Spring Newsletter from Maureen Brine & Associates Limited
Spring, oh Glorious Spring!
A Celebration of New Life

What a great time to Celebrate Aliveness...
And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"


For me springtime is...

a time of refreshing renewal. Everything looks beautiful to me... people, animals, nature. It is as if I am looking at the world with new eyes, with wonderment and hope. My energy level awakens to new heights and I fall in love all over again in the excitement of new growth

The mystery of spring...

What is it about spring that arouses love and hope? Is it the earth coming alive with new growth? Is the inspiration and miracle of new life arising from underneath the long and sleeping winter? Whatever it is - spring does remind us of love and gratitude.
Why not use this new season as a time to refresh your relationship. Here are some ideas for a spring tune-up

For Our Couples

  • A dialogue a day will keep the Imago Therapist away.
  • Caring behaviors everyday will endear you to your partner.
  • An ounce of curiosity when your partner is talking will keep you connected.
  • Honouring differences when your partner shows up as the "other" will expand your consciousness.
  • Have a date night once a week - increase the fun and pleasure between you and feel your connection grow.
  • Attend a "Getting the Love You Want" workshop if you have not already done so.
 
Love is in the air...

For Our Singles

  • Create a relationship vision for yourself including a description of your dream partner.
  • Increase your consciousness as you are getting ready for a relationship by reading "Keeping the Love You Find" or attending a workshop.
  • Practice your best Imago relationship skills with friends and family.
  • Get out and enjoy life; try new and different activities; don't put your life on hold.
  • Create a plan for personal growth that will stretch you.

Create a plan for personal growth....

Harville Hendrix is coming to Toronto:

Save the dates:
  • June 17 : Public Talk 7:00pm to 9:00pm
  • June 18 & 19 Clinical Training
call Yvonne for more information & Stay tuned.
In springtime, love is carried on the breeze. Watch out for flying passion or kisses whizzing by your head.

~Terri Guillemets

Wishing you and your family all the joy that spring can bring
from Maureen, Sandra, Joan & Yvonne


Spring Forward by Sandra Pribanic

Most couples, if not all, are faced with issues of autonomy and connection. "Must I sacrifice essential parts of myself to be connected", is often a concern brought by couples to counseling. Many couples find themselves in an ongoing stormy and stuck cycle. Needless to say, in addition to being stuck in the storm, both parties experience a lot of pain.
So loving, in a real human way, might *sometimes* come interspersed with some painful moments. Sometimes such moments, the "wearing and tearing" process of loving, are easier to deal with when looked at as a map, pointing the couple in a particular direction that is important for their individual growth as well as the growth of their relationship. Sometimes, those places of hurt need to hear many "I'm sorry's", be gently held, and are even challenging: Which difficult parts of my partner's character make-up am I willing to work with and empathically hold in myself? Now, that is a hard one for many of us to face. But face it we will. You might find yourself surprised once you discover that you are not alone in that painful place. Luckily, a really amazing compass to use in order to find your way through the stuck-and-stormy-map is Imago. Oftentimes after a session couples leave with a sense of immediate relief and a deeper connection they couldn't have dream of when they entered the session that same day. As many of you know, Imago offers very specific techniques and tools one can use outside of the session, too, enabling your continuous growth. Imago is not just for those who are coupled - did you know that Imago therapy offers a very specific approach to self-exploration? And really knowing yourself, on a deep intimate level, is what truly allows us to fully be with someone else.
Whether you are currently in sessions, one of the *happy-campers* practicing Imago dialogue on the as-needed-basis, or contemplating getting into Imago - as a couple or individually, may this spring open up many bonding moments - with yourselves, and with others.
On that note, here is a passage from a very special story - "The Velveteen rabbit", by Margery Williams. It speaks so clearly about what the real love is. Hope you'll enjoy it:



"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."






For the Curious at Heart - Imago Connects!
Already hooked on Imago and have some friends and family that you'd like to get introduced to Imago but not sure how to do it?
Wanting to "polish" your Imago-skills, or interested in taking your relationship to the next level?
Wanting to understand relationship patterns and dynamics?
Come join us for a 3h introduction
to Imago Therapy & Theory.
Next Imago Connects seminar is
April 28th 2010
at 6:30pm.
Connect. We will show you how!


Love's Dance

i saw myself when my eyes first beheld your face
i saw my own joy, my own sadness, my own soulfulness
you are like a mirror reflecting all of my personal growth up until this point back to me....

if you are feeling what i am feeling then what a blessing this is that we have come across one another
but i will not be carried away by the stars in your eyes
to the heavens in my dreams
i would rather stay grounded in the roots of our honest conversations
where new beginnings can have a chance to blossom and stretch upwards towards sunlit tomorrows
i will not abandon my heart in pursuit of fleeting moments of perceived aliveness
but rather stay close to my heart so that i can feel it beat like the most beautiful song when it is close to yours....
i will not become blind and deaf to the realties that exist around us for fear of losing something sacred
that i would rather see and hear the truth just as it is..so that the opportunity of true sacredness will have a chance to manifest within my life
Love has taught me well so that I may join in its dance .....I have passed through the painful threshold of self searching.....and all along love has been there waiting for me to start the music.......

By Karen Azlen.

Maureen Brine's Workshop Dates for 2010

Getting the Love You Want Couples Workshop 2010

May 14, 15 & 16
   
June 26 & 27
   
August 13, 14 & 15
   
August 20, 21 & 22 Halifax
   
September 24, 25 & 26
   
October 15, 16 & 17
   
November 26, 27 & 28
   




Keeping the Love You Find for Individuals

June 04, 05 & 06
November 12, 13 & 14
   

 

 

Basic Clinical Training Dates for 2008/09/10

Toronto Group 17

Week I: Jan. 13 to 16, 2010
Week II: April 07 to 10, 2010
Week III: June 09 to 12, 2010

Vancouver Group 2

Week I: Nov. 18 to 21, 2009
Week II: Feb, 02 to 06, 2010
Week III: May 05 to 08, 2010

Toronto Group 18
Week I: Oct. 18 to 21, 2010
Week II: Jan. 26 to 29, 2011
Week III: March 23 to 26, 2011

Calgary Group 2
Week I: June 22 to 25, 2010
Week II: Sept. 14 to 17, 2010
Week III: Nov. 22 to 25, 2010

Characterological Growth in Vancouver
May 1, 2 & 3

Workshop Presenters Training in Toronto or Atlanta
Week I Sept. 15 - 18/10
Week II Nov. 10 - 13/10
Week III Feb.23 - 26/11

 
 
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