Welcome to Lifetree Solutions

At Lifetree Solutions, we help you discover the joys of a life of purpose and meaning. We will help you in your journey to honor your higher intentions and strengths while giving you the tools for managing stress. We offer coaching, consulting, and teleconferences to bring out your potential to create success in your life. We help you learn to:

  • Tap into your core strengths, right now, right where you are;
  • Build your resilience and engagement with life;
  • Accept differences and use them constructively;
  • Use stress effectively for learning and growth;
  • Learn to communicate about difficult topics such as money, spirituality and death;
  • Rediscover your family in terms of its meaning, strengths and deeper purpose;
  • Discover and honor your legacy in a way that can be passed down from generation to generation

Visit the Lifetree Solutions blog!

Creating a Happy Home

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Mon, 04/16/2012 - 16:54

Spring is a time of renewal and regeneration.  Continuous renewal and growth makes for happy relationships and a happy home. When we let go of the past, and positively connect with our surroundings, our inner strengths, and our true selves, we become more able to cooperate and create anew in a way that benefits all. 

At times this renewal project can be a challenge.  It requires cooperation, communication, and letting go of that which no longer serves us. Sometimes we do not always agree on what to do.  Listen to our teleconference for tips on overcoming these challenges.  We looked at the challenge from three perspectives:   Our stuff, our relationships, our culture.

Samantha Shields, a home energy specialist, gave tips on how to connect with the physical aspects of our home to increase positive energy and harmony.

Dr. Alice Vlietstra shared how to tap into your inner character strengths to help better connect with our true selves so that we can harmoniously work together.

Dr. Jane Granskog shared on how we are deeply connected with our environment and each other.  She helped us to explore the role of culture in creating healthy connections.

 

MP3: 

The Eco Mind

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Mon, 04/16/2012 - 15:56

Here in St. Louis, flowers are blooming and trees are budding.  We are celebrating the new growth of spring.   Just as we enjoy seeing the new life of spring, we also can celebrate new growth by expanding our ways of seeing the world.  I would like to share with you a new growth of that is emerging in a number of disciplines.  It is called the Eco Mind.

The Eco mind is a world view that looks at the world in relationship to everything else. It creates a more life-serving mental map than one that only focuses on completion for scarce physical resources. Breakthroughs are occurring in a range of disciplines are confirming the positive social aspects of ourselves.  We are complex human creatures with many sources of strength that enable us to cooperate and work together in the best interest of all rather than just to compete.

We all have core assumptions in how we view the world.  These assumptions, often hidden, determine what we see and what we do not. They are often based on outdated limited views of ourselves developed at an earlier time.  Upon reflection, we can change them.  This spring, consider expanding your view by developing your Eco Mind.      

Loving from the Deeper Truth

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 08:50

As we honor our deeper aspirations for contribution and change, we often make plans only to have them fall aside.  One way to accomplish your goals is to align them with your strengths of character and let them be fueled by a deeper sense of purpose.  Discovering this power is deeply meaningful when we view it from the need to overcome old false patterns.  This helps to catalyze new transformation and growth.  Learn more about this process by reading the January newsletter. Then join us on February 14 at 9:00 AM to share on "Loving From the Deeper Truth."   Tuesday, Feb. 14, 9:00-10:00 AM, CDT, 760-569-9000, access code 308311#

Creative Giving - The Gift of Appreciation

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Tue, 12/06/2011 - 14:15

The holiday season is a time for giving, sharing, and celebrating.  It can bring much joy and also a lot of stress.  We get caught up in the activities of the season with gifts to buy, food to eat, and the challenges that can pop up in our relationships. One way to reduce stess is through appreication.  Try it, first for yourself and then others.  Then join us for our teleconference on Creative Giving, 

Tuesday, Dec 13, 9:00-10:00 AM, CDT, 760-569-9000, access code 308311#

So many times when we approach giving and receiving, we see ourselves as

Celebrating Change

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 00:00

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are in the middle of celebrating the fall harvest. We enjoy seeing the colors of the trees and the fruits of our hard work.  When I think of the harvest, I think of the successes I have seen in the couples and families with whom I work.  Every dream has seeding times, growing times, and harvesting times.

It is deeply gratifying to me to celebrate the harvest of families who have grown their relationships. This continues to be a source of inspiration, healing, laughter, and joy for me and helps to create the kind of caring community that is needed for well being and flourishing of everyone. I have discovered five well worth celebrating in creating 
successful change:  They are character, committment, connection, communication, and co-creative solutions.  Learn about these five aspects of change in my October newsletter.  Go to the seminars section and listen to the recording a lively teleconference on how these principles apply to your lives.

Creating Home Harmony

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Tue, 05/31/2011 - 07:57

Teleconference - "Creating Enviroments of Harmony"
Tuesday, June 14, 9:00-9:30 AM
Dial 760-569-9000, Access Code 308311#

Join us on Tuesday, June 14 for a  teleconference on creating home harmony.”  I will be interviewing Samantha Shields who helps individuals and families reduce clutter and design their homes to make them more harmonious and livable.  It is a real help to have someone who has experience and training in creating home environments to give you new ideas.  Be sure to bring your questions.  

We will also be hearing cultural views from anthropologist, Dr. Jane Granskog. Do sustainable societies and cultures require a lot of stuff?  What is really necessary for healthier environments and living? What is the difference between order that is externally imposed vs voluntarily chosen?  Come join us to gain insights and support for harmonious living.

 

Create Harmony - Move Beyond the Battle with Stuff

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Fri, 05/27/2011 - 03:35

Battling stuff can be a real challenge for many families. If you want to move beyond the battle, you might want to consider tapping into your strengths, and put the challenge of battling with stuff in a broader context.  Today, many see simplifying our lives as a an opportunity to change to a much healthier style of living.  It becomes a way create a new vision and take action to make a difference. Here are a few tips to that might help you broader

Create Harmony by Reducing Environmental Disorder

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Sun, 05/15/2011 - 00:00

Have you ever noticed that when your home, office and surroundings are clean, orderly and attractive, that the people around you seem to get along?  Less stuff means that you have less to manage, less stress with bills, and more opportunities to develop your relationships. 

Recently, Discover Magazine reported a series of fascinating studies that investigated the impact of disordered environments on people’s friendliness

Reduce Your Fear of Public Speaking - Fred Miller Says it Like It Is

Submitted by Dr. Alice on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 11:33

Each month I do an interview on how people use their strengths to overcome significant challenges.  This month, we investigated how character strengths can help you to overcome one of most people's greatest fears, Public speaking.  Some people fear public speaking more than dying! So says Fred E. Miller, author of his just published book, "No Sweat Public Speaking."  

When I interview speakers, I look for their strengths.  My guess was that Fred’s top strength was his ability to put people at ease and his sense of humor.  He took the strengths test and found his top strength actually was integrity and authenticity.  This strength shows up in his straight-talk, down to earth style. 

Indeed, I have watched a couple of the speakers he has coached.  They were enthusiastic, clear, entertaining, and definitely looked calm, -- as if they had no sweat.  When I asked Fred about his secret formula for reducing speaking fear, he said “My clients have their sweat glands surgically removed.”  Needless to say, he was teasing.  For good practical tips, just listen to the replay in the in the conference calls.

 

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