histories and aspirations to bear upon those moments -- a celebration that is the antidote to the blur of our often high-tech, fast-paced lives.Celebrating the daily moments of our lives serves as a means of including ourselves in the fullest experience of life -- our profound inner life, our spiritual dimension, the life of our culture, and the history of humankind.