We want to give you an opportunity to put into practice one little change at a time. The integration of material is important. If given the opportunity to listen to all the lessons most people would do so in a short time and not take any actions. You can learn behavior change by reading and listening. This is about developing skills. 

Much like swimming, you can’t learn and get better by reading about it.

Too much information would turn this process into an intellectual knowledge gathering experience. That’s not enough to make change in beliefs, emotions and behaviors. To make changes you’ve got to integrate these changes in your life through awareness, action and activity. The days between sessions allow for action on the exercises and integration.

Nope. Definitely not a cult or a Scientology thing. If anything it has to do with deprogramming yourself from years of repetitious thinking and beliefs. Once you are free of those automatic patterns, the process changes to be about creating and living the life you want. You won’t find anyone here telling you what that is, just helping guide you to the destinations and experiences you set for yourself. 

Resistance to some of the exercises is likely to happen. Some will be easy and flow. Others will be difficult. It’s okay to skip an exercise for a while. Come back to it in a couple weeks and see if that resistance has broken down some by the other practices. You might also try applying some of the exercises to the resistance and emotions that come up. The exercises work well on the resistance. Sometimes, in the more advanced approaches, you take on a practice with the purpose to having your resistance arise so you can identify it more clearly. 

We don’t see resistance as a bad thing to be avoided. We generally see resistance as the opportunity for growth. It is showing up so we can identify what has been unconsciously blocking our growth. 

With some sessions, you will see it immediately. In session 1 you practice gratitude and your emotions will change in that moment. At other times you may go to practice gratitude and what will come up are resistance stories (negative thoughts and judgments in your mind).  It will seem like you are going backwards. This is just the ego pushing back against change. In reality you are making progress, but based on your emotions it doesn’t feel like an improvement.

Sometimes after your workout at the gym your muscles are sore, and you are so weak you can’t do another rep. Muscle fatigue and soreness aren’t an indication of lack of progress or that you are going backwards. In this process of changing beliefs you will have to learn that how you feel in that moment doesn’t equate to progress. 

With most exercises, just like going to the gym, you will see cumulative results of repetition over time is how you get the big changes. 

There is not a wrong answer here in which course to do next. I generally recommend people work on the issues that are most directly in front of them. 

The Relationship Course does not require a lot in the way of time consuming work. It reveals many of the beliefs that create drama and dysfunction in relationship. This is largely an awareness component. If you have done the Self Mastery Course I you can use these skills to change the patterns you discover. 

Self Mastery Course II deepens the inventory process and focuses several sessions on dissolving the characters of the Judge and Victim. It also directs you in creating a new life you want. 

If the issues you are having are drama in relationship, then do that course. If you are facing a lot of self judgments, or judgments of others then do SMC II. 

If you want to do both, then I think it is very reasonable to do both. Get them at the same time, work on sessions as the come up, pick up the new tools and techniques as fast as you can. Then, when you get to the end of the series, start from the beginning and deepen your practice.