ChoicePoints January 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: Sunday, January 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 — New Possibilities

Our WEL-Systems Institute Program Centre allows for a range of new possibilities to support our existing clients and create opportunities for many others who've been interested in engaging and have been looking for different kinds of programs.

TidePool Resources has a brand new series of information sessions, video and discussion seminars, 1-day workshops and evening experiences.

…perhaps you've taken one of our certification experiences and have been looking for opportunities to introduce friends, colleagues and family members to the WEL-Systems approach

…perhaps you've been interested in learning about WEL-Systems and have been looking for a way to test the waters

…perhaps you've worked with us before and are interested in exploring the science on which WEL-Systems is based

Whatever your situation, new programs are now available for your consideration:

The Promise of WEL-Systems: an evening information session which explores how WEL-Systems can improve the quality of your life

Intuition: Sci-fi or Science?: an evening screening of Dr. David Suzuki's video examining the scientific evidence for intuition , supported by a facilitated Open Forum discussion

The Power of 10: Patterns in Chaos: an evening screening of the Charles and Rae Eames' video and facilitated Open Forum discussion about patterns that recur in nature from the subatomic all the way up to the cosmic - and includes us and our behaviours!

The Biology of Belief: a full day exploring the provocative findings of Dr. Bruce Lipton, cellular biologist and how his discoveries link directly to the presuppositions of WEL-Systems.

Reclaiming Personal Power: a 1-day overview of WEL-Systems models in the context of self-esteem and its link to personal effectiveness. A must for anyone who is serious about having those New Year's resolutions last beyond January!

Taking Charge of Your Career: Most organizations now expect their employees to self-direct their careers. Over 4 evenings you'll have the opportunity to re-discover who is driving the bus called your life, reconnect with who you are and take charge of your future!

Mending the Past and Mining the Future™: Discover the relationship between your thoughts and responses in your body. Uncover habits of thought that are no longer serving you. Create a more powerful, compelling future for yourself in this weekend experience.

Full program details and pricing are available on the web site www.TidePoolResources.com
The  First Scheduled Dates  are listed in Coming Attractions below the full schedule can found on the web site.

Today's Thought

"The more you reason, the less you create."
Raymond Chandler

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

Provocative article for NLP Trainers in 'Anchor Point'

Anchor Point Magazine (U.S.) - the Practical Journal of NLP - is the most widely read NLP magazine in the world. A new article by Louise, written specifically for NLP Trainers and Master Trainers, is being published in the January 2003 issue of Anchor Point Magazine.

Entitled Quantum Leaps - Inspiration and Alchemy, this article explores the impact of the New Science on how we perceive ourselves as human beings; and invites traditionally-trained NLP Trainers to apply the vast and expansive world view that comes with the New Science to the way we train in NLP. The challenge is not only to consider what we do, but to reconsider how we do it! If you're curious and would like to know more, you can find Louise's article at
http://www.wel-systems.com/articles/anchorpoint03.htm.

For other original and cutting edge contributions to the body of knowledge of NLP, visit our articles section at www.WEL-Systems.com/articles and read:

• WEL-Systems: New Paradigm for NLP, originally published in Rapport, the magazine of the Association for Neuro-Linguistic Programming (U.K.)
• Seventh Logical Level of Thinking,originally published in NLP World, the intercultural journal on the theory and practice of neuro-linguistic programming (Switzerland)

The Morphing Continues…

adding functionality

New physical surroundings stimulate action in far reaching ways. Our recent move into new corporate digs has helped us focus on expanding not only our line of programs, but extending the kind of support services we offer. Several of you have indicated that you would find an Alumni Directory useful …and we are now creating a place on our web-site where anyone who has successfully completed one of our certification programs can be listed.

If you have obtained certification from Partners in Renewal Inc., Portals Passages, or the WEL-Systems Institute and would like to be listed in our Alumni Directory, drop us a line at Directory@WEL-Systems.com and let us know about your interest. Stay tuned for further developments!

Did you know?

That the adult brain CAN generate new nerve cells

If you overindulged in the alcohol department over the recent holiday season, you may have been aware of a little voice from the past warning you that all those brains cells you were killing were gone forever. After all, everyone knows that once a brain cell is gone, that's it. There's no return. ...or is there?

The National Institute of Mental Health ( http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bird.cfm ) now questions those traditional assumptions that nerve cells in the brain were created prenatally and early in life, never to be expanded upon once adult age was achieved. Research which began with songbirds has shown that the brain, in fact, can generate new neurons in adulthood. The process is called neurogenesis. It has significant implications for people dealing with neurons lost due to trauma, stroke or disease.

One very significant finding from the research into neurogenesis is that the rate of formation of new brain nerve cells is influenced by environmental factors. Once again, Bruce Lipton's findings that a cell can either be in protection or growth (but not both) is supported by this research: stress inhibits the formation of new neurons!

So it appears that while you may not have to give up drinking entirely, living a life where stress is reduced helps create the conditions conducive to new brain neurons being created. Happy New Year!

Thought Waves

Deck Chairs on the Titanic

We love it when things turn out right! We feel good about our future our world and ourselves. The sun's a little brighter; the breeze just a little more refreshing. Small wonder that we decide to document our success so that we can repeat it.

As we grow, our desire/need to share this strategy with our colleagues and employees increases. We produce 'how to' manuals to ensure that we all have the game plan. We use our past success as the template for future endeavors. We point to historical achievement, using its parameters as guides and markers for tomorrow's adventures.

For a while, we may get lucky… it works! Such a sense of peace and relief when we 'know' that things are under control and we have the answers. We get comfortable and lose sight of the importance of the bigger questions until… one day…

It stops working. In the accompanying tension, we turn to what we know… to what we've done before that's worked. We move away from the discomfort of not knowing and bury ourselves in the history and habits of what was.

We search for ways to mold, or force, the problem to fit the solution we already have. When someone finds the courage not only to question our approach but to question our definition of the problem itself, we find ways to silence their inquiries or worse, dismiss them and relegate them to the sidelines. There is no room for new information, new interpretations, new definitions, all of which invite uncertainty, when we have the solution that's worked.

These approaches to building the future from the past may give us a false sense of security but they do not give us the opportunity to grow… to become… to engage life to the fullest, whether at home or in our business environments.

Perhaps the toughest step out of this conundrum is the one where we admit to ourselves and those around us that we don't know …and we learn that our not knowing isn't a reflection of who we are. When our whole professional life has been based in the belief that "knowing" is the wellspring of success, stepping out and embracing 'not knowing' as a way of life feels intimidating if not downright suicidal!

We begin asking questions which have no readily available answers but which give us and those around us permission to consider new and "unthinkable" possibilities: how does keeping busy serve us? Who do I/my team/my company get to be by blaming others? What do I get to ignore by not sharing? What could we become by considering the impossible possible?

And remember Albert Einstein: "The problems of today cannot be resolved at the same level of thinking that created them."

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