Over the years of taking self-development classes, I’ve heard instructors say how beneficial it can be to retake the same class. Now, when I first heard this, I remember thinking, “Why would I retake this class when I’ve already done it?” It seemed like a waste when there are so many other classes to take. Sound familiar? BUT, after taking MindScape & Advanced MindScape 6 times before becoming an instructor, I began to understand the depth, value, and power in retaking a course. Now, after taking and teaching MindScape almost 30 times, I truly get it. I understand the magnitude of shifts in perspectives and beliefs that are possible to unravel by revisiting the things we ‘think’ we know. It can take us through deeper layers of ourselves that we haven’t yet journeyed. Let me be one to say that, as instructors, we are not telling you to monitor a course in order to take your money. (Honestly, there isn’t a lot of money in it for us). Rather, let me put this in perspective: When was the last time that you have taken up a new hobby or learned a new skill and perfected it over the weekend? My guess is, well, probably never. That has never been my experience anyways.

Of course, it takes practice, which is what happens after you take a course -- as long as you stay on the bandwagon and keep using your tools. What I’ve personally found most powerful in re-taking a class are the things I thought I understood the first go around, or the new information that I never even heard the first time. You know what I’m talking about… “Did the manual change?” Nope, wasn’t the manual. (Hint: It was youuuu). You were ready to go deeper. You were ready to hear it this time. Your perspective shifted enough to let that information in this round. “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

(Ain’t that the truth!) You are constantly changing and evolving, shedding some layers, adding some new ones, in a constant state of flux. So, even in taking the ‘same course’, you will hear things differently, experience a different group dynamic, engage in new conversations, have brand new ‘aha’ moments, crystal clear revelations, and probably even had a different delivery of information from the same instructor – because your perception is wildly different, and your instructor has also shifted. In teaching MindScape for the past 3+ years, I now understand this much more deeply. Each time I teach, I participate while guiding students. To think that I used to wonder what the point was of monitoring now blows me away. It is quite humbling to know that we can always go deeper, always uncover more, always broaden our perspective, reveal new layers to resolve, and uncover hidden talents and dreams. Each time I teach, I learn more, I go deeper, and my perspective gets wider. From the questions that are asked, to the perspectives and experiences shared, to the new possibilities that each student brings, to my attempts to reword, re-explain, or take a stab at throwing out possible interpretations for a student -- the learning is limitless.

New possibilities open up, new connections are made, inspiration is sparked, creativity unfolds, and imagination takes flight.

It blows my mind. Every. Single. Time. The thing with self-development and consciousness work is that you have to pay attention and use your tools. This doesn’t just mean taking all the classes to get all the certificates. It means stretching your own comfort zone, making yourself a daily practice and priority, receiving regular sessions of your own (and paying for them so that others will pay you), using the incredible tools you have at your disposal, paying attention to the mirroring in the sessions you do, and, most importantly of all, walking your talk. I truly believe MindScape and BodyTalk are completely life-changing tools, but they are NOT magic pills -- you have to USE THEM in order for them to help you! I know that after the first few times I took MindScape, I'd stay on the bandwagon for a while, then fall off and stop using my workshop. Then when I would try to get going again, it was SO MUCH HARDER. So, why do we stop if we know how potent and life-altering these techniques can be?

Is it a form of self-sabotage? Probably.

Do we sometimes need to learn the hard way? Perhaps.

Are we attached to the struggle? Maybe. But, what if we didn't need to KEEP DOING LIFE the hard way?

Is it time to get out of the way? (I know this is something I have to consciously revisit on the regular -- self-sabotage check-in). When we are really ‘doing the work,’ we are bringing new awareness to light, dismantling false beliefs, and, thus, broadening our perspective to open our minds to what else is possible. You can always go deeper into yourself. Always. AND, if you are not expanding and stretching your perspective, then you are narrowing it. It’s simply the natural evolution of the mind. So, keep diving deeper, never stop learning, and forever expand your perspective. Reread the best books you own. Watch documentaries. Start deep conversations with expansive minds. Research inspiring people. Watch TedTalks from thought leaders – new ones and ones you’ve already seen 10 times. There is always room to grow. Monitoring (aka retaking) a course is a wonderfully expansive (and affordable) opportunity to grow. I just thought you should know. May you never stop growing.