Dear Past/Current and Future Option Institute Participant and Friend:
This is a historic time of change and renewal for the Institute. For over a third of a century, our magnificent 100-acre campus has been the home for thousands to dream out of the box, feel safe, share deeply and find peace inside. A home to help yourself, your family and your children to grow into the happiest versions of themselves while in a non-judgmental, loving environment surrounded, by beauty. Driving past Sage’s ravine, up the mountain, you may have seen the blazing foliage, the white winters, the baby geese swimming in the pond, or shared tranquil walks with your new found friends you met in the courses you attended. During this time, we have not only been your teachers and mentors but we have so dearly loved you all as you have loved us, shared deeply with us, and experienced what so many others could only dream of…. being able to grow and help yourselves, and if you’ve taken Son-Rise Programs, to be able to help your child or children develop and become the best possible versions of who they are. We have some EXCITING NEWS to share with you! It is no surprise that the world is changing to a digital platform and SO ARE WE! We have decided that the best way for us to deliver our programs, as we move into the future, is through digital technology and off-site programs. This means you will be able to attend our Option Institute/Autism Treatment Center of America programs from the comfort of your own homes while still receiving the BEST of what we have been delivering over the last 40 years. We are extremely excited about our new direction and the meaningful way we can continue to deliver our programs to more and more individuals all around the world while using the most current technology to make our programs and products more available. The availability of many digital platforms will enable us to reach far beyond the confines of a physical campus. What does this mean for our in-person, on-campus programs? We will be running programs here at the Option Institute/Autism Treatment Center of America in Sheffield, MA (USA), through August 2020. We will finish off 2019 strong with our already scheduled programs. We have also packed the 2020 calendar with many courses for you to attend. We will kick off the New Year with our final in-person, month-long Mentor Certification course; followed by several of our favorites, including the transformational Inner Strength Boot Camp program, Bears’ signature Wide Awake and the Son-Rise Program series. Please see our calendar for all the exciting programs we will be offering! This will bring us to the conclusion of our in-person programs on campus. We will continue to offer in-person Son-Rise Programs internationally. In the future, we are also planning to offer in-person programs from other locations (please contact us if you would like to sponsor a program in your area). We have seen so much success with on location international programs, that it makes sense to offer them domestically as well. This is your chance to seize another opportunity, to continue this journey (your journey) with all of us holding hands once again on this beautiful campus, which has been a setting for so much growth and development. If you have been thinking… “oh, I will come next year or the year after,” we say “how wonderful!” However, at this time, that window of opportunity is limited. We encourage you to come to 2, 3, 4 or even 5 programs in 2020. Bring someone you care about and love so you can share this amazing work with them. Bring everyone you know for the time is now. We want you (and so many others) to be a part of this spectacular transition while still offering opportunities for growth and transformation. With you, we thrive. While we have done our very best to help and support all of you – you too, have by your presence, as students and participants, helped grow what we teach in the world. Together, we have been a shining light. And for that, we are most grateful. We will be honored and excited to welcome you back for these last campus-based experiences, and of course encourage you to continue your journey with us in the digital world (and lots more to come). Return, so we can shower you with new ways of building deeper and more loving connections with those in your life…. and with yourself! Our doors are open and we want to embrace the future with each and every one of you.