My son took the process a number of years ago and it made a significant positive change in our father/son relationship. As his dad I would tell him when I thought he was on the right track and when I thought he wasn't. This wasn't very desirable information to him.
After the process, his attitude to my rants changed completely. No longer did he lose it when I worried about his faults. He recognized the love in them as well as the reproof. Of course, as he changed so did I. I no longer needed to give him news he was already well aware of.
Want to improve communication will your grown children? Suggest the process. You will be very lucky if they say, "Yes."
I first became involved with the Institute as a client in 1989 and even now check in with my therapist from time to time as needed. As a client, volunteer, and now Board Member with this organization, I can say unequivocally that going through The Process has been one of the most important and life-enhancing steps I have ever taken.
The work I did and continue to do has allowed me to clean up a lot of old business from a difficult childhood and address lingering issues that were interfering with work, family, and relationships. I have recommended it to friends, colleagues, and siblings and will continue to do so without reservation.
Simply put the process changed my life. It was like having 10 yrs of therapy rolled into 9 weeks. It was tough and demanding both from a time perspective as well as an introspection angle and while the program was great, I was incredibly impressed by how much my fellow participants put into it and were getting out of it. It forced me to step up and really put my all into what the process tries to deliver. The process helped me fill in the holes in my self confidence, both the known as well as the unknown, that were troubling me all my life. As a result, Im a much better person than I was before.
I was at a point of my life where things were stagnant and I didn't feel I was progressing emotionally, mentally or professionally. I wasn't maturing so to speak. When I found out about the "Process", I knew immediately it was exactly what I was looking for. I didn't have a great childhood and there were definitely experiences during my childhood that didn't make sense to me or that were traumatic and abusive, sexually, mentally and physically. I wanted to understand why and how they affected me as an adult. The Process made me dig deep into my past, which wasn't pleasant, but it helped me seek the truth and helped me understand relationships so much better. All kinds of relationships, parent to child, friendships and intimate relationships, all of them. It helped me understand my parents so much better and on a much deeper level. All my life I had felt like a big kid/teenager even though I was legally an adult, something just didn't feel right. After the Process, I finally felt like an adult, able to feel the freedom of living under my parents "mental" thumb. I felt like I could live for me and do things for me and not to please anyone else especially my parents. I became more open to new things, compassionate to people, more patient, more understand of others and most of all, I forgave myself and released myself of a lot of self-criticsm. I learned to love myself. A couple of months after I completed the Process, I quit my job and opened up my own business, something that previously I was too scared to do. I also became pregnant and had a beautiful baby and I want to be the better parent to him and to be PRESENT in his life. The Process opened up so many doors for me and I feel it will do the same for anyone who does the program. It is not easy as you do rediscover/re-visit your painful past but in the end you are a more complete person and your life will be more colorful and full.
In 1974, I took the Process as a single parent, graduate student. It has made such a difference in my life, and in my parenting skills. I am a much happier person, more aware of my internal processes, and much more able to respond rather than react. I am able to have positive relationships with my children, my husband, my parents, and others since taking the Process. It basically changed how I view myself and the world around me. It is the best work I have ever done. In 1989, I joined the Board of Directors, and since 2003, I have volunteered as the Executive Director. I believe that the Process creates peace in the hearts of the participants, a peace that lasts over time.