ChoicePoints April 2005

"Unless we mindfully choose to become more, our world is shaped by the limitations of knowledge
and experience of the preceding generation
."
  Louise LeBrun

This issue released: Friday April 8, 2005

Spotlight On - people, products and pronouncements
Today's Thought
Coming Attractions!
Quick Updates
Thought Waves

Spotlight On — Interview with Louise LeBrun

The Awakening the Quantum Biological Human conference is your invitation to step into the considertaion of a new era in human evolution. For decades, we've been hard at work at the task of evolving as human beings; at discovering what else might be available to us, and exploring who else we are capable of becoming. What would life be like if we were to discover that we don't really have to work at it? What if evolution is a natural, self-generative and self-directing process and, to connect with it, all we have to do is get out of our own way?

A WEL-Systems® perspective is an invitation to do just that. During the May conference, you'll have the opportunity to connect the science of Dr. Lipton with this potent new way of considering our own evolution. But for now, join us as we explore the person behind the ideas!

ChoicePoints: Louise, what's it like for you to be pressing the edges of the conventional, entrenched wisdom on human behaviour and human potential?

LL: Well, I must say, there was a time when I had thoughts of giving it all up and becoming a plumber! Why? Because plumbers deal with the things that you can see and touch; things that you can point to and eveyone else can easily see; things that in the moment of engaging them, you know you've made a difference. The work that I've done for the last 20-some-odd years is very much NOT that! To be sure, in the early years (late 80's, early 90's), much of what I was offering people flew in the face of conventional thinking about human behaviour and the 'truth' or 'reality' about who we are. It was not until the mid-90's that I got lucky enough to find Bruce's science and a validation that I was not crazy... and that the unshakeable evidence of results was supported by the unshakeable evidence of Dr. Lipton's science.

There have also been times when I had to face my own terror of being different... of having a world view that did not easily map to the world that so many others lived...and yet, discovering how to hold my ground. I'm not sure that ever really leaves me and yet, I know full well that its genius lies in its ability to call me forward and both compel and propel me into action. Taking action - engaging! - is what makes the difference.

As much as a WEL-Systems perspective continues to be unique in that it stands outside a traditional allopathic, Newtonian perspective, I am now much longer in the tooth and much wiser. Over the years, I've learned to take my own advice, trust the truth of my own experience...and let the chips fall where they may!

CP: What is it about your discoveries that has most profoundly affected your life and the way you live it?

LL: Feedback! People have been sharing their lives with me for 20 years! I never cease to be amazed at what becomes possible in the lives of the 'ordinary' human being when a space opens up for them to be other than who they have been taught to believe they are. A safe space that offers them access to new information - access to something that was not there before - and they become willing just to consider it. That's all - no demands or pressures, no judgments - just an invitation to consider something that until that moment had been outside their existing frame of reference. Nothing more exotic than space - and their lives change profoundly, and generatively.

I have the sacred moments of being invited into the secret lives of so many, and have the honor of walking with them as they face their unknowns. I see their terror and their courage. I get to feel their despair and their elation in the face of their own discoveries. And I get to be part of something that defies description and is way beyond what we are taught to consider normal or possible. In those moments, I am reminded of how extraordinary we ordinary folks really are. I take those moments and carry them inside me always, as reminders of my own potential as a woman and as a mother, and as a legacy for the children whose lives I am privileged to help shape.

And maybe best of all, I get to see the magnificence of the human spirit in full flight! Not too many plumbers can say that!

CP: If you were to choose one area that you feel is your greatest challenge in sharing your discoveries, what would that be?

LL: Perhaps my greatest challenge has been and is to come face-to-face so frequently and over such an extended period of time with the degree to which we've been taught to discount ourselves. In those moments, I need to find the place to stand firm in a powerful alternative. The people who invite me into their lives are often trapped in the deeply entrenched beliefs of their own limitations. It is like watching some magnificent creature of the wild, held hostage in a cage barely large enough to contain its body mass. No room to move...or to breathe...or to stretch up and out and engage! There are times when the grief and sadness in my own body for what might have been for these other magnificent beings is so intense, I have to call 'time out' for myself and take a break. Without exception, I always return - more willing and more able than ever.

When I wrote When the Horse Dies, Get Off... and Stop Dragging It Around!, I did so very mindful of the nested living systems (i.e. family, school, work, community, church, etc.) that are so firmly committed to keeping us small - and supposedly, manageable and controllable. In the collective mindlessness that we've come to call 'society' or 'culture', we've surrendered our willingness and ability to be different. We've lost our willingness and ability to say out loud the truth that moves through us, and that catches in the throat when we make ourselves say otherwise. And as much as I consider both these to be powerful forces to either move us forward or hold us back, both are held in the flow of our own desire. When we lose the desire to become more, we exhale...and wait for life to shape us.

It is a perpetual challenge to step into the concrete of 'that's just how it is', or 'you don't understand reality' or "I know the truth" and create enough space within this dense world view to allow anything to move. And movement - of thought, of mind, of spirit - is a sign of life!

CP: When you consider your existing science and what other discoveries undoubtedly lie ahead, who do you believe human beings are capable of becoming?

LL: Magic! I believe that we are innately creatures of great magic and wonder ! We are capable of holding a thought and manifesting the expression of that thought in a physical world. If we can hold the thought of "I want to build a new house" and manifest a new house, what stops us from knowing that we can hold the thought of "I want peace in the world" and be able to manifest that??? It is nothing more than a question of density and intensity; a question of expanding collective thought - or contagion factor of each of us as a thought virus; and a question of closing the gap of space/time from intention in the domain of thought to result in the domain of matter. It is a question of how we engage a manifestation spiral to manifest - and then manifest again. Like breathing in...and breathing out...with the world changing at every breath.

I am deeply grateful to my friend and colleague, Bruce Lipton, for the genius of his science. Without Bruce's courage and his willingness to step into the dense, amassed collective thought on 'how it is' and 'the truth' in the domain of biology, we would not have the benefit of his discoveries today. Bruce's bravery and his insights gave me the courage to stay with the truth that was moving through me. And as Bruce has offered us what I believe to be is the science of the mechanism (i.e. the body as a quantum biological processor), I believe what awaits us is the science of the signal. That we, as quantum biological humans, are expressions of both the mechanism and the signal. I believe that as we become better able and willing to engage the signal, that which we require for magic will unfold.

CP: When you witness the range of responses to your material – from great joy to outrage, no doubt! – what is it that keeps you moving forward?

BL: Absolute joy! Joy in who I get to be, from one conversation to the next. Joy in connecting with such a vast offering of amazing human beings. Joy in the miracles that I not only get to witness but be a part of their unfolding. Joy in watching another human being discover their own genius. Joy in learning to trust - without question and exception - the unshakeable guiding presence that moves through every cell of my being, from one moment to the next! Joy in discovering that I can be fully present in the moment of this NOW, from one moment to the next, without the need to know more beyond that. It all unfolds exactly as it should.

Even in the days before I knew what I know, something inside me was taking shape. Today, because of the way I have chosen to move through the world; and regardless of what might be perceived as being 'out there', I know that my life is of my own creation. I know that I am here to learn, to grow, to become - and to play and have fun! I continue to find new things unfolding in me as I allow myself to continue to step into whatever presents in terms of a response to a WEL-Systems perspective and all that it entails. Without hesitation or doubt, I know that as I stay in the infinite game of my own life, I get to delight in a life filled with invitations for more. And, I get to make a difference in the world. Just how good can it get???!!

Reserve your place now! The full 2 Day conference fee is $695 plus GST. Space is limited and this conference is selling out quickly! For detailed information and registrations on the conference, go to: www.WEL-Systems.com/Awakening
Contact us if you have any questions. Take the leap and treat yourself to an unforgettable two days!
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Today's Thought

"Experience coupled with attention leads to physical changes in the structure and future functioning of the nervous system. This leaves us with a clear physiological fact... moment by moment we choose and sculpt how our ever-changing minds will work, we choose who we will be the next moment in a very real sense, and these choices are left embossed in physical form on our material selves"

Mike Merzenich, Ph.D. and Rob deCharm

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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: May to July

Creativity for Living
a weekend journey into your creative potential
May 13 - 15
Awakening Body, Mind and Spirit
a WELness Experience
May 14 - 15
Saint John, NB
Awakening the Quantum Biological Human
a 2 Day conference
May 28 - 29
Toronto, ON
Awakening Body, Mind and Spirit
a WELness Experience
June 11 - 12
Bolton, ON
Éveil du Soi physique, mental et spirituel
Une introduction aux modèles WEL-Systems
June 11 - 12
Awakening Body, Mind and Spirit
a WELness Experience
June 25 - 26
Windsor, ON
Resourcefulness in Action
WEL-Systems Coaching Practicum
July 14 - 22
Igniting the Self
WEL-Systems:NLP Practitioner Certification
July 16 - 22
Influencing with Intention
WEL-Systems Master Facilitator Certification
July 25- 31


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

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Quick Updates

Awakening the Quantum Biological Human - Toronto Conference

A reminder that the special reduced rate on guest rooms at the Valhalla Inn will be held until May 1. If you're planning to stay at the Valhalla Inn for the duration of the conference, take time to contact them and reserve your room at the special conference rate. Just mention the WEL-Systems Institute and ask for the conference rate when registering. For more info, refer to the conference registration page at: www.WEL-Systems.com/Awakening/register.htm


Creativity for Living

Living requires massive creativity of us, each day of our lives! Learning, loving, hating, shopping, gardening, traveling, making supper, raising children ...all require that we be the creative force. And yet, how many of us notice just how immensely creative we are? After all, how many of us are good painters or musicians? ...well ...

Creativity for Living is an invitation for you to reconnect, through painting, with the creative genius that you are. Even if you've never picked up a paintbrush in your life, you'll be amazed at the discoveries you'll make and the art you'll create. All you need is an interest in exploring ...a curiosity to discover the creative spark that has been hidden, buried or dismissed ...a willingness to let yourself be a kid again, to laugh and play for a few delightful hours. We supply all the materials. All you need is your enthusiasm, your curiosity and some old clothes that you don't mind getting mucky.

Scheduled for May 13, 14 and 15, a time of year when nature is bursting forth around us, more information about Creativity for Living is available at www.tidepoolresources.com/programs/Creativity.htm. Or call Gwen at 254-7218 to chat about what might be possible for you.


New Free Articles

If you've not done so in a while, you might want to visit www.WEL-Systems.com/articles/author.htm to see the growing list of WEL-Systems authors and the articles they have published. The following is but a brief sample:
Celine Burlock on Riding The Waves: An Oceanic Metaphor for Engaging with Children
Pat Donihee on Seeking...Your Own Magic
Gwen McCauley on A Challenge to the Central Dogma of Business


April SOLD OUT

The April 2005 Portals Passages experiences Igniting the Self and Resourcefulness in Action are SOLD OUT! And the July 2005 ITS/RIA programs are already more than half full! Confirm your registration now and don't be disappointed.


Announcing "The Catalytic Converters"

We have been delightedly watching the WEL-Systems community blossom and grow with great vigor ... all sorts of people are staying connected with one another for mutual conversation and continued growth and evolution ...to say nothing of fun! And those connections came together as delightful noise on March 19th when Greg Layhew, Allister Hain, Ray Landry and Koreen Kimakowich, Catalyst all, created a jam session in the lounge of the WEL-Systems Institute.

When Greg realized that they were all going to participate in Creativity for Living, he suggested that they move beyond paint brushes on Saturday night and combine their musical talents. So he packed up his drum kit and joined Allister on cello and guitar, Ray on guitar and voice and Koreen's voice and ... The Catalytic Converters were born for some sweet moments of musical pleasure.

The group fully intends to collaborate further so stay tuned for up-dates.

And let us know if you have been building your own unique way to stay connected with other WEL-Systems colleagues. We're always keen to stay connected with the rich, diverse ways in which you're creating your lives.


Awakening Body Mind and Spirit - English and in French ~ Éveil du soi

We're pleased to be able to offer access to this powerful two-day program in both English and French and in different cities. If it's time for you to engage your world differently, this two-day experiential process is for you!

English: Awakening Body Mind and Spirit  May 14 - 15 Saint John, NB
    June 11 - 12 Bolton, ON
    June 25 - 26 Windsor, ON
       
French: Éveil du soi physique, mental et spirituel June 11 - 12 Ottawa, ON

Magic and Miracles

Helen L., Sudbury, Ontario on her experience of  Creativity for Life

For me, Creativity for Life was a very safe place to let loose. There were no judgments, except the ones I made on myself. It was interesting for me to notice that I wanted to create realistic paintings, and abstract came out. In the program room that was easy to take as there was space for me to process that.

I understand now that I don't need to plan what I create. Some planning is necessary however it all unfolds as it should. It's the conversation I have with myself about the way things unfold, and then it’s the second level conversation as a result of all that processing is what I have been paying attention to lately. I would like to be more mindful of that on a daily basis, I find myself reminding people that there are no accidents, I just need to hear it as well, even though the words are coming out of MY mouth.

I really enjoyed being in the body and letting "it" flow. I haven’t created space for myself in that way for quite some time, being busy with house hunting and stuff. I noticed how, when I tried to make "it" happen, it didn't flow as easy. The inductions were very settling for me. It took awhile to get grounded, and this time, the focus was different. I looked for stuff, visually, within me and that may have limited my experience. When I didn't try, things flowed.

Since coming home I've noticed that I haven't been able to pick up a brush. I was moving a lot of fire one day and thought of painting it, and didn't do it. I guess I had a rule about it being necessary to be grounded, stable and serene in order to paint. Then I realized what I was thinking and even though I didn't paint, I had a choice to express what was moving in me at the time, without rules "

The next scheduled offering of Creativity for Living, targeted at anyone whether they've experienced WEL-Systems or not before is May 13, 14, & 15.

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Thought Waves

Anita Allen - a Certified WEL-Systems® Catalyst and CODE Model Coach™ -
invites you to consider

A New Perspective on Medicine

I have been practicing the discipline of Physiotherapy for over 13 years. Over the course of those years, the human system has never failed to fascinate me. Our incredible design and complexity is one of the greatest marvels in our known universe and there is so much more to discover. Each time I engage in a process with a client I feel such a sense of wonder and honor for the incredible expression that they are. There is such remarkable intelligence in the reason that has brought them to this appointment seeking an answer or a solution.

A metaphor that has been used to represent the uniqueness of each of us is that of a Bonsai tree. There is incredible intelligence behind the way our bodies express themselves. What we have considered as dysfunction is a magnificent and artful expression of not simply survival, but growth. As the poet, Maya Angelou stated so eloquently, “to survive is necessary; to thrive is elegant”. Part of my personal evolution has been to begin to recognize and reclaim all the wonderful twists and turns in my own life that have left me not with gnarled branches, but with grace and elegance. This metaphor represents my own ability to not only grow, but to thrive. In reclaiming all those experiences I discovered the space that allows me to engage my practice of physiotherapy with a sense of reverence and respect for the incredible intelligence in the body.

As a University student, I had the experience of human dissection. It was the intimate knowing of the machine without life present. The knowing was of only the most basic nature, visible only to the naked eye. Although encouraged to treat cadavers with the utmost respect as they lay as empty shells, there was such an obvious separation of essence and matter that it was difficult to identify with the person that once lived, breathed, laughed and cried. Without animating force, tissue lay as inert as the gurney that supported it. Stripped of all vitality, the mechanism that once housed an animated being was available for rudimentary exploration, an opportunity to understand the vehicle. When would we begin to understand the vital force that once inhabited tissue?

When Descartes struck his deal with the church so many years ago in order to obtain bodies for dissection, he left behind a legacy of separating mind from body. Descartes had never believed this separation to be a true representation of how humans functioned. The separation of body from mind/spirit was one of convenience at the time that Descartes was negotiating with the Church to have access to human cadavers to dissect and study. The Church wanted to maintain undisputed authority over all spiritual matters and the artificial distinction of vital essence and body was created as a boundary.

Fast forward to the 21st century where this arrangement of convenience has now acquired status as “fact” simply because it has remained undisputed for so long. This view along with the prevailing view of Newtonian science has left little room for exploration in medicine outside of the limitation of these perspectives. Yet science marches on in other forums as our evolution demands. It is growing impossible to continue to hold this separation of mind from body as true in the face of mounting evidence from the scientific community.

Candace Pert has demonstrated the presence of the same neuropeptides, once thought to belong solely in the realm of the brain, to be present throughout the body. As someone who uses acupuncture as a modality to assist in restoring balance in the body, I find this particularly compelling. Is it possible that acupuncture meridians are the neuropeptide channels? It is quite possible that soft tissue techniques such as Rolfing, Mysofacial Release and Craniosacral work are all possible means to engage in the physical manipulation, release and metabolization of neuropeptides. These physical modalities have been given a very esoteric and marginalized place in medicine and yet I believe there are undeniable reasons for the effectiveness of these techniques that requires us to embrace more than a simply mechanistic perspective in future research.

Valerie Hunt has measured the electromagnetic fields that emanate from the human body and has noted the changes in frequency as fields interact. Her contribution to science was possible once sufficiently sensitive technology was created to measure the subtle fields. The fields existed all along. What was new was the science that allowed such subtle signals to be measured. There was a shift in perspective that created a context for this information to be measured and considered useful.

What about nuclear medicine? We use our as yet limited understanding of energy and fields as a non-invasive means to examine the health of tissue or distribution of blood flow through the body with CT scans, MRI (magnetic resonance images), Bone Scans, PET Scans (Positive Electron Transmission) among others. The images created are representations of the energy signals transmitted or absorbed by tissue. They reflect field interactions.

All this evidence and there are still those who believe that the human body does not carry an energetic field. We are much more than a mechanism made of bone and tissue. Bone itself is a living and dynamic structure that is constantly remodeling itself. Cells are in constant renewal. Neuropeptides flow through the nervous system and tissue, communicating information. The scientific discoveries of Bruce Lipton demonstrate the cell’s ability to adapt and express is based largely on environmental cues and much less on what we once considered to be pre-determined genetic expression.

How did ancient civilizations come to their complex understanding of the body? What can we learn from their holistic perspectives? What becomes possible in the fields of physiotherapy and medicine when we are willing to embrace a broader perspective, one that invites curiosity about the place of quantum science in a larger context than diagnostic tests; a perspective that considers concepts of self-renewing systems and fractals as evidenced in nature and how they apply to humans as organic beings. The perspective proposed by the WEL-Systems Institute takes these points into consideration. A WEL-Systems® perspective is an invitation to consider that the body is not separate from the mind and that within the expressions of what otherwise might be considered pain, dysfunction or emotions there is a vast amount of information at our disposal. The concepts of normal/abnormal, good/bad or right/wrong do not exist in this perspective. In place of these arbitrary judgments there is an invitation to explore intelligence and information, as the body communicates it. The route to this engagement is not through the intellect but through the body directly.

Our bodies deal with an amazing amount of information on a daily basis as they are engaged in all the processes necessary for life. Although present, our intellect plays no significant role in the processes of digestion, respiration, reproduction and so on. Since we also recognize the presence of information networks in the form of neuropeptides and electromagnetic fields, it stands to reason that these systems are capable of functioning without intellectual direction. By artificially and perceptually disconnecting the body from the intellect, we humans have lost touch with a means of incredible resourcefulness in our lives. Its implications are staggering to our future health, wellness and evolution. The good news is that the disconnection is simply one of perception. A shift in perspective is all that is required to reconnect body to mind/spirit.

This article is reproduced with the permission of the author, Anita Allen. This article may be reproduced provided premission has been granted by Anita Allen and it is reproduced in its entirety with appropriate acknowledgement of the author, the source and a web link to www.albionhillsphysio.com

Anita Allen is a licensed Physiotherapist and owner of the Albion Hills Physiotherapy Clinic in Bolton, Ontario. She is also a certified WEL-Systems Master Facilitator, WEL-Systems Catalyst and CODE Model Coach™. An entrepreneur, small business owner and creator of the “Physio-Catalyst” process, Anita is passionate about helping others create lives and careers that light them up. Anita can be reached at anita@albionhillsphysio.com

Anita will be presenting a workshop entitled “Reconnecting Mind, Body and Spirit” on May 29th as part of the workshops available at Awakening the Quantum Biological Human. For more information about the Conference go to www.WEL-Systems.com/awakening To find out about future workshops with Anita, go to www.albionhillsphysio.com and click on events.

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