I don’t know if I was born for Squidoo or Squidoo was made for me. I do know that I have found my favorite vehicle–a place to practice target marketing. I believe that everyone is in sales. By that I mean we are each trying to get our personal agenda met every day. So how do you make sales easy? Find your target market and people buy from you because you are providing them a service to buy what they want. I began my main blog, kathyberman.com (Changemaker: Reinvent Your Life), in November, 2004. After writing daily for 10-12 hours for over 2 years, I came to believe that the blog had too much information. I had decided during the first few months of blogging that I didn’t have the time to write about all I’ve learned in thirty years of recovery and answer comments.

Knowing that I would be in for a long, lonely road without comments didn’t deter me from the decision to exclude comments. I have always posted my email address and posted several times about new directions the blog was entering. Of course, my choice brought me no traffic. Although I have been consistently and continually online for over two years, I have no traffic. I read a lot of blogs that have high readership audiences and have never regretted my choice.

My Squidoo Published Lenses:

Squidoo Lens Page

http://www.squidoo.com/cmlens/

About Change

Do You Need a Life Change?

http://www.squidoo.com/changelife/

You Can Help Change the World

http://www.squidoo.com/changeworld/

How You Can Change Your Stress Level

http://www.squidoo.com/changestress/

About Changemaker

Use Changemaker to Start Your Own Groups

http://www.squidoo.com/changemaker/

Use Changemaker Test to Help Others

http://www.squidoo.com/changemakertest/

Changemaker Favorite Prayers

http://www.squidoo.com/cmprayer/

Helping Others With Changemaker Headquarters

http://www.squidoo.com/groups/changemaker

About Body, Mind and Soul

Mind, Body and Soul: Physical Healing

http://www.squidoo.com/physicalhealing/

Mind, Body and Soul: Emotional Healing

http://www.squidoo.com/emotionalfitness/

Mind, Body and Soul: Mental Healing

http://www.squidoo.com/mentalhealing/

About Diet

Are You Running Out of Energy?

http://www.squidoo.com/highenergydiet/

About Motivation

Goals are Dreams With a Deadline

http://www.squidoo.com/yourtrueself/

About Recovery

ACOA, Codependency and My Inner Child

http://www.squidoo.com/myinnerchild/

Recovery is a Return to Sanity

http://www.squidoo.com/twelvesteps/

About Spirituality

Coming Home to God

http://www.squidoo.com/spiritualpractices/

Changemaker Favorite Prayers

http://www.squidoo.com/cmprayer

About Squidoo

Why I Needed Squidoo

http://www.squidoo.com/lovesquidoo/

My Hobbies

My Favorite Photo Artists

http://www.squidoo.com/favphotoartists/

About the Author

A Sampler of My Life

http://www.squidoo.com/kathy/

7/23/07 18

By CarbonNYC

Everyone has many personality labels yet most of us resist being labeled. Over a lifetime, we each will have hundreds of labels because we have unique life experiences. The main way that we learn our labels is from others. We generally resist these learnings as it feels that the labels have a negative connotation. Yet most of our labels are positive and negative at the same time.

We each love to learn about ourselves. But we pretend that we don’t want to know. It is the same maneuver we use to view a group picture that includes us. While oohing and aahing over all the other group members, we are secretly gazing at ourselves. Most of the labels used by counselors are unknown by clients.

The Changemaker Test, which is meant as a vehicle for self-discovery, includes the labels used in NLP (neurolinguistic programming), birth order, family roles, emotional energies, and MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator). Also included are the labels for the Big Five Test, enneagram, and transactional analysis.

Changemaker is committed to the basic belief that each person has the opportunity for self-discovery and the potential for self-healing. As individuals, we sometimes choose paths that may be harmful to us. To get off that path and onto a new road takes exploration and experimentation.

The Changemaker Test offers education for self-discovery as Changemaker believes that the change within a person involves the courage to see (insight) and the courage to act (action). The Changemaker Test will teach anyone 10 labels about themselves. Therefore, by using the labels to change themselves, the changemaker is the person who decides to learn and make the change happen.

Through Changemaker Groups, we provide short-term specialized direction and solutions to help others to better understand themselves and ourselves.. With this direction and self-knowledge others will learn to implement techniques designed to lead to greater self-mastery.

Groups are the recognized best method for people to gain information and acceptance from others. One of the main underpinings of AA is that all members are peers. Anyone has the opportunity to share and to be heard.

In Changemaker groups, the group leader leads only by getting the group together. By caring for others, the group members can learn as well as teach self-discovery. The group leader/leaders may choose to charge or ask for donations to pay for the meeting room and materials.

To lead education groups, Changemaker groups, the only requirement for the business is to have an occupational license to run a business. Changemaker groups are not therapy groups so no other license is required.

Changemaker groups are grow groups as the members have a desire for self-discovery. The groups may be a group who never formally meet but instead are joined together in a virtual group. They may choose to come together by some basic personality labels in common. They also may exchange email addresses, instant messaging addresses or meet in a chat room.

Group techniques for Changemaker groups may include:

1. Keep group size from 8-12 members.

2. Always have two or more group leaders. A group dies from within if one person dominates the group. Remember that health is based on the balance of power between the members. If the same person dominates the group, the group should ask that member not to talk or control the next session. By sitting and listening, the member will be reminded that a good leader is first of all a good follower.

3. Attendance is vital for the group. If a group member has to miss a meeting, at the next meeting, the member should ask for the forgiveness of the group and explain the nature of the absence. Every group member brings something unique to the group. I believe that no more than one absence should be allowed because the groups need to be structured. Discipline shows respect. If more than one absence is necessary, that group member should withdraw with the pledge to keep the confidences of the group.

4. Each group will be receiving new members throughout the life of the group. The only constant for the group should be the size of 8-12 members. A healthy group will have conflict. It is how the conflict is addressed and dealt with that determines the health of the group.

5. Some groups keep an extra empty chair to symbolize that the only constant is change. The empty chair serves to remind the group to stay open to receive new members.

Basic group techniques:

Introduction of group members (we’ve included links for ice-breakers from the Internet that you may want to use).

The Changemaker Personality Profile may be used to learn similarities and differences among the group members. Have group members get into other smaller groups with the individual personality labels from the test.

Music during group (see separate music list). Music will be played during the physical and meditation techniques.

Stress reduction—good health is a feeling of well-being.

Recognizing stress: physical signs—emotional—overindulgence

Learning to relax in middle of stress—how one responds to stress

Relaxation techniques: place to relax

Breathing

Body Techniques

Massage

Yoga

Group may include meditation session

Group may include yoga warm-up

Changemaker Labels

Meditation techniques: breathing-getting centered—mindfulness—

Creative visualizations

Affirmations

Chakra

Aromatherapy

Hypnotherapy

Self-hypnosis

Autogenic training

As the hero in 10 Million Ways to Die says, “I never knew that I lived in a world that I hadn’t created.” That is why the addict experiences such anger at having to give up the addiction. The addict believes that his/her using only affects him/her and is no one else’ business. In reality, the addiction is affecting everyone in the addict’s life.

In the self-discovery model of group healing, everyone in the group is a student. The sharing of power in relationships defines the health of the relationship. No hierarchy is needed when people enter groups to help each other. The leadership of the group can be shared by all on a rotation basis.

The group members in the self-discovery group must agree to follow guidelines that the group chooses. The main goal of the group should be short-term with the idea of splitting up to form new groups. Some people may choose to recycle–repeat the same group–before branching out to their own group. After 2-3 times recycling, the other group members may help with the formation of new group to a group member who needs more support.

The Mental Health Institute claims 20% of the population suffers from mental illness. These people generally can benefit from mental health counseling. In America, with all our wealth, many of these poor souls wander our streets as the homeless. They have no medical insurance so mental health care is a sometime thing. Since most of the population isn’t mentally ill, education groups can be a great source of comfort and growth for those not needing therapy.

When I was getting sober in the late 70s-early 80s, two Catholic priests were very instrumental in my recovery. Having been reared Presbyterian in a small town, I had no experience with other religions or faiths. I am grateful that I had the courage to try new ways because it began a journey I still enjoy of trying all the spiritual techniques and/or ideas that I seek out.

The two priests were Father Martin (who was a recovering alcoholic with a ministry of “chalk talks” that opened up worlds of acceptance and understanding) and Father John Powell (a retired Loyola Jesuit priest who has written 21 books and is the 2^nd best-selling Christian writer).

Father Martin’s Chalk Talk movie was widely used in DUI classes in Florida. I was fortunate to have been able to teach classes every week for five years to multiple offenders. The course was 12 weeks long with the focus on alcoholism. I was also fortunate to have seen Father Martin in person several times. I was only sober a few months the first time I saw him. During the talk that evening, he said that you go after the kind of recovery that you think you deserve. What a concept! I had just assumed that the same things happened to everyone in recovery. Instead I started to forge new paths for myself. In my next post, I will write about Father John Powell.