Welcome to The Seasoned Path

Welcome to The Seasoned Path. In each newsletter I will share some of my musings along the path as well as inspirations gained from those who have traveled this way before me. My hope is to tickle your curiosity, heighten your awareness, and encourage you to become an environmentalist for your soul.

In this Issue:

Quote of the Month 
The Pursuit of Happiness
Nature's Coaching Tips
Going Green Tip of the Month
Readings for the Journey
Upcoming events:Labyrinths,Horses, Beaches,and More

Quote of the Month

 Realize that true happiness lies within you.
Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in
the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting,
but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is
a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.
Og Mandino

The Pursuit Of Happiness

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. US Declaration of Independence

Every year come July, we celebrate our wonderful and unique Declaration of Independence. I live right outside Philadelphia and frequently drive by the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, so this document is near and dear to me on many levels. One phrase that I have been thinking about lately is "the pursuit of happiness." As a Life Coach and Retreat Leader, much of my work is helping people define what happiness means to them and how to invite it into their lives. So what does it mean that it is our God given right to pursue happiness.

Webster's Dictionary defines pursuit as "the act of following with haste either in sport or in hostility." Obviously, that isn't what our fore fathers were referring to as an inalienable right. Constantly chasing after something inherently implies never achieving it and going after it in the spirit of competition and enmity is to me the antithesis of harmony and happiness.

Looking further, I learned that at the time this document was written, the word pursue commonly meant "to practice regularly, to make a habit." That rang a bell with me. I've been reading about the brain's plasticity and neuroscientists now believe that the brain can rewire itself to think, feel, and act in different ways. Dr. Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin has even said, “Based on what we know of the plasticity of the brain, we can think of things like happiness and compassion as skills that are no different from learning to play and instrument or tennis… it is possible to train our brains to be happy.” Habitual thoughts and behaviors have worn groves in the neural pathways of our brain. The pursuit of happiness, therefore, means practicing happiness regularly, making it a habit, and reprogramming our brains by creating new emotional groves.

Another common misbelieve is that happiness is a result of the perfect external conditions, achievements, and acquisitions. Not far from Independence hall, at the University of Pennsylvania, Martin Seligman's work in the field of Positive Psychology has shown that actually only 10% of our capacity for happiness is dependant upon external circumstances! 50% percent of our happiness propensity is genetic and 50% is learned. Of the 50% learned, only 10% is determined by our circumstances. The other 40% is determined by our habitual thoughts, feeling, words, and actions. That 40% is what we have to power to change!

So how can we learn to be happy? It takes practice, practice, practice. Here are three exercises to get started: the POH of the Pursuit of Happiness

1. Power of positive thinking: Choose to stop your negative self talk. You have about 60,000 autonomic thoughts a day. 95% of these thoughts are the same thoughts you had yesterday, and the day before that. 80% of these habitual thoughts are negative! Our negative self-talk is so powerful, it overwhelms all other input. It therefore takes numerous positive experiences to overcome a single negative one.
You know not to believe everything you read. Well, don’t believe everything you think either. Every time you start brow beating yourself, choose to consciously flip the switch and instead give voice to your true self that knows you’re competent, intelligent, motivated, and good. For each negative thought, state three positive qualities that you possess and start creating a new neural pathway.

2. Open your heart and share the best of you with others: Some people mistakenly believe that prioritizing ones own happiness is self indulgent but it's quite the contrary. Happy people are more giving, outgoing, flexible and creative, where as unhappy people are more self-consumed and socially withdrawn.  So which comes first the chicken or the egg? Does serving others make you happy or does being happy better enable you to be of service? What difference does it make! Just reach out and start giving!

3. Honor the Self: Be gentle and forgiving toward your self. Practice self kindness. You cannot give what do you not have or have never experienced. First, you need to compassionatly embrace your Self; that means unconditionally loving and approving of your innermost being. This is the keystone that supports all gateways toward personal growth, fulfillment, and happiness.

Aristotle said, "Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." True happiness is not a fleeting pleasure but a sense of wholeness, fulfillment, and the glorious  blossoming of our innate potential. This is our inalienable right as human beings and to pursue that end is our duty. 

Nature’s Coaching Tips

Under a sky the color of pea soup
she is looking at her work growing away there
actively, thickly like grapevines or pole beans
as things grow in the real world, slowly enough.
If you tend them properly, if you mulch, if you water,
if you provide birds that eat insects a home and winter food,
if the sun shines and you pick off caterpillars,
if the praying mantis comes and the ladybugs and the bees,
then the plants flourish, but at their own internal clock.

Connections are made slowly, sometimes they grow underground.
You cannot tell always by looking what is happening.
More than half the tree is spread out in the soil under your feet.
Penetrate quietly as the earthworm that blows no trumpet.
Fight persistently as the creeper that brings down the tree.
Spread like the squash plant that overruns the garden.
Gnaw in the dark and use the sun to make sugar.

Weave real connections, create real nodes, build real houses.
Live a life you can endure: Make love that is loving.
Keep tangling and interweaving and taking more in,
a thicket and bramble wilderness to the outside but to us
interconnected with rabbit runs and burrows and lairs.

Live as if you liked yourself, and it may happen:
reach out, keep reaching out, keep bringing in.
This is how we are going to live for a long time: not always,
for every gardener knows that after the digging, after the planting,
after the long season of tending and growth, the harvest comes.

by Margie Piercy

Going Green Tip of the Month

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which is our nations strongest conservation tool for protecting our rivers. We are already witnessing the climate changes of global warming with an increase of droughts and floods across our country. The floodplains and wetlands of  healthy rivers are our best protection against both disasters. They act like natural sponges soaking up the floodwaters while also softening the impact of drier times on both the wildlife and our drinking supply.
Recently I read an article about how the passion and effort of one man saved The Susquehanna River in my home stae of Pennsylvania. Through his efforts to stop the building of an inflatable dam on the river, he managed to have the Susquehanna listed as #1 on the America's Most Endnagered Rivers list and the national attention stopped the proposed project.
At present,The National Wild and Sencic Rivers Act protects more than 11,000 miles of 168 rivers in 38 states. Currently there are more than a dozens bills in Congress that would add rivers in California, Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming. To learn more about these bills and how you can protect these valuable national resources go to www.AmericanRivers.org/EndangeredRivers.

Readings for the Journey

The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living , by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler M.D.

Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment , by Martin E.P. Seligman PhD.

Taming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way, by Rick Carson

Upcoming Events

FINDING YOUR PATH: Lessons of the Labyrinth (Friday July 18th 1:00-3:30pm) An afternoon of reflection with a walking meditation of an outdoor labyrinth and other reflective activities. Fee: $30 Where: Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. Swartmore, Pa.

HORSE SENSE (September 18th): This is a unique opportunity to connect with your Self through a magnificent animal. The day will include a beginning riding lesson, time to groom your horse, and personal visioning activities. Where: Thorncroft Equestrian Center, Malvern, Pa. Time: 10- 3:30 Investment: $80

AN INDIAN SUMMER GETAWAY IN CAPE MAY: Sunday, Oct. 5-Tuesday Oct.7th Life Coaches Patt Osborne and Karin Marcus will team up again for 2 nights and 3 days offering a combination of outdoor adventures and personal growth activities. Save the dates, details to be announced.

PURPOSE CLARITY TELECLASS (Oct. 8th -29th Wednesdays 7-8pmEST) Are you searching for your purpose in life? Are you looking for a new direction? Are you re-evaluating your priorities? Are you craving more meaning in your life? Then you will benefit from this Purpose Clarity Program. It will help you rediscover your inspired self and identify your future direction. Your Investment: $200 includes EBook, 4/1hr group calls, and 1 personal coaching session.

WALKING WITH INTENTION (Friday, Nov. 6): Enjoy a 3.5 mile hike exploring the beautiful John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. Our focus will be on reconnecting with your life purpose and living with intention.
Time: 10:00 to 3:00pm
Fee: $70 early registration by Oct. 23rd $60

PATHWAYS TO SELF HEALING: A Women's Retreat to Nurture the Body, Mind and Spirit
(March 15-21, 2009 ):Join us for 6 days of renewal, reflection, and adventure at the Maho Bay Eco-Resort in the Caribbean.
East meets west in this unique program with Asian Body Therapist Linda Marrical teaching the art of self acupressure, and Life Coach Karin Marcus guiding women to become environmentalist of their souls.
Your Investment: $1,380 includes 6 days of lodging and all retreat activities.
Easy Payment Plans: Save $50 with single payment by cash or check $1,330.Or pay by installments $100 non-refundable deposit to reserve you spot followed by $320 x4 payments

The Small Print

To schedule a complimentary 30 minute coaching phone session, email me at Karin@SteppingOutCoaching.com or call 610-667-5247

Visit my website for more coaching info www.SteppingOutCoaching.com

A Note About My Recommendations
I provide links in this newsletter to products and services I am offering or I have personally found valuable. If you are ever disappointed with one of these recommendations, please let them and me know. If they don't make it right, I will.

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