Woodlands Attunement

There is a way of living our lives that is deeply rooted in the interconnectedness of all Life. Coaching can be a powerful means of assiting individuals to return to this awareness within themselves. Through honest reflection and conversation, my role is to help you reconnect with the wisdom and intelligence that lives within you already. By being there as a witness and support, your own personal clarity and practical next steps can surface.

I offer a variety of coaching options, including working with both individuals and groups on personal and/or professional challenges. In addition to working with businesses on site, it is also possible to come directly to WOODLANDS for coaching sessions.

Life Story work and Leading from a Place of Center are two other coaching options that are highly experiential and take place over a series of sessions. If you are interested in learning more about how I may be of assistance to you and/or your organization, please contact me directly, Peri.

Life Story work is designed to connect a person more deeply with the “golden thread” that is the organizing context of their lives. Most commonly referred to as our life calling, this golden thread is always seeking to find expression. Often in the name of making more money, trying to live up to others expectations, or simply seeking to belong we override the deepest urgings of our soul, and mold ourselves into someone other than the person we were born to be. Designed as an initial sequence of three sessions, this work is about finding that Golden Thread again and reacquainting ourselves with what it means to live out of our deepest gift and calling. The following is an in-depth description of how the process works.

In the first session there is the opportunity to first draw and then speak your life story. Given the current pace of our western culture, this oral tradition has been all but lost. Simply having the space provided into which you can review and then speak your story, and have it heard and blessed is a powerful experience in itself. With someone else as a witness, you begin to perceive that there has, indeed, been a deeper flow of meaning embedded in what here-to-fore seemed to be a rather haphazard set of life experiences. Getting a kind of personal distance on the story while at the same time being able to embrace it deeply as your own, inherently starts to integrate our sense of self and begin to heal those aspects of our lives that have not found a place of reception and understanding.

The second session is devoted to an experience called the Symbols Process. Using the format of the Seven Directions, a way of understanding the world that is traditional in more Native American and indigenous cultures, this process involves laying out in symbol form the current reality of your life. Once this “creative field” has been built, you will be guided through a series of questions and vantage points in order to begin to see the underlying patterns, challenges, and opportunities present in your current situation. As the images of your current reality begin to clarify, your own inherent “wisdom stream” will become activated. When this occurs you begin to see for yourself what next practical steps can be taken to move yourself forward in ways that will allow you to more fully connect with and embrace the golden thread of your life calling.

Session three provides a time for specific coaching and conversation about how you can take all the insights and understanding that has surfaced and anchor these in yourself. Time will be given to creating specific practices and tools that you can use in your every day life such that you will be able to continue the process on your own. Embedded in these practices will be ways to receive the ongoing support that you will need to keep the golden thread open and available.

Sharing an attunement prior to beginning the series and then at the conclusion is ideal, but not required.

Leading from a Place of Center is an experience designed for anyone seeking greater balance, effectiveness, and sustainability in their personal and professional lives. It is generally offered as a series of seven sessions based on the premise that being professionally effective while still maintaining a place of balance inside yourself requires the active practice of seven primary skills. These skills have come down through the ages as foundational elements in the teachings of many spiritual and psychological traditions, and there are a variety of ways to teach them. I have chosen the model of the Seven Directions taken from a Native American lineage. According to the Lakota tradition, there are seven directions through which the Great Spirit (God, Source, the Absolute) comes into manifestation in the life of each individual – Grandfather Sky, Grandmother Earth, North, South, East, and West, and the seventh direction, which is our own center, our own life path. Grandfather is the Invisible, the heavens above; Grandmother is the Visible, the earth and the world of manifest form. The remaining directions form a map of the normal daily “playing field” of our lives. These seven directions reflect the natural flow of life, the ways in which we create and make meaning each and every day. In simplified terms they relate to the following skills:

Acknowledge and perceive the invisible matrix in which all things are contained
Bring yourself fully and wholly into the present moment
Connect, both with others and with yourself
Speak what is true for you and hear what is true for others
Step back, look from different angles, and seek out the overall pattern trying to surface in any given situation
See, celebrate, and affirm the gifts and talents of those around you
Trust that there is purpose and meaning unfolding in every detail of your life

Leading from a Place of Center is highly experiential and includes a combination of information sharing, dialogue, reflection, and hands-on exercises. The sessions will take place once a month and there will be simple, practical exercises to complete between sessions. For dates and locations contact Peri.

	Coaching: Life Story Work \| Leading from a Place of Center
	There is a way of living our lives that is deeply rooted in the interconnectedness of all Life. Coaching can be a powerful means of assiting individuals to return to this awareness within themselves. Through honest reflection and conversation, my role is to help you reconnect with the wisdom and intelligence that lives within you already. By being there as a witness and support, your own personal clarity and practical next steps can surface. I offer a variety of coaching options, including working with both individuals and groups on personal and/or professional challenges. In addition to working with businesses on site, it is also possible to come directly to WOODLANDS for coaching sessions. Life Story work and Leading from a Place of Center are two other coaching options that are highly experiential and take place over a series of sessions. If you are interested in learning more about how I may be of assistance to you and/or your organization, please contact me directly, Peri. Life Story Work Life Story work is designed to connect a person more deeply with the “golden thread” that is the organizing context of their lives. Most commonly referred to as our life calling, this golden thread is always seeking to find expression. Often in the name of making more money, trying to live up to others expectations, or simply seeking to belong we override the deepest urgings of our soul, and mold ourselves into someone other than the person we were born to be. Designed as an initial sequence of three sessions, this work is about finding that Golden Thread again and reacquainting ourselves with what it means to live out of our deepest gift and calling. The following is an in-depth description of how the process works. In the first session there is the opportunity to first draw and then speak your life story. Given the current pace of our western culture, this oral tradition has been all but lost. Simply having the space provided into which you can review and then speak your story, and have it heard and blessed is a powerful experience in itself. With someone else as a witness, you begin to perceive that there has, indeed, been a deeper flow of meaning embedded in what here-to-fore seemed to be a rather haphazard set of life experiences. Getting a kind of personal distance on the story while at the same time being able to embrace it deeply as your own, inherently starts to integrate our sense of self and begin to heal those aspects of our lives that have not found a place of reception and understanding. The second session is devoted to an experience called the Symbols Process. Using the format of the Seven Directions, a way of understanding the world that is traditional in more Native American and indigenous cultures, this process involves laying out in symbol form the current reality of your life. Once this “creative field” has been built, you will be guided through a series of questions and vantage points in order to begin to see the underlying patterns, challenges, and opportunities present in your current situation. As the images of your current reality begin to clarify, your own inherent “wisdom stream” will become activated. When this occurs you begin to see for yourself what next practical steps can be taken to move yourself forward in ways that will allow you to more fully connect with and embrace the golden thread of your life calling. Session three provides a time for specific coaching and conversation about how you can take all the insights and understanding that has surfaced and anchor these in yourself. Time will be given to creating specific practices and tools that you can use in your every day life such that you will be able to continue the process on your own. Embedded in these practices will be ways to receive the ongoing support that you will need to keep the golden thread open and available. Sharing an attunement prior to beginning the series and then at the conclusion is ideal, but not required. Leading from a Place of Center Leading from a Place of Center is an experience designed for anyone seeking greater balance, effectiveness, and sustainability in their personal and professional lives. It is generally offered as a series of seven sessions based on the premise that being professionally effective while still maintaining a place of balance inside yourself requires the active practice of seven primary skills. These skills have come down through the ages as foundational elements in the teachings of many spiritual and psychological traditions, and there are a variety of ways to teach them. I have chosen the model of the Seven Directions taken from a Native American lineage. According to the Lakota tradition, there are seven directions through which the Great Spirit (God, Source, the Absolute) comes into manifestation in the life of each individual – Grandfather Sky, Grandmother Earth, North, South, East, and West, and the seventh direction, which is our own center, our own life path. Grandfather is the Invisible, the heavens above; Grandmother is the Visible, the earth and the world of manifest form. The remaining directions form a map of the normal daily “playing field” of our lives. These seven directions reflect the natural flow of life, the ways in which we create and make meaning each and every day. In simplified terms they relate to the following skills: Acknowledge and perceive the invisible matrix in which all things are contained Bring yourself fully and wholly into the present moment Connect, both with others and with yourself Speak what is true for you and hear what is true for others Step back, look from different angles, and seek out the overall pattern trying to surface in any given situation See, celebrate, and affirm the gifts and talents of those around you Trust that there is purpose and meaning unfolding in every detail of your life Leading from a Place of Center is highly experiential and includes a combination of information sharing, dialogue, reflection, and hands-on exercises. The sessions will take place once a month and there will be simple, practical exercises to complete between sessions. For dates and locations contact Peri.

	© 2005-2008 Peri Chickering and Andrew Shier, Woodlands Attunement, Photos by Ann Foorman, Web design by Kelvy Bird