ChoicePoints February 2003

"If I do not choose for myself, someone else will choose for me. I then become an instrument for the accomplishment of their goals and intentions - and mine are lost."  _{Louise LeBrun}

This issue released: Wednesday, February 5, 2003

Spotlight On - people, products and pronouncements
Today's Thought
Coming Attractions!
Quick Updates
The Morphing Continues…
Did you know? - arcane tidbits for fun & frolic
Thought Waves

Spotlight On — Toronto and Vancouver

If you've been wanting to find out more about WEL-Systems:NLP and find it difficult to get to Ottawa, you'll be glad to know that we're coming to you!

Toronto

If you live in Toronto, take note that we'll be offering short, introductory events as well as the first two levels of program certification in WEL-Systems:NLP in your home town.

March 5: Louise and Gwen will be offering a three-hour evening session, Introduction to WEL-Systems:NLP at the Valhalla Inn. With a nominal fee that includes $60.00 in product, you'll have the opportunity to discover not only what NLP is but how and why WEL-Systems:NLP is so profoundly more powerful! In addition to an overview, you'll have the chance to engage directly in getting your particular questions and concerns addressed. At this great price, bring along someone you care about and want to share the information with. Who knows what doors this might open? For details, visit http://www.partnersinrenewal.com/intro/tor03.htm

April 5 & 6: We'll be offering a two-day intensive called Mending the Past and Mining the Future™ at the Valhalla Inn. If you've been feeling stuck, carrying baggage from the past that no longer serves you; and if you want to free yourself to be able to move forward with strength and clarity of purpose, this is the opportunity for you! For details, visit http://www.tidepoolresources.com/mending

April 12: Both Gwen and Louise will be speaking at the CANLP conference. Offering information and a world-view that will both challenge and engage your own, Gwen will be speaking on Rapport and the Seven Logical Levels; and Louise will be addressing trainers, with the topic of Inspiration and Alchemy: From Trainer to Educator to Catalyst for Change.

May 26 to June 1 - Igniting the Self - a WEL-Systems:NLP Practitioner certification experience. For those new to NLP . For details, visit http://www.portalspassages.com/flame/toronto05

May 24 to June 1 - Resourcefulness in Action - a certification experience in Quantum TLC™. This is a supervised Coaching Practicum for those already certified in NLP at the Practitioner level. For details, go to http://www.portalspassages.com/feather/toronto05

Vancouver

We're looking forward to spending time in (we hope!) sunny Vancouver. The following programs will be taking place at:   Coast Plaza Hotel and Suites   1763 Comox Street   in Vancouver.

March 24 to March 30 - Igniting the Self - a WEL-Systems:NLP Practitioner Certification experience. For those new to NLP. http://www.portalspassages.com/flame/van03

March 22 to March 30 - Resourcefulness in Action - a certification experience in Quantum TLC™. This is a supervised Coaching Practicum for those already certified in NLP at the practitioner level. http://www.portalspassages.com/feather/van03

We look forward to spending time with you, in your home town.

Today's Thought

"Become who you are"
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

Coming Attractions!

We are pleased to offer you the following seminars, workshops and programs. Each one designed to provide thought-provoking and life altering experiences for your on-going personal and professional development.

The listing above only shows the first scheduled date for a particular location. For more details and the complete program schedule, see http://www.WEL-Systems.com/schedule.htm

Quick Updates

Inspiring Creative Change in Communities

15th Annual CANLP Conference
Valhalla Inn, Toronto, April 12 and 13, 2003
Preconference, Friday, April 11

Workshop leaders include Louise LeBrun, Gwen McCauley, Theresa Laurenti, Steve Davis, Shelle Rose Charvet and Isabelle David to name a few. See the full offering of workshops and seminars at the 15th Annual CANLP Conference. Together, we can inspire creative change in each other, in our communities, and in our world. Forward this newsletter to friends interested in the NLP community, then visit the CANLP/ACPNL website at http://www.canlp.com/ to register for your opportunity to share in the inspiration.

Notice to our Alumni: we have arranged with CANLP for membership categories to reflect your WEL-Systems:NLP certifications from WEL-Systems:NLP Practitioner through to WEL-Systems Catalyst. We encourage all of our alumni to retain membership in CANLP and to come join us at the Conference.

---

Staying Connected

As part of our commitment to on-going support for our clients, we offer special programs for those who've completed certification with us.

WEL-Systems Catalysts have access to a monthly, half-day facilitated Open Forum for discovery and personal/professional development. In addition to solving problems and introducing new information, Living Intentions deepens competence and confidence, paving the way for bigger and more rewarding challenges. We encourage continuing conversations about how to work together, building synergistic business and personal relationships, to shape rather than be shaped by the world!

WEL-Systems:NLP Master Practitioners are invited to gather four times a year for a full day facilitated Open Forum to catch up and stay connected. Conversations for Change ensures that those who choose to continue to build their skills and expand their potential can do so in the company of others who share a knowledge base and a perspective.

The Morphing Continues…

Space, Movement, Flow…

As we settle in to our new 'digs', making the space our own as we engage with clients in the Program Room and the new Coaching Room (comfy chairs and all!), we discover things about ourselves. (Funny how that happens… ). Since we live by the notion of "Space, Movement and Flow", we believe that in order for movement to take place - and movement is a sign of life - there must first be Space. As this Space expands, life flows into it and through it. Movement happens… and sustained Movement generates Flow.

We're noticing that as our physical space has expanded, so has our desire to fill it and create new things! As we move through the physical space of the Program Centre, we find ourselves flooded with ideas for new programs and services that will help you help yourself and your clients. Watch for them… and more!

Consider this thought: where in your life has Space become too small to allow for movement and flow? Where in your experience - in your thoughts and/or in your behaviours - has movement and flow been sacrificed to a belief that space is finite? Begin to create Space, and movement and flow will happen… all by themselves!

Did you know?

All that clutter serves a useful purpose!

My heart sang as I read a recent article in the Globe and Mail! After sustaining years of razzing from family, friends, bosses and colleagues (yes, and sometimes even clients!) for the level of clutter I manage to create and sustain around me, a recent study by psychologist Alison Kidd helps to explain the phenomenon.

Apparently, knowledge workers use information to change themselves. Which is distinctly different than how clerical workers use information. They use information to aid in the smooth running of the company; when they're finished with it, they put it away.

On the other hand, knowledge workers take notes, for example, not in order to store information but because the process helps them to learn. And we spread stuff around our desks (and onto the floor, if necessary) because the papers physically represent what is going on in our minds. It isn't that we are too lazy to file, rather that we need the array while we are creating associations, links and maps in our minds! … Thank you Alison.

Thought Waves

Letting the Light Shine In

We spend more time at work than we spend anywhere else in our adult lives. Even so, few of us ever consider the possibility that work isn't something we do, or a place we go to, but an experience we create. And sometimes, we don't make it much fun! Given that we spend more waking time at work than anywhere else, imagine the profound results on the quality of our lives if we were to make a significant change in the way we create work.

We want work environments that support and sustain life; that invite health, humor, compassion and truth. We want to succeed without having to sacrifice our integrity or anyone else's. We want to take part in creating something greater than ourselves; be part of something where the whole is more than the sum of its parts; a place where magic and miracles are a part of life. We want to be part of making the world a better place for us and our children. We want to be able to grow and expand; to stretch; and finally, to spread our wings and fly. We want our experience of flight to stand as a model of what's possible and a testimony to our courage to take the risks that will bring joy, vitality and delight back into the realm of day-to-day living.

We want to be able to breathe deeply; to relax and to laugh; to create and bring new ideas and approaches and opportunities into the light of day. We want to open ourselves to new experiences and create them for others, without the fear of being ridiculed or humiliated or dismissed. We want to be able to have work be part of our complete life process and have room for our families and friends, without the fear of being marginalized or made irrelevant.

All of this is achievable when we allow two things to happen:

1. we let ourselves be open to new ideas and influences and
2. we let the brilliance of who we are be seen by others

Ask yourself,   "When was the last time that I fully considered someone else's idea that I'd initially thought was hare-brained?"   "Do I accept input from colleagues, friends, family?"   "When was the last time I learned something new about myself?"   "Do I let other people know what I'm really capable of?"   "When did I last share a moment of personal pride or joy with someone at work?"

In the words of Marianne Williamson (often attributed to Nelson Mandela) "…as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear our presence automatically liberates others."

Louise LeBrun & Gwen McCauley

The WEL-Systems® Institute
Leaders in WEL-Systems Experiences
260 Hearst Way, Suite 210
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada  K2L 3H1
Tel: (613) 254-7218
info@WEL-Systems.com