now i thrive empowerment institute
by kyra clark

“Providing for peoples needs you must be careful not to rob them of their greatest dignity, the exercise of their personal power, individual creativity, and single minded ingenuity that allows people to notice that they can provide for themselves. It is a delicate balance which must be struck...” Conversations with God, Volume 2

Marlene is paying attention to Spirit. She is working to cross all socio-economic lines to benefit the under-supported individual to help them recognize their creativity, personal power and their divine mission. Helping others be their creative best is Marlene’s specialty. She has the amazing ability to recognize the gifts in others and then nudge them into recognizing those gifts for themselves. I know this from personal experience. More importantly is her latest endeavor, to end welfare from non-use. That’s right, I said it. END WELFARE from NON USE. When she said it, I got it. I felt a rush fill my body, and I knew that it was possible. I started to ask myself questions. How would that work? What would that mean to our deficit? What can I do to help? I started my search on heritage.org/research/welfare. This is where I discovered that we spend $5,600 per household on welfare, with an estimated yearly total of federal and state welfare programs equaling $434.3 billion in the year 2000. The cost for welfare has gone up. We spend $1.78 on welfare for every $1.00 we spend on defense. Since the War on Poverty started in 1965 we have spent over $8.29 trillion on welfare. I realized at deepening levels the vast importance of a program of this nature. Now I understand that the people in our country need some real assistance.
Marlene believes that if the people are encouraged, acknowledged and they are championed to bring forth their greatest skills and talents it will bring out their contribution to the planet. She believes that everyone has a unique gift and contribution, asking her students to ask themselves, “what is it that I am here to do, what do I do so naturally, so easily that if I don’t do it, it won't get done this time around?” She further stated that “this can be something simple, maybe you are the best, most connected, most loving childcare provider—we need that.” She is convinced that we all do things that matter, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

Marlene’s program, titled “Now I Thrive”, is a program that helps those involved to discover their unique gifts and talents. Thereby, encouraging them to live the life they have always dreamed of but have put aside due to fear, or feelings of doubt. “Helping all the people that are apart of this program is finding out about them, what makes them totally unique. What makes their heart sing?”

Prototyping for the ProgramMarlene began as most do, one step at a time. She started with a single mom, under 30, two kids, working part time and receiving aid for dependant children. The question for her became: how does one shift that consciousness? Marlene recognized that her client’s mother belonged to that particular line of perception which perpetuated the need within her daughter to carry on tradition. Marlene took a seemingly simple but effective approach by asking if her young client had a dream. The woman then said, “We all have dreams”. This simple statement moved Marlene to realize that it is so true; everyone has dreams, everyone has a right to have dreams and she was no different. “So often the dream is squelched, and forgotten. I helped support her as she allowed herself to dream her dreams. She quickly began to look beyond the obstacles and without any suggestion, my client stated she was going to enroll in college. Knowing that there was someone there, she took that step that she had given up on.” This helped Marlene expand her own awareness and begin to nurture the idea that if one person could do it, anyone could do it.

Marlene has a very strong background in Adult Literacy and has experienced huge shifts in those she has seen in her practice as well as her volunteer work. I believe that she has a clear sense of the human condition and states it so beautifully. “If people believe that they are powerless not only are they not happy, they are looking outside of themselves to get fixed or to get the answer, and for someone to take care of them. But if they are reminded of the power that they have, then we have people who are doing things that empower them because it allows them to contribute in a positive way not only to themselves, their family, and community but they send out that message to generations behind them, so it becomes self perpetuating just like now, if you think about it, the welfare system is self perpetuating.”
What are the elements that will make “Now I Thrive” a success? Marlene states it is self-perpetuating. This program becomes self perpetuating due to several factors: first the participants activate within themselves a quality of empowerment, which is experienced as a ripple effect through the generations to come. It is also self-perpetuating through those people who, by utilizing the program, become facilitators, carrying on the information into other program environments.

“Now I Thrive” gives people a sense of their own power, reminding them that they are the point of power in their lives, which is anchored by certain skills that are taught during the program which brings forth that power. There are metaphysical elements—discovering the power of words to create their reality, visualizations, old age/new wisdom, customizing their skills for their own use, and from all this will come a clear mental, written and physical picture of what they want their future to look like.

How does this potentially end welfare? Those who are attending this program who are “under supported” will no longer need to rely on the welfare program to aid them, due to their personal achievement and enrichment. When faced with the issue of money, as it is currently the exchange media we use to receive food, shelter and clothing (along with other fun things) Marlene states that “Doing the things you love by being your authentic self and allowing your heart to sing, you will have more than enough money to meet your needs.”

The concept is simple: this is a 90- day to 6-month program that will begin with 20 people per group, cultivating a support system from within. The program will begin with an intensive 5 day workshop in an out-of-home setting to begin to enable the individual to expand their awareness and open to new possibilities for an exceptional life. The individuals taking this program will begin to understand their own power and begin to use it. After these 5 days, the individual will have two meetings a week: one with their peer coach and one with their life coach. There will also be a 90 minute Telelounge for enrichment.

I personally am pleased to see this type of profound work taking place now. When I was a child, my mother collected social security due to the death of my father. This became a powerfully enabling factor for her. She often struggled with getting a job and losing the check, or keeping the check and scraping by. I saw the burden it placed on her. I believe that if she had a program like this with a support structure, things may have been very different. As my personal choice I have worked to become empowered and will not likely follow that pattern. For others this is not always the case. Marlene has worked with so many people from all types of backgrounds in an open and loving way to help them transform their lives. I for one am willing to do all I can do to support such an attainable dream, to end welfare from non-use.

Marlene began her coaching practice in 1998. Her clients represent a mix of goals, professions, personal outlooks and diversity. She is a member of the International Coach Federation, Coachville and 24-7 Coaching. Marlene is an Inspired Learning Facilitator using the cutting edge model of the Inspired Learning Foundation in her playshops and group facilitation. You can find Marlene online at sacredspacecoaching.com email at Marlene@sacredspacecoaching.com or call 828.698.0914.

Kyra Clark, CHT, RBT is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Registered Behavioral Therapist, Master Neuro-Linguistic Programmer and Wellness and Success Coach. She greatly enjoys being a child advocate in the Buncombe County Guardian Ad Litem program, as well as, a member of SCORE Counselor’s to America’s Small Business.
[ 828-215-9713; itworksforyou.org ]