Training For Life

What we call the beginning is often the end and to make an end is to make a beginning.    The end is where we start from. – T.S. Eliot

 

You have heard about “Coaching” and “Mentoring”, well my work falls broadly into these categories.  However I bring a collection of different skills to our meetings.  I understand these sessions to be education in the deepest meaning of that word – to draw out what are your aspirations, hopes, gifts and to help you develop the skills to continue that process far beyond the time we spend together. 

Some of my basic premises are:

 

      it is your life and my wish is that you set the pace for our meetings;

 

      I take the intimate connection between body-mind-spirit as essential for insight, and

 

      the fact that we are social beings and have to actually do something about the insights we have.

 

You may wish to meet only once or several times – it is up to you.

 

You may also wish to take part in one of the processes outlined here. 

 

Life Directions - Questions  

Are you at a turning point in your personal or professional life?

 

Do you feel there is ‘something more’ to your life but not sure what it may be?

 

Do you want to deepen your understanding of yourself and other people? or

 

Is life going along swimmingly for you now and you would like to learn some self-reflection skills?

 

If you are asking yourself these or similar questions, Life Directions helps you find your answers.

 

What is Life Directions?

 

    Life Directions is a process that gives you skills to be your own best friend.

 

    The skills you learn over six hours will last you a lifetime because they are processes that, once learned, you can use at any time yourself when you are confronted with important questions.

 

     Life Directions uses several different tools and processes that work together to help you deepen your self understanding.  However, it is not a ‘one size fits all’ programme.  It is designed to be flexible and applicable to each person’s unique personality and situation.

 

     Life Directions is not counselling or therapy.  It is more akin to the ancient tradition of Spiritual Direction in that you will look at your values and what inspires you, as well as what holds you back from following your inspirations.

 

     Life Directions will help you review your life goals.

 

     Life Directions is learning.  It is learning as an integrated person – body, mind and spirit.

 

 

What Do We Do In The Six Sessions?

 

     This time belongs to you.  So, you set the pace and direction e.g. you may wish to meet in one or two hour blocks of time.

 

     We will explore your unique personality type and preferences with a personality inventory e.g. Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®) or the Archetypal Myth Index (© Pearson)

 

     Through Feldenkrais Method® we will look at how body, mind and spirit is integrated and how to make this unity conscious and effective.

 

     Develop curiosity – one of the most powerful gifts we have.

 

     Examine habitual attitudes and patterns of behaviour and look at options.

 

     Our unconscious has enormous power to shape us.  It knows more than we consciously know. We will examine processes for helping the unconscious become conscious and so manifest latent gifts and possibilities in our conscious life.

 

     We look at the values, aspirations and desires that are the source of your hope and motivation.

 

     Finally, we bring it all together in your real daily experiences.

 

 

Life Directions is all about

            self-esteem

                        courage

                                    being your own best friend

                                                living with others honestly and creatively.

 

Spiritual Accompaniment:

Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old. – Franz Kafka

 

All the great religions have a tradition of spiritual accompaniment for people who look to deepen their meaning, their commitments, their values and their beliefs.

 

     Spiritual Accompaniment is not the same as counselling and does not directly deal with matters that would more appropriately be brought to a psychologist, although these may arise during the course of our meetings

 

     Spiritual Accompaniment is founded on the belief that as humans we are oriented to something larger than we are as individuals – we reach out to something greater than ourselves.  For some people this is a belief in God, for others it is the spirit they see in creation, for others it is the connection with wider reality.

 

     Because Spiritual Accompaniment helps us draw from the deep springs within ourselves, it helps address the deeper spiritual roots to burnout and emotional malaise.  It also helps us to creatively live with and transform ourselves when adversity comes into our lives.

 

     Spiritual Accompaniment is about being a “Soul Friend” to another person;  to accompany you as one who also travels to the heart of spirit.  Therefore I do not impose my own belief systems, but help you find your deepest well-springs of meaning, values, compassion and joy.

 

Spiritual Accompaniment is about

            encountering your deepest and best self

                        in the context of what is larger than yourself

                                    in order to live

                                                Compassionately, Ethically and Joyfully

 

Elegant Maturity:

            Women’s Adventure into Second Adulthood

It is a mistake to regard age as a downhill grade towards dissolution. The reverse is true. As one grows older, one climbs with surprising strides. - George Sand

 

This process is provided either on an individual basis or for groups.

 

At a point in our lives we realise we are “getting older”.  Family scatters, we find attitudes to us subtly change; we find the physical signs of age from a few grey hairs, to the annoyance of shopping for suitable clothes, to menopause, to vague aches and pains.  Suddenly we know, in our heart of hearts we are no longer young.  The perception of ourselves that we have lived with for a long time now, no longer ‘fits’.

 

And our society, generally speaking is not kind to women past a certain age, nor does it encourage us to value our achievements and wisdom as we age.

 

So what do we do?

 

Elegant Maturity

 

          Helps us deepen our joy in who we are

 

          Helps us reflect on our life journey and the identities we have assumed

 

          Reviews our past achievements, failures, paths taken, paths not taken so we mourn for loss, forgive, celebrate and find gratitude in ourselves

 

          Rediscovers qualities of person, talents, gifts that we passed over as we responded to life’s demands; find out what wellsprings of life may be retrieved from them

 

          Helps plan ways to maintain health – physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual

 

          Examines the role of family and the value of friends

 

          Helps you discover your own strategies to create and rejoice in your new maturity – to find a Self that is more inclusive, independent, mutual and adventurous.

 

          Looks at ways we mentor the next generation without loss to our own dignity

 

This second maturity is an unprecedented opportunity in our lives that has the power to unleash our talents and gifts in strong, mature, integrated ways and above all to take us into as yet undiscovered wellsprings of joyful living.

 

Remember, we are living longer, so let’s make the second half of life even better than the first.

 

Elegant Maturity is about

            Growing up

                        Graceful acceptance and creation of new identity

                                    Discarding what is not helpful

                                                Opportunity

                                                            Celebrating

 

                                               

Testimonial  

Barbara's insightful approach in assisting me interpret and understand my extended Myers Briggs results has made the whole experience one of the most valuable personal development processes I have ever done. She has the wonderful ability to take me beyond boxes and numbers and forward into the reality of my true self. Our whole family has had the same experience thus giving each of us useful knowledge of each other and how we interact within the family as well as our wider worlds.

 

Barbara is bloody good at her job!

 

Peter T.