Archive of Articles

Click on each article title to read.

• Seven Reasons to Hire a Retirement Coach
• Fact Sheet: The Changing Face
  of Retirement
• Psychotherapy as a Transformative Process
• Finding the Right Professional
• Why Are The Simplest Things
  So Hard?
• How Psychotherapy Helps People Recover from Depression
• How To Be Calm in a
  Stressed-Out World:
  Part 1   Part 2
• How to Become A Creator and Never Make Another Resolution
• The Power of Coaching
• The 10 Topics To Talk About
  with a Coach
  

What is Transformation?

Transformation is about change, a change of consciousness. Sometimes transformation has the quality of the laser, or of lightning. Most times, transformation is a gradual shifting like the snake shedding her old skin and growing into the new. Transformation is based in a consciousness that focuses on cooperativeness and harmony, the more mystical and magical aspects of life, the power of our connection to the earth and to each other, and right brain openness that is a foundation of creativity and inventiveness.

Tools of Transformation

Transformation occurs when we use psychotechnologies for change. We have always created technologies for transformation. In our ancient histories (to some extent in our current one), sacred ritual and ceremony, storytelling and the passing on of knowledge and skills by oral tradition were technologies of transformation. These experiences awakened us and guided us through the birthing of our new selves. Our current psychotechnologies include a whole array of arts and sciences for the body, mind, emotions and spirit. There are countless body disciplines and therapies such as massage, yoga, Tai Chi, karate, dance and movement therapies, to name just a few, that shift the energies in the body, support the release of old patterns, and help us to be able to live more comfortably in physical form. Approaches like deep relaxation, biofeedback and autogenic training help our bodies to be in a relaxed and calm state of consciousness. Meditation techniques help put our minds and energies into a calm and heightened state of awareness.

Traditional and specialized psychotherapies support our movement through the process of transformation. Approaches like EMDR, Eidetic Imagery, and Neurofeedback change the patterning in the brain so that old, traumatic based patterns can release and be replaced with more transformative ones. And, there have long existed self-help and mutual-help networks whose rules or steps include looking within and paying attention to your conscious processes, acknowledging that you can choose healthier behaviors, and be supported by a "higher power". Experiential seminars like Life Training and Lifespring attempt to break the cultural trance and open individuals to new choices. There are also feminist consciousness raising groups and other experiences, such as Dialogue Racism, that awaken awareness and alter old patterns.

The whole array of what we call metaphysical practices, magical arts, ritual, and spirituality connect us to realities beyond those of third dimension. Physically challenging and exhilarating activities, such as skydiving, scuba diving, rock climbing, and zipline, can cause a qualitative shift in our sense of being alive. Wilderness retreats and sensual experiences that connect us to nature and to our nature foster self-discovery and a sense of timelessness.

Stages of Transformation

1. Awakening
2. Exploration
3. Letting Go of the Old
4. Birthing of a New Self/Life
5. Movement toward Integration
6. Coming into Fullness

Characteristics of the Transformed Life

In the transformation process, we become artists and scientists of our own lives.

In the transformed life, our perceptions are changed, we become whole-seeing and creative.

We become playful and recapture the childlike qualities of being human.

We let go of our denial and rigidity and open to flow.

The transformed self has access to new tools, gifts, and sensibilities.

Like the artist, it sees patterns, it finds meaning, and its own originality.

Like a good scientist, the transformed self experiments, speculates, invents and relishes unexpected discoveries.

Awake to the impact of culture, the transformed self attempts to understand diversity with great curiosity and interest.

It understands that diversity is the reality of endless human possibilities.

The transformed self is a student of the bonds of community, yet it knows about realms beyond linear time and limitations.

The transformed self is a visionary, imaging alternative futures and designing its own realities.

The transformed self is successful in the "stuff of life", and is co-creator of all that is transforming our world.

— Marilyn Ferguson, 1976

TransformationWorks is here to support your personal
growth and transformation.