Reply To: Aura of Shabbos

yosi7 – You can refrain from melacha (which will help you prepare your mind for Shabbos, etc.) even without officially accepting Shabbos, or officially deciding to be mekabel the issur melacha on yourself.

This way you can still get to do what you want (i.e., to prepare yourself mentally for the holy Shabbos) without running into a machlokes haposkim if you are still allowed to daven Mincha, or if it is now forbidden for you to daven Mincha. According to the heilege Chofetz Chaim and the gadol hador (i.e., Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a), you cannot daven Mincha after accepting Shabbos (in any way). I respect the fact that your rebbeim told you otherwise, and that some gedolim ha’achronim allow davening Mincha after having accepted Shabbos, but some of these gedolim ha’achronim permit this only b’shas hadchak (if there is no other choice), and some of the most authoritative gedolim ha’achronim (the above-mentioned Mishna Berura and Rabbi Kanievsky) forbid it outright.