Coaching your self by asking Questions

A new Year, a new month and this year I like to introduce you to one of the most powerful coaching tools – questioning your self.

Using questions as a coaching tool was first and foremost used by one of the greatest Coaches of all times – Socrates, the father of Western Philosophy. His approach of using questions to explore moral concepts and common believes came to be called the Socratic Method and is still one of the most popular teaching tools to help students develop critical thinking.

Here are 5 questions you may ask yourself to start of the year:

1. If you were to live your Life the way you really like, what is the first change you would make?
2. What do you want more of in your Life? (make a list)
3. What do you want less of in your Life? (make a list)
4. What would you try if you knew that you could not fail?
5. What is the one thing you could change in the way you feel, act or live that would give you more peace?

...and some of Socrates Wisdom to inspire you

Socrates was considered a wise man, in fact the Oracle in Delphi declared him to be the wisest man of all. When Socrates heard this he was amused and curious at the same time. What did the Oracle mean? Was this a joke, a challenge? He decided to investigate. The following months he talked and questioned all the smart and influential men in Athens. He questioned them on their believes, their concepts and teachings…and by questioning them in his special way he revealed this: those men’s knowledge was very superficial, they did not really know what they proclaimed to know. And the worse part was that they did not realize it. So now he understood the Oracle’s declaration – He was wise, but only in so far as that he knew that he knew nothing.

- Convictions when held too tightly, blind us in a way that traps us within our own opinions. In other words, without the capacity to question our selves, the possibility of real thinking ceases. If we are not able to question our own ideas we cannot free ourselves from self-imposed limitations -

with my best wishes for 2009 and enjoy finding out more about your self!

Christiane

Wishing you Peace and Joy ....

..and wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations. May 2009 be full of love and joy, even or especially in your darkest moments. May you always find the strength and insights to handle whatever comes your way. May you express your self with compassion and humor and may you enjoy peace, peace, peace in your heart even when your mind is bouncing up and down.

with all my love !

Winnie-the-Pooh helps us understand the Universe

I just like to share this small extract from one of my favorite books 'The Tao of Pooh'. In his book 'The Self-Aware Universe' author Ami Goswami Ph.D.used this charming story below to help us understand that according to the new physics everything is considered an extension of ourselves.

He observes that 'In our search for meaning, structure and reality we are often facing the same puzzle that confronts Winnie the Pooh here:

'Hallo' said Piglet 'what are you doing?'
'Hunting' said Pooh.
'Hunting what?'
'Tracking something' said Winnie the Pooh very misteriously.
'Tracking what?' said Piglet coming closer
'That's just what I ask myself. I ask myself, What?'
'What do you think you'll answer?'
'I shall have to wait until I catch up with it,' said Winnie-the-Pooh
'Now look there.' He pointed to the round in front of him. 'What do you see there?'
'Tracks' said Piglet. 'Paw-marks'. He gave a little squeak of excitement. 'Oh Pooh! Do you think it's a-----a------Woozle?'
'It may be.' said Pooh. 'Sometime it is and sometimes it isn't. You can never tell with paw-marks.'
'Wait a moment.' said Winnie-the-Pooh, holding up his paw. He sat down and thought, in the most thoughtful way he could think. Then he fitted his paw into one of the Tracks....and then he scratched his nose twice, and stood up.
'Yes' said Winnie-the-Pooh. 'I see now' said Winnie-the-Pooh. I have been foolish and deluded,' said he, 'and I am a Bear of No Brain at ALL'.

Recording the Less Stress, More Life CD

My dream is becoming more and more reality. I just finished producing my Less Stress, More Life CD and the process was inspiring and at the same time much more complex than I had first anticipated. Luckily I was blessed with a wonderful sound engineer who coached me and really wanted me to succeed. The most exiting part was that I decided to record the active meditation live, with an audience and many people answered the call and participated. It was moving and fun at the same time.

The energy after the public talk was such that I found the perfect flat within only 15 minutes of leaving the hotel where I spoke. It felt like magic.

Having enjoyed it so much that I am planning another public talk and meditation for December. Come along if you like and live near Athens, Greece. Just send me an email at christiane@christianepohl.com for the details.

I have a Dream

The time has come to branch out and expand my business. From the beginning my dream has been to help as many people as possible to feel more peaceful by better understanding themselves and others.

My dream also features less stress and more creativity, joy, success and great relationships in people’s lives. My ideal clients are peoeple who want to grow, explore and lead the life of their dreams.

You may ask what is my motivation? My ultimate motivation is 'Peace'. I would like to see more peace; peace at the workplace, between people, in the world.

My coach once said to me ‘the bigger the dream the better’ when it comes to coaching people. I think she was right. Big dreams make for big outcomes.

I am on my way to make my dream come reality. The next steps? Taking my 'Less Stress, More Life' workshop on the road, to take it around the world and to write a book on how to stress less and live more....peacefully.

What is your dream? If it is similar to mine then come and join me; together we can make it come true.

Come dream with me,

Christiane