Sylvia Hermreck's Experiece of Understanding Yourself and Others

I arrived at the UYO (Understanding Yourself & Others) workshop unexpectedly, and at the last minute. I had heard about UYO for several years but there was always a good reason not to attend (funny how many of the other's in my class ended up there the same way). Finding the time to spend an entire weekend at yet another workshop wasn't all that appealing. After all, how life changing can one weekend be?

Ha! How life changing can one weekend be? Well, three weeks later, I can tell you that not one day goes by that I don't find myself contemplating some aspect of thought from that weekend. Not only did I gain knowledge from my own experiences, but also as each of my fellow travelers explored issues in their own lives (including the instructors and assistants) I learned something from each and every one of them. It was astounding to me that a group of such very diverse people had so much in common (and so much to teach, and learn from, each other).

I can absolutely tell you that I would not be where I am today if not for that weekend. I learned so much, that as I am confronted with different situations, choices, or events in my life, I know that just that bit of knowledge which I most need at that moment, will pop into my head from the UYO weekend. Most importantly for today, that weekend I heard what I most needed to hear right now. Isn't it worth your time to go, listen and discover the message you most need to hear at this point in your life?

The spirit of generosity and love exhibited by the Center's "family" also astounded me. As we "newbies" entered the room, unsure of ourselves, huddled around our centers as though to protect our fragile hearts (or is that our egos?), we were surrounded by ebulliently dancing assistants and instructors! They were so beautiful in their joyfulness! Throughout the weekend, they shared their love, their tears, and their courage (along with boxes of Kleenex and bottles of water!) with us. And yes, by the end of the weekend, even I was "dancing"!

As I go forward in my life, one of the things that I have chosen for myself is to be one of those joyfully dancing assistants. So why not sign up for the next UYO, I'd love to be the one to hand you a water bottle, or a hug!

The First Wealth is Health

This quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson helped me see the importance of what I am doing at the Center. I have been particular about my health for two main reasons. One, is that growing up in a funeral home, I saw many people die at early ages. Second, my own family members were overweight.

Reading from Words to Live by Eknath Easwaran, he said, "When you regard your life as a trust, you realize that the first resource you have to take care of is your own body. This can be startling. Even your body is not really your own. It belongs to life, and it is your responsibility to take care of it. You cannot afford to do anything that injures your body, because the body is the instrument you need for selfless action. That is the fine print of the trust agreement: when we smoke, when we overeat, when we don't get enough exercise, we are violating the terms of the trust.

If you want to live life at its fullest, you will want to do everything possible to keep your body in vibrant health in order to give back to life a little of what it has given you."

Refreshing Relationships by Joe Sexton

Joe Sexton, a graduate of all of the Global Courses, has written an article to express what he experienced by taking the Refreshing Relationship Course. He is willing to share this article with us. Thank you Joe.

Whether you are just starting out on a relationship or you have been with your partner for years, The Refreshing Relationships course will give you a deeper understanding of your partner and make your relationship stronger. It is an exploration into new things, and into seeing old things in a new light. The muscle we will exercise is communication, either strengthening it, establishing it, or re-establishing it.

We start the weekend with an exploration into the relationship as it is or what it has become. What do we expect from our partner? What do we blame them for? What do we do to make each other unhappy? But the purpose of this isn't to make a laundry list of our partner's faults. We share our lists, and discover that our partner has listed things we never knew about or didn't think were problems. From there we decide to paraphrase the Freedom Paragraph from Loving Yourself and Other, which problems we now recognize and correct and which we choose not to change.

We work during the weekend on seeing ourselves through our partner's eyes. What do they see in us that we do not see in ourselves? This is a positive inquiry, looking not at problems but at strengths. It is an exploration of the question, "Why do you love me?" We usually think we know the answer, but sometimes our partner sees strengths in us that we don't see in ourselves. We do things that we think are trivial that give great happiness to our partner. The things we think are of great importance sometimes aren't. Either way, we haven't communicated this to our partner before today.

Another part of the weekend explores the barriers we erect that block communication. Why don't we share some things with our partner? Are we afraid that our partner will be angry? Insulted? Disgusted? We learn that it is OK to ask for what we want from our partner.

The last part of the weekend is an exercise in appreciation. Do we show our partner that we appreciate all of the positive things they do? Are we showing that appreciation in a way our partner really loves, or just in the way that we think they will love? Using all of the new information we have learned over the weekend, we practice appreciating each other by providing our partner with an experience they will truly enjoy.

After the weekend I found that I saw my partner in new ways. I remembered the things that attracted me to her all those years ago and discovered new things I didn't know were there. I learned some things we could do differently to strength our bond even further. I learned ways to show my love that truly mattered to her. And she learned the same things about me. I wish I'd had the benefit of this class when we were first starting out in our relationship, and every couple should take the course every few years to keep their relationship strong.