Print Registration FormThe Joy of Being a Life Worth Living
"Behind each face there is a unique world that no one else can see. This is the mystery of individuality. The shape of each soul is different. No one else feels your life as you do. No one else sees or hears the world as you do. The creation of the individual is a divine masterpiece. We were dreamed for a long time before we were born. Our souls, minds, and hearts fashioned in the divine imagination. Such care and attention went into the creation of each person. Given the uniqueness of each of us, it should not be surprising that one of the greatest challenges is to inhabit our own individuality and to discover which life-form best expresses it."
John O’Donohue
The Way It Is
"There’s a thread that you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get old. Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding. You don’t ever let go of the thread."
William Stafford
“When facing the lion of our potential, we are called to enter a journey of individuation and discovery through which we can find our core. Not surprisingly, at the center, our core and the Source reveal their Oneness. The strength realized from touching on that Oneness is the strength of the lion manifest in the world.”
Mark Nepo, "Facing the Lion, Being the Lion"
The of Joy Being a Life Worth Living: Designing Your Life
These three quotes point to the purpose of this most profound conversation: to distinguish and shape a life from your own Spirit, your own Core, your own Uniqueness, your own, purposeful and individual thread.
This conversation gives participants access to themselves; to the Teacher Within, the essence of who we are, the person we find on the inside, in behalf of taking our brush to canvas and designing a life. Through a profound connection with our foundation, we are able to move into shaping our outside commitments as an extension of our inner selves. A crossroads conversation for some, and simply but profoundly a deep dive into courage, vitality, integrity, and passion for others, after engaging The Joy of Being a Life Worth Living conversation, we move through life, ongoingly truing ourselves to that core, so that life, and our choices in life, are given by our deep and non negotiable integrity/authenticity, allowing the natural joy (which comes from our connection with Spirit) to be available to us as a deep river running beneath the surface of our everyday life.
We are living in turbulent times, times which present pragmatic and spiritual challenges and opportunities and demand of us to be at one with our core as the optimal pathway for navigating the rapids of these times. Living a lifetime of meaning, of making the difference you are here to make and knowing, experiencing, that you are doing so, allows for a great deal of resolution to the existential or spiritual dilemma.
Many of us have been asking ourselves to surrender to our destiny, to be responsible for leaving our leadership legacy in a way that we can say, at the end of our productive work life, “I am complete. I am fulfilled. I have left the mark on the planet that I intended to leave. I have made a difference. I have lived a life worth living, a life that I can truly call my very own.” The fulfillment of living from that center, borne from co-partnering with Source, from an integration of your soul’s journey with your manifested expression in Life, gives rise to sustenance, nourishment, and the joy of being as you drink from and move with the current of Life.
Through addressing a series of thoughtfully crafted questions, each building on the previous, and through distinguishing, coaching, dialoguing, exploring, thinking, by yourself and with others, and inquiring by yourself and with others, you engage in discerning your personal legend and creating a structure for fulfilling it. Emanating from the key question, what is the “skin of self that will carry (you) into tomorrow,” you create and stand in front of a blank canvas designing your life through your colors, your textures, forwarding you in fulfilling being the leader of your life that you are.
Thus, we come to some core questions:
- What is my personal legend that wants to be fulfilled?
- What is the fulfillment of my leadership in the world?
When we are leading ourselves through our everyday life, from the bedrock of our core, and our Spirit, given by our commitment to fulfill our legacy, whatever that may be, many of the considerations, the limitations, the worries and self concerns, vanish in the knowing that we are settled into being who we are intended to be and living our own life, not someone else’s, shaped by thought and self love and nourishment, and care.
I am committed that you have discerned ever more deeply the design of you such that you are released to live and manifest your unique power and your unique gifts and your unique flaws across all domains, in tandem with what Life and Spirit are calling for, in partnership with Source. I am committed that this conversation gives you a new access to leading your life in the present with a powerful sense of ease, effectiveness, and fulfillment. I am committed that the breakdowns in life occur for you as a revealing of new pathways for fulfilling your soul’s journey. And, I am committed that through this conversation you fall in love with a new sense of your self.
Who is it for?
This program is open to both graduates and non graduates of Gale Leadership Development programs who are out to have a deep cut into designing their life.
If you have not taken The Heart of Leadership, you will have an interview with Amba Gale prior to the class to get your questions answered, connect more deeply with the nature of the work, and to determine the appropriateness of your engaging with this conversation at this time.
Where and when is it?
The Joy of Being will be held on May 4, 5, 6, 2011, at Alderbrook Resort and Spa on the Hood Canal and May 20 at Kiana Lodge near Poulsbo. Both venues are superb retreat sites in the Northwest that inspire graciousness, self care, heart, and deep thinking.
The tuition for this program in June is $1450.00. As this course calls for re-visiting from time to time, for people who have already participated in the Joy program, the graduate tuition is $1250. Tuition includes optional but very robust and useful life-giving opportunities of pre work in preparation for your exploration in the course.
Participants take care of their own food and loding. Lodging costs have been discounted for our group.
To enroll in the program, fill out the registration form on the last page of this material, and email it to me or fax it to (206) 842-2691, sending your deposit in the mail or calling me with your credit card.
“The nature of the calling can change over time, taking a person down pathways never anticipated. The calling opens new territories within the heart; this in turn deepens the calling itself. The faces of the calling change; what at the beginning seemed simple and clear can become ambivalent and complex as it unfolds. To develop a heart that is generous and equal to this complexity is the continual challenge of growth. This is the creative tension that dwells at the heart of vocation. One is urged and coaxed beyond the pale regions into rich territories of risk and promise.”
From "To Bless the Space Between Us", John O’Donohue
"I Will Not Die an Unlived Life"
"I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible; to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance, to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom, and that which came to me as blossom, goes on as fruit."
Dawna Markova
Here are a few comments from people who participated in the first offering of this program:
“I took the course in January and it brought so much of my life's pattern into one cohesive thread and really moved me into high gear.
This course is about YOU; and I mean the capital YOU. It is about your life's purpose and becoming very clear about what it is and how to fully develop it. It is not a conversation in narcissism; it is about bringing your gift to the world... and it is about how to make sure it (your company) and what will follow are your most authentic expression.”
- Rich Duncombe
"Things have been going really well. The time spent at Alderbrook was exactly what was needed. Leading up to those days in May it felt like I was on a non-stop roller coaster making my way through each day being physically present in conversations with others but not mentally. My mind was always two or three relationships ahead of who was in front of me. There was no depth, just surface contact. The pleasure that I once found through connecting with others was missing. The joy of being... being with others was missing. The time spent at Alderbrook allowed for the time of reflection into my previous stands. These stands reminded me that I had a choice in who I wanted to be and how I wanted to live my life. There was no one placing obligations on me but myself.
I left the course continuing my inquiry of what is truly my 'thread' and what really gives me joy in my life. The whole topic of 'just being' as I move forward has been one of the most powerful concepts for me. It has allowed me to once again stand in my commitments and fully embrace my mission... Nurturing Love."
- Jim Huffman
"What has shifted for me on occasion is the ability to be present … to just 'be' and not to be always thinking about the next thing on my list. Now, I’m still stumbling through and having many 'whoops' moments, but I am seeing the power of my 'being' and its effect on those around me. Perhaps what has shifted in my thinking is that I have value in the present.
One thing that broke open for me was the paradigm I’ve been living in regarding my work, family, health and wellness, time and so on. This paradigm is driven by my fears and not joy, light and love. I want to change that – magic happens when I do. I’ve seen and experienced it. I know when it happens and it is truly beautiful. I need to invest in being prepared to receive the wonderful gifts God has provided for, to live in gratitude and to serve. There is an ease when I think of this.
So, what I am committed to is managing my thinking (and therefore, fears). A few weeks ago I was searching for a book and one practically fell off this shelf. It is called, 'As a Man Thinketh' and my dad gave it to me back when I was 12 or 13. I never really made an attempt to read it until adulthood but I read it once again and this time it really spoke to me. As I think .. so I am. When I stand in love and light, I see that in my world. When I stand in fear and judgment that is also what I see. The power is in the choice and that is my challenge."
- Susan Allen
"The Joy of Being a Life Worth Living, or as I refer to it, 'The Joy of Being', was a powerful experience for me. Your previous workshops and retreats prepared me to be fully open to the Joy and to understand how to do the work.
The course set up was brilliant, sequentially leading us to the promised land! I loved the solitary work... I went much deeper than I ever have in any other course. The domains concept was easy to understand and at once useful and powerful.
Something amazing happened to me during the Joy course; I re-membered that I am a Human Being, not a Human Doing. There's no turning back and it is awesome!
Amba, you have created a masterpiece, this was a beautiful, joyful piece of work."
- Angie Aliabadi
“With the terrific exercises Amba designed for the Joy of Being a Life Worth Living, I was able to spend time with myself engaged in a sorting out process I have never done in this way. There is something about owning that I am a teacher - and that I was chosen to be 'trainer', 'coach', 'manager', 'thinking partner', and even 'leader' in many respects because of my gifts as a teacher - that has enabled me to really step up to more opportunities to honor and use those teaching skills in my current life. I have taken on a major project that includes sharing from my many years of business experience and skills to help reshape the operational side of a business I care deeply about. I have also taken on three new coaching relationships in behalf of leadership development, all of which came to me as requests. Coincidence? I don't really think so. I believe that finally standing in the space of what being a teacher means and owning that has attracted more opportunities for teaching into my life.
So I am grateful for the inspiration all of you provided during our three days together, and to Amba for her magic with course design, and for the gift of life that enables me to share that legacy I mentioned during our work together - my real legacy of giving away the gifts I possess while I am here to share them, not the list of items contained in my Will.”
- Susan Keith
"Having just completed the Joy of Being a Life Worth Living last week I feel an amazing velocity in my life and a lightness of my being.
I truly believe that each of us is born with a unique set of gifts and talents to bring to bear into the world. We have a golden opportunity to offer these gifts to others, and to the world. Failing to do so is the unfortunate loss of this golden opportunity.
For me, the Joy of Being a Life Worth Living is all about discovering and taking action toward creating a future that is that golden opportunity. It is a deep and meaningful conversational structure to catalyze the discovery of my unique thread – a thread that only I was born with. I’ve come to believe that this thread is the intersection of my essential nature, my deepest passions, and my unique gifts and talents.
Having discovered, rediscovered, and clarified my unique thread, my attention turned to how that thread meets the world. During the course and subsequent to it, I’ve made intentional and powerful choices to rigorously let go of elements and domains of my life that are not in service to me and my vision of my future. At the same time, I’ve chosen to move toward elements that are in service to me and that future.
I’m excited and joy-filled, knowing deep inside that this future is no one else’s to create, only mine. And I feel a sense of grace knowing that the external world I am both living in and creating connects all the way down to my thread, my core."
- James Bailey
"Why take The Joy a second time? Because to journey in life is to navigate an ever changing shoreline. I see the conversation of The Joy as THE conversation of our lives, a continual honing in on what brings us joy and what outward expression of our Selves and our WORK fulfills us in every moment. Without purposefully placing myself into this solitudinal conversation on a regular basis, having a rigorous conversation with myself, and continually correcting my course so I'm headed to my true north, I find myself adrift in the circumstances of life. And these days, we have circumstances galore that can have us crashed up against the rocks of life, waiting for a life boat!"
- Denise Kelly Ballweber
© 2010 Gale Leadership Development, LLC