Greetings from members of the Genuine Contact Community

Bonjour from Ivory Coast, Germany, Canada,United States of America,Venezuela, Sweden, and Switzerland

-Je vois que vous formez un duo terrible de facilitateurs francophones. Je pense à la joie qui serait la mienne de vous avoir ici dans une opportunité de collaboration.

-Michelle and Marquis this sounds like a good journey. And thank you as well for the appreciation of having 2nd or 3rd languages in the room still understanding each other, striving to learn more about ourselves and our working with others.

-How absolutely wonderful!  I have heard about your planning and anticipating and the excitement of all your work together... and now it is happening.  You sound glowing with energy. Will look forward to hearing more.

-I wish you and the group great joy with the workshop, and that it reap many benefits for all for a long time to come.

-What a great experience… and the snow!!!  Here in Caracas, it’s an average of 26°C.

-Great to hear from you – I can see the picture with snow, fire and warmth energy in the room – hmm – great! Thanks for letting us be with you on the journey!

- Oaoo, thanks for sharing the energy you are creating over there! Way to go! I wish you and your wonderful participants a lovely discovery journey!

-Thanks for this reporting. I’d love to be with you out there..


Thank you to all of you!
Marquis



. . that we see manifested in the material plane is but a shadow of that in the spiritual plane.

Edgar Cayce Reading 5749-3

Photo: Marquis Bureau, Val-David, Canada.

Whole Person Process Facilitation: Val-David, Day 2 and 3

Surprise!



Photo: Marquis Bureau, Val-David, Canada.

Whole Person Process Facilitation: Val-David

Bonjour tout le monde from Val David Quebec. Marquis Bureau and I are in the second day of our WPPF workshop, the first time we have offered it in French. We have a group of 10 participants in a beautiful setting here at Prema Shanti.
Our first day was very rich. Marquis and I had a detailed facilitation plan that we co created with Donna Clark and Rachel Assuncao...and of course as usual, the plan has not evolved at all as we thought it might....and yet the group has gone very deep with their learning already. In reflection, nearly all the content we wanted to cover was covered and discovered by the group through their questions, reflections, and contributions. We got to the Agenda part of the workshop after lunch, which gives you an indication of the rich discussion that happened about the Transfer in and Hopes and Fears.....
We talked about the four levels of consciousness and the whole person and right brain left brain in debreifing.
Our participants are great fun and full of energy. Many of them are consultants...and I am most proud to have our (to be clear..our being my husband Mike and I - Not Marquis and I) eldest daughter Jodie as a participant. Jodie has just taken a leadership role in her work in an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team and she will be taking this back to apply in her work. Like Birgitt in Virginia Beach, I am a proud mother. Some of them are artists and the rest artists at heart....so the small group offerings are very creative.

We had about 10cm of snow last night, so the vista outside the meeting room is beautiful - trees heavy with snow and everything is white. A contrast to the fire, warmth and ambiance of the facility and the group.

There are many learnings for Marquis and I - our first time working together and for me I am working in French, which is my second language...and I function at an intermediate level....so yesterday I was reflecting on my deeper appreciation of those who come to our mentoring circles from other countries and who have English as a second or third language. I am exhausted each day with listening and appreciative of the group who encourage me to continue in French. Je parle mieux maintenant.

Well it is time for the small groups to gather.
Will write more later.
Michelle


Photo: Marquis Bureau, Val-David, Canada.

Destination: Val-David, Quebec

We're very pleased to be offering in French, for the first time in Canada, Module 2 of the Genuine Contact Program: Whole Person Process Facilitation - Animation holistique in Val-David from October 29 to 30. Ten participants have accepted our invitation!

Photo: www.valdavid.com

Synergy and Diversity

Synergy and diversity are everywhere in nature. When autumn approaches, all of life that continues to survive begins to adapt to the season. It's magical watching the pelt of an animal thicken in anticipation of winter, as well as watching the bark of a tree thicken to protect itself from the cold. Insects burrow deep inside the trees to hibernate...

Source: Suzie Williams, Recipes for Synergy
Photo: Marquis Bureau, Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, Canada

What's a Learning Community

A learning community is a group of people who meet together to learn how to function as a community and to create a community in which particular kinds of learning can occur. The task is to create a community and then use the collective intelligence of the group to learn new ways of thinking and behaving (my addition, new ways of being). As the members struggle to include all their perspectives, they begin to discover what impedes and what further their sense on connection. They also reflect upon their interactions and begin to discover more skillful ways of responding to each other.

As the members begin to interact. they soon discover that they way they relate to their differences presents an obstacle to their ability to learn together and to collaborate. A learning community does not create a way around the tensions that are inherent in the social koan of diversity but rather offers methods so that participants can develop themselves through these tensions. By steeping themselves in these tensions rather than rushing to eliminate or resolve them, the members of the learning community engage in a process of psychological and social transformation.

Source: David Goff

Practices for Transformational Learning

Studying patterns of psycho-spiritual practice across many different cultures, Angeles Arrien identified four universal components:




-showing up and choosing to be present

-paying attention

-telling the truth

-surrendering attachment to an outcome

Source: David Golf, The Social Koan

International Health and Balance Day

Best wishes to all!


With appreciation and gratitude.

Mandala: www.mandalamania.over-blog.com/

International Health and Balance Day

Monday October 20th is International Health and Balance Day. This is a global initiative to encourage individuals and organizations to pause and raise awareness of the importance of health and balance in everyday life and in business.
 
Our world is increasingly calling on each of us to be of service—to explore our interconnectedness and interrelatedness. To be able to show up and be present to this call, we need to deepen our genuine contact with ourselves, with each other, and with the groups and organizations we are part of. True health and full integrity spring from within. They are the personal resources we need to be effective and successful in all areas of life and in all our endeavours.
 
International Health & Balance Day was founded by a group of people working to develop the health and balance in organizations. This day, we pause, think, and act to take care of ourselves, so we are able to be of help and support to others. We invite you to do the same!

Take some time for yourself today and reflect on where your life is going. What do you want to do with your life? Do you have a good balance between things that give you energy, joy and fulfillment and things you ‘have to’ do? How many of your “must do’s” can you take away without creating the end of the world? How long has it been since you spoke a word for your ideals or took even a small step towards a dream?

When we find ourselves constantly using our energy on things we actually don’t want to do, don’t like, or don’t find meaning in--that can literally make us sick. Similar things happen in organizations. The most important thing in an organization is what can’t be seen--the climate or the spirit. It impacts the people within it more than you realize. Are you spending more time in life-depleting or life-affirming environments? (And that includes your mental environment!)
 
We invite you to take even a few minutes on October 20th to reflect on the health and balance in your life. What one small thing could you do on International Health and Balance Day to be good to yourself?
 
Yours truly,
Wendy Farmer-O’Neil
Prospera Consulting: A Genuine ContactTM Company
www.genuinecontact.net

4th Genuine Contact International Health and Balance Day

This year, the Genuine Contact community is celebrating its 4th International Health and Balance Day on October 20th. Our intention is to create space for Health and Balance in the world. The purpose of this day is:

·         To be in the present
·         Having good conversations – conversations that matters
·         Be true to our needs
·         Follow ones intuition

You're invited to share your ideas with us.

How do you plan to celebrate the day with your spouse, partner, family, friends and / or clients?

Graphic: Genuine Contact Logo

Perseverance

Perseverance is a great element of success.

If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate,

you are sure to wake up something or somebody.

Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Learning: doing what you've never done before

Learning doesn't take place in the absence of mistakes. Leaders are simply great learners. They have, to begin with, a great sense of humility about their own sense of skills and abilities, and many leaders, despite what may objectively be "extraordinary" achievements are loath to attribute them to some extraordinary competency on their part. Think about which people in your organization are the most likely to voluntarily sign up and participate in leadership development programs.

The only way people can learn is by doing what they've never done before. Those who do only what they already know how to do never learn anything new. Promoting learning requires building in a tolerance for error and a framework for forgiveness.

Source: James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
Photo: Marquis Bureau, Virginia Beach