Dating from the Inside Out: How to Use the Law of Attraction in Matters of the Heart [Paperback]

Paulette Kouffman Sherman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2008

Dr. Sherman's methods have worked for her clients and even herself. Now with her help, find the perfect match for you!

Each of us deserves to love and be loved in return. How can you find real, deep, and lasting love in a world that appears so superficial? Rather than looking at the world of dating like an obstacle course to be conquered, Dr. Paulette Kouffman Sherman shows that it can become an enlightening journey toward love that begins from within. By examining past experiences, understanding family dynamics, and exploring the place of spiritual connection in the dating world, Dr. Sherman illuminates the path to self-awareness -- the path that leads to the kind of real love you have been searching for. Finding your dating style and the set of beliefs you hold about your self-worth liberates you from just spinning your wheels and repeating mistakes. Dr. Sherman shows how we can become the partner we wish to attract, and asserts that anyone can learn how to truly let go of their past, embrace the present, and use the Law of Attraction to draw in a partner who is perfect for who you are -- without pretending to be someone you're not.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dating From the Inside Out is a rare combination of sophisticated psychology, humanistic spirituality, and practical instruction for those seeking fulfillment in partnership. The wonderful surprise about Dr. Sherman's book is that it's not just for singles! It is equally a welcome refresher course for those looking to reinvigorate their relationships by creating new communication patterns that support loving and healthful interactions." -- Dr. Faith Bethelard, coauthor of Cherishment: A Psychology of the Heart

"In a world immersed in match.com, J-Date, and a host of other attempts at liaisons, Dr. Paulette Sherman brings us a book which addresses intimacy and passion, as well as self-knowledge. It's a wonderful resource for therapists who continue to meet clients with a genuine desire for relationships with a future. Our writer is a woman of integrity and insight. Her words are those of a mature writer; her spirit of enthusiasm and hope not just enlighten, but envision a better future for the reader. This writer and her fine book have my enthusiastic endorsement." -- Bruce Lackie, Ph.D., director of The Black Rock Center for Psychotrauma

"Dr. Sherman has produced an extremely well written, lucid manual that really goes beyond dating, to living in general. Using her own experiences and those of her clients, she has produced a roadmap that is easy to follow and which, if followed, should lead to a great deal of satisfaction in finding people with whom to be happy. She has translated important concepts from her experience as a therapist and as a dating coach into everyday language that is easy to understand." -- Dr. Robert Myers, ABPP, psychologist and professor of psychology at the Institute of Graduate Clinical Psychology at Widener University

"This book distills the wisdom of a hundred years of psychology to its most essential and practical basics: Understand your past to better control your dating future. Its techniques are clear, sensible, and revealing." -- Barry J. Jacobs, Psy.D., author of The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers

About the Author

Dr. Paulette Kouffman Sherman is a licensed psychologist and the owner and director of My Dating School in Manhattan (www.mydatingschool.com), where she facilitates classes on dating issues. She pens a monthly dating column, "Dr. Date," in The Improper, a popular New York lifestyle and entertainment magazine, and has been quoted in many publications, including Glamour. Dr. Sherman is a regular speaker at The Learning Annex, has been a dating expert on radio and television, and has coached many private clients on creating successful relationships. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books/Beyond Words; Original edition (February 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582701946
• ISBN-13: 978-1582701943
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,032,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Paulette Kouffman Sherman is the author of, Dating From The Inside-Out: Using The Law of Attraction in Matters of the Heart, published by Atria Books in February 2008 and winner of the national Best Books 2008 Award in the category of Self Help: Relationships. She is the Director of My Dating School, www.mydatingschool.com in Manhattan, Paulette offers classes in dating issues, coaching and produces creative dating products. Her company works with singles of all ages and backgrounds around the world by phone and online. She is a monthly speaker at The Learning Annex, a dating expert on radio and television shows such as the CBS Early Show. She has been quoted as a dating expert in Glamour, Complete Woman, Reader's Digest, Seventeen, msn.com, Lifetime.com and More.com. To contact Dr. Sherman about appearances or services email her at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy Advice for a Healthy Relationship, April 7, 2008

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Dating from the Inside Out: How to Use the Law of Attraction in Matters of the Heart (Paperback)

Dating from the Inside Out, by Paulette Kouffman Sherman, is all about making sure YOU are ready to date before you head out there and attempt it. Its core message is that you need to be at least reasonably happy and content with yourself if you're going to have dates work out well.

Think of it in this way. If you went out on a date with someone and they were mopey, grumpy and self-bashing all evening long, you probably wouldn't want to go on a second date with them, right? If on the other hand they were happy, fun to talk with and friendly to people around them, you would be quite interested in a second date. This is true for pretty much everybody. We want to be with people who are happy. So in order to succeed on dates (and in life!!) we need to be happy. That doesn't mean we have to find someone TO make us happy. Rather, we need to BE happy and then we will find someone who will enjoy sharing that happy life.

So Paulette's book goes step by step about how to build up your self esteem and escape from bad habits which have made you unhappy in the past. She suggests you start journalling, to keep track of your progress and watch out for problems. Programming that you've built up for years can be very hard to change - but it CAN be done. If your family teased you for your entire childhood about being heavy, it can be very hard to accept yourself as an adult. It really can be done though.

She brings up many good points that are important to take to heart. For example, if you rant to your friends all the time that men are all losers, you probably will end up dating losers. It's the way the human brain works. Bikers tell you all the time that if you stare at a wall as you go around the curve, focusing on it and worrying about hitting it, you are likely to hit it. What you focus on is what you tend to go towards. If on the other hand you focus on the road ahead, and focus on following the road, that is where you tend to go. Rather than concentrating on the negative, and complaining / focusing on the negative, you have to focus on what you want. Build up friends who have happy relationships, talk about happy relationships, and get into situations where happy people are. You will then find yourself in a happy relationship!

It's not easy, if you've gotten into the habit of bashing others or ending up with negative people. Paulette talks about an experiment where rats were put into a sealed cage and then cheese was shown to them. The rats kept jumping for the cheese but could not get to it. They finally gave up. Later even when they were out of the cage, they would not jump for the cheese. They had gotten too frustrated. Humans are like this too - they will give up after a while. Don't give up. Reset your mind to be positive, and focus on that.

Paulette points out that people dedicate a lot of time, money and energy to finding a job. They perfect their resume, spend months searching for the job and make sure they have made the right decision. But then these people might put no effort at all into finding a mate - they just want someone to "appear". Finding a great mate is far more important than finding a job. Put the same effort into researching your own needs and desires, making yourself as happy as possible, finding peace in your own world and then putting yourself into situations where people with common interests will be.

The key again is that you need to BE happy, honestly, for this to work. Yes, we all have issues that we want to work on. We want to be thinner or a better cook or whatever. You can't expect your partner to "fix" you, to validate you, to fix your problems. It is important for you to work on being happy with you and being the best you that you can be. You want to have positive, encouraging friends around you - but you also want to be happy being on your own too. Both are very important to being well rounded.

I like the idea of creating a "marriage ceremony" for yourself - to dedicate yourself to taking good care of yourself. We have many ceremonies in life - graduating from school, getting married, having a baby - but we don't have a ceremony really for "being an adult" and resolving to take good care of yourself. We really should. This is one of the most important things any person can do. It is really hard to care properly for others if you're not taking good care of yourself in the first place.

So with all of this great advice, are there any issues in the book? I did find a few things that struck me as odd. Pauline wants you to call up your exs and rant or yell or talk to them, to clear your mind. That seems REALLY unfair to me. Write them a letter maybe - that way they can open it or not. I don't think it's fair or healthy to force another human being to sit there and listen to your anger or sadness or whatever just because you feel like venting.

The book is very heavily leant towards women reading it. It does occasionally talk about men, but most of the examples are women, most of the references are about women. The family section talks about relating to dad - not to mom.

The book likes to drive you to therapy (or to signing up for her online classes). In one example there is a series of questions along the lines of "any man would be lucky to have me!" If you cannot say YES to 8 out of 10 of these questions, you should look into therapy. I don't think so! I don't *agree* that any man would be lucky to have a given woman. I think that for each person there is a *group* of partners that would work really well - but there is also a group of partners who would NOT work well.

Plus, in the dating in midlife section, it says a key benefit is that you "always wanted to be Mrs. Robinson". What?

Still, the core message here is very meaningful. Dating isn't about tricking another person into liking you. It is about being honestly content with what you are, and drawing in - naturally - people who want to be with you. I have really seen this approach work with so many of my friends. It works. It can be hard, yes! Many of us have self esteem issues. But if you take the time and energy to work on them, you will find that wonderful dating partners will follow quite naturally.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nybookworm, May 21, 2008

By 

nybookworm (Manhattan, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dating from the Inside Out: How to Use the Law of Attraction in Matters of the Heart (Paperback)

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is actually more of a workbook and the exercises in it help guide you through the thorny world of dating. Though some of the advice has been covered before in other books, the exercises are new to me. They can help you look inside of yourself to find out what may be blocking you in your love life. The book also helps you define what you are really looking for in a mate.

If you are willing to do the sometimes difficult work of introspection, I think this book can help you achieve your dreams and if you don't meet that special someone, it will at least uplift you and give you clarity around who you are as a person.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for Guys as well, May 21, 2008

By 

MK (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dating from the Inside Out: How to Use the Law of Attraction in Matters of the Heart (Paperback)

At first glance, I thought that this dating book was written by a woman for women. It ain't so. The principles espoused apply to men as well as women. In the future, know yourself, like yourself and be yourself will be the golden rule for all of my relationships.

A good read. Well worthwhile.

MK