Elixir collaborates with Greenpop to create a Treeam Building

The tree is a symbol of growth and transformation. Just like the tiny acorn that grows into the majestic tree, so too are ideas the catalyst in people’s development. Planting inspiring ideas into the youth of South Africa is the key to nurturing the future of South African society.

Greenpop offers individuals and organisations an opportunity to make a sustainable impact in the communities in which we live and work. There core focus is around empowering employees and volunteers to plant tree’s in underprivileged schools, crèches and community centres around the country. Their invitation is that everyone should join the TREEVOLUTION by gifting a tree or volunteering to help plant! Greenpop offers companies great opportunities to meet there CSI objectives while engaging their members in action packed planting days.

Elixir, which is a specialist team building company, is collaborating with Greenpop to give companies the opportunity to create significant economies of scale with their team building and CSI budgets. Why have two events when you can create one experience that creates powerful learnings that drive team effectiveness, personal leadership and innovation, while also creating a meaningeful impact on South African communities. With Elixir specialising in facilitating powerful learning's it offers Greenpop a greater opportunity to extend their mission of getting more empowered people out into the communitties to plant.

Elixir also specislises in life skills development programs in schools so it is well positioned to facilitate more meaningeful connections between employees in companies and the children in the schools who share in the planting process.

To learn more about Greenpop, please check out their website at www.greenpop.org 

To learn more about what these days involve, please follow this link 

The hidden power of smiling!

Ron Gutman reviews a raft of studies about smiling, and reveals some surprising results. Did you know your smile can be a predictor of how long you'll live -- and that a simple smile has a measurable effect on your overall well-being? Prepare to flex a few facial muscles as you learn more about this evolutionarily contagious behavior.

The Optimum Bias. Hope isn't rationale-so why are humans wired for it?

Interesting research from Neuroscientist Tali Sharot is uncovering some interesting insigths into why positive thinking is not just a cliche from self help books but a unconsciouss mechanism of the mind that allows us to push boundaries when being rational about a situation would more than likely lead to apathy, mild depression and ultimatley the stagnation of life as we know it. 

Read more about her new book here

Elixir pilots unique life skill program for addiction recovery clinic

Montrose Place is one of the most well regarded recovery clinics globally and it has really put South Africa on the map in both addiction and eating disorder recovery. Montrose approached Elixir and asked the organisation to design a program that gave people in recovery access to some of it's innovative and creative processes as part of their life skill development. The challenge was that the program had to build on and compliment an already specialised and life skill dominated program.

Elixir's program was developed and is being provisionally called the Creativity Incubator. The whole philosophy behind the program is that one of our core needs as individuals is to express ourselves creatively and through our childhood and further on through addiction, we are conditioned out of our unique forms of expression such that we met our other core emotional need, to be accepted by our family, friends and the beliefs, norms and conventional thinking of our community. This lack of self esteem and authenticity is one of the dominating symptoms of addiction and to ensure peoples long term recovery we have to re-engage them in their creative confidence and potential. The program offers some highly creative processes that Elixir has picked up through its involvement in some of the top creative forums. The program is 9 weeks long and includes the following exciting processes:

1-Nature Connections

2-Creative Movie Trailers & Story Telling

3-Musical Orchestras

4-Giraffe Talk-Creative & Non Violent Communication

5-Bio Danza

6-Eco-Facilitation

7-Theatre Sports

8-Lego Play

9-Vision Questing

To learn more about this program, please contact Jeremy on 021 685 6744.

Wise Words from George Carlin

The paradox of our time in  history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider  Freeways ,  but  narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but  enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more  conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more  knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more  medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too  much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too  angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV  too much, and pray too seldom.  

We  have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too  much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to  make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to  years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble  crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space  but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.  

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've  conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn  less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but  not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to  produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.  

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men  and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These  are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but  broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers,  throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills  that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when  there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A  time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you  can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...  

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they  are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word  to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon  will grow up and leave your side..

Remember, to give a warm  hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can  give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent..

Remember, to  say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all  mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep  inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment  for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to  love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts  in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured  by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our  breath away.

                        George  Carlin