News from Life Coaching Institute

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**Fall LC100 ** Our coaching program is growing and we already have students from around the world enrolled for Fall 2011! The weekend intensive will be September 16-17, 2011. If you are interested in joining us, please contact us here. Students are welcome to participate in training either in person or through web conferencing. There are only 3 slots left for Fall enrollment. Workshops for Everyone October 15, 2011 Workshop "Connecting Your Body with your Mind and Spirit: Tools for Healthier Living." 9am - 2pm, with a one hour break for lunch (on your own) Learn the fundamentals of meditation, EFT (emotional freedom techniques), and more! Email Vicy for more information and to register. MeaningSight: Spiritual Development for Meaning, Empowerment and Living Your Purpose Dr. Greyerbiehl is beginning a spirituality--based initiative. It  is focused on serving those who want meaning, purpose and spirituality (self-defined) in their lives. This initiative is particularly interested in those who feel that they don't fit in any particular religious denomination but are deeply spiritual or those who are in a specific religion but want a deeper personal spirituality. The initiative will provide discussions, forums, socials and learning opportunities for those interested. Let us know if you're interested by emailing Dianne. TCN Next Meeting is September 21, 2011 Our next meeting will revolve around the theme "Harvesting Abundance," and will help us all focus on the abundance in our lives. You will have the opportunity to play "The Abounding River," along with other activities to help us coach towards abundance - for ourselves, our clients, and our community! Please click here for details. You can see more details by visiting the TCN page on Facebook. Please let us know if you would like to be added to our mailing list by emailing us. TCN Statement of Purpose: We provide a comfortable place for coaches to talk and promote life coaching. We are an informal group devoted to social and professional development for transformational life coaches. Recommended Reading: Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard Click here to view on Amazon For millennia, philosophers, writers and artists have sought the key to human happiness. A Buddhist monk and former cell biologist, Ricard offers his own musings about the nature of happiness and tips on how to attain it in his sometimes tedious, sometimes dynamic guide. Happiness, for Ricard, cannot be found in fleeting experiences of pleasure—the joy of a sunny day, the refreshing taste of an ice cream cone, the ecstasy of sex—but only in the depths of an individual's being. Happiness is not self-interested, but rather compassionate, seeking the well-being of others. If we are truly happy, writes Ricard, we can change the world because of our compassion for others and our desire to end hatred and bring happiness even to those we don't like. For Ricard, happiness is a deep state of well-being and wisdom that flourishes in every moment of life, despite the inevitability of suffering. Individuals can, however, learn to minimize suffering in life by practicing moderation in all things, as well as meditation. Meditative exercises that individuals can practice to achieve happiness appear in each chapter. Ricard (Tibet: A Compassionate Eye) doesn't have much new to tell us about his subject, but he imbues these reflections with his own deep sense of happiness and verve. -Review from Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright © All rights reserved.

Balanced Life Or Flat Tire? by Steven Huskey, Transformational Life Coach Your life is not in perfect balance and never will be.  Most of us have one area where we spend more time and energy.  It may be a career, our family, spiritual pursuits, or even fun.  You can concentrate in one area, but spend enough time in the other areas to stay in balance, to keep the wheel round and rolling.  It's when you put most or all of your time and energy in one part of your life and neglect the others, that you begin to feel out of balance.  You feel like something is missing.  In effect, your wheel is flat.  Once I had a flat tire on my car and my friend helpfully pointed out, "It's only flat on the bottom."  Your wheel may only be flat "on the bottom", one area neglected.  It still impedes your progress. Today, though, instead of focusing on where you may be neglecting to keep your wheel rounded, your life in balance, let's take a look at the successes you are having in each area.  Then, if you do feel that you need to true up your wheel, to balance it out a bit, you can build on the success you already have experienced.  So, let's examine the various areas of your life.  For each of these areas, list at least three things that are going well.  More is OK, but try for at least three.  And, by the way, don't use this as an exercise to beat yourself up with the stuff your aren't doing.  Instead, use these questions to stimulate your memory and to think about what you are already doing well. Family:  Have you taken a family vacation this summer?  Do you eat dinner together?  Maybe you have a family game night or family movie night?  Perhaps you have a one-on-one "date" with each of your children, or you've met them for lunch or dinner?  Do you and your spouse have a date night?  Do you have a family devotional time?  Maybe you have healed an old wound, asked for or extended forgiveness, and reconciled with a loved one?  List three ways you've strengthened your family ties. Finances:  Are you debt free or actively working to get out of debt?  Do you save at least 10% of your income?  Do you give away at least 10%?  Do you have a reasonable plan for retirement?  Do you have an emergency fund to cover at least 3 - 6 months expenses?  Do you live on a budget?  Do you spend less than you earn?  Have you balanced your check book recently?  Set up an automatic bill paying system?  List three things you have done to get or keep your finances in order. Health:  Have you started an exercise program?  Worked with a personal trainer?  Had a comprehensive physical exam?  Maybe you are finding ways to see your body and your health in a more holistic way?  Are you managing stress?  Do you get enough sleep?  Eat your vegetables?  Begun a diet?  Are you eating more nutritious meals, less junk food?  What are three things you are doing to improve your health habits? Job, Career:  Are you happy in your job?  Do you find ways to use your signature strengths every day?  Have you received a promotion or raise?  Have you planned for your next promotion or raise?  Do you do more than you are paid to do, go the "extra mile"?  Do you have good social ties with your co-workers?  Do you have a 3 year or 5 year plan for your business?  List three recent successes you've had with your business or career. Click here to continue reading Steve's great advice on balancing your life. “Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony. ” ~ Thomas Merton

" Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. " ~William James~ Check out our Blog "Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. "     ~Og Mandino~ Upcoming Meetups Meetup Information: 6-8pm at Earthfare on Pelham Road http://www.meetup.com/LIfe-Coaching-Institute/ Monday, September 19, 2011 “What Is Dreaming You”   Exploring the inner world of dreams with Nancy Neal Have you ever wondered what your dreams mean?  Do you have the same dream over and over?  Do you walk around for days with a dream image in your head? Join us for an evening of exploration into the fascinating world of our dreams.  Learn how doing dream work can improve relationships, build community and even impact the society as a whole. Discover ways of capturing your dreams, as well as understanding your dreams’ unique language of symbols.  You will also learn to create new ways of being by honoring your dreams.     About our Facilitator:  Rev. Nancy Neal, an ordained Interfaith Minister, who has studied dreams for years and runs several dream groups in Greenville, SC.  Monday, October 17, 2011 More Happiness Rules with Steve Huskey, Certified Transformational Life Coach More Happiness Rules: When you face an adverse situation, do you know how to "bounce forward" and not just "bounce back"?  When you are faced with adversity, do you withdraw to save your energy and marshal your resources or do you seek out people on whom you can rely?  Your choices make a huge difference in how you deal with adversity. "More Happiness Rules : Using the principles of positive psychology to create positive changes in your life", is a follow-up to the May Meet Up, in which Steven Huskey continues with additional exercises based on the research and results from the field of positive psychology.  These exercises help you discover skills that you can call upon to help create the positive changes you want to make.  Let Steven show you ways to change your brain's structure using More Happiness Rules, so you can implement positive change. Steven Huskey, CTC is certified as a transformational coach through the Life Coaching Institute. Steven is a Change Master at Excelerator Coaching Services where he delights in working with people who want or need to make positive changes in their lives in order to create the life they want. Monday, November 21, 2011 - details TBA with Dr. Dianne Greyerbiehl, Ph.D., PCC, LPC Monday, December 19, 2011 - details TBA with Vicy L. Wilkinson, MA, Certified Transformational Life Coach Meet up Information: Third Monday - 6-8pm Earthfare (Near I-85/Michelin) 3620 Pelham Road Greenville, SC 29615 Click here for more info on Earthfare. For more information, please visit www.LifeCoachingInstitute.net, call Life Coaching Institute 282-8989 or email mailto:Vicy@LifeCoachingInstitute.net.