Conference quark::human_relations-v1

	Well the NAT course I was on was interesting but that was all.

	It was like watching a documentory on T.V. in fact it was like
	watching LOTS of documentorys as the course has around 10 video
	tapes ( I seem to remember ).
	
	They are presentated by this American gentleman that tries to
	show you how you can make yourself into a superman/superwoman
	by a mixture of self hypnosis/self Brain Washing.

	Similar to the "Every day in every way I'm getting better and better"
	chants, in NAT you clear your mind, and have positive phrases
	that you think to yourself while trying to see in your mind
	what you want to achieve and more importantly, try to imagine
	the emotion achievement would produce.

	Personnaly I felt a bit of a nanna sitting in bed ( your supposed
	do this first thing in the morning and last thing before you
	go to sleep ), reciting a phrase you write on bits of card.

	Also the attitude of the presenter was annoying and sort of "I know
	what I'm talking about so you'd better listen".

	As somebody said in another note - He would make a great con-man.

	New Age Music has no relevence as far as I can see except that
	( for me ), it is equally boring.

	Paul.

New Age Thinking / Investment in Excellence is taught by Lou Tice of 
the Pacific Institute and facilitated by folks within Digital who 
have been to the institute for facilitator training.

To my knowledge, there is no relationship between music designated 
New Age and the NAT course.

The concepts taught by NAT are used by Olympic athletes worldwide to 
perfect their performance... affirmation and visualization.  The 
concepts can be adapted to any facet of life or business.  I've only 
been involved with the course as a participant so take it for 
that...

The concept says that if you picture/visualize/affirm yourself 
(safely) doing or being "there" ... you define the target "there"... 
and you repeat it often enough, you will find yourself being
naturally uncomfortable in your present situation... and will move
naturally to correct for the difference.  It's based on Gestalt. 

That's the technique.... but a lot of what the course contains is 
building up your confidence to take the first steps of defining the 
target...kept, by the way, completely to yourself.

Marge

    I work in Mfg/Eng Training & Development in Tewksbury, and we deliver
    the seminar New Age Thinking/Investment in Excellence.  The following
    is the "Focus and Objectives" for the course:
    
    New Age Thinking/Investment in Excellence (NAT/IIE) is primarily a knowledge
    seminar.  The knowledge acquired is not a substitute for skills.
    Participants are provided with information which they may apply to
    improving their relational skills, after the course.  Adult development
    is a process and NAT/IIE represents a learning experience from which
    participants may move to acquire the additional knowledge and skills
    they need to set and achieve personal and professional goals.
    
    The NAT/IIE seminar is a structured learning experience which focuses
    on personal and professional growth opportunities.  The seminar teaches
    basic concepts of human behavior and explores the linkage between
    thought and action.  All seminar material is based on the premise
    that human beings have untapped potential which remains inaccessible
    due to self-erected barriers created by previous behavioral
    conditioning.  Using a combination of video tape instruction,
    participant manuals for individual work, and small group discussion,
    the seminar assists participants in identifying those barriers which
    inhibit their own use of potential.
    
    The primary objective of the seminar is to trigger awareness of
    these barriers where they exist in the mind and experience of each
    participant.  A secondary objective of the seminar is to provide
    each participant with a technique - affirmation and visualization- 
    which is designed to increase use of untapped resources.  The seminar
    format takes participants through a series of steps from awareness
    to insight to identification of areas of application of seminar
    concepts.

    If you think you might be interested in enrolling in this course,
    send me mail.
    
    	-Dotti.

Here's what I know about the New Age:

     o  The term NA refers to the coming astrological age, the age of Aquarius.
        This age supposedly ushers in an era of people working together,
        not like the "everyone for themself" attitude seen now.

     o  NA thinking involves new attitudes about body, mind, spirit.  The
        idea is that body/mind/spirit are one entity, not separate as we
        consider them today.  Much emphasis is put on balancing all aspects
        of life (body/mind/spirit) and so be able to live with life, not
        fight against it.   This is all very hard to explain:  the idea is
        that the western way of life, with it's emphasis on material, not spi-
        ritual values, is not the way to go.  All very earthshoes and granola,
        but more focussed than I can make it sound.  Much of the holistic
        approach to health care is NA-oriented.  Accupuncture, work with
        crystals (like amthyst and quartz), studying auras and chakras (Hindu-
        defined energy centers in the body) all fit into this category.
        I believe in almost all of it, but if I have bronchial pneumonia, I'm
        going to the MD for some antibiotics.

     o  NA music is a category designed by the marketing groups of the major
        record labels.  When the original labels (Windham Hill, for example)
        started, they didn't call themselves NA.  But when CBS, RCA, etc
        found out that William Ackerman and George Winston sell, they found
        their own artists and started marketing the stuff under the NA label.
        Generally speaking, NA music is gentle, meditative (some would say
        repititious), and acoustically-based.  Not all of it is like this:
        many of the artists hate this label because their music is not 
        "spacy" but they get sold out of the NA bin because of the company
        they work for.

     o  Beware hucksters selling products/workshops about NA anything (this
        is not in reference to the course mentioned in previous replies;
        I know nothing about it.)  Like anything else, some people will
        use any label to sell things.  Some of the NA courses pervert the
        concepts of self-actualization and self-empowerment to focus
        on the aggrandizement of personal power without responsibility.
        I mean, it's great to get yourself free, but not to aggressively
        ride over others.

  A bit long, but that's what I know about it.

  MM

    Re .1, I know what you mean about courses like that.  I just hate
    that kind of crap.  That type of thing gives me a really BAD attitude.
    

    Although there are courses and products that use the word, New Age
    really refers to a movement toward self-awareness, cosmic conciousness,
    spiritual awakening and mysticism, and entails a re-evaluation of
    our value systems.  The new_age music is designed to produce an
    alpha state for relaxation, stress-reduction or self-hypnosis. 
    New Agers are merely seeking tomorrow. 

For more information on New Age/whatever you can look in HYDRA::HOLISTIC, which
if I had known the term when I first started the file, might be called
HYDRA::NEW_AGE... :-)

Jim Baranski
HOLISTIC  Moderator... 

    re.7 Reminds me of why i gave up pot - and the Grateful Dead :-)

    this topic does not belong here.
    it is almost worthy of its own conference.
    it is impossible to totally explode and explain the theoretical
    practices of mind set changes in one note.
    not worth trying.

    re: .9
    I suppose you don't listen to The Who, Pink Floyd, and Crosby Stills
    Nash and Young anymore either .... tsk, tsk, tsk :-)
       (and they wondered where all those flower children had gone):-)

I think that the class/seminar might more acurately be called 'Creative
Visualization', or 'Positive Thinking', rather then New Age Thinking...

Jim.

    RE: .12  I sure do listen to all the old R&R I used to, and just
    as loud, too.  That really has nothing to do with it.  

    some confusion here.  .12 is refering to .9 (as a joke response) 
    not to the note that you wrote...sorry for the misunderstanding.

    re: .0

       I attended NAT in the UK which was given on a series of Video
    Tapes - when, in my ignorance, I disagreed with the points being
    made, I had no opportunity to challenge which I found very frustrating.
    
       For the course itself, I think the "marketing" is better than
    the "content" - I walked out after the first day and have never
    regretted it. Not my scene - I prefer to learn, not be TOLD, which
    was the impression I was left with.
    
    be lucky,
    
    Steve

    
    I was "lucky" enough to be (:-{)in the 1st new age thinking course
    offered in the Maynard area, about 3-4 years ago.  I found it boring,
    boring, and more boring.  It was like a brainwashing clinic.  You
    can overcome this and that by positive thinking.  Always think
    positive, AKA, ignore the real.  We were forced to go by our manager,
    it was his course.   The course was poor, all video tapes, not much
    discussions.  That has changed.  ITs always much better to have
    2-way vs 1-way communications!
    
    Overall, it remined me of a mix between a college pysch course and
    Pat Robertson.
    
    Just my opinion...
    
    GOG
     

re. 6,16,17

	I totally agree... I had to attend NAT here in NZ... yuck!!!


re. 0

	Last day of the course they dimmed the lights... made us all lie
	on the floor and 'free our minds of thoughts'... whilst they played
	some NA ??? music...

	I'm sure someone did fall asleep :)

    All this is very interesting. Thank you all for taking time to explain
    this to me.
    
    I think I understand better what some of the references to New Age
    Thinking mean, enough to at least ask a semi-intelligent question
    if I had to.
    
    If I ever start having trouble with insomnia, I know where to go! :)
    
    --bonnie 

I'd like to say that I think that there is a lot to 'New Age' (such as it means
to me) thinking. 

But then again, It doesn't sound like the seminar was presented very well; how
could anybody expect to get new ideas across by "making" smeone attend a
seminar!

Jim. 

  Let's say that I am underwhelmed with the responses that I read here.  I
  like to think that I keep an open mind when it comes to new ideas, but there
  seems to be a definate direction to the opinions here.
  
  Is there anybody out there who attended any of these classes who has
  something good to say about them?  It has been suggested by my management
  that I attend such a class, and I would like to believe that I will be
  getting something out of it besides a couple of days away from the office.
  
  Or should I apply the "supermarket theory"? - I will find at this class
  whatever it is I go into it looking for, and not much else...
  
                                        - Tom
  

   Digital has many departments who have a first reply of
            NO, CAN`T, WON`T, NOT MY PROBLEM ETC.
    
    We took a Department in the UK from a failing organisation
    to a successful operation providing company profits and employee
    satisfaction.
    
    We did this with the help of New Age Thinking.  People with a negative
    attutude now find it difficult to work here!   

    I would like to say, I have had the seminar on New Age Thinking.
    The corporation is full of folks who resist changes.  I found that
    New Age Thinking made me skillful in dealing with some changes.
    Just the Attitude Check was enough.  I found that once I looked
    at something a little differently, I was able to deal with it a
    little better.
    
    On the other end of the stick, an excersise we had been assigned
    dealth with remaining totally calm for 24-hrs.  Normally, I am a
    kinda hyper person and jump to situations sometimes.  My assignment
    was to relax and pretend that the guy on the rotary just didn't
    cut me off, or that the dogs had bitten the paperboy again and my
    inground pool sprung a leak and a $2200 liner was ruined, never
    mind I lost my job that day and they towed my car from its parking
    spot.  All of these things happening and I was supposed to deal
    with it.  By the way, it all happened in a 24-hour period.  Was
    I upset, no, I've had New Age Thinking.  I dealt with it in my usual
    character.  
    
    I went home, beat the dog, kicked the cat and refused to eat my
    supper.  The next day, I went to work and everything was fine. 
    I was taught, how to deal.
    
    Actually, the course was presented excellently and really was awed
    at some of the information.
    
    To Better Days and Happy Endings, Nancy