Issue #53 - October 12, 2000 <<A Family Reunion>>

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brought to you by Laurie Riddell Geary, M.Ed., PCC.
Coaching you to get your life IN GEAR by making shifts, getting
unstuck, finding balance, accelerating your growth, and mapping
the best route to your chosen destination: a life filled with
passion and purpose.

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Table of Contents:

        1. Topic: <<FAMILY REUNION>>
        2. Recommended READING and RESOURCES
        3  Recommended TASKS
        4. Upcoming TELEGROUP and Local WORKSHOPS
        5. SUBSCRIPTION information

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Welcome to my 12 new subscribers this week! I have now reached 500 subscribers!  I really appreciate it when you forward my newsletter to your friends and colleagues; I just request that your keep in all intact and respect my copyright material.  Thank you.
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READER FEEDBACK:

<Great newsletter <IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT SOMETHING, HOLD ON TO IT!>!  "Hold on loosely but don't let go!" (lyrics of a cheesy old rock song)
Thank you>   Susan McC.

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Topic: FAMILY REUNION, 2000.

        Last weekend I flew to southern California to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday and a large family reunion..the first such get together in years.  These days it seems to take an occasion like a birthday...or a funeral...to get us all together.  Not so when I was growing up; I have many fond memories of summer  beach picnics and of family Christmas celebrations where we would all dance around the tree singing Norwegian folk songs.  Now, it seems, the family is scattered all over the country and such reunions are too complicated to arrange.
        My great grandparents came to this country in the late 1800's from Norway.  They settled in Maine, had 12 children, and one-by-one they moved west to southern California.  The last of the twelve, Great Aunt Marie, died two years ago at the age of 104; unfortunately, the Norwegian language and much of the family traditions died along with her
        There is something very special about family reunions.  I feel connected to my ancestors and thus feel a part of a greater whole.  My Norwegian roots are part of my identity..who I am...and I share that with my, now, very large, extended family...the numerous off-spring of the original 12. There is something very comforting about this connection; I feel accepted and more secure with my place in the family.  In my newsletter series on building self esteem (see my website for past issues: www.ingearcoaching.com),  A #2  is Acceptance...being able to accept and appreciate who I am...accepting my Identity.   Connecting with our extended family contributes to our acceptance of ourselves.
        I think as I get older I appreciate more and more the value of family connections and want my children to appreciate these connections as well.  There's something immortal about being part of a large family; we know some part of us will live on long after we have died.  This was more apparent to me when, after the family reunion, a small group of us visited the grave sites of deceased family members; they seemed still to be a part of the whole family....still with us in spirit...still part of the greater whole.
        In our global community connection to the family becomes more and more difficult; our children live all over the country and arranging reunions seems to be too complicated...too expensive.  Yet people will make the effort for certain special occasions, like significant birthdays. I was so happy to reconnect with my Norwegian relatives and glad to introduce my children and grandchildren to their roots. I feel sad that we are all so scattered across the country that these reunions will be rare.
          It's ironic that the numerous ways to be connected in our technical age....email, fax, cell phone, pager... actually alienate us by decreasing our in-person connections.  We lose touch with our family and thus disconnect from our roots..our identity.  Being connected to our family may be necessary for our very survival!  Dr. Hallowell, in his book, CONNECT,  mentions a study that showed isolated people were three times more likely to die than those people with stronger family ties!  Another measure of mental health and happiness found that students with family connectedness achieved much better than disconnected students. Researchers have proved the lifesaving value of connection.  He says we need to take new vitamins: Vitamin C (Connection) and Vitamin T (Touch) for virus protection and, like other vitamins, we won't thrive without them.
        How connected are you to your family? Do you make the effort to organize and/or to go to family reunions?  How often do you have family reunions?  What value do you receive from your connections with your extended family?  What can you do to increase the value of that connection?  I know I am going to make more efforts to increase my contact with my Norwegian roots....who knows, next year we may have our reunion back in Norway!

copyright, 2000, Laurie Geary, PCC...all rights reserved
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*Recommended READING and RESOURCES:

to build your family tree (with family photos and stories):
http://www.familytreemaker.com

 <CONNECT> by Edward Hallowell, MD
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0-375-40357-4/gearupforsuccela

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Recommended TASKS:

1.  Arrange a family reunion ASAP! - build your family tree to see your roots!

2.  Read CONNECT (see above).

3. Register for my upcoming  teleclass and build your self esteem with the Awesome 8-A System
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4. Register for a workshop on  <Taking Risks> or <Attracting What you Want in your Life> (see below)

5. Go to my Website www.ingearcoaching.com for back issues of my newsletter related to building your self esteem.

6. Call me for a complimentary half-hour COACHING session.
Voice:617-494-1422;  email: laurie@ingearcoaching.com

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 TELECLASS: BUILD YOUR SELF ESTEEM using the 8-A SYSTEM***

*Develop your A+ Attributes to Attract what you want in your life.
*Become more Aware of your needs and wants.
*Be Accountable for your Actions
*Acknowledge and Accept yourself and others using skills that work.
*Become more Assertive: Ask for what you want; Avoid what you don't want;

Act now! Take Actions to Accelerate your growth...move forward faster in your self esteem development and learn how to Activate the 8 A's of Building Your Self Esteem.

*e-Handouts provided per session to supplement self esteem topics

Session Dates:
Free Introductory sessions: Thursday, November 2 @ 9pm EST
Take a self esteem assessment; get an overview of the 8 A's; determine if a small coaching telegroup will support you in building your self esteem.
 Also Announcing a Coaching Telegroup (limited to 8 participants): Thursdays @ 9pm EST -
November 9-16-30-December 7
Cost: $179

please note: if these dates/times are inconvenient for you, contact Laurie to arrange a coaching telegroup for you and your colleagues/friends.

To Register: Go to www.teleclassinternational.com or www.teleclass.com

For more information, contact Laurie Geary @ (617)494-1422 or email: laurie@ingearcoaching.com
or see her website @www.ingearcoaching.com

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UPCOMING LOCAL WORKSHOPS:

BE A PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL COACH
*Boston Center for Adult Education
 Monday, November 13, 2000 - 6:30-9:30 p.m.
also, Thursday, January 18, 2001

MBTI - Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (private)
*Beverly Hospital - November 2, 2000

RISK-TAKING: THE PATH to PERSONAL GROWTH
*BCAE - Monday, October 16  from 6:30-9:30 pm.
and Thursday, January 25, 2001.

ATTRACTING WHAT YOU WANT IN LIFE
*Middlesex Community College - Saturday, October 14th from 9 to 4 pm

GAMES AND INITIATIVES FOR LEARNING
*ICF Conference, Balance Program, Vancouver, BC
October 27, 2000
also
* RANCHO LA PUERTA SPA, Tecate, Mexico
December 16-22, 2000

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Please  forward your copy of this newsletter to anyone you think might
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