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Brown Bag Lunch and Training Topics
Looking for a speaker or training session for your organization or company? Check out these possible topics or suggest one of your own.
- Effective Communication: Listening, Learning and Leadership
- Fostering Job Satisfaction: Coaching and Mentoring Staff
- What Matters Most? Develop your company or personal vision that aligns with your values.
- Board Engagement: Tools for Invigorating Your Board
- Conflict Resolution
- Choices: How do I make a decision when I have so many choices?
- Giving Helpful and Effective Performance Feedback
- Delegating To Enhance Performance
- Mindfulness
- Enhancing Creativity
The process of writing is a way of making sense of the world. When a family member or friend has dementia, we want nothing more than to make sense of something that is incomprehensible and weighted in loss. Through the writing experience, especially over time in a safe, supportive environment, we work through our confusion and grief to discover understanding and joy in ways we had not imagined.
Joyce Carol Oates, in a story entitled, “Why We Write About Grief” in the New York Times (February 26, 2011) writes, “Profound losses leave us paralyzed and mute, unable really to comprehend them, still less to speak coherently about them. Yet, eventually, we do speak – we breathe, we sleep, we eat, we go for walks in the sun, we find ourselves laughing with our friends … as we lose the white-hot flame of the most intransigent grief, and pass into another, less desperate sort of being.”
Writing Down Dementia is a writing workshop for people who have or have had a loved one with dementia. It is also designed for caregivers and professionals working in the field of aging services. The workshop offers participants a rich experience of creative expression and emotional support.
“Your gently guided free writing exercises combined with reading what I wrote aloud and discussion was a powerful way to get some clarity on my daily dilemma arising from my caregiver activities. It was also great to be reminded that I am not alone.” Jean
"I felt camaraderie with the other people in the workshop. I found humor in what was going on. It gave me a perspective that I found invaluable. And, I realized that I had the ability to write." Bernice
Group members:
- discover new ways of relating to a family member still living with dementia
- access long-forgotten family stories that they now may view through wiser eyes
- let go of guilt and shame about not being the perfect caregiver
- learn who they are separate from their caregiver role
- emerge and grow stronger from the pain of the loss of a loved one
Writing prompts are carefully selected to evoke reflection and inspire writing. Prompts are simple phrases that may be the beginning of a sentence or perhaps a line from a poem. Sometimes we use musical prompts, as songs can be powerful vehicles for memory and emotion.
Group members then free write for five to ten minutes. Participants are encouraged to write whatever comes to their pen and not censor their thoughts. They do not need to be concerned about writing complete sentences or using punctuation.
Writing and coach-facilitated conversation create an atmosphere where complete strangers quickly feel safe in sharing their stories, laughter, tears and healing.
No writing experience is necessary.
Oakland, CA workshop - Mondays, January 16 and 30, 7 - 8:30 pm PST, $20 (This workshop may also be joined via telephone.) Future dates TBA.
Lafayette, LA workshop - TBA
Contact Sue to register for workshop, for location information or to request additional workshop dates or locations. (See contact information below.)
Sue and Kim presented a Writing Down Dementia workshop at the American Society on Aging 2011 conference, Aging in America, in San Francisco.
Mindfulness Workshop
Mindfulness is defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, as "paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally."
Mindfulness is a simple technique that helps you to reduce stress and promotes well-being. Mindfulness practice helps you to develop awareness of thoughts, emotions, and the body. This awareness allows you to identify sources of stress before they intensify.
In the workshop, I share basic methods for practicing mindfulness in daily life. We discuss some of the recent research on the benefits of mindfulness including contributing to a healthy brain and greater happiness.
Together we practice a few mindfulness exercises that you can use at home or at work.
I have been practicing mindfulness for ten years. I am writing a book entitled, Zen and Travel: A Beginner's Journeys.
Please contact me if you would like to schedule a Mindfulness Workshop.
Enhancing Creativity
Creative thinking is essential in the 21st century. Whether you are designing a website, starting a new business, making a decision or solving a problem, your ability to think creatively is critical.
What stimulates creative thinking? What are the barriers to creativity? In this brown bag talk and discussion, we’ll share ideas and strategies to facilitate creative thinking in your organization and life. What roles do play and curiosity have in creativity and how can we build an environment for these in our organizations?
Call to schedule this workshop or brown bag lunch topic.
Learn a process for taking yourself on a retreat
in which you create the next steps for enhancing your career
or personal life.
- Business leaders and teams go on retreat
to generate new ideas and to strategize.
- People go on spa retreats to rejuvenate
the body and spirit.
You too can go "on retreat" —
on a personal retreat that doesn’t have to involve a lot
of time or money.
Do you feel stuck in your job?
Do you want to explore new career ideas or ways to enjoy your
work again?
Are you looking for ways to increase your business or move it
in a new direction?
Do you have a great idea for a creative project, yet it is languishing
in a corner?
Are you wondering what your purpose in life is and how you can
live your values more fully?
Do you think about how you can fully utilize your education?
If your answer to any of these questions is
yes, then it may be time to take yourself on a personal retreat.
In this workshop, you will learn the power of the personal retreat and how to make it a fun, productive and meaningful experience.
As a manager, parent,
or partner, we strive to feel a true connection with others.
The place to start
is with ourselves.
Through mindfulness, discussion, and self-observation
exercises, we explore ways to feel more connected, heard and seen in our changing world.
We will ask the question, "How do I show
up?" In the process, we learn effective tools
for reflection and communication.
For
more information, call or email. See contact information below. |
