What do the Seminars Do?

One question that many people are understandably interested in is: what, exactly, do the Insight Seminars do? The problem answering such a question is that there are many things the seminars do; there are also many ways to explain what they are and different people are interested in slightly different aspects of what happens. So for this explanation, I will try to keep things at their most basic. That is, I want to explain what we think is the core of what the seminars do.

First, some background. We have all heard how our environment shapes us. Various studies, researches, papers, articles, and our own experiences make this clear. What we don't often realize is how much we are shaped by our environment. In our early development, nearly everything we believe is determined by outside forces—we are told what to wear, where to go, what to say, how to behave, even how to eat and drink (properly). In addition to everything we are told, we absorb even more by example. From watching other people and through personal experience, we learn how to really act, what is real and make-believe, what things are dangerous, and just generally how the world works.

As we get older, we pass this knowledge on to others in our community, which both reinforces and refines the ideas we have about the world. It is human nature to want to be right and comfortable, so we tend to spend time with those who have similar views to us; this puts us in a situation where everyone around us strengthens our views. Over time, it seems to us (and those around us) that our ideas are just “the way things are”, and we think that such things are “common sense” and “everyone knows this.” The truth, however, is that we are often wrong on all three counts. This is what gets us into trouble. Because our view of the world is restricted to our own community, we are unable to see certain aspects of reality. Thus “the way things are” may not actually be the way things are. “Common sense” is only common in our community, and everyone most definitely does not know “this.”

Once we have a community consensus, it becomes difficult to recognize where our ideas don't match up with the way the world works. In certain cases, this can produce terrible troubles, such as cultures of poverty and the self-reinforcing fatalism found in communities which have suffered long-term social and/or economic hardships. These cultures create self-reinforcing systems of thought which accept or even encourage negative or destructive behavior. Because the ideas behind these systems are shared throughout the community, they are considered “the way things are,” and are treated as “common sense” within the community.

In order to break out of these self-destructive systems of thought, new ideas need to be introduced. That's where the seminars come in. The seminars introduce new ideas and concepts which help people to identify how they can take control of their environment and change their lives and the world around them for the better. Introducing ideas isn't enough, however. It is important that people understand how these ideas apply to their own lives—this way, people can use these new perspectives to improve their lives on their own terms, without having to fit another culture's paradigm into their system.

Long lead-in for a quick explanation, I know. Next time, I want to explore a bit more about what these new principles are and why they are so effective.