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Copy of Article
from Irish Examiner, 17 June 2005
By Michèle Horgan
Spending a full weekend learning new techniques to
boost the power of your mind sounds challenging, to say the least.
I had my reservations about the Mindlink weekend
workshop before it began, especially when I read online a list of benefits
pledged by the course leader Rod Briggs.
The course promised everything from boosting your
self-image and breaking old negative thought patterns to finding a cure to
insomnia. Was there anything this weekend workshop could not do?
The last thing I needed was to be induced into hypnosis
by a random stranger. Images of a group mindlessly chanting a mantra and hugging
each other came into my head.
I would have been even more cynical if I hadn’t gone
over a few clippings from journalists who had done the workshop over the last
ten years.
Their reports were both varied and interesting, with a
number of journalists reporting that the weekend workshop had improved their
lives in a myriad of ways.
The seminar began on Friday evening with 14 of us
sitting in a conference room at Isaac’s in Cork. By Sunday evening we were
armed with techniques designed to break old habits and instigate new goals.
Basically this seminar is about getting in touch with
your subconscious alpha brain and about letting it solve problems for you.
Thankfully there was no hand-holding, hugging or
talking in group circles, but there was plenty of visualisation work. Even those
who are not visual can drop down into themselves into a peaceful scene,
according to Rod.
It takes 21 days to break a habit, and excited by the
prospect of breaking what many of us had perceived as habits of a lifetime, our
group arranged to meet after a month to track each other’s progress.
Four weeks later eight of us turned up to share our
experiences of putting the mindlink course into action. Most of us were using
the techniques and all agreed that the course helped to boost focus and
concentration.
With regular practice of the mindlink meditation, from
20 minutes up to 40 minutes per day, I discovered that I was able to achieve my
daily goals fairly quickly.
I also benefitted from increased focus and more energy
following the workshop and found I was more open to the idea of dreaming of new
possibilities and of being lucky.
One woman in her late twenties gave up cigarettes a
week after doing the course, by using techniques which allowed her to programme
her subconscious with images of the harm she would cause herself by continuing
to smoke.
Another lady in her fifties, who felt nervous behind
the wheel on long journeys, said she used the mindlink relaxation techniques to
overcome tension while driving. The techniques worked, she said.
A software engineer said he had benefited from
increased focus and smoother days at the office on the days when he took twenty
or so minutes in the morning to utilise the mindlink techniques and plan out his
day.
A bio-energy therapist said her self-image had improved
following the course, while everyone agreed that the outcome of business
meetings was more positive, once the meetings had been pre-planned at a
subconscious level.
While all members of the group had taken some time to
practise the techniques taught on the course, most people said they didn’t
have the time to practise for 20 minutes in the morning and evening.
Course co-ordinator Rod Briggs stresses that regular
practise makes for excellent results. Although he didn’t promote a CD, with a
taped morning and evening session, it’s well worth the money.
Rod was born in the UK with only one working lung,
which left him a virtual cripple. His lack of physical ability meant that he
spent vast amounts of time reading, while other kids were out playing.
As a young boy he had the ability to see things and to
sense vibrations outside the normal scope of the senses. Driven by a search to
bring meaning to his visions, he studied mythologies and philosophical systems.
His time spent in an old library, where he read
everything from books on shamanism to mystery schools, allowed him to learn
techniques to cure his own lung. Later, when his family moved to South Africa,
he earned Black Belts in judo, karate and jiu-jitsu.
All of the group who did the weekend workshop were
struck by the calm energy of Rod and were impressed by the techniques he taught
us. Now all we have to do is practise the techniques.
Rod Briggs returns to Ireland in June, where he will do
weekend workshops in Galway (June 10 –12), Ballinrobe (June 17 –19) and Cork
(July 1 – 3). For further information see www.mindlink.co.za. Contact Eileen
Murray at 086 1732473 or send an e-mail to mindlinksa@mweb.co.za.
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