Introducing Jeff Alexander and the Leap of Faith

I have been thinking about writing this post for some time.  It is about an incredible teacher and a powerful workshop.  It has been life changing for me and for countless numbers of people in my personal and professional life.

Jeff Alexander has an extensive and widely varied background; e.g. martial arts, boxing, law enforcement, dentistry and teaching. Jeff doesn’t believe in “all talk” workshops.  Whenever he teaches, he gives the students full body experiences so they can learn physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Leap of Faith is probably Jeff’s most well-known workshop.  Here are some statements from the website

Ignorance of our true identity is the root cause of all suffering. We see ourselves merely as individual personalities separate from each other. This is the greatest delusion of all. It gives rise to fear. Fear stops us dead in our tracks and creates obstacles to our growth. We fear each other and the unknown. Until this perception shifts, suffering will continue. It is not the events in life that cause suffering. It is the mind’s perception of these events that cause suffering. And when fear is present, suffering will be with us.

The Leap of Faith is a profound weekend experience where participants actively learn to be fully present, stop habitual negative thinking and shift their perception of fear and confrontation into power and peace.

Escalating challenges provides each student with the full body/mind experience, crossing the line of fear into successful action…over and over again.

Leap of Faith is Jeff’s gift to the world.  He makes it accessible to everyone by having a registration fee that is only $35.  If participants want to make a donation after the workshop, to “pay it forward,” they are certainly welcome to, but there is no expectation.

One of my co-therapists, Vince Horan, went to Leap of Faith in the early to mid 90’s  It must have been one of the first Leaps Jeff led, if not the first.  Vince loved it and I was intrigued.  Our clients started going soon thereafter.  One of the first clients of mine that attended was  in an emotionally, and potentially physically, abusive relationship.  The relationship did not last long after she attended the workshop, but she had changed so profoundly that her partner felt her new-found power and stopped the abusive behaviors immediately.  Needless to say, I was very impressed.

You would think I would have gone right away myself, but not so.  To be honest, despite the obvious fact that everyone survives and leaves thriving, I was afraid to do it.  However, in 1997 after being in an airplane that descended 25,000 feet in a minute’s time (that’s a story for a future post) I was ready for Leap of Faith.  All of a sudden the workshop didn’t seem so scary!

I loved my Leap of Faith experience.  There were certainly times when I felt fear, but for the most part I felt my power.  And I found my voice!  Afterwards, I wrote this about the workshop:

What I experienced far outweighed my greatest expectations. The course is magnificently crafted, and I experienced the awe of being with a master teacher

I’ve had decades of clients attend Leap of Faith.  The workshop teaches them to face the demons in their lives, no matter what form they come in.  Almost without exception their therapy process takes a massive jump forward.

Thank you Jeff, for all you have done for me, for my friends, colleagues, clients, and for the world.

I will end this post with some short video statements by people who were finishing their Leap of Faith experience.