Core Transformation - What Is It?

colleague @duffmcduffee on twitter knows all about it: http://learncoretransformation.com/

No personal experience here.

I just read over a few of the articles, though. There really isn't anything new being delivered as far as I can tell. The targeted processes seem quite similar to many of those used by therapeutic approaches that are currently more broadly used. The emphasis on the "spiritualilty" and "oneness with god" are not included by default in most of these other approaches. But, I suppose if using a concept like "oneness with god" as a vehicle that makes people feel safe while doing this kind of work, I don't think it's a bad thing.

In fact, reframing or reinterpreting well-established psychological treatments through the lens of a spiritual or metaphysical leaning is encouraged in my training, so long as it isn't reinforcing inflexible thinking (such as scrupulosity or other such rule-governed behavior styles).

It looks like yet another technology for looking inward, accepting what one finds, investigating it based on various types of questions and criteria, and allowing it to be integrated into one’s life in a way that allows them to stop fighting with themselves and start moving in the direction of what they value.

I use core transformation with my students, and have been doing the practice for a couple years personally. It's a very powerful dialogic technique (which arose out of the whole NLP movement) for using personal content to access deeper states of being (in my experience the same states that unfold in practice).

The cool thing though is it has a means of re-integrating those states back into personal situations, so it's incredibly good for integration and uses the door of "content" to access these strata of consciousness instead of the door of "process". As Jackson mentioned there are other methods out there like it, and I've tried several including voice dialogue (in the form of Big Mind), the unanswerable questions process (which Duff taught me), and gestalt dreamwork, but CT is really fantastic and it doesn't stop short at the personal, but goes into the transpersonal as well. From my experience not all psychological methods are designed to do that. In short, I've found this method is very compatible and complimentary with deep meditation practice.

I would highly recommend chatting with Duff McDuffee (mentioned above), if you're interested in the technique, as he knows a ton about this method. He's a very deep practitioner and a long-time friend.

Interesting Vince. I don't know those particular methods, but I've run into two meditators (one of whom I mentor) who ran head on into heavy personal sh*t recently, and it was very interesting to use certain lines of questioning to help them take useful lessons from their reactions to the content and help them use those reactions to see through some of their ingrained habits and beliefs about who they are.

In both cases the stuff that came up was far too heavy to just apply meditation practice and sit through it. At the same time, the content itself was not important (though it was perceived to be extremely so). What was key was the habits and reactions it illuminated.

Hello Vince! Thank you for bringing your knowledge and experience to the conversation.

It's a very powerful dialogic technique (which arose out of the whole NLP movement) for using personal content to access deeper states of being (in my experience the same states that unfold in practice).

-vincehorn

To me, this sounds similar (in aim) to how John Welwood's psychotherapy practice utilizes Eugene Gendlin's "focusing" process as an entry point for helping his clients discover the fullness and spaciousness of being - if/when the process of therapy takes them there. This came from the Existential tradition, which does not have the same roots as NLP, as I understand it. What's interesting about this is that therapists or other "helping" professionals (counselors, coaches, teachers, etc.) are using technologies that are content-based at face value as a means to go beyond content. This resonates with what I understand to be the Buddha's teaching regarding the conditioned path which leads to the unconditioned - using a thorn to remove a thorn, if you will.

From my experience not all psychological methods are designed to do that.

-vincehorn

You got that right!

-Jackson

I had an experience with the core transformation technique about a month or so ago. What I took away from it was a very clear sense of what my own deepest intentions are and what is most satisfying to me. It definitely helped to bring to light some of my own deeper intentions with real clarity in a way that meditation practice was not at that time. Although there was initially some resistance I think it was highly valuable although, as with most things, there may be some variability.