Consciousness Apprenticeship

I offer the following for your consideration regarding the eight month Consciousness Apprentice Program. 

First let me try to orient you a bit to such an undertaking. This Program deals with such principles as clarity, honesty, accountability, keeping one’s word, commitment, integrity, and personal transformation, and may also tackle the subject of facilitation. It will be a very challenging course, and a very rewarding one. The essence of this undertaking is a reorientation of one’s relationship to life, self, reality, and others. We will focus primarily on enlightenment and personal transformation, becoming increasingly conscious of self, mind, and the nature of reality. There will also be occasion for learning a little Cheng Hsin physical skill as an addendum to our consciousness work and to assist in your physical health and improvement. The vast majority of the work, however, is in the area of contemplation, confrontation, and consciousness. The Program will not be easy!

This work requires trust and discipline, which is why I want every applicant to have done some work with me prior to the program. It will be hard work, NOT a fantasy. Consistent with the apprentice program: when one creates commitment, all else follows. I am always ready and willing to be surprised by an individual’s level of growth. This work is about creating possibilities, not being stuck behind circumstances. 

Of all that has been accomplished within Cheng Hsin, I’ve always felt that the most important thing—and what I’d really like the whole world to do—is the personal transformation aspect of the Apprentice Programs. 

Here are some comments from past apprentices and a well-known student:

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You created a program and provided a special environment where I felt safe, supported, and encouraged to go deeper into all aspects of myself. I felt I also got to know you more! As you have said yourself, you take on different roles to facilitate different learning in others, being the CI master or the martial master have different feels to them, and in this program I saw you in another inspiring role. However, it seemed to me that this work is really where you shine brightest. I was amazed at how you could come night after night and talk fluently and deeply on something that we hadn’t discussed before.

Kevin Magee (CAP graduate)

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Though you teach martial arts in a way that far surpasses anything I have ever seen, the work I have just done at the Consciousness Apprentice Program has completely blown my mind. The value I have received from the CAP is beyond compare. The work you do has profoundly changed my life. The doorways you have shown to me in the consciousness work have educated me beyond anything I could have imagined. You have my deepest respect and love. 

Brendan Lea (CAP graduate)

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I admire your depth of understanding, skill at facilitation, and commitment to both the work and the truth. Words can’t express what the program means to me. You have created something that is very important, and you’ve done an excellent job. I’m sure it will improve as you continue, and I’m honored to have been a part of the inaugural run. There’s no one else in the world I’d trust with this job. I feel your love for me, and I appreciate all you’ve contributed to my life. With love and appreciation.

David Spivak (CAP graduate)

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I have had many wonderful teachers, before and after working with Master Ralston, but none with the intense, diamond-like brilliance at directing pristine contemplation. His ability to create accurate distinctions in the activities of consciousness is unparalleled. All serious students of Cheng Hsin owe it to themselves to consider the value that the Apprentice Program will have in their lives.

John Nieters – Apprentice Trainer

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True innovators are, by definition, ahead of their time.  Therefore, they remain largely unrecognized, except by a few.  How many of us wish we had sat in a session with Carl Jung, or walked around Walden pond with Thoreau?  Too late for that, but not too late to take notice of Peter Ralston.  His creativity, commitment, and clarity shine through as he articulates higher principles based on direct experience and piercing insight. A caring teacher, he has been to the mountaintop and bathed in the spring of Being. His insights speak to us all.  

Dan Millman — Author, Way of the Peaceful Warrior

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I want you to know that I see it as my job to confront you on more levels then simply intellectual understanding or accumulating knowledge. How you learn, how you think and react, beliefs you have that don’t serve you, are all subjects that will be addressed. And of course there will be a lot of daily contemplation! This can be challenging in a psychological sense, and also in an emotional sense. Working with others day after day, running into frustrations, being asked to do more than you feel capable of can all create friction and distress. You should be prepared and mature about your decision to undertake the program. You will also be asked to help take care of the property, helping to prepare for the Retreats, keeping the dojo clean and functional, etc.

In general, the Center will be like a Zen Monastery during this time. All of the consciousness work such as done in the ENB and described in The Book of Not Knowing trilogy will be addressed. Many, many hours of contemplation will be undertaken—mostly in diad form but also as solo contemplation. Serious psychological probing will occur, intending to unearth the uncognized matrix of mind that establishes you as a self. New forms of thinking and behavior will be demanded that are consistent with increasing integrity and consciousness and help to create the right environment for personal growth. Clarity in communication, a more powerful and real personal presence, and a greater ability to control one’s mind and attention will all be central objectives for those attending. Apprentices support one another and work as a team toward greater consciousness. Simple physical exercises will be done a little every day—t’ai chi, stretching, etc.—to assist in physical consciousness and development. You will be BUSY for the whole eight months!

I repeat: this is not a fantasy. It is serious and challenging work that requires commitment, courage, and persistence. Your mind will be blown, and you’ll enter into realms of consciousness and thought that you’ve not imagined. The main goals are: Consciousness—to become enlightened as to the nature of yourself and reality—and to transform as a person. I’m sure there is more to communicate, and I’m completely open to questions, but I suspect this letter should give you an impression of my intentions. Consider in earnest if this Program is something you want to do. If it is, then make a commitment and you will find a way. 

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CONSCIOUSNESS Apprentice Program Outline:

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Length: Eight months,

March 7-November 3.

Hours per day doing exercises, contemplation, and facilitation: 9-12 hrs. (conscious awareness is practiced all day)

Facilitation per day: approximately 2 hrs. (depending on what’s needed at the time)

Sample Schedule: Monday—Saturday: 6:00am—9:40pm 

(Sunday: 8—9:30am, and 4:30—8:30pm )

Apprentices will sleep in the dojo—cots, bags, foam, etc. will be supplied

Apprentices will keep the dojo clean and spotless

Apprentices will buy their own food and cook their own meals at the dojo

Plates, cups, hot plates, microwave, refrigerator, etc. are supplied

The Apprentice group must have at least one car 

The pool is available at certain times.

Cost for the entire program: $14,995 (cost includes the month-long Cheng Hsin Retreats in the spring and the fall, ending with a Contemplation Intensive). This is definitely the least expensive value offered, (the equivalent cost for the amount of small group private lessons, workshops, and private intensives that will be given during the seven months would be about $50,000; which includes studying and contemplating at least 1,400 hours or more while living at the Meditation Hall). 

A non-refundable deposit of $3,995 will be due before the program starts. The remaining tuition will be paid up front at the beginning of the program. I’m not open to people “trying” it out for a while, or giving up in the middle. Depending on the needs of the participants, the program may be open to some modification. But commitment and discipline are not optional. 

This is really the way Cheng Hsin Consciousness work was meant to be learned! Think about it long and hard. If you are ready to take on this program and to commit yourself to some serious personal transformation, let me know and I will consider your application. If you have any questions or concerns, let me know and we will see what we can create together.

I look forward to working with you. If interested Contact Us.

Peter Ralston