What a training it was indeed!

The most amazing thing for me was that it felt “just like” any other More To Life course - it was so natural!

Sunday morning was a highlight for me, when at the start of the session every single participant was in their seat, upright, really ready to proceed. The attentiveness, the willingness to do the work was tangible. Then, when three people I had enrolled stood up and said what the course meant to them so far and what changes it had brought about already, I was touched to tears.

Another highlight was the team.

It is incredible how much enthusiasm the team brought to this course, coming from all over the world to support the launching of this work into a new language and country. Some did not even speak German and still, they were supporting, following along in a different way perhaps, but all were really present and playing their part.

And then there was Brigitte (Briggy Kiddle, Senior Trainer). She was just ‘flying’. She seemed to enjoy delivering the course in her mother tongue and was so warm and loving. It was inspiring to watch her!

One of the results of all of this is a very active enrichment follow-on group meeting weekly with 13 to 15 participants! It is pure joy for me to see how hard they work and how much they stand for the truth and for themselves.

Knowing that there will be another More To Life in Potsdam only five months after ours is the icing on the cake. (Note: MTL in Potsdam, near Berlin, is scheduled for October 24 - 26.)

This work will surely spread in Germany. I am getting enquiries already about another course in May 2009 in Kiel.

This was only the beginning - a hugely successful beginning! What that means to me is hard to put into words. I trust you'll somehow know.

With much love,

Petra Weigden
Training Supervisor, More To Life in Kiel, Germany

More To Life in Germany – a momentous first

Briggy Kiddle, Senior Trainer

Some of the MTL team members in Kiel

Clare Vivian-Neal

MTL Business Director

In late May in Kiel, Germany we held the very first More to Life and the first ever course in a language other than English – 100% German, led by Briggy Kiddle, Senior Trainer.

We are seeing the manifestation of a bold and daring vision that has been held for many years now and a new phase for our organization. The MTL team traveled from far and wide (twelve from the UK, seven from Germany, five from New Zealand, and one each from Texas, Finland, Italy and the Czech Republic). It was an amazing mix.

Petra Weidgen, the Training Supervisor (TS) led with grace and a steadfast vision. (See post from Petra to follow, as well as pictures from the weekend). She is keen to pass on the fullness of her experience to the next TS, Elke Brenstein.

We had 37 participants in Kiel start and complete the course. They were thrilled with their experience! They really took to it. It was a very mature group, which included several medical doctors and a professor. The team not only sourced the course but also stayed together at the training facility – a residential experience. They bonded as a team and served with powerful intention. Briggy, or Brigitte, as she was called during the course, was awesome as the trainer, speaking in her native tongue, bringing the essence of our work into German with all skill of her open heart and deep love of humanity.

Since the course, I have heard from many of the team, all of who had rich experiences.

Micha sent an email saying, "I enjoyed being on team very much and learned a few more pieces about myself in regards to having German heritage. I was riding on the train yesterday on the way from Kiel to the South of Germany and felt a new connection to my old home, one of acceptance and love.”

And Ulrich said, "This confirmed without doubt that this work can be transferred to other languages and cultures -it is an absolute win for Brad Brown’s legacy, the Foundation and our world. I am grateful to all for what has been done and do not regret a second of my time and energy invested. All is well."

And Elisabeth sent a message to the Creation Team for More To Life in Christchurch that applies to us all: “Follow your calling. Take that step. You know how to do it. The support of each other we have in NZ is special. My love to all of you.”

And, the More To Life programme in Germany has stepped up yet again with plans afoot for their next course in Potsdam (near Berlin) on October 24 - 26. If you want to play your part in an amazing team experience, contact Elke Brenstein at elkebrenstein@web.de

I’m hoping many of you will step forward to source this next step – as well as yourselves and many other precious human beings.

~ Clare

Some Coaching Pics

I opened these pictures this morning and just sat and smiled as I looked at so many faces of people who are so dedicated to serving / coaching / upholding others.

The individual shots are of some of our South African MTL coaches; the group shot is of our U.S. coaches, plus Ann McMaster and Warren Kahn, the trainers for Coaching Essentials.

I'm sorry to say that I don't have pictures of the European coaches but it may be that I am sent some soon. If so, I'll post them for your enjoyment as well.

~ Peggy

Announcing...the South African, US and European MTL Coaches!

Our heartfelt congratulations and deep admiration to:

SOUTH AFRICA
Mandy Antzoylatos
Heide Block
Wendy Bouman
Wendy Hendler
Laura Hutchinson
Kathy Inglis
Lisa Kane
Suzy Lyle
Beth McAlpine
Thapelo Mzizi
Rejoice Ngcongo
Ray Perkel
Andrew Pike
Anu Pillay
Simon Ratcliffe
Vijay Reddy
Mark Weinberg
Lynn Wright
Xolani Zondi

U.S.
Anne Bauer
Anne Brown
Janet Cohen
Kathleen Crawford
Christina Giannelli
Sylvia Hebert
Kirsten Johnson
Will Kidd
Peter Kiss
Cindy Lebow
Diana Makens
Jenny Meadows
Sherry Merritt
Leslie Pierkowski
Glenn Stevenson
Tracey Taul
Elisabeth Ten Brink
Dreena Tischler
Pauleen Ward Brown
Darcy Young-Nutter
Belinda Zuckswert

EUROPE
Letitia Blake
Shelagh Brown
Oenca Calliste-Fontaine
Kathryn Carr
John Cochrane
Kate Crawford
Audrey Elder
Anja Fiedler
Frances Grant
David Berman Howarth
Tal Berman-Howarth
Samina Khan
Shena Kinven
Samantha Lewis
Suzie MacFarlane
Jacqueline Robertson
Claudia Arena Senyoni
Helen Slater
Louise Smith
Adam Stern
Colette Stevens
Tina Thomsen
Petra Weidgen
Alison Wood
Hazel Yeomans

TRAINERS
Pascale Ascher
William Holt
Warren Kahn
Briggy Kiddle
Ann McMaster
Brocas Walton

Coaching Initiative Update - from Ann Mc

What’s happened? Well, a lot.

It all started about 10 years ago as an idea that never got legs under it. Then there was a resurgence of interest about two years ago, and Sophie Edwards and her team put together a possible scenario. The Makens Campaign moved the possible scenario to an initiative. From there, at the trainer/leadership conference in London, December 2006, the coaching initiative transformed from an initiative to a plan. Flying home, Rhonda Schlatter sat on the plane with me, as we sorted out the Plan A timeline - 10 hours and still the fastest trip I ever spent crossing the Atlantic! As you can imagine, Plan A turned into Plan B fairly shortly thereafter, and we are likely now on Plan ZZZ!

We started with research – what do coaching courses cost, what do they teach, how much do coaches charge, and who do they coach? Fortunately, Rejoice Ngcongo and Wendy Bouman in South Africa; Guy Dominy, Liz Leffman, Issy Crocker and many others in the UK, plus much input from coaches here in the US, all supported that research. Then, Elaine Alpert in the US researched the International Coaching Federation accreditation process, which is currently being carried forward by Kirsten Johnson and her team – Belinda Zuckswert, Pauleen Ward Brown and Shena McKinven. As you can see, there has been a lot of input from a lot of people who have been invested in making this initiative happen…and that’s not counting all of the MTL students who went for their passion and became coaches.

Pascale Ascher designed a four-month evocative and illuminating experience called Coaching Essentials that brought all of Brad’s innovations from business courses into this coaching training. It was a total blast on the one hand, and a life-changing experience on the other. As one participant said, “I had two major crises in my life during Coaching Essentials, and I attribute the grace with which I handled both crises to my being a part of this course.”

As you can imagine, it has been exciting and ... well ... a veritable roller coaster of wins and learnings - for everyone! Camaraderie and genuine closeness with peers and coachees have been the order of the day; a true appreciation for living life fully; and most of all, heart-opening gratitude for this opportunity to make a difference in our own lives, in the lives of others and in our ability to play our part in the world.

And I have a special Thank You to Rebecca Kuhn for turning the gross quantities of paperwork into an understandable spreadsheet that organized everyone’s data. She helped me keep my sanity! Truly! And it was a great experience working with my daughter and seeing her being so much a part of everyone’s journey.

Our students in South Africa led the way with great excitement. Here’s how the schedule worked out:

South Africa - Began in August 2007; completion of Coaching Essentials coursework (four phases) in January 2008
United States – Began in October 2007; completion in March 2008
European – Began in January 2008, completion in June 2008

And here’s where we stand in terms of the numbers of certified coaches:
SA - 25 started, 19 are now certified coaches, 4 are still going for it, 2 have chosen not to complete
US - 24 started, 21 are now certified, 3 are close to completing
European - 25 started, 24 are now certified, 1 will complete within the next 2 weeks, plus 1 extra in process.

Trainers - 6 have participated in the Coaching Essentials coursework in some way and are now certified.

Coming Attractions!

August 2008 – Public Coaching Course, United States
October 2008 – Public Coaching Course, South Africa
First Quarter 2009 – Public Coaching Course, UK / EU
First Quarter 2009 – Coaching Essentials (for MTL students), New Zealand

As you can see, there is More To Come!

Feeling deeply appreciative of the opportunity to work with people who understand the sacredness of working with others,

Ann McMaster
Project Leader, Coaching Initiative
Senior Trainer

Pictures from South Africa

To follow on Warren's post (below), here are some photos from his trip that speak as loudly as his words.

The beauty of Cape Town ...

The people taking refuge behind police stations ...

And the aliveness on the faces of those participating in More To Life.

Enjoy!

South African More To Life Program ... Full Of Life!

During the month of May, I had the amazing opportunity to go to South Africa to deliver two More To Life courses and for my first time, the focus course, Effective Parenting.

This is my second time traveling to South Africa to train and I would say - if you have never been to this vibrant country and never experienced the wonderful More To Life communities there, put it on your list.

South Africa is a country in the midst of enormous change and evolution. In the post-apartheid era there is still much in transition and many stark contrasts - Mercedes Benz automobiles being driven past thousands of people living in shacks, for example.

During my time there, there were 2 days of violence as some isolated groups expressed their fear and anger toward some of the immigrant population groups. However, out of those vicious attacks, there were also people coming forward from many backgrounds to respond with compassion and heart. I had the extraordinary opportunity to join in some of the relief efforts almost 10,000 people took refuge behind police stations to protect their families from the attacks.

For me, it was a first hand, real experience, as opposed to seeing world events on CNN from the comfort of my living room. As I engaged with these lifeshocks, I was enrolled again into what we, as the More To Life program, are doing in the world and what we bring to life through our trainings and our way of being - connected, truthful and loving.

The courses we delivered were deep and energized. We had members of the South African Parliament both on team and in the courses. One of the Parliament members, a very influential woman, commented at completion night, “I have my life back and I am so grateful."

I imagine those of you who have been involved with MTL courses have experienced what I experienced – that the issues people struggle with are basically the same everywhere. Who am I? What is my purpose? How do I heal and get free of old hurts, old beliefs and lies?

At the MTL in Cape Town, there were a considerable number of young university students enrolled. I was so moved by their excitement and commitment to passing on what they learned to others. We had over 70 people at each of the 2 completion evenings. Electric and inspiring!


In addition, I had the joy of training with Vijay Reddy, our newest trainer candidate in the More To Life program. It was her first time at the front of the room and she modeled truth, realness, vulnerability and leadership. Stay tuned for all she will bring forward in the years to come.

The land of South Africa calls to my heart and spirit from the tropical beaches of Durban, to the gold rich bustling of Johannesburg, to the spectacular views of mountains, ocean and vineyards in Cape Town and so much more I have yet to experience. Wildlife and cultures mixing together. Eleven different official languages. Deep wants to heal and unite while on the cutting edge of humanity’s evolution.

To all of you, I say thank you for bringing yourselves to More To Life wherever you are from. And thank you for your part in this precious dance called life.

Warren Kahn
Senior Trainer
More to Life Program