Even with getting up at 5:00A after only a couple of hours of sleep to get the airport in time for my flight to Orlando, Florida, I was still energized and enthusiastic. I had been looking forward to this experience for a year, and the time had finally come!

I did my NLP Master Practitioner class with Debra Basham and Joel Bowman in July 2003. I had known even before completing the Master Practitioner class that I wanted to attend a training by Richard Bandler and that I wanted to complete the necessary requirements to become a licensed trainer of NLP. The trip to Orlando in March 2004 accomplished both of those goals.

I left the cold weather of Michigan and arrived in sunny, warm Florida eager and ready to learn. The Charisma Enhancement program I attended is also the program required for trainer's training. The stated goals of the program are to help participants get more comfortable and effective with public speaking. Although public speaking is something I have been comfortable with, I certainly learned some great techniques and increased my awareness of how to communicate to a group more effectively, both verbally and nonverbally.

What was really incredible, however, was how much additional teaching was being done under the guise of teaching public speaking! We were being stretched and challenged in all areas of our life. Anyone who is on a conscious path of self-awareness and healing received many valuable gifts through the teaching of Richard and John.

Richard Bandler, John La Valle, and the entire support staff worked together with precision and ease. Humor was an intentional tool and directness with participants was the strategy. Much of the teaching consisted of a series of installations ... helping each of us change old beliefs and expand our possibilities and awareness. I was continually amazed at the mastery exhibited in all of the lectures and interactions. Whether it was advanced language patterns, anchoring, nested loops, or trance work, the work was precise and elegant.

One of the most incredible aspects of this class for me was the international participation. I was able to interrelate with people from many countries around the world. I shared meals and conversation with folks from New Zealand, Chili, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, England, Singapore, Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Miami (oops ... Miami isn't another country, is it!) I was so humbled to share experiences with so many wonderful people from all over the world. During the week in Orlando, the world seemed a lot smaller to me than it had previously.