This
page presents a summary of feedback from the four
participants who enrolled in the beta test of the
40
hour course that taught elements of the
Mystical Paradigm (MP). This course was implemented as a real time, on line, video
tutorial. The MP principles and concepts were applied to the
application area of conflict resolution (mediation.)
The
40 hour test was implemented between October 8 and
November
8, 2007. Because this was a beta test of this tutorial format, no fee was charged the participants, nor were any inducements of any kind offered, other than the perceived value of the course to them.
The course interaction among
teacher and
students was implemented by means of a Skype five way conference call,
with sharing of the instructor's desktop managed by
means of
Yugma's desktop sharing software. The locations of the
participants included rural Alabama, Portland, OR, Vancouver, BC, and
Lelystad, Netherlands, with the instructor originating the training from
Johnstown, PA. The primary instructional resources were the
instructor's extensive (+120 page) Internet site, Outrageous Truth: A Mystical Paradigm, http://www.ot-mp.net
(of which this page is now one element), instructor designed PowerPoint
resources, and selected additional Internet resources. The
goals, course outline, and behavioral objectives can
be
visited by means of the on-line Study Guide
used by the instructor, not all elements of which were included due to
time constraints limiting the course to 40 hours.
The
backgrounds of the participants who were accepted on a first come first served
basis, included (in random order):
- a person living on
social security benefits
- a professional counselor
providing coaching skills to parents, families, and high school students
- a
professional developmental systems designer
- a marketer, adult educator
The
evaluation took place by means of two episodes. The first
evaluation episode
required a response to an evaluation form provided by the instructor.
The feedback from this technical form is not included here
because it
was a
developmental form intended to guide the instructor for subsequent
revisions. The second evaluation focued on the value of the
course experience to the participants. It asked for a response
from
the
eight questions as are itemized below. These questions are intended to
be used
in any subsequent implementation of the Tutorial.
While
the
nature of this beta test precluded the possibility of any anonymity of
responses from the participants, the instructor categorically states as follows, that he:
- had no prior
relationship nor even a contact with any participant
- has no authority or
influence to affect their future lives in any way as a result
of their responses
- had no quid pro quo, nor
any future commitment of any kind with any participant
The
eight questions the participants were asked to address were the
following items:
1. Your initial hopes
and concerns prior to signing on.
2.
Why you signed on.
3.
Net impact on your having signed on–sorry or sad.
4.
Principal benefit the experience provided to you. Any surprises?
5.
In what ways might you apply your understanding of the MP in your life?
6.
What would you say to others if they asked you whether they should
apply to a future Tutorial?
7.
If you had paid the
current fee, did you
get your money’s worth?
[NOTE:
This question turned out to be an improper question for the purposes of
this evaluation. The students mostly agreed that, in
terms of
their important needs, they
would not
have gotten their money's worth. That question served to validate their
promise to not "guild the lily," but to answer every question
with|"straight talk." I have chosen not
to include their comments because, since this was a beta test, no
effort was made in advance to determine just what their needs were, nor
to modify the course to meet explicitly defined needs, nor to exclude
them if their needs were such as to not be addressed by the course at
the generic level. Any subsequent implementation for which a
fee
will be charged will first identify a participant's explicit needs,
then modify the design of the Tutorial to address these needs,
and to
exclude those whose needs ultimately lie outside the limits of the
designed objectives for the Tutorial. Only under
those
conditions is question seven a fair question.]
8.
If I decide to include your feedback as testimony on my site, may I
include your name? If somebody wants to communicate with you about your
feedback, I will send their inquiry to you and you can decide whether
to respond or not.
RESPONSES
(In random order.)
Participant 1:1. Your initial hopes and
concerns prior to signing on.
My hope was to
have a deeper understanding of conflict resolution from a more
spiritual
perspective, and to learn skills to resolve conflict in my life, as
well as
facilitate conflict resolution for kids I work with.
My concern was
getting the amount of time necessary for the course. It happened
synchronistically to work out perfectly for the month of October, but
would
have been difficult any other time.
2.
Why you signed on.
I am
passionate about applying spiritual principles in my life wherever
possible.
This seemed like a great opportunity to apply spiritual principles in
an area
that comes up a lot with parenting and working with kids-conflict
resolution.
3.
Net impact on your having
signed on–sorry or sad.
I am very glad
I signed on, and very grateful for your time in sharing this profound
work with
us. I only wish we could have gotten deeper into conflict resolution
and
practiced more.
4.
Principal benefit the
experience provided to you. Any surprises?
I thoroughly enjoyed being with
like-minded spiritual seekers and studying a profound understanding of
REALITY.
A synergy was created that helped deepen each other’s growth
and understanding.
5.
In what ways might you apply
your understanding of the MP in your life?
The concept of listening for the
feeling behind the words as a way to spiritually connect with others
will
remain with me always, and will be a part of my interactions. As I
sharpen my
skills, I will use it with my own children, my spouse, and with my
clients. As
you know, as a coach listening and empathy are essential. However the
way it is
explained in the MP ratchets listening another notch, or as you say,
active
listening on steroids. I love that expression. I love the idea that
connecting
with feelings connects us spiritually. From now on, I will feel the
sacredness
of listening, thanks to the illumination provided by the MP!
6.
What would you say to others if
they asked you whether they should apply to a future Tutorial?
I have a two
part answer to this question. First, I believe this course would be
very
attractive to someone who is fairly new to the field of metaphysics and
wants
both a historical as well as a comprehensive review of sacred writings,
along
with a profound spiritual view on REALITY. The parables are AMAZING and
make
the learning easy.
The second
part of my answer is more difficult as I am projecting.
Since I am very familiar with metaphysics and
have been studying, practicing meditation since my teen years, I truly
just
wanted to become more familiar with conflict resolution from a MP. I
got my
masters and Ph.D. from the University of Metaphysics/Sedona (it’s non-traditional,
non-accredited except through the
ministry, but it
was a great learning
experience). I can imagine that if we had gone deeper into it the CR,
we would
have had a sample mediation session with you as the mediator and the
participants role playing the disputants; then we each would have taken
a turn
as the mediator. We would have done more practice with both the hearing
the
feeling behind the words, as well as the NLP. Now I am projecting that
if I had
had that kind of experience, and I have no doubt that you can provide
that
experience, I could highly recommend you to others. I still can
recommend the
MP, but I would have more confidence and enthusiasm if I had the
desired
experience.
7. Not included
8.
If I decide to
include your feedback as testimony on my site, may I include your name?
If
somebody wants to communicate with you about your feedback, I will send
their
inquiry to you and you can decide whether to respond or not.
That would be fine.
Participant 2:1. Your initial hopes and concerns prior to signing on.
To meet new friends of "Like Mind" and to learn how to mediate and resolve conflict
2. Why you signed on.
To be completely honest, because it was affordable for me
3. Net impact on your having signed on–sorry or sad.
I'm sad that it ended so soon but overjoyed for the experience and time spent was well spent
4. Principal benefit the experience provided to you. Any surprises?
Well,
before the first course, me and my daughter weren't speaking but now
are so it benefited me and her both and she wasn't even in the class
5. In what ways might you apply your understanding of the MP in your life?
In every way a problem that needs a resolution arises
6. What would you say to others if they asked you whether they should apply to a future Tutorial?
I'd say "Absolutely" They'll learn things they didn't know that they don't know and will be empowered with new knowledge.
7. Not included
8.
If I decide to include your feedback as testimony on my site, may I
include your name? If somebody wants to communicate with you
about your feedback, I will send their inquiry to you and you can
decide whether to respond or not.
You
can use my first name/last initial and would prefer "no contact" as I
may not know what to say at that time and devalue this valuable course.
Participant 3:
1. Your initial hopes and concerns prior to signing on.
Hoping to be able to use it in daily practice
2. Why you signed on.
Ian made me aware of your knowledge
3. Net impact on your having signed on–sorry or sad.
I do not know what you meant by net impact
4. Principal benefit the experience provided to you. Any surprises?
In
an agreeable way, yes. It is all and theoretical, practical, and
spiritual coming and going from and going to one Source from [???] that I have not seen yet in mediation
5. In what ways might you apply your understanding of the MP in your life?
I
had already an understanding of the MP in my life. So within myself I
was and am always in peace. That does not mean, that I do not see the
difficult parts of life. I have lived 57 years and I am still at peace
thanks to my awareness.
6. What would you say to others if they asked you whether they should apply to a future Tutorial?
That I have met a spiritual mediation method that will be a fresh wind through the old traditions of mediation.
7. Not Included
8.
If I decide to include your feedback as testimony on my site, may I
include your name? If somebody wants to communicate with you about your
feedback, I will send their inquiry to you and you can decide whether
to respond or not.
Of
course, always. I only need time to read it all over, because of the
language etc. But also because I have to do my job to survive. I am
living from a social security income and I have to get out of the
polder [land reclaimed from the sea], if I really have to take 2012 seriously. The polder where I am
living in will be totally under water. It was also predicted in the
Ramala. So a lot of TM pioneers alredy left long before all these kinds
of knowledge about 2012 [come to pass.]
Participant 4:
1. Your initial hopes and concerns prior to signing on.
My initial hopes
prior to the start of the course were:
1) to gain a systems-based
understanding of the significance of and interaction
between the three ego
overlays and spiritual consciousness; and
2) to learn some things about
spiritually-based mediation
2. Why you signed on.
I signed on to
take advantage of what I could tell was a tremendous learning opportunity at
a time when I was open to it and had the flexibility in my schedule, and to
reciprocate by fully participating and assisting the originator/facilitator
in determining the appropriateness and potential of the online course in
OT-MP.
3. Net impact on your having signed on–sorry or sad.
Overall
I had a very positive and challenging learning experience and I have no
regret for having committed myself to the 40 hour program.
4.
Principal benefit the experience provided to you. Any surprises?
The
principal benefit I experienced was becoming more intimately familiar with
the OT-MP. This cursory glance certainly left me wanting another 40 hours of
immersion with it.
5. In what ways might you apply your understanding
of the MP in your life?
I can directly apply my understanding of the MP to
create and maintain a healthy and spiritually informed perspective on the
complementary roles of intellect and intuition in my life, and I can use
this awareness to lead and be of service to my community by "empowering
the powerless and educating the powerful".
6. What would you say to
others if they asked you whether they should apply to a future Tutorial?
I
would suggest that a prospective student ask themselves deeply
and personally: "Am I willing and prepared to expand my awareness
of Reality so that I can more fully step into my power as an integral part
of human consciousness?" If the answer to the question is YES, then I would
highly recommend creating the space to engage in this learning.
7. Not included
8. If I decide to
include your feedback as testimony on my site, may I include your name? If
somebody wants to communicate with you about your feedback, I will send their
inquiry to you and you can decide whether to respond or not.
Yes, you may
include my name and send specific inquiries to me.
Return to Study Guide
Return to Master Mediation Page
Return to Outrageous Truth: A Mystical Paradigm Home Page
Date of current update, November 13, 2007.
