Your Emotional Boat

Linda Branham M.Ed.

Format ISBN Price   Paperback (6x9) 9781434362971 $ 11.60

YOUR EMOTIONAL BOAT

 

Lets pretend for a moment that you are a boat. So… what kind of boat would you be? Which boat would personify all of your characteristics?

Your Emotional Boat utilizes the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator and pairs each Myers-Briggs Personality type with a particular “boat” style.

 

All of us travel through life, but some are more prepared than others. This book prepares the reader to approach life as if they are beginning a journey. The author uses the analogy of comparing “people” to “boats” to further enhance the development of the idea of preparing for a journey. How a person prepares for the journey through life depends upon the type of “boat” that they are.

 

Your Emotional Boat will lead the readers through several techniques to help them learn more about themselves and what they want to create in their lives. Once the reader understands their own personal style, and has determined what they want to create in their lives, they will be guided in the process of making a “map” for their own personal journey.

 

The latter half of the book encourages readers to look more closely at their own spiritual beliefs and to discover how these beliefs affect their lives.

 

 

Linda Branham, MEd. has been Director of Family Preservation Services for the Lincoln Trail Region in Kentucky for the past 14 years, and with the Family Preservation Program for 20 years.

She has been a Certified Family Preservation Trainer with the Institute of Family Development for 17 years, and a Certified Hypnotherapist with A.A.E.H. (Association to Advance Ethical Hypnosis) for 29 years. She is also listed on the Jefferson County (KY) list of Mediators for the Court.

She has Masters of Education Degree in Counseling from University of Louisville, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Indiana University.

Her publications include the following articles:

Frager, S. R., and Linda – “A.V. Production: Directing Non-Professional Actors,” Audio-Visual Communications, Vol. 13, No. 9, Sept. 1979, New York City. (Booklet) Frager, S. R., and Linda, - “A.S.T.D. FILM FESTIVAL GUIDE,” Distribution by The American Society for Training & Development, Madison, Wisconsin, 1980. Frager, Linda – “Sex and the Ostomate’s Mate,” Ostomy Quarterly, Fall, 1980. Linda is a public speaker and workshop presenter on Family Preservation, Stress Management, Guided Imagery, Personality Styles, and Working with Families of Substance Abuse. Linda is divorced, with 3 grown children, 2 dogs and 3 cats. Her hobbies are reading, learning about spirituality (The COURSE OF MIRACLES, Native American Spirituality, and Kabbalah), Yoga, Tai Chi, and mediation.

 

             I keep waiting for my ship to come in,

          but there ain’t nothing coming but the tide.

                           By Jim Croce

One day a friend and I were discussing the diff erences between people who are actively involved in their lives, and those who are afraid, or reluctant, to participate. We used the analogy of “waiting for their boat to come in”, and thus began the premise for this book. Our “emotional boats” are what all of us send out into the world in order to get what we want out of life. Some of us send our boats out to search for money, some for love, or sex, or fame, or recognition. There are as many reasons for people to send out their emotional boats, as there are dreams that people can imagine. Some of us eagerly send out many diff erent types of boats to many different places, while others keep their boats safely moored in the harbor for fear of sinking. AsJim Croce stated in his song, some of us just sit and wait. And there are still others who don’t even know that they have a boat to send out into the world.

Our emotional boats carry cargo. Our cargo consists of all thecomponents of our internal selves. The cargo that we send out into the world to create our lives is dependent upon our understanding of “Who” we are. Sometimes we trade too much of our cargo to get what we want, leaving us feeling depleted and empty. Other times we don’t give enough of ourselves and are unable to attain what it is that we wanted. Learning balance and cost is an important prerequisite in creating the life we would like for ourselves.

For people seeking jobs, their cargo would be their education, their skills, their personality, their talents, the people they know. For people seeking romance, their cargo would comprise pieces of their social skills, communication style, personality and spiritual awareness. But most of all, our cargo is that sense of who we are. Are we making our choices and living our lives based upon that inner sense of “Who we are”? Are we following the path of our true self, or are we being misguided and thereby creating a life for ourselves that has nothingto do with our true self?

Another aspect of the Emotional Boat is the TYPE of boat we send out into the world to seek our dreams. Is it a cargo ship, a speedboat, maybe a sailboat, or canoe? I’ve seen some people send out a raft , expecting a return shipment that would be worthy of a tanker!

Let’s begin to look at and learn about our own personal “Emotional Boats”. What is it we want? Are we sending the right cargo? Are we sending the proper boat to bring back our dreams? It’s an interesting boat ride. It’s YOUR boat. It will take you where, and how, and when YOU want to go.