Living a Connected Life:
Creating and Maintaining Relationships That Last

In an age where we communicate with co-workers down the hall via-email, find friends on the Internet, and live thousands of miles away from our families, the task of creating relationships that last can be daunting.  And, living in a culture that puts a premium on individuality with mottos like "every man for himself" and "stand out in a crowd," we start to believe that forced isolation is the only path to success. In truth, the relationships we end up neglecting are exactly the kinds of connections necessary for a healthy life. This workshop explains how, as a society, we have forgotten how to form interpersonal bonds, and offers essential advice on turning ourselves around.

The evidence is overwhelming that we are social animals that require deep and abiding connections. Just as we are born with an innate need for food  and air, we are born with a need for each other.  This workshop poses an essential question: "What does it mean to belong?" and presents research that underlines both the importance of social connections and the difficulties caused by their absence.  This session will help participants recognize and understand these effects not only intellectually – based on three decades of medical research -- but also emotionally. 

For Americans, the problem lies in the fact that in our hurried world, priority is often given to our jobs, with family seeming more like a responsibility than a safe harbor, and close friends running a distant third – if even counted at all.  And, as time passes and bonds deteriorate, it becomes even more difficult to renew old ties, or forge new  ones.  But it doesn't have to be this way.  We will discuss practical approaches to creating and strengthening the essential values that give our lives meaning as we investigate what it means to belong – to a family, tribe, or society. Participants will become clear about how living a life defined by relationships can lead to far greater strength and individuality than going it alone and leave with new personal and professional skills. Specifically, participants will be better able help their clients honestly evaluate their present state of connection and offer practical strategies for creating and nurturing relationships that last a lifetime.

Through Lecture, Discussion & Exercises, You'll learn:

• The psychological, biological and spiritual imperatives for belongingness
• Research findings that demonstrate the power of human connection on quality and quantity of life.
• The present state of our connections – Are we bowling alone?
• A model describing the varying states of intimacy in different relationships
• Practical strategies to create and maintain life-long relationships