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The purpose of this page is to provide more information about meeting speakers, topics, handouts and cited sources from prior monthly meetings. |
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| 2005 | |
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Sunday, Dec. 18 |
Fr. Joe shared the items in his holiday survival kit. Primarily,
we don't have to survive the holidays. We only have to be our
best selves. We don't have to be anything we aren't, or feel anything
we don't feel. We can choose to focus on what is going right instead
of what is going wrong. Fr. Joe recommend that we do not compare
ourselves to others. Accept ourselves as we are. God created us
imperfectly, and loves us just the same. |
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Sunday, Nov. 20
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Life is all about choices, but your family of origin is something you did not choose. Through greater awareness, we can see how our family of origin has influenced the choices we have made in our lives. Steve Defino used his own family to illustrate many of the ways to diagram and describe the influences of a dysfunctional family. Many of us were able to relate to Steve's examples. We thank him for sharing his story with us. Steve referenced some books in his presentation: |
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Sunday, Oct. 16
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Donna began by telling us that stress is a process with the following events: 1. A neutral event occurs. We fight stress by: Finally, remember that perception is not a fact. Perception is
a mirror. It mirrors our own belief system. |
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Sunday, Sept 18
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Friends of Mercy celebrated its 18th Anniversary with a Mass
and dinner at the Sheppart Pratt Conference Center again this
year. Fr. Bart Karwacki was the celebrant for the Mass. Shelly
Hopkins played his guitar and lead us in song. During the dinner we were wonderfully entertained by Gary and Kevin, the Singing Stockbrokers. The food was delicious, and their were many winners on the Trombolla and 50-50. Thanks again to Gloria and Carmela, and all the other volunteers that made this afternoon special. Tim posted his photos of the event online here. |
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Sunday, Aug 21
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Our five basic feelings are Mad, Sad, Glad, Lonely and Scared. More often than not, they come from out inner child. Feelings are not right or wrong, good or bad. They just are. Feeling cannot be suppressed or ignored. They must come out. How we react to our feeling is important. We must react in an appropriate and healthy way. To determine what you are feeling ... There is probably more "fear" than any other feeling.
Many things in life we cannot control, which compounds our fear.
Faith counteracts fear. |
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Sunday, July 17
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Joan Allen shared her story and several anecdotes about her own
life with the members. Then shared these secrets with us. Three Secrets of Celebrating Single Four Ways to Celebrating Single Three "C"s of a Healthy Relationship Joan cited the following books in her talk: Living Life On Purpose - Greg Anderson She also cited passages from her own book, Celebrating Single,
which sold out after the meeting. |
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Sunday, June 19
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.Dr. Jim gave us a number of suggestions, like get involved, manage stress, celebrate holidays, examine our life, and find a passion. People who live their life optimally: And yes, as you can see from the photo, we sang and danced and
had some fun. |
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Sunday, May 15
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Dr. Voelz had us take take a short test in order to rate our own conflict style. Based on those answers, we were able to plot our style on a graph. The axes of the graph were "Concern for Personal Goals" (Low to High) and "Concern for the Relationship" (Low to High). The five general styles were:
Cindy pointed out the we could have different styles in different
situations. For example, you would probably have a different style
with your boss than you would have with your children. |
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Sunday, Apr. 17
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What fears do we have? Physical fear, fear of being alone, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of success, financial fears, fear of death and fear of the future. How do we deal with these fears? |
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Sunday, Mar. 20
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Carole Frank, a former FOM member, said that the only way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. But this is not easy. As a result, Americans look for a quick fix. They need to be aware of weight loss scams. Also, don't have unrealistic expectations about what normal is. What can we do? Avoid as much as possible sugar, caffeine, chocolate
and alcohol. Eat vegetables, fruits, oil-rich fish and drink water.
Be aware of what triggers our overeating. True, long-term weight
control requires behavioral changes. |
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Sunday, Feb. 20
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What time is it? It is the present. Living in the present is difficult and requires practice. As we perceive threats, real or more likely imagined, our bodies react with the innate stress response. We reduce our stress by living in the present. Awareness is the first step in our journey. Mary read passages from a number of books including: The Bible |
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Sunday, Jan. 16
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Diane began by sharing the story of her own struggles. Then, she discussed the difference between being lonely and being alone. There are fears that underlie the fear of being alone. Many people try to "run away" from those lonely feelings. Instead, we should be in touch with our fears. Decide which are rational and which are irrational fears. Show loving kindness toward ourselves. Let go of the victim mentality and work to transform our inner life. Diane Dixon read from several books: Pema Chodron: "Places that Scare You" |
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Go to: Sorry. Notes from years prior to 2002 were not saved. |
Speaker:
Fr. Joe Breighner
Speaker:
Steve DeFino
Speaker:
Donna Balciunas, M.S.
Topic:
18th Anniversary Celebration of FOM
Speaker:
Mary Raphel, Ph.D.
Speaker:
Joan Allen, M.A. [
Speaker:
Dr. Jim Dasinger
Speaker:
Dr. Cynthia Voelz [
Speaker:
Dottie Levesque
Speaker:
Carole Frank
Speaker:
Mary Cadden
Speaker:
Diane L. Dixon, Ed.D.
***
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