Chico counselor on promoting emotional health and good vibrations

The cover of "The Couples Thrival Guide" ($16.99 in paperback, self-published, available from shannon@thrivaliving.com) by Shannon Sheridan features a striking image from Chico ceramics instructor Janice Hofmann. Depicting an erotic embrace, the illustration is intended to suggest one of many enjoyable relationships. The book offers what Sheridan calls a "non-pathological" approach to couple's therapy based on self-appreciation and the "Law of Attraction."

The author is scheduled to be interviewed tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. on Nancy's Bookshelf (KCHO, Northstate Public Radio, 91.7 FM). A book release party, featuring music from "Spark-n-Cinder," is set for Saturday, from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. at All Fired Up, 830 Broadway in Chico. Tickets are $20 and include desserts, dancing, and a copy of the book. For reservations, go to www.thrivaliving.com/events.htm.

Sheridan writes that "the most important thing is that I feel good" (the title of one of her chapters). "When we feel good and are really plugged in," she says, "we are connected with ourselves and with others around us. It does not feel good to hurt, demean, or disempower others when we come from a place of connection."

This "connection" has to do with the "Law of Attraction": "We are all atoms moving around at different frequencies. As we experience emotions, vibrations change frequencies. Meanwhile, vibrations are attracted to other vibrations of the same frequency." She tells of falling down a flight of stairs. "I had attracted this incident as a result of my vibration, by allowing what my friend was thinking about me to be more important than what I thought about myself." Here Sheridan draws on the work of Abraham Hicks (www.abraham-hicks.com).

She is also counts Virginia Satir (www.avanta.net) as a teacher, modifying Satir's "ingredients of an interaction" for the book. The ingredients are "vibration, sensory information, perceptual filter, meanings, feelings, and response/outcome." Faulty meanings--that the person is worthless or unlovable--can undermine relationships. The reality is "we are pure positive love energy connected to source."

In working with the depressed, Sheridan would "invite them to be angry. It introduces power and self-worth, and it works far better than any medication." From there the person may move to "hopefulness and appreciation." It's vital, she writes, to "appreciate yourself." It's the stuff of good vibrations.