I remember Pema Chödrön talking about the flash of awareness, like taking a photograph of a moment, that can happen during meditation. That moment of total insight and knowing. There was a moment like this I had during the program where I was like “oh, I get it now!” Everything became completely clear. It was a total mind/body/awareness/heart/physical/mysterious flash of understanding. Maybe yogis would call it samadhi, maybe meditators would call it enlightenment. From my understanding, those two states happen like that, briefly and fleeting. I feel like the container of love, non-judgment, support, and wisdom Faith held for us allowed for that to happen. Now in my mid-40s, I have a sense that I am in the middle of a transformation. I joined this journey with Faith because I deeply respect her as a person, I know she has been through the major discomfort of change to get to where she is now, and she's highly qualified to hold this environment for people who are interested in evolving. Who I am at the end of the seventh-month journey is entirely different than who I was at the beginning. We've all tried to change. We've all tried to create healthy habits and drop unhealthy ones...but unless there is an overarching reason to change, it doesn't happen. I've had much personal growth in my life, but nothing as effective or as powerful as The Great Work. Before, I had fleeting thoughts and desires about what I wanted my life and my future to look like. Now, I have more of a connection of Point A to Point B. I have a sense of ceremony and ritual back in my life that I've been craving, I have routines to support my overall wellness, and I have a 10-year vision that I visit and revisit daily. I learned about the underpinnings of how my mind works in a new way, and I reconnected with my loved ones. Halfway through the program, I received a major health diagnosis. Being able to fold future healing of this into my vision was one of the most powerful experiences I've had in personal growth. Being immersed in The Great Work as a guiding light during this challenging time gave me something positive to focus on and gave me a much-needed long-view perspective of my life. The best part? As The Great Work is ending, I know that it is just the beginning. I have the deepest respect and gratitude for our guide and am better because of her.

Cohort 1 The Great Work Participant