SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

Rekindle the Flame
A Day of Renewal and Re-inspiration
For the Helping Professional

Mother Teresa once suggested that “Great work is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.”  Clearly we must be a lantern for ourselves before we can do the noble and humbling work of illuminating the path for others.  Yet how often is the expression “I am burned out” heard on the winds within the workplace, particularly among those whose job it is to rekindle the flame of other people – be it in the classroom, the social services agency or the medical environment? 

Contrary to popular opinion, the antidote to burnout is not always rest – perhaps it is the sacred fire of purpose and passion that can only be lit and rekindled from the hearth of one’s soul.

Background

For over 15 years, Denise Bissonnette has been developing programs and delivering seminars to better equip and empower professionals in the field of employment and training.

Believing that much of what has traditionally taken place in the name of Job Development and Career Counseling has been nothing short of “vocational violence” for the recipients of these services, Denise’s work has been uniquely underpinned by her uncompromising belief that all work, no matter how mundane, can and should be sacred - that we must strive to imbue everyone’s work with passion and purpose – that everyone should be supported in the journey to discover and to bring their own unique gifts to the workplace.

Over and over, participants in Denise’s seminars report that, in addition to the professional skills that they have acquired, they have been affirmed, inspired and renewed in their own commitment to “make a difference” through their jobs. The “Rekindle the Flame” seminar has grown from this foundation.

While this seminar would challenge any participant to examine and reconsider the direction of their jobs and careers, Rekindle the Flame is uniquely designed for people in the helping professions.

Overview

Drawn largely from her book, The Wholehearted Journey: Bringing Qualities of Soul to Everyday Life and Work, Denise Bissonnette offers a dynamic, inspiring and life-altering workshop experience!  Designed to re-ignite the power, passion and purpose which originally drew people to the helping professions, this one day-intensive seminar intertwines poetry, parables, and practical applications to put soul back into the everyday realities of life on the job.

Celebratory and affirming, Rekindle the Flame is a one-day journey into the roots of our working lives and our quest for purpose.  With warmth, humility and humor, Denise delivers ideas and insights from the world’s great wisdom traditions in a way that is easy to understand, process and apply to the 21^st century workplace. Rekindle the Flame traverses a rich landscape of teaching, story-telling, poetry and group activities. It enjoins each of us to find, in our work, an expression of our own gifts, our own purpose, and our own joy – all in the context of our common vocation in the “helping professions”.

It is said that the coal that has been an ember is easily kindled.  This workshop provides the gentle but deliberate breath that can set the fire within the hearts and spirits of the helping professional aglow.

Purposes and Benefits

This workshop will inspire and equip the helping professional to:  

• Develop a sense of solid ground amidst chaos and change; 
• Celebrate skills and bring those unique gifts to the table;
• Increase productivity through a renewed sense of purpose and passion;
• Clarify hopes, dreams and purposes on the winding path of livelihood;
• Recover a sense of personal power on and off the job;
• Change focus from reaping to sowing, from getting to giving;
• “Seize the day” by discerning what is important from what is urgent;  
• Recognize “teachers in disguise” and grow from adversity;
• Choose faith over fear and walk the path of the everyday hero;
• See through eyes of gratitude, joy and wonder;
• Practice diversity from the bottom up, acknowledge interdependence with others and become a more creative team player;
• Cultivate a healthy balance between life and work;
• Transform mundane habits into rituals and dedicate each day to purpose;
• Restore faith in the wonderful possibilities and privileges of engaging in the human experience through the interplay of life and work.

 Materials

Participants must have the Rekindle the Flame Workbook - consisting of practical exercises, activities, questions, quotes and excerpts derived from Denise’s newest book, The Wholehearted Journey. Optional for Participants: Copies of Denise's new CD - Poems for the Wholehearted Journey.

Target Audience

Anyone and everyone who works within the helping profession  - including Health and Human Services, Social Services, Employment and Training, Education, Legal Services, Counseling and the Medical Professions.  

More Information On This Seminar...

Interested in having Denise conduct a Rekindle the Flame seminar as in-service training for your staff? Or as a hosted event for your community? Please contact us for details at info@diversityworld.com.

Participant Comments

( Some of the first feedback on this seminar was sent to us in a rainbow of colors. We liked that so much that we are keeping that format!)

Thank you Denise. You have helped me to make some important decisions on the direction of my life. I made the terrible mistake of leaving a job that I loved, for a job that was more "secure" and I left my life's purpose and have been unhappy ever since. I loved your conference and was very inspired. You moved me to tears many times! I can't wait to read your book! Thank you for touching my life!

It was a magical day that I think will stay with us. 

This day gave me the spark to make a more conscious effort to bring my best to my job.

This workshop gave me a sense of urgency about living my life with renewed purpose.  I will bring a new spirit to my work on Monday morning.

The thought of dedicating an event or day etc. has been great for me and I don't want to lose the momentum.

Quotes to Consider:

 To the dull mind all nature is leaden.
To the illumined mind the whole world
burns and sparkles with light.  
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

When you do something,
you should burn yourself completely,
like a good bonfire,
leaving no trace of yourself. 
– Suzuki Roshi 

Do not try to satisfy your vanity
by teaching a great many things.
Awaken people’s curiosity. 
It is enough to open minds;
do not overload them. 
– Anatole France

Yesterday is ashes; tomorrow is wood.
Only today does the fire burn brightly. 
- Old Eskimo saying

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. 
– Father James Kellar

If I could only remember that the days
were not bricks to be laid row on row,
to be built into a solid house,
where one might dwell in safety and peace;
but only food for the fires of the heart. 
– Edmund Wilson

(Return to Top)