ChoicePoints September 2006
This issue released: September 2,
2006
"The need is not just for
women to lead - it is for women to redefine leadership...
and its
results" Louise
LeBrun
We also invite you to read the ChoicePoints Archives for items you may have missed.
Spotlight On — Staying Awake!
You may have already noticed it. There is a quickening... an increasing density
and intensity in the pressure for the unfolding of our own consciousness. For
some time, many of us have been mindful that tending to our challenges (global,
local; climatic, social; etc.) will require more than our traditional efforts
of acting 'on' the problem or attempting to 'fix' the problem. Many of us are
beginning to recognize that we are the problem! How we move through the world;
the choices we make; what we hold as possible or impossible, reasonable or
unreasonable; and our unwavering commitment to creating the future from the
past - even if only in our feeble efforts to move away from that past. And
yet, despite our brightest minds and best intentions, we notice that it's not
working very well. What else is there for us to do?
Given the rate of acceleration and the increasing density and intensity of this
spiral of manifestation, our approach will have to be at least as broad as
the 'problem' we hope to solve. In that moment, we awaken to a realization
that a shift in mass consciousness is the only thing that can save us from
ourselves. We discover that it is not about what else we can do but much more
about who else we must become.
In the coming months, I will be devoting my attention to creating a variety
of new intensive experiences that are designed to do just that: 
direct the
power of our focused intention on shaping who
we choose to become.
The first of these experiences will be offered in December. See Quick
Updates for more information on Whispers from Within: Women's Writing Retreat
Are we awake or lost in a deep, motionless coma that is the
legacy of the cultural conditioning? Does our sleep continue to offer up a
world of rules and roles and tidy living; a world of good/bad, right/wrong?
Has our sleep become a restless one, filled with the agitation and the
invitation from the dreams of who else we might become? Are we making
the choices that will lead us to a meaningful life?
In order to explore these and other provocative questions, I'll be launching
a Blog. You can expect an ongoing and interactive
exploration of new thoughts to be published, as well as experience the thoughts
and comments of others who choose to engage and become part of this journey
of discovery of Evolution by Intention™.
As I discover things about myself and the holodeck of my experience, I'll share
them with you so that you may ponder the truth of your own experience.
For the last five years, my attention has been on ensuring access to the WEL-Systems
Certification experiences and Portals Passages
programs. With those experiences and the Mystery School process in place,
my attention has turned to what it takes to stay
awake and evolve by intention. A critical part of my
desire and intention to stay awake is to discover what it takes for women to
stay awake; for women to lead and co-create with men differently. What becomes
possible for us all - men and women - if/when we each awaken to the call to lead
as an invitation to redesign our humanity?
Louise LeBrun
Today's Thought
"The true answer of who we really are is within us, just waiting to escape if we dare let it."
Amy McNaughton
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.
WEL-Systems
Experiences: August to December
Creativity for Living
a weekend journey into your creative potential |
September 15 -
17 |
Creativity for Life
evoking creativity and clarity from within. |
September 22 -
23
|
Huna Retreat
reconnecting to your Higher Self |
October 20 - 22
Oceanstone, NS |
Igniting the Self
WEL-Systems Facilitator Certification. |
October 30 - November 3 |
Igniting the Self
WEL-Systems Facilitator Certification. |
November 13 - 17
Oceanstone, NS |
Whispers from Within
Women's Writing Retreat |
December 4 - 8
Oceanstone, NS |
The listing above only shows the first scheduled date for Ottawa Ontario. For
more details and the complete program schedule, see
www.WEL-Systems.com/schedule.htm
Quick Updates
Huna Retreat - Oceanstone, N.S. - October 20 - 22, 2006
The Huna Retreat continues to unfold and shape itself into a powerful invitation for discovery. As we've witnessed in previous years, those drawn to "ENGAGE!" and register into this three-day intensive become the force around which the the process of the retreat begins to take shape. This year, the Air element (the element of the fourth chakra - the Heart Centre) is gaining strength of expression.
This year's Huna Retreat will take us down a path less travelled - the path of exploring this time, this world and our place in it The great awakening is that although we cannot live without the planet, the planet can live without us. Increasingly, we are learning of our impact on the world we rely on for our very survival. And, as powerful as this is, even more powerful is the metaphor that this represents in our lives. Where else do I not notice my impact - and how am I mindlessly shapeing my experience with the people I care about? Each of us, individually, as a living, breathing, sentient expression of the potential of us all , is critical to redesigning a world that embraces what we hold as meaningful AND honours the sacred space that gives us life.
It has been said that we are not human beings having a spiritual experinece, but are spiritual beings having a human experiece. To date, we have stood in the limitations of our humanity to explore our spirituality. Consider who you might become were you to choose to stand in your Spirit Being as you explore your ' humanity' . What might you now be able to see that has, until now, eluded you? And when this is discovered, how else might you choose to live? This Huna week-end will invite you to do just that.
As you consider stepping into this powerful, compelling and life-changing small group process, you can trust that the enquiry will invite you to bring the whispers of who you are into your full awareness, to engage as you see fit.
For those of you who are new to this experience, you don't want to miss it. Time for yourself and, more importantly, time to rediscover much more of who you are. You can be sure that you'll leave this journey having awakened to a new way of considering your world. For those of you who already know what awaits you, come prepared to discover more... invite more... and become more!
For those of you who are new to this experience, you don't want to miss
it. Time for yourself and, more importantly, time to rediscover much more
of who you are. You can be sure that you'll leave this journey having awakened
to a new way of considering your world. For those of you who already know
what awaits you, come prepared to discover more... invite more... and become
more!
To hear 2 MP3 audio clips from last years retreat, select 
a
brief overview (approx. 2.5 minutes) and an
exploration of Fire energy (approx. 1.5 minutes)
Register now to reserve your place by contacting Louse at Louise@WEL-Systems.com
Book Review for Sekhmet Rising
Comments and reviews continue to arrive from those who have experienced the Sekhmet Rising book. Heather
Kilty and Barbara Dewer, of Toronto, have taken the time to share their experience of the read with us.
You can find their Book Review at www.WEL-Systems.com/SekhmetRising/Reviews.htm
The wave continues...
Whispers from Within: Women's Writing Retreat
December 4 - 8, 2006 at Oceanstone, Nova Scotia
Do you ever catch yourself wondering about what lies deep within you...beyond your history, your habits and the life you've become used to living? Do you ever wonder what lies beneath the surface of your thoughts....the ones that you keep to yourself and don't dare share with the people in your world? Do you ever wonder how else you might choose to live.....who else you might become....if you had any sense of how to find that out?
For some of us, it's a nagging sensation deep in the body. For others, it's a sense of agitation or irritation - a resltessness - with our lives, regardless of what others tell us we should be grateful for!
Whispers from Within: A Women's Writing Retreat creates the
physical, emotional and spiritual Space within which this exploration can take
place. Join Louise and a small group of women on this journey of Self-discovery
and Self-expression that could change your life. An overview of this new
experience can be found at www.WEL-Systems.com/programs/WR.htm
For information or to register, contact Louise@WEL-Systems.com .
Igniting the Self - November 13 to 17, 2006
Oceanstone, Nova Scotia
Don't miss your opportunity to be part of this ITS retreat experience at beautiful Oceanstone
Inn and Cottages, on Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia. Whether you live in the area and want your ITS experience to be easily accessible, or whether you're looking for a 'time out' from the routine of your daily life to allow you to dive more deeply into your ITS discovery process, this November experience will change your life.
This ITS experience will be facilitated by Louise, with additional support from
others already certified in a WEL-Systems approach to profound and generative
change.
To register, contact Louise@WEL-Systems.com or
for more information,
visit www.WEL-Systems.com/poster/ITSOcean0611.htm
Getting Creative
Creativity
for Living – Sept
15-17, 2006 –
Time
for a new hobby? Time to discover more about yourself? Painting
has long been known as a pathway into the inner Self. Combine that
with discovering a WEL-Systems® perspective, and you could change
your life in one short weekend …as well as leave with a number
of paintings that express the essential you. All materials provided
in this fun, easy process that works with beginners and trained artists
alike. Contact Gwen@ouicoach.com for
more information and registration details.
Creativity for Life – Sept 23 & 24, 2006 – A
full weekend exploration of painting through The CODE Model™ for
those who have completed at least one certification experience with the
Institute. Using paper, brush and paint, take your exploration
deeper and stay immersed in the inner landscape of your creative Self
for much longer than you ever thought possible. Reconnect with
others who enjoy similar conversations and explorations. Contact Gwen@ouicoach.com for
more information and registration details.
Thought Waves
What does it take for women to lead?
Not that long ago, I was in the middle of a conversation with a trusted friend and colleague, about what was next for me, in the unfolding of my work and my business. On the wall across from where we were sitting, was the Declaration
of Evolution by Intention™. In a moment of uncertainty and what felt like struggle, I heard this voice saying to me: “Louise,
if ever you’re not sure of who you are or what you stand for in the world,
just look up! If you wanted to write the screenplay for the unfolding of your
life, there it is!”
And so it is. I believe that Evolution by Intention is a notion whose time has come and an essential aspect of its expression is what I have called “…A call to women to lead and co-create with men differently; (and) An invitation for men to relax into new ways of being…” In light of this critical aspect, the question then becomes: what does it take for women to lead?
The Declaration of Evolution by Intention states that in order for me to contribute to the expression of the articulated intention, I must continue to become (among other things) “…an invitation to women to lead and co-create differently with men; and the invitation to men to relax into a different way of moving through the world.”
From the first time these words were revealed to a number of men – most of whom
were either clients or colleagues – this statement did not sit well. The conversation
would heat up considerably, riddled with references to ‘why do you have to single
out women’; ‘why do you make it gender specific’; ‘why can’t it just be that
both men and women lead’. I found myself wondering how many other men would share
this response?
Very recently, I had the opportunity to witness an exchange about this very statement, amongst a group of women and one man. As l listened to the conversations unfold, this strange little thought wafted into my awareness. “Hmmm….”, I pondered, “I wonder what would happen to this heated exchange if I were willing to change the word ‘lead’ to the word ‘awaken’?” Were I willing to do this, the statement would read: “…an invitation to women to (awaken) and co-create differently with men…” etc. My Spidey senses tell me that were I willing to do that, much of the debate would cease.
What possible offense could anyone take at an invitation for women to awaken?
What offense is seemingly impied in speaking of women leading without also
referring to men? And what is called
up within those men who hear this as leading without them....or instead of
them?
Perhaps it becomes essential to stop and consider the expression of ‘lead’ or ‘leadership’ or ‘leader’. Nominalizations all, these code words are weighted down with the trappings of cultural conditioning and all that it entails. Gender distinctions. Power distinctions. Control distinctions. If you have no power, can you lead? If you’re a leader, are you in control?
Implied in the language of ‘lead/leader/leadership’ is the notion of being ‘at the front’, with presuppositions of others behind you, following you, going where you are going. Someone leads – others follow…sometimes blindly, sometimes under duress…and they are always behind.
Also implied in the language of lead/leader/leadership is the idea of going first, being at the head of or helm of something; notions of having the leverage to attract or compel others to come behind you…stand behind you….and go where the leaders goes. But through it all, the leader defines the direction, potentially the pace and the desired result.
The notion of lead/leader/leadership also has attached to it implications of movement…of life in flow, in some way. Notions of engaging…creating….manifesting….all of which then become models for others to engage, create, manifest.
What is so offensive about women being living expressions of all of these things?
As much as it may bring a sense of quiet and comfort to those who are enervated by the original statement of ‘… the call to women to lead…’, changing the nominalization to one of a call to women to ‘awaken’ is something that I am unwilling to do.
I am unwilling to sell myself, or any other woman I know or have yet to meet, down the river of invisibility and mediocrity. The thought of ‘Know your place!’ drifts into my awareness.
I am unwilling to speak differently so that those who are offended, afraid,
agitated, aggravated or unnerved by such expressions can take comfort
in my silencing myself and return easily to their own habits of thought
and behaviour that allow them to move mindlessly through their repetitive
but innocuous days. The thought of “Don’t upset people!” washes over me.
I am unwilling to remove from the statement the powerful implications for women to become leaders in their own lives; to step into their willingness and ability to move, engage, create, manifest and design their lives in ways that have meaning for themselves. From there, they stand and engage with others – their children, their parents, siblings, partners, clients, etc. – in ways that create the Space for meaning to occur in other places. The thought of “Don’t make waves!” drifts through my awareness.
It is not enough just to awaken. It is essential to engage and shape experience!
It is not enough to talk about, tell the story about, wish, hope and pray. It is essential to know that if not you, then who? If not now, then when? If not in this time and place, then what will it take to call you to take action in your own life?
The call that holds deep meaning for me is the call to women to awaken – to their own truth, to their own potential, to the courage that lays waiting for them in their bellies - AND ENGAGE! When women connect to this force of creation and manifestation, the world changes.
There are many women among us – perhaps in other parts of the world, perhaps next door to us, perhaps even in our own bedrooms – for whom it has become dangerous to know the truth of their own experience and to engage from that truth. It has become dangerous for many women to know what they know, and to allow that truth to be revealed through the expression on their face, the depth of a sigh or the snap of a head – let alone to speak it out loud to another soul.
What would happen in the world if the women who could speak – those who were willing and able to speak - refused to be silent? Not about the state of ‘global’ anything (i.e. world peace, poverty, clean water, global warming, etc) but about the state of their own lives. What would happen if each woman who could speak, who could put voice to the truth of her experience, were to do so?
What would happen if every woman who could live by the truth of her own experience began to do so – becoming unwilling to deny or betray their truth to themselves and to anyone else in their lives, including their parents, their partners, their children, their colleagues, their boss/employees, their clients? What would happen in our world if you and I were no longer willing to hide the truth of who we are – what we care about, what matters to us, what lights us up, what makes life worth living! – in order to be seen to be acceptable to our family, our church, our corporate colleagues? What would happen if we were no longer willing to surrender parts of who we are so that the people around us feel better about themselves?
This exploration will continue. In the spirit of Evolution by Intention and my commitment to engage with women to discover what it takes for us each to become the leader in designing our lives, we’ll consider new forms of leadership. Not the traditional explorations of ‘the five steps to’ or the ‘seven keys for’ kind of leadership, but what it takes to shape YOUR world so that it feeds your soul! Notions of emerging expressions of leadership in living, organic collectives – and that’s what our lives are: networks of living, organic collectives that we call ‘family’ or ‘community’ or ‘work’. What we often forget to notice in these organic collectives is that we are not machines and we are not predictable. We are also able to transform in a thought – without struggle, without pain and without elapsed time or collapsed space.
One last thought: what I have noticed over the years is that powerful, provocative and generative change for men seems to be more available and accessible to them when the women in their lives engage in this powerful process first! This woman could be their sister, daughter or mother; it could be their friend, colleague, employee or boss; and/or it could be their life partner/mate/spouse. Nonetheless, for the vast majority of men that I’ve had the honour of working with, somewhere – before they became able to step into something new and more powerful for themselves – an important woman in their lives had done so first – creating a Space large enough for them to move into and wonder….can it be – for me, too?
This call to women to lead is not one that invites or demands surrendering of self or the ‘nobility’ of sacrifice on the altar of corporate or community service. This call to women to lead is to do so by being honest (with ourselves and others), clear, authentic and present to their own interests, needs, passions and concerns. This demands that we know who we are and, more importantly, who we choose to become and what it’s going to take for us to get there. We become living expressions of how else we might design our lives.
The essence of how women make a difference is neither sourced nor fueled by their desire or need to be seen as ‘leader’ but from their clear intention to design a meaningful life for themselves and the people they care about. In that moment, there is an inhalation – and the world expands.
