Neil Kobrin - Emotional Well-Being: Embracing the Gift of Life

Emotional
Well-Being

Praise for

Emotional Well-Being

Dr. Neil Kobrin has taken a deep, piercing look at what it takes to dissolve our roadblocks to happiness. There is insight on every page.

Marianne Williamson, bestselling author of A Return to Love
and internationally acclaimed spirituality lecturer.

In Emotional Well-Being, Dr. Neil Kobrin provides a very lucid and accessible integration of psychology and mindfulness for the general and professional reader. In his contribution to this conversation, the author includes personal anecdotes and illustrative case examples to show the relevance and intersection of these two perspectives. He makes clear the distinction between our true nature and the overlay of experience and culture which hides it and offers mindfulness as the process of recovery of our original condition. This book should get a wide reading from an interested audience.

Harville Hendrix, Ph. D., bestselling author of
Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples,
and internationally acclaimed for his work with couples.

Kobrin shows the positive and practical ways mindful psychology can benefit your life.

Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., bestselling author of
A Path With Heart, co-founder of Insight Meditation Society
and Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

In Emotional Well-Being, Dr. Neil Kobrin identifies the root causes of imbalance in our lives and presents a set of skills that can help restore balance. For psychological issues ranging from anxiety to emotional dependency, Kobrin offers practical advice for finding well-being which he brings to life through personal and archetypal stories. This is a book filled with beneficial insights.

Phillip Moffitt, author of Emotional Chaos to Clarity
and Dancing with Life, founder of Life Balance Institute,
and Co-guiding Teacher Spirit Rock Meditation Center

Embracing the Gift of Life

DR. NEIL KOBRIN

Emotional Well-Being

Embracing the Gift of Life

2012 Dr. Neil Kobrin. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from author or publisher (except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages and/or show brief video clips in a review).

Disclaimer: The Publisher and the Author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the Publisher nor the Author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the Author or the Publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

ISBN 978-1-61448-178-2 paperback

ISBN 978-1-61448-179-9 eBook

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011944159

Morgan James Publishing

The Entrepreneurial Publisher

5 Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor,

New York City, New York 10001

(212) 655-5470 office (516) 908-4496 fax

www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

Art Direction and

Logo Design

Jake Kobrin

jkobrinart@yahoo.com

Cover Design by:

Rachel Lopez

www.r2cdesign.com

Interior Design by:

Bonnie Bushman

bonnie@caboodlegraphics.com

In an effort to support local communities, raise awareness and funds, Morgan James Publishing donates a percentage of all book sales for the life of each book to Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg.

This book was written with love
and is dedicated to those who have helped
shape my life and influenced my journey.
Thank you.

Every spiritual tradition has stressed that this human life is unique and has potential that ordinarily we hardly even begin to imagine. If we miss the opportunity this life offers us for transforming ourselves, they say, it may well be an extremely long time before we have another.

Imagine a blind turtle, roaming the depths of an ocean the size of the universe. Up above floats a wooden ring, tossed to and fro on the waves. Every hundred years the turtle comes, once, to the surface. To be born a human being is saidto be more difficult than for the turtle to surface accidentally with its head poking through the wooden ring. And even among those who have a human birth, it is said, those who have the great fortune to make a connection with the teachings are rare; and those who really take them to heart and embody them in their actions even rarer, as rare, in fact, as stars in broad daylight.

Two waves in the ocean were having a conversation as they flowed toward shore. The larger wave was extremely depressed, and the small wave was peacefully flowing along. If you could see what I see from up here, said the large wave to the small wave, you would not be so happy.

Well, what is it? said the small wave.

In not too long, we will crash into the shore, and that will be the end of us, said the large wave.

Oh, that, said the small wave. Thats okay.

What, are you crazy?

No. I know a little secret that tells me its all okay, said the small wave. Would you like me to share it with you?

At this point the large wave is both curious and suspicious. Will I have to pay a lot of money to learn the secret?

No, not at all, said the small wave.

Will I have to meditate for thirty years?

No, said the small wave. Really, the whole thing is only eight words.

Eight words? Well, tell me, already.

So, the small wave says, ever so gently. You are not a wave. You are water.

Zen story

Most of us agree that the gift of life is precious. We tend to love everything newborn: puppies, kittens, babies, etc. However, hidden in this lovely gift, the gift of life, is a tragic reality. You see, the gift comes with a