October 5th, 2016
I was first introduced to Anthony Robbins as a teenager. I don't know how I ended up with his cassette tape, Awaken the Giant Within, but I listened to it over and over again. I had to decide on my Magnificent Obsession and figure out what was keeping me from it. Tony stated that all our behaviours are about avoiding pain or getting pleasure. This was how you understood behaviour. What is the payoff? What am I avoiding?
I have since read some of his books, watched him on You Tube and, recently, I noticed a documentary about Tony on Netflix, I Am Not Your Guru. The documentary is all about his six day Date With Destiny Seminar in Bocca Raton. He offers this seminar every year in different locations and each seat costs just under 5G but the place is packed!
The documentary takes you through each day and you get to witness one or two interventions per day. This is really powerful work. Granted, some parts are a bit flashy, like a Las Vegas show but the people are doing some deep thinking about the life they want to lead. Tony says the goal of this seminar is to teach people "how to re-shape yourself so you can enjoy yourself. To Uncover who you are, reclaim who you are, meant for anyone who is hungry for more".
Day 1 is Preparation Day. He explains that we go through problems in life but they are gifts because problems keep us moving and we are meant to grow. When we stop growing, we are not happy. His aim on day one is to get to the source of problems because when you address the real issue, not the tiny stuff that you use to distract yourself, you can change your whole life in one moment. He asks the audience what is keeping them from reaching their dreams, from achieving their vision.
Day 2 is Evaluation Day. He gets people into teams. They share insights from day one and he has them examine patterns that they are not aware of but seems to be controlling them.
Day 3 is Discovery Day. They show a very poignant intervention with a young lady who was raised in a sect and taught that all she was good for was sex, this was how she served God. Tony obviously feels a connection to this woman. He sees her pain and helps her see that she now has the power to make different choices. He hooks her up with some training and support and has her pick three men in the audience that feel safe to her. They are tasked to check up on her once a month for six months. They created a bond that lasts beyond the seminar.
Day 4 is Relationship Day. Tony addresses the challenge of relationships, where we feel deeply, where we are raw, where we grapple with not being "enough". He says we develop visions for our business but not for our relationship. We need a vision of what we are creating together. He works with a couple who is off balance. The woman is more masculine and the man is more feminine. She wants him to be more masculine. He also desires this but he has had no male role models. He feels lost. Tony works with him and, we are told, they go home and have some pretty wild sex that night.
Day 5 is Transformation Day. Tony starts the day by talking to audience members who have not had one insight since the start of the seminar. He warns them to get out of their heads. The groups create posters with their vision, goals, mission statement and primary question, the question they ask most often that directs their life. He has people imagine their ideal life and describe it.
Day 6 is Integration Day. The groups work on anchoring their vision for their life into their nervous system. They jump, attach this vision to each sense and proclaim their intention at the top of their voice. Tony asks them to think of early memories and figure out what stories they created from these experiences, the meaning that was assigned to them. He takes them through a visualization exercise. They each recall three times in their life for which they feel gratitude. Again, he attaches these memories to the five senses. He then has participants stand, stretch and make their joyful sound.
You can tell that these people are feeling energetic, re-born and changed from this experience. As the crew follow Tony from Day 1 to Day 6, you can see that he is very focused and disciplined and that he is energized by his work. His wife is also very compassionate. She stands with him at the end of the seminar and she is seen hugging and interacting with people throughout the seminar. Tony's last directive to his devoted fans is "Leave the past behind and go make your life a masterpiece".
Very inspirational work!!
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
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