*** 500th Review! ***…read more Depending on who you believe from the online universe, the Avatar Course from Star's Edge International is either the most miraculous self-help breakthrough of our time, or an opaque Scientology-inspired pyramid scheme cult. After attending their "ReSurfacing" weekend course at the request - okay, insistence - of a friend who is an Avatar "Master,"* my impression was much closer to the former than the latter. I thought it was a brilliantly designed - and harmless - combination of meditative visualizations, Zen Buddhism, free will philosophy and cognitive behavior therapy, delivered in a supportive group setting with a very low student-faculty ratio. It also required enduring the occasional dose of 1960s hippie talk. The ReSurfacing course teaches by asking students questions: good questions and lots of them, numbering in the hundreds. Questions about students' lives, experiences, opinions, and beliefs. It's incredibly eye- (and mind-) opening. The course materials could have just told me "you can't predict more than 30% of what will make you happy, the beliefs trusted people have instilled in you are often more accurate than the things you've chosen to believe yourself, and you must follow your passions," but it was a heck of a lot more persuasive to have me answer and discuss tons of questions that led to these conclusions. (Dale Carnegie fans: this teaching method is similar to Carnegie's idea of asking the other person questions and getting them to say "yes, yes." ) Though probably half of the Avatar course materials are confidential, the ReSurfacing workbook that we used is not: you can buy it on Amazon for under $15. Somewhat curiously, the "play by play" list of course activities for the weekend was confidential, and I was asked to return it at the end of the course. It was nothing more than a list of what order we did the exercises in and when we interspersed them with videos of Harry Palmer talks and readings from Palmer's other books. Anyway, none of the material struck me as particularly scary (the videos are mostly on YouTube), and it all had the tone of a particularly good talk radio host or preacher. The biggest takeaway was that we largely function through our beliefs and identities, but that we have more control over our thoughts and beliefs - and thus actions - than we might think. It sounds fluffy but when you are made to lay it out in detail about your own life it's very powerful. --- End of basic review. You can probably stop reading here --- Now, if you're interested enough to be reading this far, let me share my research and experience regarding anti-Avatar material on the internet: - Founder Harry Palmer is said to have run a Scientology mission for 15 years. In his book, Living Deliberately, he actually poo-poos Scientology quite a bit. I'd be surprised if Avatar shared Scientology's anti-meds views; organizers told students to continue taking meds (but not street drugs or alcohol) in the course, and asked if students were seeing therapists - so they could get the professional's permission. Having said that, I couldn't help but cringe when Living Deliberately put psychotherapy and Dianetics in the same bucket (page 96 if you're curious). - Palmer also supposedly used to call himself an educational psychologist, and claimed he had studied a different major in college than he actually did. The Avatar materials don't say this anymore after dispute with a disaffected former Avatar trainer. - I've been told that Avatar is run as a multilevel marketing operation, where existing Masters recruit new students and make money when people agree to take the courses, whose material is partly "secret." I wish it were run more like Kaplan, a for-profit business of test prep courses with only copyright protection to help them with their secrets. But none of the Masters I met at the course seemed to be doing this for the money. - The price curve is indeed weird: Part I: ReSurfacing (the only part I took), 2 days, $300. Part II, 4-5 more days, $500. Part III: 2 more days, $1500. - Some of the Avatar bashing might be based on quite simple misunderstanding. One of the anti-Avatar sites: (see all linked pages from here: http://jeta.home.xs4all.nl/avatar/avatar-too-many-spirits.html) argues that Avatar is offering exorcisms of dead spirits called entities. But these "entities" are probably what mainstream best-selling author and psychiatrist Daniel Amen calls "automatic negative thoughts." Amen is not a Scientologist or Avatar. - And yes, Avatar is based in FL but incorporated in DE. Pretty standard for US businesses avoiding taxes. * An Avatar Master is someone who's completed their first two full courses.

I have observed, experienced and followed Star's Edge International for almost 30 years. The firm…read morespearheads a most ambitious objective: to create an enlightened planetary civilization...a dream that for many is an impossible and grandiose idea. The firm's stewardship is to manage and present its core program, Avatar. From personal experience and without doubt, I can absolutely say it is the most effective personal-development program you could experience in achieving what I term 'nxgen wealth', clarity, peace of mind and well being. Greg Johnson

We were lucky to have Mr. Eddie as my son and my niece's driving instructor…read more He is very kind, patient and eager to teach both my son and my niece the skills they needed to be a safe driver. He also took them for their driving test, and they passed the test right at the first time. We are so grateful for Mr. Eddie. My son and my niece are now a licensed driver. Would highly recommend Road ready Watch dog driving school.

Eddie was a fantastic instructor! I needed to ensure my son…read morehad i4 proficiency before taking his driving test, so we opted for the 6-hour package. Eddie was always punctual, picked my son up from our home, and didn't schedule the test until he was confident my son was ready. The result? A perfect score on the test! Most importantly, my son really liked him -- and that's no small feat with my boy. Highly recommend!

I went here with my daughter who is applying for admission. I was pleasantly surprised at how in…read moredepth the classes are and the vast variety of opportunities. The staff was very friendly and available to answer any questions. We were given a tour reminiscent of a much larger university. In fact I was so impressed that if I knew I had the desire and required focus or perhaps if it were 30 years ago, I'd apply and attend. I hope this school is recommended to high school students that typical college is not a good fit for and that need an alternative.

This is probably the worst aircraft maintenance school to ever go to. You pay so much money to be…read moresetup for failure. Both the teachers and the students are treated poorly by administration. They don't even try and buy new and functional equipment /tools to work on the planes or the instruments. All the of the planes and the aircraft parts are super used or broken. Worst of all you pay for all of these items through your tuition and your money is just being spent on junk or nothing at all. The administration does not care for aviation or care for the people who are trying to get into the aviation field. It is a complete joke. You're better going to any other A&P school. This school is less then the bare minimum. The teachers are great, they definitely try they're best with what they got but administration does not prepare or help them the way they should. I've been to this school and did nothing but struggle and barely made it through. I really do not recommend. There's schools cheaper and will give you all the tools you need to succeed. This one isn't it

i took my prelicensing ed back on 1999 i believe it was a great place to take it very knowledgable…read moreinstructor and pass my exam one attempt my license expire as ai move out the country back again and ready to take my license again guest who am I contacting ? yes Kambuck reources !

I spent the day here in a mortgage continuing education class today. While no one wants to spend 8…read morehours in a classroom at my age, the class went pretty fast and the instructor was pleasant. It beats still online with timers for 8 hours & there was no test!!!