Workshops for Women

Dads Matter - A new book by Bob Hazleton

If you know us at all, or have ever attended one of our Workshops for Women's events, you know we are big on great books.  Dads Matter by Bob Hazleton is my new favorite.

Why a book about Dads when we are so all about women?  What we are really about is improving the lives of women, empowering them to create lives of purpose, meaning, joy and abundance.  And having our men understand the value they bring as "Dad" to our children, our relationships and our world therefore supports all of our goals.

Dads Matter  challenged me in a gentle and positive way.  It allowed me to revisit things from my training as a coach, relook at my own parenting skills and areas for improvement, and opened a window to revisit my own relationship with my father who passed away when I was 18.

I am a huge fan of Bob Hazleton.  I actually met Bob many years ago at a support group meeting, during a difficult time in my life as a single mother with a struggling teen.  With a look - Bob conveyed his care, and managed to stop my ramblings and help me get centered and realize what insanity I as "mom" was bringing to the picture.  Later it was a huge surprise and wonderful gift to have him be one of my trainers at the Resource Realizations Coaching academy, and to staff parenting seminars with him for other parents of troubled teens.

And just to make the loop complete - this book was laid out by Workshops for Women graduate Jennifer Omner, President of All Publications.  Her care and dedication to the project are obvious and beautifully executed. (www.allpublications.com)

So yes, I am biased.   However this is truly one of those great books with the power to change and inspire our lives.  Here is an opportunity to change the world for the better - invest in a wonderful gift for yourself in your own evolution - and make a brilliant gift to the Dads or soon-to-be-Dads in your world. 

Dads Matter by Bob Hazleton.  Available now www.amazon.com

best,

Kelly Sandstrom CPC
Workshops for Women

Kabul Beauty School -

An amazing read if you're looking for one -I just devoured this wonderful book by Kristin Ohlson - "Kabul Beauty School" and highly recommend it to you.

Ms. Ohlson, tells her story of joining a group of relief workers en-route to Afghanistan, where she discovered that although she wasn't a doctor, or a nurse, as a hairstylist she had much to contribute.

Part of the Workshops for Women message is that we each have a unique contribution to make ... and that being a woman who owns your power and beauty, your unique contribution looks differently to each of us. 

To Ms. Ohlson it meant taking her skills as a hair stylist, and eventually moving to Afghanistan to open a school which trained other women to style hair - and therefore enabled those women to have a way of supporting their own households.  In the process she found the courage to leave an abusive marriage, and found and claimed her own unique contribution in the world.  What an amazing story! 

I was inspired and reminded of what one courageous woman can do.

best

Kelly Sandstrom CPC

The Secret - by Rhonda Byrne

The book and the DVD are both great.  It is about the law of attraction; it is a wonderful way to get your mind refocused on what you do want in your life verses what you don’t want.  It shows how based on our thoughts we are attracting in our life’s exactly what we are thinking.  Something I have been noticing in my life for a long time now and I am so excited that this work is out to the public now.  The book and the movie are going to be featured on Oprah this month.

Rhonda Byrne in about 2004 discovered a secret the secret of the universe.  Almost immediately her life was transformed when she put into practice what she had learned.

The Secret offers guidance on how to apply a powerful knowledge of law of attraction to your life in every area.  The secret you can have anything you put your mind to.

I too have applied this principle to my life and have seen amazing things.  I recommend this DVD to all that want to learn the secret.

Best

Sue Cook

Workshops for Women

The Twelve Gifts of Birth

Our purpose at Workshops for Women is to teach women the art and skill of owning their power and beauty.  There is a beautiful book that I read during our Workshop “This Precious Relationship”.  It is a book that is written by Charlene Costanzo.  She sends this message for children of all ages and the child in every adult.

Charlene wrote th is book for her daughters.  What a great gift she wrote and now we get to share it with our Mothers & Daughters that attend the workshops.  She wrote the book wondering how as her daughters approached adulthood how she could nurture their self-worth further and offer directions for the next stage of life.  The Twelve gifts came to her in a dream.  Which is something we encourage all of our participants to do, for it is thru dreams that things become a reality.

When I read this book it reminded me of the story of Sleeping Beauty where the fairy godmothers gave Sleeping Beauty three gifts.  However, this book goes well beyond that and reveals the birthright inheritance that all children receive twelve gifts at birth as a blessing and shows how to use them to enrich ones life.

This is a keepsake book.  When shared with children it helps form a strong foundation of self-respect and values.  For teens and adults it offers healing and hope.  To all readers it reminds us to see the dignity that is inherent in ourselves and others.

Very powerful and beautiful book by Charlene Costanzo “The Twelve Gifts of Birth”

She also writes a book called “The Twelve Gifts for Healing” a book that reminds us to reach inside to find peace and strength whenever we face hardships and to find renewed faith in ourselves to move thru those times.

best

Sue Cook

Workshops for Women

Spark by Doug MendenHall

Spark -10 Secrets to living a life you love

I met Doug at a Link event in Portland.  He was speaking about his book and yes he does have “SPARK". 

It was a pleasure to hear him speak and he touched me in such a way that I wanted to read his book.  Well, it was great.  Some of the principals in the book I was already applying to my life and had them down.  Others were new to me and gave me some new ideas on how I can pump up the spark in my life.

He wrote in my book “Workshops For Women, Here is to what you do!!” and then signed his name.   I got that he believed in what we were up to in the world.  After reading his book I knew we had “SPARK”.

The book is inspiring, engaging, and thought-provoking.  After reading this you will feel the spark and find your spark that ignites you and drives you to live the life you love.  Easy fun read that gets you going.

Best,

Sue Cook

Workshops for Women

PS Check out The Link at www.thelinkforwomen.com - a networking group for women!

The Science of Sexy

Ladies,

Ok I will admit the title threw me  - not that enlightened and powerful women don't want to be sexy - but this IS about empowering mothers and daughters after all -

So ok - I'm past the title.  This is a fabulous book!  The Directors of Workshops for Women as a team love "The Lucky Shopping Manual" and use it in our mother/daughter Beauty in Three Parts Workshop.  Now "The Science of Sexy" is being added to our recommended reading list as well.

In Beauty in Three Parts (next one coming to Portland in September 2007- see our website for details and to sign up) we consider one part of a woman's beauty her outward appearance - making the most of what we've got and all.

This amazing tool will let you play What Not to Wear - without the trip to New York -the humiliation  and unfortunately without the $5000 shopping spree - bummer. 

There are 10 commandments such as: "Thou shalt ignore clothing tags - the fit is the thing" and "Thou shalt choose the right undergarments" along with other empowering concepts.  There are charts, there are graphs, there are 48 (FORTY EIGHT) body types and what NOT, and what TO wear for each of them.  Brilliant.

So glad we got on the pre-order list.  Available now by clicking on the attached link.

Just another tool we wanted to share - go forth and be beautiful!

best
Kelly Sandstrom CPC
Workshops for Women

The Science of Sexy: Dress to Fit Your Unique Figure with the Style System that Works for Every Shape and Size

You're Wearing that?

If you are looking for a good book on the specific topic of mothers and daughters then I recommend Deborah Tannen's new book  You're Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation

Tannen sights the three biggest areas of conflict (ie criticism) between mother and daughter are hair, food and clothing.  Sound slightly familiar?  Yes, many conversations in this book will seem familiar.

What I find so valuable in this book is the awareness Tannen brings to the everyday workings of mothers and daughters.  As a coach I would approach solutions to these challenges from a different standpoint, yet I greatly appreciate the awareness to our unconscious patterns.  Perhaps the most basic one being that we see ourselves reflected in each other.  Well of course we do, but Tannen's exploration of this topic is quite enlightening. 

As our daughters grow and separate from us, creating their own identity, we too must separate and realize our daughters are indeed their own unique beings in the world, and their choices as adults as their choices alone - not a reflection of how we parented them at age 5.

A challenge?  Yes of course.  Which is why books like "You're Wearing That?" are so valuable - bringing awareness to both what is going on for the mother and what is going on for the daughter. Tannen tackles the "why" questions - we tackle the "what do you want and how can we get from here to there" questions.

Can we create what we want with our mother or daughter? 

Absolutely, it comes back to our training as ontological coaches, if you want something different - you must be willing to do something different (ie: you move first). 

When we're in that dance with our daughter of you do x and I'll do y (you get a poor test score, I yell) over and over again, are we even thinking about our choice to yell?  Or is it that every time x happens, I automatically respond with y?

It is truly amazing how shifting from doing "x" to say trying "e" changes things up.  Even more amazing when we look at choosing what "e" (the new response) will be in alignment with what we want to create.

This book is one way to create some consciousness around those patterns.

And congrats to Deborah Tannen- published this month in O Magazine!

best

Kelly Sandstrom CPC

Come Back by Claire and Mia Fontaine

As I recently told the author, at first I was hesitant to read this one - the story of a mother and daughter's journey to hell and back.  Really?  Sounds a bit intense, I'll probably cry through the entire thing.... well maybe I'll just read the first chapter and see how it goes ...... then nothing else got done until I had devoured the entire book.

Told by Claire Fontaine, with inserts by her lovely daughter Mia, this book recounts the journey of a daughter in complete breakdown, and a mother's determination to save her family.  The good news?  It's a success story about healing and empowerment. 

As many of you know, the Workshops for Women team members have each done work with families of teens in crisis in residential programs.  I believe in families, and the power of awareness and contribution to change lives.    Mia attended that program.   

I know the training we have been given in working with those families, and the training we as a team have created for mothers and daughters does work.  And I personally applaud the courage Claire and Mia have shown in making their story so public, so the rest of us can learn, grow and celebrate their success with them.

I highly recommend this book either if you have ever been concerned about the choices your child has made, or if you want to create a deeper compassion for the road a struggling mother has taken. 

best

Kelly Sandstrom CPC

Come Back

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

   As an Coach with training in Ontology, I'm always seeking ways to create awareness of my enviroment;especially that which goes on that can affect not only myself, by my family, friends and clients and their enviroment. 

Recently, I read a book that assisted me in raising my conciousness regarding the United States
and World Politics.   I'm recommending it for ANYBODY (democrat /republican / independent / non-party ) who is nterested in seeing a perspective of someone who had worked it from the inside. 

I'm writing this blog because of and in support of our great country, as I'm seeking to creating
awarness with those that I know, of whom I come in contact.

The book is:
Confessions on an Economic Hit Man John Perkins

While I'd like to believe it's not true, I suspect much of it is.  My thoughts are that if there is a way
to create World Unity, World Peace, and prosperity for all then what can I do to facilitate the change?

Please read it, and I would be interested in knowing your thoughts.

Best
Lynnette Garcia

Feel Good Naked

Laure Redmond left me a lovely message last week - I caught it just as I was leaving for a week of hiking, massage, and yoga with fellow directors Sue Cook and Leah Holmes (www.redmountainspa.com- highly recommended but I digress).

Her message reminded me that I've been wanting to read her book - "Feel Good Naked" so I snagged it for the trip - and it was fabulous!

Clearly Laure and I share a common purpose, in that Workshops for Women was created to train women in the art and skills of owning their power and beauty.  I believe we cannot give to others what we do not have ourselves, so it is very important to learn to love, honor, even celebrate our physical forms if we hope to be compassionate and nurturing of others.

Laure shares 10 no-diet secrets to a fabulous body - every one of which is healthy, purposeful, empowering and within reach - and she does it by telling us the stories of 10 women - who have each successfully applied these secrets to attain a health goals.  An entertaining read, which provides evidence on effective techniques, I found it encouraging, empowering, and inspiring.

So - if you haven't already - please ping over and sign up for This Precious Relationship coming to Portland July 22-23rd which seats still last, and then check out Feel Good Naked Both are great investments in being the empowered beautiful woman you know you are.

best

Kelly Sandstrom CPC