The Curriculum For Transformation

Engagement Phase: The Mentor Program

THE MENTOR PROGRAM

The Mentor Program is a commitment to the discovery and expression of spiritual purpose. It is a period of intense spiritual growth and development that centers around group meetings led by Rev. Ellie Harold and her assistants in ten weekend sessions over two years. (See Calendar for dates).

The basis of the work is an ongoing committed relationship with Ellie and the other participants. Group size is limited to allow for intensive training and individual depth work. Participants work from their individual consecration to access the spiritual awareness that opens them to a transformed life experience. This consecration is deepened and refined throughout the ten sessions.

Group dynamic plays an integral part in the Mentor Program. Some portion of each weekend session is devoted to building a group energetic through use of all or some of the following: dream work, awareness exercises, body-consciousness, movement, meditation, video, discussion and personal sharing. We address the topics that most concern humanity today-intimacy, physical and emotional health, money, time, aging and death--so that participants come to engage life with ever-expanding awareness.

The curriculum unfolds according to the spiritual needs of the individuals in the group, and is intended to challenge as well as support each person in their transformative process. The processes are designed to heighten awareness of confining psychic structures so that more creative life energy might become available to each participant.

Over the course of the Program, participants engage in an inquiry of four Basic Questions:

What really matters?
Who am I?
How do I avoid relationship?
How am I called to serve?

The inquiry serves as a focal point for developing a clear understanding of the distinction between personal selves and the universal Self. It also cultivates the capacity to "live in the question" regarding the mystery of Life, and to facilitate that quality in others.

Attention to the emergent Self is offered with the creation of a Personal Project for each participant. This spiritual exercise serves as a tool for supporting the participant as he or she moves into larger forms of expression in life.

The greatest Teacher of consciousness in life is committed relationship--with a teacher, with intimate others, and with the body. The Mentor Program relies on the maturity of the participant to engage in the deepest possible relationship with the various dimensions of Teacher throughout the program. As a participant you are encouraged to maintain contact with Ellie and the other group members between sessions.

While the Mentor Group is not an academic training, an intellectual understanding of transformational psychology will help you share your process with others. Several books and videos relevant to the training are required, and a list of additional material is available for referencing.

Graduates of the Mentor Program have noted the life-changing effects their participation in it has brought about. With expanded awareness, the way they see the world has shifted from a strictly personal point of view to a more universal perspective. The radical discontinuity offered by the Mentor Program is a unique opportunity to transform ordinary consciousness into an extraordinary expression of the Divine -- in the midst of everyday life!

Persons who have completed the Mentor Program are eligible for application to NCM's Spiritual Leadership Training Program. Completion of the Mentor Program consists of:

• full participation in nine of the ten weekend sessions
• fulfillment of required reading and viewing assignments
• payment in full of all financial obligations to The New Church Ministries.

What Former Participants Say About the Mentor Program:

"It truly does not matter what I "do," what matters is who I am being. I am so deeply consecrated to that largeness. Before the program I had a fear of what that would mean. If I truly consecrated myself to God I sensed that my life would not look the same. I feared losing things like being an actor and having a social image that I thought gave me value. What would I be without that? Where would my value come from? But in losing attachment to that I have begun to experience this deeper self-- this self that has unending value without "doing" anything."
Jennifer Denning

"I made a leap of faith when I made the decision to enter the Mentor Program. I didn't know how I was going to pay for it. I didn't know where my commitment was coming from, and I was stepping out onto an an unknown part of my spiritual path. We were asked to consecrate this work. My consecration was to surrender. I had to surrender my beliefs about money, and the structures my ego self had erected to keep me out of relationship by not being committed to any one thing.

Ellie asked me, "Is there a part of you who can just step out in faith, which means that you will not know? You will not know." I did not know the abundance I could have. I did not know the commitment I could make to the smallest details of my life, but now I am in school full-time, and money is no longer my excuse for not participating in my own life. This is hard work, but the rewards are tangible and the quality that I now bring to my life shines like gold."
Kathleen Dempsey

The process was painful, at times excruciating; the process was joyful, at times blissful. And out of it all, I emerged more awakened to who I truly am.
Megan Gilhoulie

"I have been challenged to do things I would never have thought possible and when I achieved them, I was asked to go one more step. Pushing myself to go that one more step has changed my life. The group has been a catalyst for much growth, and has given me the courage to live my vision, and for this, I am eternally grateful."
Mary Ann Crawford

Application & Admission
Admission to the Mentor Program is determined on the basis of participation in an Orientation Session and a written application. A personal interview may be required.

Orientation Session:
Orientation Sessions are periodically held which are designed to give a taste of the kind of experience the Mentor Program offers, and the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. Attendance at an Orientation Session is required. At the Orientation Session you will receive an application packet. To apply your application must be typed and received no later than the deadline in order to be considered. Please enclose a $200 deposit with your application. Deposits will be refunded in full if you are not accepted into the Mentor Program. If accepted, the deposit will be applied to the balance of the tuition.

Admission Notification:
You will be contacted within one week of receipt of your Application Paper and participation in an Orientation Session of your acceptance into the Mentor Program.

Typical weekend schedule:

Friday 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Saturday 9:30am- 7:00pm
Sunday 9:30pm - 5:00pm

Tuition:
Cost of the Mentor Program is $2000. There is a 10% discount offered to couples who enroll in the same Mentor Program.

Ongoing Relationship:

A Post Mentor Graduate Event is offered each year as an opportunity for revisiting the powerful experiences of the Mentor Program and connecting with others who have shared those experiences. It offers the opportunity of renewing and deepening the commitment to consciousness. Contact Ellie for date of next Event.