Ive re-read what I wrote so far ; I seem to be going round in circles. Behind all I've written here so far is that I want to be able to formulate (for myself, and, eventually for others - to use as they may see fit) as honestly and as clearly as possible, how and why it is that I have been so successful iwith my workshops in Europe between l981 until now. It sounds arrogant or embarrassing or narcissistic or grandiose to say this, alhough it's true. Furthermore, why bother, now that I 'm 94 and firmly closed the possibility of further workshops in Europe, with the idea that I might as well stop "at the top" rather than slowly deteriorate - although I am starting a small bi-monthly consultation group for "people helpers" to still keep my little finger in the process).
What I mean by "success" is that all my workshops went well - some extraordinarily well - with full satisfaction of participants and, more important, with good lasting results in the lives, relationships and/or careers of most, as proven by feed-back received years later, word-of-mouth referrals by previous participants and by my growing reputation , so that no publicity was necessary as the years went on - just an announcement of a "therapy group" or "training group" " general workshop" with my name suffiiced for it to be filled, with a waiting list. Yes my fees were high - well above those of others with similar offerings. (This pattern started originally because between l972, - my first workshop in Germany, - and l980, when I closed my Institute in Philadelphia and decided to work full time in Europe; I had wanted to limit my time in Europe because I still had my Instritute and a few other commitments in the US. )
Now I must say that although I always anticipated that a workshop would go well enough, from an Adult perspective it still seems amazing that most they worked out as well as they did, considering the diversity of the populations, ages, cultures and backgrounds of the people I worked with, especially when I think of the many instances of glowing feed-back from people who claimed, years later, that I had changed their lives. A person I barely remembered might quote a statement or other that I allegedly made years ago as having had a particular transformative effect.This kind of response was baffling; even when I remembered the person or the workshop referred to, the quotation would surprise me - I did not recognise it - it seemed banal, or incidental, not worthy of the extraordinary effects it was said to have elicited. Was it imagined by the person who quoted it, ascribing it to me? Yet this occurred many times, with conviction.
So what was behind such repeated success? My conscious and overt responses were, of course, to be pleased and honored, and I would focus on whoever it was offered such appreciations by thanking or offering whatever encouragement was applicable. However some of the time, in truth, I'd experience a twinge - well-nigh superstitious feeling, and the phrase : "Pourvu que ca dure!" (on condition that it lasts!) - would come to mindt. That was the phrase Napoleon's mother was said to have uttered, in her Corsican style, after each one of his successes. (As we know in transactional analysis, the Parent ego state takes on strange disguises; yes, I must still tell you more about TA, dear Stratosphere, and I will, in due course. )
In fact this may be the moment to say more about Transactional Analysis (TA) to which I owe my success in large part - rather, to the way I have incorporated it as my way of thinking and feeling - including significant additions I have made to the basic theory. However before I do let me say that beyond TA and beyond my childhood experiences with my grandfather, to which I owe my self-confidence, and which I will also tell you more about later, there is still this mysterious "energy transmission"/ intuition process that I want to explore - the one that occurred with my teen-age "fortune telling" experiences I referred to before, to which I ultimately want to devote much more attention - it is the wish for more clarity about some of this - the "magic" that happened over and over in my work - , that actually underlies my having taken on the challenge of struggling to express myself with this blog.
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