You can grow on your own, and there are many good books available to assist you in this process. Reading about life, however, is not the same as living it. The isa seminar is called "the Experience" because it is experiential. You cannot read about the taste of an orange to know what an orange tastes like. You can only know how an orange tastes by tasting it.

The isa Experience gives you a unique opportunity to explore who you are by working with a group of people towards greater awareness. The Experience creates an environment in which you see and experience yourself from many different perspectives - from outside the box of your normal perceptions. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to do this on your own.

When you experience yourself being some way other than what you are used to, it transforms the context in which you live your life. This greatly facilitates growth and opens up a space for the possibility of seeing that you can transcend any limitations you thought you had.

You don't need to do the Experience. No one does. isa comes from the point of view that people are perfect the way they are; that we are all capable of making our lives work and being happy.

isa is a vehicle for ongoing growth in our lives. Actually, it was designed for people who have already achieved most of what they want in life. A good metaphor is that if we represent our life as a yardstick, isa concerns the last ¼ inch on the yardstick. Wherever we are in our lives, our experience of life can be greatly enhanced when we get in touch with our ability to be genuine, creative and the source of our experience in life.

Many people who do the Experience have participated in other personal growth seminars and groups. They say there is something different to gain from each one, and often the seminars enhance each other. Many also say the Experience is unique in its approach and the results it produces.

Growth is an ongoing, lifelong journey. We do not claim that isa is the only, or a necessary, vehicle to support and nurture you in your growth. We do share with you that most people who do the Experience say it is one of the most valuable things they have ever done for themselves.

We recommend you discuss this issue with isa graduates you know who have also participated in other personal growth seminars. There's nothing better than to hear some individual perspectives to get a feel for this. Right now, you can read what some isa graduates have said by clicking here What Participants Say.

There are no pre-requisites to attending the isa Experience, and it doesn't matter if you have participated in anything like this before. You will get value from the Experience. Participants in the isa Experience come from all walks of life. There is a great diversity in cultural background, levels of education, age, types of occupation, as well as exposure to personal growth information.

You may have a bit more uncertainty about what to expect, and you will not be alone in this. It will not in any way lessen the value of the Experience for you.

This is a great question - the isa Experience will certainly affect your relationships with the people in your life. The Experience, however, is personal. It really is about you. You will most likely find that the Experience opens up your relationships: communication, understanding, and patterns of relating are all enhanced as you begin to experience your genuine self and become confident enough to share who you are with the people around you.

It sometimes happens that family members and friends do not understand beforehand why you want to do something like isa. This usually disappears, however, when you return from the Experience and they see that you are still yourself and are actually more open, more accepting of them, and better able to deal with all the many issues that come up in relationships.

isa is not psychotherapy and it will not interfere or conflict with therapy. isa graduates who are in therapy have said that the Experience greatly enhanced their therapy as they became aware of new aspects about themselves and their lives, and were able to bring a larger perspective into the work they were doing with their therapist.

We suggest that you discuss the Experience with your therapist, and perhaps show him or her an isa brochure to give further information.

Participation is not required and is not necessary for you to get value from the Experience. You are encouraged and invited to ask questions, make comments, and share insights - and it is not necessary to do so.

The environment of the Experience is very safe and supportive. It is not confrontive. Many people find they want to speak up, and find it easier than they thought it would be. Others find they want to process the information and their insights in the privacy of their own mind. There are many opportunities and ways to participate in the Experience. You are in charge of how you choose to do the Experience and, however you choose to do it, it will work for you.

In the Experience, you discover the person you really are, and what is true about you is that you are perfect. We are all, to some extent, afraid of who we are until we see that these feelings arise from old habits of thought and things people said to us while we were growing up. These negative impressions can be things like feelings of insecurity or of somehow not being good enough. These impressions are not who you are, they are barriers in the way of you experiencing your genuine self.

What the Experience does is allow you to recognize your fears and move beyond them to experience yourself as you truly are: infinitely capable, loving, powerful, and free. Most people say that after the Experience they accept themselves more, and they move on to disappearing any perceived limitations in their way.