My Gardner Method Experience

A Story from a Gardner Method participant about her journey through the process.

The Gardner Method has made me grow in unexpected ways, and the greatest changes have happened almost subconsciously. I’ve gone through therapy, and I was expecting similar teachings in the Gardner Method—talking through my feelings and helping me be less sad. But, it’s a much more transcendent experience than that.?

It’s hard to put into words how the benefits of the Gardner Method kind of sneak up on you. As I worked my way through the dialogues, I felt like I was doing a type of hard work I’d never experienced before. I had to really tap into my emotions in a productive and thoughtful way. Rather than having someone talk you through your feelings, like in therapy, the Gardner Method shows you how to FEEL your way through your feelings.

It was difficult for me to address the negative feelings I had towards people that I love and respect, but the Gardner Method gave me the understanding that allowing yourself to validate those emotions is the only way to release them. The Gardner Method is the only thing that has made me feel like it is okay, and even good, to focus solely on myself.

It’s almost like the Gardner Method gives you superpowers. It allows you to utilize parts of yourself that you didn’t think you could. I knew there were things I’ve always struggled with: standing up for myself, asking for what I want and knowing my worth. But, I had just accepted this as my personality type. The Gardner Method pinpointed the events in my life that gave me those limitations, brought me back to feel the emotions I felt at the time, gave me permission to release them and taught me how to eliminate those limitations.

While learning all these things about yourself and navigating your conditioned self, you are growing without you even consciously trying. After several Gardner Method sessions, I realized I was making daily to-do lists, making my bed and running every morning because I genuinely just wanted to. Prior to the Gardner Method, waking up before 10 am was a feat, and making my bed was out of the question.?

After the rewire retreat, I felt like I had finally wiped my windshield clean and could see clearly. I understand now that I am in control, and my life has opened up for me. Rather than constantly worrying about what my future holds and comparing myself to others, I know that what is meant for me is coming to me because I’m allowing it to.?

The Gardner Method is a deeply profound and personal experience that happens inside your brain. You do the hard work on the outside by facing the stuff you pushed into the back of your mind, and your brain does the rest. It’s like instead of working to get over all the hurdles your mind has created, you take a shortcut by just getting rid of the hurdles altogether.?

If I had to describe the Gardner Method in a sentence, it would be this: the Gardner Method teaches you to transcend your brain’s limitations and connect to the purest version of yourself, allowing you to know what you truly want and giving you the tools to get it.

-Lauren Stone, a 22 year old journalist