Overwhelmingly, what I got from my first hundred days is that everything we do around here is for the participants.
It has been an enlightening and illuminating few months!
If you read my April blog, you know I dedicated my early months as president and executive director of TMI to listening—asking, observing, absorbing—before initiating any big changes within the organization.
As a business mentor for 20 years, I’ve watched people come into new positions and mess things up by acting on their presuppositions without sufficiently educating themselves. Invariably, they had to backtrack, re-do, and then move forward. It delayed the organization’s progress and created a few hard feelings. I’ve learned from their mistakes.
Here are some of my biggest take-aways from my first hundred days listening to participants, staff, trainers, board members, and other key stakeholders of TMI:
- It’s all about the participants. Everything we do and think is about how we can better help participants explore consciousness using our programs.
- Only at Monroe. What we do is unique. We need to better inform people about how TMI differs from the competition that has grown up. The short answer is we are solidly within the Western tradition of meditation. This tradition emphasizes active participation during meditation to explore the nonphysical universe. In this tradition, you are encouraged to bring your mind and your curiosity along. These are assets, not simply the distraction of “monkey mind” described in Eastern traditions.
- We need to be willing to get out of the way and know that every participant is a divine being whose inner self is unfolding a plan. We provide the crucible in which this plan can be discovered, tempered, enhanced, and accelerated.
- In an unfamiliar world, people like a path to follow. One of the wonderful legacies of Bob Monroe is that he did the hard work of initial exploration, of forging trails so that we can more easily navigate the nonphysical. The cool thing is that this exploration is still in its infancy. There is so much more to know. That’s the adventure.
- We do our best to reflect the aspiration of “no dogma.” The paths that we offer can be used within most other traditions. Our methods can be the main focus of exploration or a wonderful enhancement to other traditions. All are welcome to use them.
- Another legacy of Bob Monroe’s is that we reserve the right to change our minds. His mantra to me and many others was, “go out and explore, come back, and tell us what you found.” And so we do—each time refining what we know.
- The exploration of consciousness is valuable because it tells us how to live in the physical world. It’s not about escaping to another dimension. It’s about learning how our discoveries have practical applications here in the physical.
- We are not our technology. Bob Monroe adapted binaural beat technology to develop Hemi-Sync®. We use Monroe technologies as a way to support you in your explorations. Our sound tech is but training wheels, destined to be cast off when they’ve taught us what we need to know.
- Relationships developed during programs are often long-lived. It’s like you’ve inherited a new family—people who can support you. As a Monroe technologies user, a consciousness explorer, you are part of a burgeoning community of people awakening throughout the planet. Not only are you serving your own growth, but through your growth, we all benefit.
Part of the magic of this place is that collectively we begin to realize what’s possible. Because if you do it, that means I can do it, too. With thousands a year participating in our programs we begin to understand the enormity of what is possible. - You are the magic. It’s not about the technology, the trainers, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the program groups—although all those are helpful—it’s your intent and curiosity that will take you to places unimagined.
This is my top ten list as of today. It’s evolving as I learn more about the Institute and what we are capable of.
The adventure has just begun.
Please come join us!
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