I had no concerns prior to the course, just a sense of excitement that finally I was going to be able to do Bandler and Grinder’s densely written texts (or that’s how I experienced them anyway) in a workshop/training situation and experience it live with other interested parties and a good trainer.

I started out on my journey to Raglan with a big desire to learn more about NLP, so that I could make it come alive for me and eventually other folks who came to consult with me. I had put off the practitioner training for long enough and I was ready to rock and roll.

I had made up my mind after a couple of phone calls to Steph that she was the one! I was very comfortable talking to her and she spoke my language.

And my hunch proved to be a goody. I got what I wanted and more. I now live a lot of NLP – change my moods by changing my physiology, I giggle at the end of each day as I reflect on the various strategies I use to get me through and I have taken Richard Bandler literally and live a life of ‘curiosity and wanton experimentation’ – well most of the time anyway.

The classroom environment became many things for me. It was a movable feast of learning. Like a rich landscape it changed all the time as new bits of knowledge were constantly added. And then the landscape subdivided and the classroom became a gallery of mind scapes. Improvising on the NLP spelling strategy I photographed a few of them. So all it takes is an upward tilt of the eyes to the left and there they are.
The classroom also became the place where I felt comfortable to share what it was about myself I wanted to change and to tell others of my desired outcome/s. and the changes that I witnesses in myself and my fellow participants was the Metamorphosis in action.

So the classroom was a kind and caring place to leave a lot of my old self to be paid it’s last respects by the wild wintery weather of Raglan.

The most valuable part of the training for me is being able to do the stuff that I have been reading about for so long. And those classroom demos and exercises were so invaluable. I love hands-on learning and there was lots of it. And the beauty of that learning is that I can now do it. It’s the trick that’s transformed me from an interested amateur into a practitioner. I got exactly what I was looking for and more!

The biggest beneficiary of my training has to be me – first and foremost. I have always wanted to know how to walk this NLP talk and now I can –albeit occasionally with faltering step. And even when I stumble, it’s the beliefs of excellence that bails me out – you know – the one that says something about feedback, no failure.

And if it doesn’t kill me I rest assured in my mother’s words, that it will make me stronger.
My relationships and my workplace my consulting clients are all enjoying the new skills. I have to remind myself occasionally to go easy on the old meta questions. I need people.

One does not need a conscious reason to do this training, the unconscious already knows it does. ‘Just do it!’ as the old swish (Nike) ad suggests.