Anne Marie would like to invite you to her VIP Christmas evening in the gorgeous rustic surroundings of Murphy’s Barn, County Wexford. Let’s celebrate and check in to see how we are all doing on our various journeys.
A powerful, inspiring and warm welcome awaits!
In this article we look at the idea of helping others, both the young and the old. We also look at how to help yourself get more of whatever it is you want in life.
In these often difficult times you would think that money is the number one desire, the thing that people want to have more of. Of course, we could definitely all do with that bit of extra cash flow to keep the bills paid and ease our mind. Yet, more than anything else these days, the number one priority, the thing that matters above all else is peace of mind and happiness. And that got me thinking, we can survive with less material things and do without some of the luxuries that we have grown accustomed to and that our young people had come to expect. But what we need more than ever now is to feel content in our own skin. We need to feel that there is indeed more to life than material things, deadlines and Facebook!
What is emerging more and more is the need for meaning in our lives. We need to feel that we belong, either in a relationship, family, locality, county. This is especially true for people who are immigrants to Ireland. We need to feel that we matter, that our lives have value and purpose.
How can we continue to grow ourselves, develop that sense of well-being and find joy in every day? Helping others and making a positive contribution to the lives of those we come in contact with feeds a deep need in all of us. We derive a sense of happiness from acts of kindness and nurturing both the young and old.
Think of the hugely positive influence that football and hurling coaches, youth leaders, dancing teachers etc. have on the upcoming generation. As the Irish saying goes “Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sé” “ Praise the youth and they will come” Let us never under-estimate the positive ripple effect of being a good role model for young people. This is something that everyone can contribute to…and not a task just for government or local authorities. So let’s encourage our children and teenagers to nurture their good nature, their creativity and natural exuberance.
At the other end of life’s journey the Irish also have a tradition to be proud of. Care of the elderly and simply valuing the experience and wisdom of those of us who have lived longer is alive and well in our communities. As we realise how important both the younger generation and the older generation are to our lives we will come to treasure and value our own unique place in the tapestry of our lives. Everyone is precious and irreplaceable. Every one of us deserves love, health and happiness – at every stage of life. We need to feel like we matter and that we belong.
You have your own unique viewpoint on life. You know what is important to you. To help you, simply ask the questions “Who and what is really important to me?
How do I want to be physically, mentally, emotionally?
What do I want to do, activities, job or career?
And what do I want to have, more money, clothes, car relationship, health?”
Stop right now and answer those questions for yourself!
Nobody is perfect, remember that! And while it is good to have goals for yourself, it is not the reaching of all your goals that is important, it is all the little steps, the daily decisions that you make and the kind of person you choose to be, on a daily basis, which will give you the most reward. Remember this!! Sometimes the road to what you want will be difficult, but stay on your path, for if you keep changing your mind and your direction in life, you end up getting no-where!
Well, I have no magic wand but I can promise that when you know what kind of person you want to be and what is important to you, take steps every day, no matter how small, towards being that kind of person, then you are a living tower of hope, for yourself and those around you.
So let’s dig deep now, know what you want, find your passion and keep moving in that direction…and side by side we can have more of what we all desire…peace of mind, happiness and contentment. Remember that it takes 21 days to make a new neural connection, that means- to make a new thought or habit in your brain, to have a new ability- to become a happier person! Why not take the time to mark out 21 days and follow your own programme to a happier, healthier you? These new habits can last you forever. So, let’s do it, let’s get going, what have you to lose but the blues!!
If you have further questions, or anything you would like to discuss about overcoming your fears and changing your habits to get the life you desire, please contact us.
Anne Marie Ferris is the Director of the FerrisWheel, Learning4Life. She has over 25 years’ experience as a teacher, therapist and certified Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP. If you have any specific questions you would like her to address she can be contacted through the website or by email: annemarie@theferriswheel.org
My four “children” are now all in their 20’s. They range in age from my eldest, 28, who is just about to embark on a world tour, to my baby, who is now 21 and almost finished in college.
When they were young I was fully engaged in their lives and invested in each assignment, music lesson, test, performance, match, party etc. In fact, the list of activities, obstacles, challenges and life lessons was seemingly endless. But alas, or perhaps just before I ran out of steam, their lives continue to change, and so does mine.
When they were very young, I knew, almost instinctively, that I was a kind of hero in their lives. I loved my kids, I loved being busy, organised, hectic, exhausted and at the same time completely happy and fulfilled. And that emotion was often echoed back to me by my children. So, yes, I was happy.
The teenage years proved to me to be a whole different kettle of fish! This was, for me anyway, the most tumultuous and fraught time for all of us.
There’s an enormous amount of change from childhood to teenage years. Some cope well while others seem to lose their way for a while. I know that there was uncertainty and a whole new skill-set that I really only learned in hindsight. They needed to begin to separate from us and yet we still needed each other in so many ways. I found it a time to impart lots of life skills, offer information and guidance and still encourage and support the kids in learning how to make their own decisions. One thing I’m glad I encouraged my teenagers was to listen to and trust their own “gut feeling”. I even think that they listened sometimes!
College time brought about the empty nest and with it new feelings of love, loss, loneliness and hope and pride. I missed each child as she (my 3 girls) and he (my baby boy) left home. I had mixed emotions. My daily chores and timetable freed up a lot. This was great. However, I really missed them and if I’m really honest, I felt a bit lost and left behind. I soon adjusted to the new routine and looked forward to weekends. I got to re-engage, there were lots of heart to hearts, hugs, home-cooked favourites, take-aways, loads of washing and fussing over them.
So, while they were really growing up, I still had enough contact to wean us both off our dependencies. My youngest is going into his final year in college and is already independent. There are weeks when he has so many assignments (at least that’s his story) that I may not see him for a month at a time. He has just spent the entire summer working in California.
We are rapidly approaching the final stage, where the children are, in many ways, self-sufficient. There have been further and important changes. Our relationships have progressed even further and morphed into the adult to adult kind.
As a parent I’m less needed and more wanted, which, I think, is mutually re-assuring. The loneliness of losing them to adulthood has given way to a deeper connection with myself, my friends and my kids. They have my unconditional support and I know that I have theirs. I’ve realised “I’m free” it’s a whole new kind of freedom.
Many couples don’t stay together and that brings lots of challenges and healing to be done. You will also need to begin to build your self-confidence again and learn to re-engage socially as a single person. If you’re still with your partner I think it’s really important for to re-connect as a couple. After all, you got together in the first place to be with each other. You have definitely changed and perhaps got side-tracked along the way. Hopefully you have both evolved as people and you can now get to know each other all over again.
My husband and I split up and I had a serious health scare with cancer, so my new purpose became to actually stay alive and be healthy. The secret for me has been three fold; I’ve changed my diet to plant based to re-build my immune system, I’ve let go of old hurts and forgiven everyone, and I’ve learned how to live for the present, to appreciate the little things, cultivate joyfulness and help others along the way.
So now I can say that yes, I definitely have more happiness, less pressure, less depression. My new partner and I were chatting about what’s important to us at this stage of life. So that’s really where “Havingalaf” came about. The word refers to having a Life After Fifty.
It’s all about living authentically, talking about what matters when you’re over 50 and offering information and support to others along the way. We’re learning so much, how to make YouTube videos, how to edit and post on social media. It’s a steep learning curve but we’re keeping it light and fun, and that’s what’s really important about this stage of life. So many people don’t even make it this far, I’m going to keep doing what I can to help people be happy and healthy – and make the rest of your life the Best of your life!
Have I made mistakes with my kids? Hell yes! And although I can’t change the past, it is precisely the unique mix of smooth and difficult times that help me appreciate the people we have all become. Although it’s been a joy and sometimes a tough road, I think I’m now happier than I’ve ever been.
Anne Marie Ferris, Wexford. August 2019
We really helped the kids to get ‘Switched-On’ and reaching their potential this Summer!
The thrill of the Ferris Wheel is unmatched by any other fairground attraction. It’s exciting, yet solid and safe. Have you ever been on a Ferris Wheel? It’s huge, it’s fun and it takes you to new heights! You get to see things from a whole new and exciting angle. At the top you can see for miles and miles.
The FerrisWheel Summer Camp was developed by Anne Marie Ferris to give children the experience of having fun while learning and even while making some huge changes in their learning.
These are valuable life skills. Yet these skills can sometimes be overlooked, even in the best educational systems. Children learn best by doing and the FerrisWheel shows them how to have fun learning. When learning is fun, kids can learn that they can achieve just about anything! The aim of this FerrisWheel is to maximise children’s learning capacity and to make learning fun. This way, children get more out of the school system, they learn how to enjoy learning. We all know that when we’re happy, we learn better, and this is the foundation of the Summer Camp. The FerrisWheel gives learning for life!
Parents are continually looking for ways to provide the best care for their children. Every stage of development is important. We realise that everyone wants their children to be happy, healthy and well, and to reach their full potential. This Summer Camp does just that.
Delivered by specially trained leaders, we combine a unique series of exercises which engage children in a fun and exciting way. This is achieved using simple activities which stimulate the areas of the brain needed for learning and memory. Each day, children engage is a mixture of activities varying from outdoor games to fun and interesting literacy activities.
Over a 5 day period, the FerrisWheel Summer Camp brought children on the first steps of an amazing life-long journey of learning. Good foundations last a lifetime –and the FerrisWheel can change your child’s future and we had lots and lots of fun doing it!
If you have a child that attended one of our many Summer Camps this year, we would love to hear your feedback and comments below!
FerrisWheel Practitioner TrainingAs part of the NLP Practitioner, learn how to use proven techniques to solve the problems associated with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and other learning difficulties, memory, behavioural and confidence issues.
Why acquire these skills? With these powerful strategies to help people overcome their learning difficulties you can change the lives of both parents and children alike. Proving to those children who struggle in the classroom that they CAN learn and succeed, greatly enhances their self-esteem and future aspirations. What could be more rewarding than giving children back their belief in themselves?
What is Ferris Wheel Learning4Life? The Ferris Wheel Learning4Life system has been found to be a fast and effective solution to Dyslexia and other learning difficulties. It is a unique treatment which corrects ineffective learning and spelling strategies, among others, and teaches individuals to learn using multi-layered modalities.
How does it work? The Ferris Wheel Learning4Life system provides tailor-made programmes for children and adults, which consist of exercises that when done daily, create and strengthen new neural pathways in the brain, thus providing new strategies for learning. These have an immediate impact on behaviour and self-esteem. Each programme is tailored to the individual’s needs.
Ferris Wheel Learning4Life is guided by the belief that all people are unique and that each individual can be successful when re-connected with their own potential. The system elicits how the individual thinks and learns along with how they construct their view of the world. The method also uncovers how past experiences affect their beliefs about their own capabilities.
The results…The Ferris Wheel Learning4Life system empowers those who are struggling with learning and helps to remove the “road blocks” that keep them stuck, thus enabling each individual to appreciate their valuable and reach their own potential and happiness.
As the name suggests, the Ferris Wheel Learning4Life system offers skills and learning, for life!
Venue: Contact us
Dates: Contact us
Contact Us now to book as places are limited
“The Learning for Life Program ought to be accessible to all educators and all students!”
“I did the Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner Training Course with Anne Marie Ferris. This included NLP, Time Line Therapy and the Learning for Life© Program. As an essential instructor I did the course for two reasons: to enhance myself as an individual and to bring ‘something new’ to all my students; I accomplished both. The course was precisely what I required after the wear and tear of 29 years of instructing. This project has unquestionably changed my method for instructing to improve things.”
-Nuala, Parent and Teacher, Co. Waterford
Listen to Anne Marie speak with Karl Fitzpatrick about how NLP CAN help business owners deal with stress, dyslexia, depression, and relationship difficulties.
The founder of the Ferris Wheel System©, Anne Marie Ferris, is an experienced teacher, educator and therapist. She has … MORE...
