Just because it is lovely

Hi everyone - this is really enjoyable.
Alana

How to decide your focus?

Hi all,

One of our members writes, "It would be easy to apply, but my greatest challenge is to figure out szeeseswhat I want to work on... health, spirituality, being with my perfect match, ways to become more prosperous... Would love some feedback."

We all approach problem solving differently - so I can only explain how I recommend we do it for the retreat - but I am not an advocate of splitting our lives into parts and then problems solving them. I guess the bottom line is this - how can we ever hope to enjoy a sense of wholeness and wonder at the whole, if we continue to use the scientific model and focus on the parts?

So what do I do when I go through a visioning (usually twice a year in January and September)? I start by putting a picture of myself in the middle (the shot above shows my current vision chart - up in my office where it becomes a backdrop to my life). Then I put all the segments I need to consider around my face (or a picture that represents my dream life) and go from there. I personally use a portable white board material so I can erase and redraw easily as I go, and its big, 2'X3' at least so that it has to be up on the wall - big enough that it relates to me and doesn't get lost in a pile on my desk. I work on it a bit, and then go on to other things. Eventually it sort of "settles" and becomes a backdrop for a while until I find I need to add to it because things have shifted.

Let me give an example from the list above - you might start by putting the list in order:

• health, - are you unhealthy? if so, this is a priority, if not it slips in the order of things
  
• spirituality, - does your life lack peace? If so then this becomes at least a backdrop
  
• being with my perfect match, - It has been my experience that this one tends to be a top priority whether or not we put it at the top - there is likely no greater gift to life than a good match. However if we are at peace, have baggage, etc we may choose to X this from the list altogether.
• ways to become more prosperous - again the degree of focus would be determined by the degree of pain. If we are poor or in more debt than we are comfortable with then perhaps this becomes a priority.

OK - now basic problem solving would have us list potential strategies and this is not a bad thing - use the diagnose step to see what others have done. BUT BEFORE YOU WANT TO MOVE INTO ACTION YOU WANT TO MEDITATE, SLEEP ON IT, etc - what ever terms you use for yourself to let it lie in your subconscious for later action. Until you are good at the PAR cycle and practice there is a great likelihood that you may move too fast, not letting your inner spirit have the chance to talk that it needs.

Besides the next retreat is less than a month away - getting your map started and some early diagnosis work done is a nice beginning to that retreat.

Love to you all,
Alana

Setting up Profiles

Hi all,

One of our members asked where to find and set up your profiles (always nice to have a picture or avatar, etc.). Do you come through a page marked Dashboard? If so, and if your name is over in the top right hand corner there should be a link under it to "edit your profile." If not let me know and you and I can see together how to make these changes.

Alana

Starting each day with song

Hi everyone,

On my last flight from Europe to the US I watched "Enchanted." I have no shame that the only kind of entertainment that I find, well, entertaining are things that leave me feeling upbeat and happy. In one scene the cinderella like character begins to convince the man whose attitude about life has soured that he could look at things in an upbeat way. She does this through singing (and of course the whole world joins in as you can see here and here).

On our HomeLife blog I will go on a bit about the song that Margie made up for our new puppy. This morning finds me singing it to her and having my spirits SOAR, leading me to this post, hoping all of you get a chance to enjoy singing today.

Lots of love,
Alana

PAR as PersonalGrowth: A case study begins

Hi everyone,

As I lead retreats I use the cycle of PAR as the model for personal growth. Why? Well why I really like the flow of alchemy, PAR is quicker and more appropriate for use as a method for discussion as you interject actions to help put your new phase of life in place as you go.

I am a good case study for how this works right now and thought I would use myself to exemplify how this can work - then others who will be retreating with me can jump in if they wish with their story, their diagnosis work, etc as a basis for what goes on in June. (By the way there are still spaces left for the retreat and anyone interested can email TraceseaS@yahoo.com for information).

Diagnosis is the first PAR step. About four months ago my friend Alice took the time to make up a mock flier for "the James Group" outlining how others should employ this mythical group of consultants because we help them solve problems. It was her way of pushing me in the direction of consulting on a larger scale, something on which I was not at all focused at the time. This gift from God propelled me to what has become an almost daily adventure in a n uphill learning curve.

I believe that there is nothing in the world that someone has not already done - so when we want to reinvent our lives it is best to start by researching what is already out there. What has caught my attention is the question of how the internet is changing the world of education - with tons of redundant information being uploaded everyday, much of it of very high quality, there is little reason for the creation of content to be much of the work of an academic.

This leaves people like me in the position of facilitator of knowledge management and learning - and since facilitation is something I like to do I am on safe ground. However I have needed to catch up on Web 2.0 and all the implied changes that go with it. This diagnosis stage has finally slowed down to a level where I think I am ready to develop what I have learned into a business plan/website design, thus moving me on to the ACT part of the cycle. Before I go there, I will capture my ideas both here and on my DoctorateLife blog.

For those of you who want to join in:
Write a short blog on the context for your life growth, and then go off and research what others have done, what else is out there, that will propel new ideas. Come back here when you are ready and we'll go the next steps together!

All the best,
Alana