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this Volume...
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The new resources keep coming
Age
of Adventure
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St
Luke's Innovative Resources
137
McCrae St
Bendigo
3550 Australia
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Looking
for professional development that will kickstart
your creativity and offer new and exciting
ways to interact with staff and clients?
Innovative
Resources
- the publishing arm
of
St Luke's -
invites
you to join us
for
seriously optimistic®
workshops
in Melbourne,
Sydney,
Adelaide and
Bendigo
in 2008.
click here
to
view our training page
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Want
to read more stories, reviews and feedback
from Innovative Resources' publications?
Visit
the Strengths Cafe
click here
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Keep
your eyes peeled for our 2008/09 Catalogue...
Coming
to a letterbox near you this month.
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The
new resources keep coming
It's
been a BIG month for new releases at Innovative
Resources and May looks like being even
bigger.
Storycatching
is hot off the press and is already out
there helping groups, individuals and
communities to share their stories and
reflect on their thoughts, feelings and
attitudes to life. The response so far
has been fantastic and we're looking forward
to the official launch at 5.30pm on Thursday
12 June at Dudley House, Bendigo.
 If
you're going to be in the Bendigo area,
do come and join us for an evening of
celebration and storytelling with our
special guest, author Cate Kennedy (pictured
left). Simply contact our Marketing Manager,
Kristie Frost, on 03 5442-0521 or email:
rsvp@XXinnovativeresources.org (remove Xs)
April
also saw the release of a Japanese translation
of The
Wrong Stone,
which follows on the huge popularity of
Stones
Have Feelings Too in Japan.
Other
resources due off the press this month
include:
Respect
and Justice Cards: Based
on the main themes of Wayne McCashen's
The Strengths Approach, this set
of 30 simple cards provides opportunities
for trainers, facilitators, teachers,
managers, social workers, teams, communities
and individuals to engage in lively
discussion and reflection on the principles
and practices of the strengths approach.
 My
Feelings: The 26 cards in My
Feelings are designed to help children
talk about emotions and understand the meaning
of their body signals. The card pack includes
12 children's faces showing emotions, 12 body
signal cards and 2 write-on/wipe-off cards,
one with a blank face and one with a whole
body outline. This resource will help even
very young children learn to identify emotions
and develop safe responses by noticing what
is happening in their bodies.
This will
also be available as the My
Feelings kit, made up of a card
set, a booklet and 3 Body Outline Activity
Pads. On each sheet is a simple line drawing
of a body outline without gender, features
or clothes. Children can add detail and colour
to create their own pictures showing facial
expressions, body signals, clothes and backgrounds
of their
choice. This pad provides an interactive adjunct
to conversations with children about recognising
their feelings
and body signals.
Also
coming soon is Age
of Adventure - The strengths of active ageing
which you'll read more about below.
And look out for a new edition of The
Serious Optimist and our 2008/09 Catalogue,
both of which could be winging their way to
your letterbox as you read this.
It's
an exciting time ahead for Innovative Resources
and we thank you, our customers and clients,
for your ongoing support. We continue to be
amazed by the creative and imaginative ways
you engage with our products.
John
Holton
Senior
Editor
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'The
best prayer I ever heard was, "Dear Lord,
please make me the kind of person my dog thinks
I am."'
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Coming
Soon...
Age
of Adventure
-The
strengths of active ageing
Age
of Adventure
looks at lives well-lived. It explores the
many ways in which older people are still
engaged in their communities, the breadth
of their relationships, and the diversity
of daily their routines and intellectual and
physical ventures.
 These
50 full-colour cards and the accompanying
36-page booklet capture the energy and life-force
that exists in our older community members,
and honours their ongoing life journey. Each
image suggests an individual or community
activity or a moment of connection.
Innovative
Resources hopes these cards will offer several
possibilities. The images may challenge young
people to consider the life choices they make
and influence their road toward later fulfilment.
They may also promote better understanding
between generations, both in communities and
within families, by initiating conversations
and fostering respect for others.
 Age
of Adventure may
also challenge adults in pre-retirement to
plan for an active future after the routine
of regular employment and family commitments
are reduced. Hopefully those in retirement
will see these cards reflecting the strengths
in their lives. We hope the images will also
prompt memories and that these glimpses lead
to subsequent story-sharing within families,
community organisations and other groups.
Such
stories can amaze the hearer, reveal the fuller
personality of the teller, move both to tears
and laughter, and heal friendships and families
in the process.
Judi
Fisher
Project
Manager
Age
of Adventure
For
more information about Age of Adventure
click
here
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'I
recently turned 60. Practically a third
of my life is over.'
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Picturebook
brings hope
to
Chennai kids
Innovative
Resources enjoys some wonderful international
relationships. Recently we forged a link with
Jeyapaul Sunder Singh, the author of a freely
downloadable, web-based picture book titled
Sheela's
Confidence.
Jeyapaul's
story is about Sheela, a young girl who has
AIDS. Her best hope for health and wellbeing
depends upon her taking her ARV (anti-retroviral)
medicine regularly, eating well and drinking
only safe water. Her confidence, noticed by
her friends at school, emerges from the wonderful
benefits she receives from taking care of
herself.
The
story demonstrates that Sheela's illness does
not preclude her from having a happy life
and taking part in every aspect of her education,
including sport. The story shows that treatment
for AIDS is easy enough for even a child to
manage if the are empowered and educated.
Sheela's
Confidence emerged from a realisation
that Indian children affected by AIDS are
often misinformed about their illness and
do not receive adequate medical treatment.
This dramatically affects their capacity to
enjoy their lives and overcome the terror
that such a diagnosis can bring.
Buds
of Christ (BoC), based in Chennai, India,
gives support, education and hope to children
who are either living with AIDS or orphaned
because of it. BoC works exclusively with
these children and their families aiming to;
'love, listen and lead children affected by
HIV and AIDS to live life positively and be
kids of hope and courage for their community'.
This
is no small mission.
Still,
Jeyapaul is not content to leave his project
web-based. He is searching for a benefactor
so that Sheela's
Confidence can be published
as a book and therefore made much more widely
available. The cost? A mere $500, which, if
you think about it, is less than 6 months
worth of coffees @ $3/day!
If
you're the person Jeyapaul is looking for
please email him at: hope@budsofchrist.org
Meanwhile:
Innovative Resources has made Sheela's
Confidence available for free download
in the Writing section of our Strengths Café
website.
Download
Sheela's Confidence at The Strengths
Cafe
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'It's
a small world, but I wouldn't want to
paint it.'
Steven Wright
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New
on Our Shelf List...
Victoria
Sings Short Stuff
Small
songs for community singing
Soon
after I moved to Bendigo someone invited
me along to a short-term choir being run
by local musician and songwriter, Fay White.
What an experience! Fay's enthusiasm and
capacity to teach songs and song parts had
us - singers and wish-we-could-be-singers
alike - sounding like 'sonic magic'.
Fay
has long been admired in Central Victoria,
Australia, for her passionate and accessible
musical skills. Now her songs and those
of many other talented Australians are available
for everyone to enjoy.
 You
can't read music? No problem. Two CDs allow
all song parts to be learnt by 'ear'. Meanwhile,
for the more talented, the music for every
song and part is included.
Here
is an inspiring resource to hook you into
the profound pleasure that group singing,
chanting and rounds can bring.
This
is a truly creative community-building resource.
Reviewed
by Jennie Mellberg
Crow
and Weasel
By Barry Lopez
Long
ago, in a time when people and animals still
speak the same language, two young adventurers
(Crow and Weasel) leave their tribe and
embark on an epic voyage through the wilderness
and into the unknown.
 Set
in the mythic past and inspired by the traditions
of the Plains Indians, Barry Lopez has created
a fable of self-discovery that young boys
in particular will find irresistible. A
great way to create conversations with primary-aged
boys around friendship, respect, our relationship
to the planet, and the power of stories
to influence our lives.
I
recently built an entire conference presentation
around the following quote from the extremely
wise Badger character:
I would ask
you to remember only this one thing,' said
Badger. 'The stories people tell have a
way of taking care of them. If stories come
to you, care for them. And learn to give
them away where they are needed. Sometimes
a person needs a story more than food to
stay alive. That is why we put these stories
in each other's memory. This is how people
care for themselves. One day you will be
good storytellers. Never forget these obligations.
The
book is full of such wisdom and Barry Lopez's
well-metered prose is just perfect to read
loud.
Reviewed
by John Holton
To
view individual books online - click on
the cover image
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'Nothing
in life ever looks as good as it did
on the seed packet.'
Kinky
Friedman
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Stories
from the field
One
of the most exciting things about publishing
hands-on, interactive resources is that people
share their creativity by sending us inspirational
stories about how they are using them out
there in the world. Here are three of the
many stories that landed in my inbox over
the past month.
Strength
Cards for self-reflection
I
love the Strength Cards and often
use them in incredibly simple ways. In psychotherapy
sessions I ask a client to pull out from the
pack any strengths they recognise in themself
- there's always far more than they imagine.
We then spread them out over the floor and
I ask them how often do you think of yourself
in this way? The answer is often 'never',
with a certain amount of amazement. It is
always an extremely powerful exercise.  Afterwards,
I give them an A4 poster and a credit card
sized laminated copy of the list of strengths
they have identified so they can carry them
with them always and celebrate these strengths.
In
couple therapy, I ask couples to choose from
the pack five or so strengths of their relationship.
These become the resources that they can draw
upon to strengthen their union. I find this
helps to refocus couples on the positive aspects
of their relationship and primes them for
interacting in strengths-based ways.
Tiffany
Rochester
Clinical
Psychologist
www.rochesterpsychology.com.au
The
long road of caring
I
would like to tell you how much the family
carer support group that I facilitate enjoys
working with both the Symbols and
Words cards. These family carers
usually care for a partner or a parent with
dementia. As you can appreciate the road
is difficult and long, with no end in sight. Some
family carers accept and perform their caring
role so gracefully, but for some it is almost
too much to bear, and to talk about the pain,
frustration, guilt and anger is so hard.
 I
bought the cards to a meeting at the end of
last year and I was so surprised at the effect
that especially the Symbols cards
had on the CALD carers in particular.
We had a wonderful response from one carer in particular who couldn't stop talking about the cards he had chosen! Thank you so much for the easing of our difficult paths.
Sally Koodiaroff
Alzheimers Australia
ACT
Picturing
a brighter future
I
just wanted to give you some feedback on the
use of the Picture This cards. I
recently used the cards with an adolescent
who is very troubled and had been threatening
to kill himself.
The
Picture This cards he chose elicited
some powerful responses:
Hands
lifting hay bales - No matter what I do
I can't please Dad .
House
burning and crashed car - I feel like my life is crashing and burning .
Shredded
paper - I feel confused and all messed
up .
Walking
down the road in snow - I am always going
on walks alone .
The
crowd - I want to be the person being
focused-on in the crowd .
 I
found it to be a really successful session
as it clarified how much he was internalising.
For a young man he is such a deep thinker
and very aware of his feelings. He is now
being referred for further counselling.
Thank
you for such wonderful resourses.
Janine
Mitchell
Youth
Pathways Advisor
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'I
think it was John Lennon who said, "Life
is what happens when you're making other
plans," and that's how I feel.
But he also said, "I am the walrus,
I am the eggman," so I don't know
what to believe.'
David
Brent - The Office
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SOON
mailbox
Dear
John,
My
wife recently bought a set of the new
Storycatching cards to use with her
Year 8 English class, and I was really
impressed with them. So impressed in fact,
that I snuck them into my briefcase and
took them to work before she'd even had
a chance to use them.
We
were interviewing for three new positions
on our local council and I thought it
would be good to try something a little
different. I spread a selection of the
cards on the table in front of each applicant
and asked them to choose a card that reminded
them of a funny/stressful/unusual situation
that had happened in one of their previous
work places. I then asked how they dealt
with the situation.
It
certainly created some interesting results.
Two of the applicants were a lot more
relaxed after the exercise, while the
other found it bamboozling and was really
thrown by something so left of field.
It
was a real eye-opener and created a whole
new dynamic in the interview room. From
a HR perspective it was invigorating.
I'm already thinking about the next round
of interviews. But unfortunately my wife
wants her cards back!
Chris
Francis
HR
Manager
Newcastle
NSW
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'Between
the optimist and the pessimist, the difference
is droll - the optimist sees the doughnut;
the pessimist the hole.'
Anon
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Micro-poem
Solving
the transport crisis
Tear
up the freeways
and
clearways
the
tram tracks and taxi ranks
pave
the cities with
polished
linoleum
then
with youthful
exuberance
and
stockinged feet
we
will glide
and
glide and glide.
© John Holton 2008
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SOON
