Point To Ponder
OUR MISSION
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
– Carl Jung
Carl Jung, one of the most celebrated Psychologists in the world, stated that we can bring clarity to our ways of being, once we look within and into our heart.
After having been uprooted from my country of birth and unsure of what I needed to be doing with my life, I attended a workshop on self- actualisation. After a gruelling two days of looking within, I recognised that I needed to spend my working days on being fulfilled with people who were looking to increase their knowledge and to, in simple terms, “Be the best they can be,” and enjoy the ride!
I turned to a sport that encompassed my love of the outdoors; a Running Club, with many people of like mind. It did not seem to matter if you were a ‘hot shot’ athlete. We ran in groups of ability, the most important thing being that I now ran with, people dedicated to wanting to keep fit, and who were looking after their own health. A major factor of missing in these circles is that most people there operated in ‘integrity’ by showing up when days and times were chosen to go for our personal training and runs. Keeping a promise to meet at a dedicated time such as 5.00 am come rain or shine, showed strength of character with which I could resonate, and I liked being in a club where diversity was celebrated.
My state of wellbeing was immediately uplifted. I now had met up with a group of people who became good friends and shared in many of the weekends away, running races in the beautiful surroundings of the Western and Eastern Cape. However, I found it a challenge to remain in a balanced state of mind and body as the competitive nature of increasing one’s personal best time, tended to result in pushing oneself beyond a reasonable state of health, which of course differs with respect to the stress levels you live with, and so taking me into a state of imbalance. This happened!
I was now battling with what had not been diagnosed before. It had a short name known to most as M.E. I had three of the viruses attributed to M.E. and the other better known name for it was ‘Yuppie Flu.’ This happened as a result of contracting Yellow Jaundice. It took a week to play its course and before I saw a doctor to confirm what I was going through.
The tiredness did not stop! Few Doctors at that stage knew about this fatigue that also targeted other well-known athletes. I was still able to participate by making myself useful to stand in as acting P.R. for the TWO OCEANS Ultra Marathon. I remained in that position for the next eight to ten years. The position required that I looked after the sponsors of the race during the race. I would take them ahead of the front runners, and tell stories and explain various markers such as the half way mark. I would tell stories and anecdotes of runners that have now become legends, to entertain those in our bus for 56 Kilometres. My background in TV Presentation made it fun and doable, and a good way to participate.
This forced rest and situation, took me back to the Jung statement “who looks inside, awakes.” The message got through. I started to put my many years of experience as a presenter in television to create Communication workshops on Presentation, Media Training, and Body Language, all very important messages that people give to their audiences, and mostly without realising the full extent of the message that is given.
Adrienne Verney Productions was launched and I used my deepened philosophy and experience to spread important messages of ‘confidence, finding your voice, and SPEAKING OUT. There are now seven workshops to choose from and each one is experiential and constituted to increase your CONSCIOUSNESS to “Be the Best You Can Be” and become AWAKE.
OUR MISSION
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
– Carl Jung
