Scanners Retreat

I could not have asked for, or imagined, a better experience. The retreat exceeded my expectations.
I learned so much about myself, gained confidence in myself, and found a close group of people who think like I do! I was amazed how true the statement “I found my tribe” felt. Everyone I talked with had such similar experiences. Barbara is a master at bringing together scanners…and keeping them to task…no easy feat! She has an amazing ability to really see inside each person and bring out their very best. Self-discovery, while not always easy, was deftly supported and handled with amazing agility and tact. Even the most difficult of moments were also shining moments of enlightenment.
Stacie S

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Attending Barbara Sher’s Scanners Conference in Fall 2007 in Puglia, Italy was the best gift I have ever given myself. The opportunity to work with Barbara and the support team she helped us create allowed me to define and refine (and continually refine…) my wishes and dreams for the next phase(s) of my life.

The exercises that Barbara has developed and her ability to solicit and read each person’s desires, obstacles and resistances helped all of us begin to take positive steps towards reaching our goals. Barbara’s skills also lie in creating a supportive structure in which one is comfortable asking for the support that they need to be successful. I fully believe that her theory “Isolation is the dream killer” clearly demonstrated that we each need help to succeed and that with her methods, we can create that supportive team that will cheer us on in our quest.

The conference helped me gain insights that are not only valuable now as I take the first steps but will continually help me in the years ahead as I change and grow. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who wants to live an authentic life. And besides, Barbara is a lot of fun to be around…..jokes, songs and no BS!!
Micki

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I have attended 40 years worth of seminars, conferences and workshops. This is the only retreat where I genuinely laughed, cried and left transformed. Identifying my goals, refining the steps were fantastic. But accepting that I can’t do it all and need help to reach my goals was one of greatest revelations!

You are a joy! Your specific ability to hear beyond our words and see behind our faces is phenomenal. I’m happy to now join the many people who have been loved and touched by you.

Blessings, Flora

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A big heartfelt thanks.

The most life changing thing about this trip for me is that I felt fully accepted for who I was as a scanner - and beyond that PROUD! After reading RTC I felt UNDERSTOOD, but adding acceptance and pride in that was an entire new feeling. Being around people who supported my ideas instead of competed with them was entirely new to me.

Your work with me was nothing short of miraculous. I have been in and out of therapy for years, - career coaching, divorce therapy, family therapy - and NEVER once did the issues come up that you identified so quickly. I really couldn't believe it and it is still sinking in. What I love is that you didn't tell me why I needed to be on the path I am on, you somehow pulled it out of me. I have a hard time explaining this to other people, but you are amazingly gifted at pulling things out of people that they are unaware of.

When I signed up for the conference, I had my doubts that any type of career goal would actually materialize. I have been such a rapid cycling scanner that I thought any career would leave me feeling stifled - before I even started it! All my concerns about my kids, being a single mom and a scanner were circling my head as I boarded the plane and then boom! When I got there, my insides sort of popped out. I recognized how many times I cycle back to working with kids because it's my passion - and suddenly, having a life design that fit this in, where I could use my talents, be a scanner and raise my kids seemed possible.

This is what I can't thank you enough for. The group too, yes, but you. You saw me somehow - like nobody else has ever seen me. I didn't even know you! and you know what? It felt really really good, to be seen like that. I think this is what so many of us wish we had from our parents early in life - to be seen and appreciated for what you are and have to offer, and I think that is why this felt so fulfilling to me. So thank you for that, and giving me the ability to use that as a mirror to look at my own gifts differently, to see that perhaps I was using the wrong mirrors to look at myself, and maybe I won't need mirrors anymore.

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Reading your book "Refuse to Choose" was a monumental turning point for me. I realized for the first time that there's nothing wrong with me. I am just the way I am supposed to be. When the chance to travel to Corfu for the first ever Scanner retreat came, I grabbed the opportunity to celebrate my self acceptance as a Scanner. I ended up experiencing one of the most incredible weeks of my life.

Corfu itself was beautiful and exceeded all of my expectations for a Mediterranean island. The views from the hilltop inn where we stayed were spectacular, the sunrises and sunsets were breathtaking, the beaches were postcard perfect, the village our hotel sat above was quaint and memorable, and the locals were friendly and hospitable.

Of course the retreat could have been in a trailer park in Torrance and it still would have been a raging success. Barbara made everyone feel that they got the personal attention they needed from her, and made sure that each our goals for the retreat were met. She is highly intuitive and skilled at cutting to the heart of the matter.

She gives great hugs, and is eager to share her bag of tricks for overcoming obstacles, procrastination, and resistance. She is a Scanner herself, and I doubt anyone understands Scanners better.

But the best part of the trip was getting to meet 17 other Scanners. I am shy and was hoping to be a wallflower the whole week. I am glad that plan did not pan out! I learned that Scanners are awesome. They are smart, supportive people who are, without exception, terrific storytellers with fascinating life experiences. Barbara gave us an incredible gift by providing an atmosphere for us to bond and become a family.

Since the retreat we have stayed in touch by phone, email and through a Yahoo user group. We made the decision to continue our bi-weekly conference calls beyond the prescribed 3 months, and we have scheduled a reunion for next September. We are more than a mutual admiration society, though we do offer each other lots of praise and support. We hold each other accountable, and won't let each other get away with not living life to its full potential. I hope I have the honor of knowing these people for the rest of my life.

PS. If you are traveling to Corfu by way of Athens to fit in a trip to the Acropolis, try to go late in the afternoon. It will be far less crowded, and you can watch the marble of the Parthenon change color as the sun begins to set, and while you are on Corfu don't miss the chance to visit Old Corfu Town, which looks like Venice on dry land.

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I don’t recall what I was doing before I saw the ad, or even how the ad came up on my computer screen. All I remember was KNOWING I had to there. It was strange because I wasn't’t even too bothered what the actual content of the course was – it was already a done deal with the universe.

Then I saw with wide eyes that the course was FULL.

And I thought that doesn’t matter, I am still going! And in time a place was found for me, as I knew it would. I have never enjoyed a week more – Corfu is the perfect location for getting reacquainted with yourself. The course was held in a place that nature made and time forgot – it was perfect and Barbara conducted our classes out on the veranda of the small comfortable hotel, with the blue-green sea to our backs. I didn’t look for this course, this course found me.

In essence Barbara Sher is like everyone’s favourite grandmother (sorry Miss Babs!).

I was constantly astounded by her insights, so much so that I wondered to myself if perhaps this woman was living in our house during my childhood and I just didn’t notice her (Scanners can be quite inattentive on occasion). Then I toyed with the secret idea that she is a reincarnation of my grandmother (and I’m not convinced she isn’t). Most of all, as the days flew by I kept asking myself, how does this woman know all this private stuff about me, and then I realised it wasn’t only me who thought along these lines. Barbara Sher has some unique ability to see deep into our psyche, not in a mystic/crystal ball way, but in a heart-warming, very human way.

The Retreat in Corfu was life enhancing. One of the pronouncements Barbara made on the first day was that we would end up being in love with each and every one on the course. I looked around at the motley crew, and, before the hot-chocolate break on the second day I had fallen in love with each and every one of my fellow scanners. Barbara has a unique way of allowing people to see into the souls of others, and when you see into the soul of another you are forever smitten.

In summary, I look back on that week in Corfu and feel my DNA has been tweaked and put in alignment. I no longer wonder why I am interested in so many diverse subjects. I highly recommend the Scanners Course in Corfu. Barbara Sher teaches something very special and valuable, and is a god-send to the Scanners of this world.

OW

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The Corfu Greece Scanner Retreat….what was it like?

It was like sunshine every day and having class outside looking at the sea. It was like beautiful patios with lovely iron chairs lined with cushions for some comfort. It was going to class in pajamas and fuzzy socks, with a hot steamy mug of hot cocoa and whip cream. It was provocative conversations, personalized brainstorming sessions, and delightful Greek salads with Mythos at lunch. It was stunning sunsets every night. It was people who started out as strangers and classmates who have now become dear friends, mentors, accountability partners, inspiration and support. It was eating dinner late at night together, sharing stories and lives over a glass of wine while looking at the moon and stars. It was like watching the most beautiful flowers bloom and open up right before my eyes, and realizing I was one of them. It was like one of the best and most meaningful experiences I ever had in my life. I showed up in Corfu alone and I returned home with 17 friends, that's what it was like.

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