by Carol deLaski | Apr 13, 2011 | Linda Norris
Comfort Zones Successfully Breached!! Growth Ahead!!
The Spring Retreat—It was a weekend of growth for all of us—participants, coaches and practitioners.
I imagine many of us feel like a rubber band—in a good way.
March 18th and 19th may have come and gone, but the glow is undoubtedly still there for those of us who came to the 2nd Annual “Spring into Wellness” Retreat (the third retreat for Wholistic Woman Retreats, including last fall’s event) who are working to “keep the flame alive”, as coach Jeanette Eleff urged us at the closing session.
We all stretched ourselves as we not only experienced self-exploration and relaxation as we usually do at our retreats, but had some new experiences that added a dimension of energy and excitement that came from the opportunities we had at our newest venue—Capital Retreat Center in Waynesboro, PA.
Consider:
- CULTURAL EXPOSURE: We learned about what, for many of us, was a new ethnic experience as we “kept kosher” at the facility, which in the summer becomes a large retreat center for Jewish young people from across the country.
- CONVIVIALITY AROUND THE CAMPFIRE: Our Friday night relaxation was taken around a huge campfire we were able to share near our lodges. It was a great way to “wind down” into the weekend make new friends and link back up with past retreat connections.
- CAREENING DOWN A ZIPLINE: Nearly all of us took a ride down the Xx-foot zipline that extends over the lake at CRC! What a rush…everyone agreed that first step off the platform was the scariest—but after that, the ride was awesome! (Is this a metaphor for life or what?)
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The stage for Saturday’s learning was set by coach Sandie Lynch, who kicked off our morning with a thoughtful and thought-provoking way of looking at our lives as we look at the seasons—and giving ourselves permission to fully experience each season, even winter, which people normally think must be “endured”, “survived” and left behind as quickly as possible. She taught us to cherish each season of our lives.
Tune in next week as we blog about what we experienced in our sessions!
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by Carol deLaski | Mar 1, 2011 | Linda Norris
You may be familiar with vision boards; a poster-board size creation where you paste pictures, photos and words which depict the life that will bring you more fulfillment, joy and success. The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, and other things you want then your life will change to match those images and desires. You begin to notice more opportunities to create what you want and the actions to do this actually become easier.
The difficult part of this is that you may shy away from such a project because you think you just don’t have the time to create a vision board that is the same size as your Georgia O’Keefe poster!
The good news is that the structure for your vision does not have to be huge – instead you can pump up your vision with a Power Page. A Power Page is a smaller version of a vision board. It can be as small as a post-card and as large as twelve by twelve piece of scrap book paper. With this smaller size you don’t need to pour through tons of magazines. Decide on the theme for your vision, find a few images and words that represent what you want and paste them on your paper. Voila! You now have a Power Page that is even small enough to fit in your purse or notebook.
Stop using the I-don’t-have-time-to-make-a-large-vision-board excuse. Stop procrastinating. You can choose to create a structure that is easy and fun – your Power Page.
by Carol deLaski | Feb 21, 2011 | Linda Norris
“The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar it’s tomorrow…” sang Little Orphan Annie in the musical we all know and love.
That spunky little girl looked to her spirit to find that source of inspiration and faith that better days were around the corner, despite being orphaned, poor and virtually abandoned. Her inner source told her that things would change.
She had that ability we so often envy in others: the ability to tap into knowing something to be true without being able to taste or touch it.
We, too, have Little Orphan Annie’s ability– if we learn to tap into our font of hope, our spirit. The source of that is defined differently for all of us; and the way we access it is unique to each of us as well. Have you a clear sense of where your spirit source is and ways you can feel it? Prayer, meditation, walks in the outdoors, journaling—all these are paths to connection with our spirit.
There is no magic or inherent DNA that gives us this ability to emerge from dark clouds when it is difficult to see beyond the immediate horizon. Yet practicing the identification of the right time to seek our spiritual source is key. We’ll discuss ways to know that the time has come – like the good feeling you have after exercise when you weren’t even sure if you wanted to get up off the couch – to tap into your spirit even when it seems furthest away, in a workshop you can experience at the spring Wholistic Woman Retreat, entitled “Spiritual Awakening”. The workshop is for all who wish to explore and develop new perspectives on their spirit and faith.
You can practice exercising your spirit muscles in less dire situations, like an unexplained lunch cancellation by a good friend, by consciously consulting your spirit for messages of hope and faith—that teach you to trust that your friend’s action is in good faith rather than jumping to hasty or negative conclusions about self-worth. Choosing hope, and faith in a small disappointment will help prepare for life’s bigger challenges.
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by Carol deLaski | Feb 9, 2011 | Linda Norris
If you’re reading this blog, you may not need to ask that question. But, maybe you do!
Until I reached my 40s, and started thinking about what I REALLY wanted to be when I grew up, I might have had the same reaction if someone suggested hiring a life coach. My mother, my husband, my best friend–these people were my resource for solving life’s thorny issues.
Firmly on a path that was chosen in college, augmented and adjusted slightly, I was busy raising my children and figuring out how to balance the hours in the day between my corporate job, which required travel and intense hours, and my family. It never crossed my mind, as a woman in that nurturing stage of my life, that the course that I was following might be something I could change dramatically.
Yet as the girls grew, and I became adept at certain entrepreneurial nuances of my mid-management level position, I embraced my career maturity, and began to get an itch–to go out on my own! However, having no idea how to scratch it, and with the inertia of everyday life to fight against, it remained a dream, untouched. Until I met a life coach (who happens to be Lisa Discullio, one of the WCC coaches–and through her encouragement, and her detached view of my new vision of myself, I came to realize this dream was reachable.
Does this ring true for you? If you’re a woman whose children are beginning to strike out on their own, and turn “indie” on you, and your dreams are tickling you like a feather, or one of those middle-of-the-night throat tickles that WON’T go away, I encourage you to begin to play with the idea of having a life coach.
The coach isn’t your therapist; they won’t figure out for you what childhood issue may be coloring your view of the world today. What they WILL do is help you figure out how you can succeed at whatever itch you need to scratch, whether its career, business, a family adventure–whatever.
I highly recommend a unique opportunity to try it out: at one of our groups Retreats, which we now hold twice each year. We’re just opening registration for the Spring Retreat, which even gives you an opportunity for an overnight getaway to spend with LIKE MINDED WOMEN–what a treat–at Capital Retreat Center, a unique retreat center in Pennsylvania.
The coaches do free sample “coaching” sessions that you can sign up for at the retreat, so its a wonderful way to check out the concept!
Don’t let that tickle get away from you, or quelch it with a cough drop. Listen to it–for the rest of your life, you’ll be glad you did!
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The Spring Retreat—It was a weekend of growth for all of us—participants, coaches and practitioners.
We all stretched ourselves as we not only experienced self-exploration and relaxation as we usually do at our retreats, but had some new experiences that added a dimension of energy and excitement that came from the opportunities we had at our newest venue—Capital Retreat Center in Waynesboro, PA.
