Feeling At Home

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Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live

What Does "Home" Mean to You?

I was thinking about the meaning of home this afternoon as I was running errands and listening to Michael Buble's Home on the radio. For the song, home is a person, someone he loves. But to me, it is more than that.

Home is a place where I can be embraced by comfort, warmth, safety and security. A place that nurtures family, but also supports my individuality.

The Power of Feeling at Home

What I love about this book is her beautiful writing about how powerful it is to feel at home and how important it is to create that in your own home. I am presenting a lot of her thoughts here so that you can get a feel for her way of thinking.

Creating home may be accomplished as you decorate but it is about far, far more than window treatments and furniture placement.
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“She writes that 'home welcomes us, renews us, liberates us, and most of all, enlarges us'...”

An Exercise from Chapter One...

type=textDefining Who You Are

In the first chapter, Stoddard begins by telling a story about her daughter's sense of home in Paris, where she now lives. The story leads to an exercise she suggests for the readers...

What are the ten best words you could use to define yourself? Take a few minutes to compose your own list and then, I will share mine...

Okay, here's my confession. I did this twice. I loved the ten words, but loved the ten phrases even better!

My Ten Words: healing, spiritual, nature, writing, singing, family, reader, orange, brown, tea.

My Ten Phrases:

meant to heal
contemplative spirituality
connection to nature
write at home
close family
voracious reader
orange with brown
dresses and long skirts
tea and meditation


What's your list of descriptive words or phrases?

But even more important is how it feels to see yourself in words that way. For me, it feels deeply affirming. Like a celebration of who I am. Does it feel that way to you?

That is how it should feel to be at home!

Keep a Home Journal

The author suggests that as you read the book, you keep a notebook and fill it with what you learn and discover about yourself and what feels important to create in your home. The book contains other great exercises for defining yourself and questions along the way to help you explore what is meaningful to you.

"Think of this book as a place to discover your own personal truth. By getting in tune and in touch with your truths, you can create a home that echoes your true spirit." -Alexandra Stoddard, Feeling at Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live
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"Home can and should be the place where we get in touch with our individuality, our true nature. Home can and should be a place where we regularly experience our most sublime emotions. If we know the truth about how we feel, we'll be far better able to enhance the atmosphere of our house or apartment and express our innate genius in our home." -Alexandra Stoddard, Feeling at Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live

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"Feeling at Home is devoted, on the higher level of self-awareness, to the essential qualities of living with happiness and love every day." -Alexandra Stoddard, Feeling at Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live

Alexandra Stoddard's official site

Meet Alexandra Stoddard
ALEXANDRA STODDARD is a philosopher of contemporary living and author of many best selling books. As a pioneering writer and lecturer on personal happiness for the past twenty years, Alexandra has inspired millions to break the "rules" and pursue fulfillment. Now, as scientists have begun to discover the benefits of living a happy life, Alexandra provides practical ways to live happily every day, based on ancient Greek philosophy. Her teacher Aristotle taught Stoddard that the aim and purpose of life is happiness. When we are true to ourselves, we can fly above stress and conflict, contented and confident that we are on the right path toward greater inner peace and lasting happiness.
Alexandra Stoddard ~~ The Home
The Home~~At home, the kitchen is the center of our family life. When we bought the house, there was a huge Formica island in the center of the space. Once we ripped it out, we were liberated to put a favorite old farm table in its place, surrounded by carefree painted folding. All of the cooking equipment is on one wall elevation, allowing the space to be a sitting area for conversation and enjoyment. Good ventilation gave us the luxury of hanging a favorite painting nearby.
Alexandra Stoddard ~~ Interview with Planetary Spirit
As a pioneering writer and lecturer on personal happiness for the past twenty years, Alexandra has inspired millions to break the "rules" and pursue fulfillment. Now, as scientists have begun to discover the benefits of living a happy life, Alexandra provides practical ways to live happily every day. She puts us in charge of our choices, reminding us that we always have a choice about what we think, feel, and do. When we are true to ourselves, we can fly above stress and conflict, contented and confident that we are on the right path.

"Being at home can and should be a sacred experience. Feeling content, at peace, serene and, at the same time, enthusiastic, is a gift of grace we receive when we learn to trust ourselves, take risks, and connect to our deeper selves. It is in this vast, broader perspective, where we have moments of awesome clarity, that our attitude toward life at home can be uplifted." -Alexandra Stoddard, Feeling at Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live

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More books by Alexandra Stoddard

Vote for your favorites, or add any I missed.

Choosing Happiness: Keys to a Joyful Life by Alexandra Stoddard

Choosing Happiness: Keys to a Joyful Life by Alexandra Stoddard

Bursting with creative ideas and brimming with ill more...0 points

Living a Beautiful Life: 500 Ways to Add Elegance, Order, Beauty and Joy to Every Day of Your Life by Alexandra Stoddard

Living a Beautiful Life: 500 Ways to Add Elegance, Order, Beauty and Joy to Every Day of Your Life by Alexandra Stoddard

With the publication of <i>Living A Beautifu more...0 points

Things Good Mothers Know: A Celebration by Alexandra Stoddard

Things Good Mothers Know: A Celebration by Alexandra Stoddard

<p> In this warm and wise book, Alexandra St more...0 points

Things I Want My Daughters To Know: A Small Book About the Big Issues in Life by Alexandra Stoddard

Things I Want My Daughters To Know: A Small Book About the Big Issues in Life by Alexandra Stoddard

<p> Thus Alexandra Stoddard introduces this more...0 points

Creating a Beautiful Home by Alexandra Stoddard

Creating a Beautiful Home by Alexandra Stoddard

Publisher: AVON BOOKS Publication date: 1922 Notes more...0 points

"Being at home is a coming home to yourself, your spirit and your vital energy. We find our true home in the atmosphere, mood, and soul of our intimate, personal surroundings." -Alexandra Stoddard, Feeling at Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live

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