Day for Men and Women September 25th, 2010

There are so many stresses and strains that impact the lives of men and women as individuals these days. Unrelenting pressures tear at the fabric of intimate relationships and families causing people to become confused leading to a tendency to lock and load into unremitting conflict. This breakdown of systems frequently leads to the relationship coming apart at the seams. What’s the answer when we are questioning which way to turn for help?

Science of Mind teacher, Ernest Holmes, suggests that: “Love is a language which is universal, interpreted through every living soul and understood by all. Love will find the solution to every problem, will answer every question, and will ultimately vanquish every foe. Love begets tolerance; tolerance begets understanding, an understanding which is able to put itself in the other person’s place.”

On Saturday, September 25th from 8:30 to 4:30 at Holy Spirit Retreat Center we will convene for: Men and Women: Autonomy, Interdependence and the Co-Creative Alliance. An invitation is extended to men and women individually or as couples to join in a day to safely open themselves to an exploration of the significant themes that seem to consume people’s lives today and to drink deeply from the well of tolerance, understanding, compassion and love. This colloquium is designed to be informative and interactive and especially heartfelt.

I have invited five guest presenters to join me in facilitating this event. Three men and three women will hold the space for what will no doubt be a wonderful community gathering.

Catherine DeMonte, MFT has a private practice in Calabasis where she treats children, couples and families. She helps people address and heal the blocks and wounds that keep them from being their most authentic Selves. Her gifts include warm empathy and the ability to get to the heart of the matter. It's often said about her that she can hear what isn't said. When working with couples she doesn't take sides. She is on the "side" of the relationship. Catherine is passionate about helping people return to the feeling that inspired couples to get together in the first place. Her presentation will focus on: Balancing Our Lives as Women. She suggests that finding balance can be quite challenging for a woman these days and can spill over into the relationship with the man in her life. She states, “Having time for our selves while feeling solid & whole emotionally, physically, and spiritually is difficult for a lot of women. It seems something always has to give. How do you find time & balance while maintaining high quality relationships with your partner, children and others?” Catherine will inspire women, who juggle many demanding roles and responsibilities in today’s fast-paced and stressful society, to learn to live joyfully while leveraging their two most precious resources, time and energy! It sounds like men will benefit from this information as well. www.catherinedemonte.ocm

Dr. Bruce Derman has been a friend and colleague for over twenty years. He is a clinical psychologist in private practice for forty-two years in Woodland hills and Santa Monica who specializes in couple relationships, sex therapy, eating disorders, divorce mediation and coaching. He has written three books on relationships including, We'd Have a Great Relationship if it Weren't for you. Bruce will present on the theme of his new book, The Hole, and the role that “the hole” plays in couple relationships. The Hole deals with the greatest fear that couples have...emptiness. Couples often struggle with the unending ups and downs of trying to fill their individual holes from the outside with things, such as money, obsessive sex, porn, affairs, emotional tirades, powering, and many other things rather then accepting the nature of their emptiness. Bruce will share with the group members his perspective that emptiness lies beneath the core of everyone's journey and understanding and accepting this concept is crucial to finding peace in one's life and ultimately one’s intimate relationship. The alternative to this quest is constant negative consequences or a lifetime of chasing and defending images leading to the possibility of divorce, as each person seeks out new answers to their bottomless holes.
www.relationshipdoctor.net

Gina Cloud is a deeply devoted teacher, author, speaker, dancer, and mother of a teenaged daughter. She works with women and men, facilitating deep transformational work using the alchemical blending of techniques from all over the world. She is also passionate about empowering young girls and her work has a strong focus on the biological cycles of women. She is deeply committed to teaching self-empowerment to others in a way that brings forth each person’s authentic self, expressed in true beauty and radiating through the heart. www.GinaCloud.com

Gina Cloud will be focusing her presentation on the subject of her book, W.O.M.A.N.: A New Definition. W.O.M.A.N. is an acronym for W.ild, O.pen, M.agical, A.uthentically-empowered, N.ectar. From a spiritual perspective, there is a refocusing in the world today towards the Sacred Feminine, yet many women are living a more masculine existence, which in turn impacts men and the roles we play with each other. This new definition is a spark that could facilitate the process of transformation and the reclamation of balance in the polarities between women and men.

Dan Franklin, MFT, J.D. is the Director of Counseling Services for the Men’s Center of Los Angeles and in private practice as a California state licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with offices in Beverly Hills and Woodland Hills. He specializes within his general practice in couples counseling and intimacy issues, promoting personal and inter-personal empowerment and rapport building within relationships.

As is probably always the case, we are doomed to live in interesting times. With a shaky economy and changing lifestyle and career choices and imperatives for men and women, the dynamics of relationships are more complicated than ever. Dan Franklin’s portion of the program will explore the impact that expectations and reality are having on men in particular, their identities and self-worth and the impact on male/female relationships.
Andrea Fisher considers herself to be a strategic partner assisting others to heal from hardships and personal challenges. She has a lot of passion for supporting men as they traverse a path leading to an opening of their hearts and an expansion of their minds as they access their hidden potential.

Andrea Fisher is a potent speaker who assists others to heal from hardships and personal challenges. Through her own journey and introspective process she has gained an insight and compassion that she freely shares. She has a lot of passion for supporting men as they traverse a path leading to an opening of their hearts and an expansion of their minds as they access their hidden potential. She offers a safe, inviting presence and playfulness that is sure to inspire.

Andrea is a life coach and student of psychology working with men and their feelings. Through her own personal transformation of overcoming great pain and suffering she has been a catalyst for others in helping them to face their own challenges. She now serves as an inspiring coach and an insightful guide through sharing her courage and commitment to help others.

Stephen J. Johnson, Ph.D., MFT is licensed Psychotherapist in private practice since 1972. He is a gifted facilitator and a master guide for the experiential journey. Using his skills as a psychotherapist and the sensibility of a wisdom teacher, he creates a context that allows a freedom of expression, an access to one’s pain, and a doorway to transformation. He acts as a gatekeeper to personal expansion, guide for the spiritual journey and mentor to the opening heart. Dr. Johnson stands in the forefront of the developing field of Male Psychology and Gender Dynamics. www.DrStephenJohnson.com

In my work specifically with men in relationship I have focused on helping them become more Mindful. In so doing, men have become more discerning about the tools and skills that help to stabilize and reinvigorate their intimate relationships. I will focus my contribution to the day on Mindful Relationships and how true soul mates arrive at the realization that their relationship serves as a crucible that is durable enough to allow the right alchemical elements to coalesce maximizing the potential for enlightenment to occur. At the heart of most spiritual teachings is the understanding that Sacred Companionship is one of the two pure paths leading to personal liberation and evolved consciousness. It’s not an easy rode to hoe but the journey along the path promises big results.

At the heart of it, both men and women want the same thing from each other in a relationship: to feel "gotten" and understood. But because we approach getting our needs met differently, both men and women are too often left feeling like their partners don't understand or appreciate them. So many men say that they don't feel valued by their women, and so many women say they don't feel cherished by their men. How can we bridge that gap? How can both get their needs met? The intention of this colloquium is to provide a safe space for men and women to learn from and to support each other authentically and compassionately as we delve into the issues.


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