Seeing Beyond Externals copyright 2007
by Dr. Jeanine

When I was a child, I enjoyed watching the 1960s comedy television program The Munsters. For those of you who did not see the original show or the re-runs, the show featured a family of monsters who encounter the same problems as other families. Part of the joke was that they didn't see themselves as any different from their "normal" suburban neighbors. The part that I found most fascinating was that the family: mother, father, grandfather and young boy included a normal teenage sister. The sister, Marilyn Munster, looked like a 1960s blonde beauty queen. Her hair was perfectly teased in an upturned bob and she wore perfectly pressed A-line dresses. She didn't seem to notice that her family was made up of monsters. Of course, many teenagers feel embarrassed if their parents do even the slightest thing to set them apart from other families. In my estimation, Marilyn Munster represented a modern day enlightened master.

Whether we identify with the "normal" one or the "monster", however we slice it we are viewing ourselves as separate. We may feel superior or inferior, depending on our mood. In any case, the outcome has the same genesis. We are identifying ourselves as separate from our sisters and brothers. Marilyn Munster didn't seem to think of herself as better or worse, she accepted her family as they were. She wasn't tempted to see them as different, wrong or just plain embarrassing, which most of us would probably do. On the other hand, Marilyn's family didn't judge her either. They didn't appear to be jealous, threatened or need to dim her beauty in any way to make them selves feel more beautiful. They simply saw her as another beloved family member.
When we seek separation, the penalty is loss of connection. If our mission here is to join and accept each other, let's seek to join and appreciate rather than separate and diminish.

Jeanine Austin, Ph.D.
Doctor of Life Coaching
~Simply Divine Solutions~
Personal Coaching for Women Worldwide
Women Transitioning, Transforming and Transcending Around the World
www.simplydivinesolutions.com
jeanine@simplydivinesolutions.com

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Author's Bio: 

I help women from all over the world design a simplified, meaningful, purposeful and joyful life based on their own strengths, values and priorities. I also coach women towards their ultimate purpose, full of spiritual meaning, connection, compassion and assist them in overcoming any existential suffering. I utilize a strategic and holistic approach in transforming challenges into transcendent integration of joy. I have nearly 25 years experience in working in people helping professions.

I provide life coaching sessions to women from all over the world via the telephone. I facilitate both individual and group sessions. Please note that I have also coached coaches into successful coaching practices. The outcome of individual coaching is focused on making positive internal and external shifts in one's life, while being supported and assisted by the life coach. The goal of my affordable coaching groups is to provide a loving community and transformative interpersonal relationships to help women actualize their lives.

I have both a bachelor's and master's degree in clinical social work and a doctorate in life coaching-graduating Magna cum Laude. The breadth of my career has incorporated many aspects of clinical work with children and adults in a wide variety of settings. I am no longer practicing psychotherapy as I now coach full time.