Loss of a friend  / Dallas Willing (patient and friend )

3/5/2007

I have just recently learned of Richard's death.  I met him many years ago in Woodstock and  he guided me thru a very rough time in my life.  Since I moved away we've lost contact and I was planning on visiting him this Summer when I returned.  This has left me very sad yet at the same time I know that all he taught me will help me thru this heavy time.   What a great loss.

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Increased Self Awareness and Challenge to be Better Communicator  / Theresa Miller (reader of books he wrote )

Having spent most of my career as an administrative assistant, talking on the telephone is an integral part of my day.  The Phone Book: Breakthrough Neurolinguistic Phone Skills for Profit and Enlightenment was enlightening on several levels.

One thing the book reinforced was to trust yourself when engaged in a business conversation, to go with your gut reaction in problem solving over the telephone.  At one point in my career, I recorded radio commercials.  In the recording studio, I was told to always speak the words with a smile on my face as it made for a better sounding recording.  This book repeats the same advice for phone conversations -- a little tidbit that goes a long way for the person on the other side of the telephone conversation.

Most of all, I was impressed by the empowerment of verbal communication expressed by these simple changes:

• change but to and
  
• change can't to won't


• change should to could
  
• eliminate the use of the word try

I now realize that when you say you will try to do something, it is not a commitment.  It's akin to saying someone is really honest --- you are either honest or dishonest.  There are no degrees of honesty.  So, too, you will either do something or you won't .... none of this "I will try to do it".  I've become very conscious of not using that word in all my conversations.

This easy to read book increased my self-awareness and challenged me to be a better communicator by using visualization and spirituality as my tools for better telephone excellence.

Thank you for the insight and positive growth!

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"Being on a roll and how to stay that way"  / Peak Preformance (---)

BEING "ON A ROLL" AND HOW TO STAY THAT WAY

© Richard A. Zarro

We have all experienced "it" at some time during our lives. That feeling of magic, good luck or an uncanny sense of well being. It may have lasted moments, hours, days, weeks, months or more. Business, people call it "Being on a roll"; athletes call it "the white moment", "playing in a trace", "letting go"; Psychologists call it "self-actualization", "peak experiences"; religious mystics term it "ecstasy", "joyful communion" or the "bliss of enlightenment".

Dr. Charles Garfield, team member of NASA's historic Apollo Moon Landing and President of Performance Sciences Institute in Berkley, California, compiled hundreds of description of this state from athletes and business people. He came up with a fascinating description of this :State of Excellence".

"All at once it seems as though everything is working for me. There is no sense of needing to do anything. My actions unfold as they do in pleasant dreams, though my body may be putting out great efforts. I have no thought about what I should do or how I should do it. Everything is happening automatically as though I have tuned myself in on a radio beam that directs my nervous system so that it works in synchronization with everything in and around me. I feel insulated from all distractions. Time disappears and even though I know the speed of actions taking place around me, I feel I have all the time I need to respond accurately and well. I am so completely involved in the action that there is not even a question of confidence or lack of it.

"There is no issues such as worries about failure or feelings of fatigue. Even such feeling as monetary fear appear to serve me, changing automatically into positive forces. I am acutely aware of colors, sounds -- the presence of people around me, the feeling of being a source of power and energy in this moment in time. It is a trance state and I feel as thought the usual barriers between me and the outside world have been pulled away and I am completely at one with myself and the physical world with which I am dwelling. It is a wonderful feeling, crisp, full of joy more real than the everyday world going very deep". 

In his years of research, certain characteristics have emerged which are common, at one time or another, in the lives of peak performers or super achievers. In my life working with thousands of people, the most important ingredient is passion. 

P: The first letter of PASSION stands for Purpose. Having a mission, goal or direction in your life to complete. Something that gets you out of bed in the morning. (The key is doing what you love.) When we follow our interests, enchantments or fantasies, we are naturally on purpose. Each day becomes a joy. Not that we are not exhausted at night but it is a delightful exhaustion, like the one after a day of playing your favorite game. Your work, your life, becomes more like play and you have the feeling of needing to pinch yourself to see if it is real. "Another day when I get to do what I love to do and get paid for it? Wow! I must be blessed." There are thousands of stories where people, for one reason or another, follow their hearts and become financial successes. Remember, there is not one thing in this world that you love to do that someone somewhere isn't getting paid to do -- think about it.

A: The second letter of PASSION represents Ability. To be peak performers, we must have a grasp of the basic and "core competencies" of our work. Whether we are mechanics, stock brokers, doctors, nurses or parents, there are specific tools to master. Some tools are more valuable than others. Remember the 20/80 law? Twenty percent of the tools in your personal toolbox perform 80 percent of your tasks, 20 percent of your calls result in 80 percent of your closings or 20 percent of your customers account for 80 percent of your earnings. It is a useful generality.

S: There is a Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) concept called Stretching that gives us our "S" in PASSION. Everyone has experienced times where life dares us to make a Quantum Leap, a jump into the unknown. In a way, it is an act of faith in yourself and in life to force yourself to break out of a rut, take a risk, stretching beyond your own "comfort zone", beyond what has become habitual. Not everyone stretches as frequently or as far as others. We must all respect our own rhythm and yet continue our movement forward. Too much stretching causes burnout, too little results in boredom. The point in between is sometimes called "dancing on the razor's edge". Goethe, the great German poet and philosopher, once said: "What ever you can do or dream, you can do. Begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.."

S: Stretching beyond what we consider to be our limitations leads us to discovering personal resources we may not have even known we possessed. And there is the added bonus, when we stretch, of accessing the powerful state known as The Second Wind. Marathon runners experience a burning fatigue around the 19th mile, known as "the wall" where their minds and bodies demand they stop. They feel at this point that they cannot go another step. And yet, when the runner ignores that limitation, takes two steps beyond it, suddenly a deeper resource is tapped, and like magic the pain disappears. They feel as if they had stopped and are refreshed. Where did this new energy come from? And what do you have inside yourself that is just waiting for you to explore?

I: The uses of Imagery have been well documented by the most rigorous scientific research. Dr. Karl Pribram's work at Stanford showing how the mind works neurologically through imagery has revolutionized the field. Visualization of specif images affect everything in our lives. It is the rudder by which we steer our ship. "No wind blows in favor of a ship that has no port of destination." The two main components are relaxation and visualization. Peak performers know how to use these tools and take the time to relax and imagine their goals in a very specific way. They have many different ways of handling stress and use them regularly.

O: One of the most powerful characteristics of peak performers is an Open Heart. It is fired by the twin engines of love and forgiveness. "Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the tides and gravity, we will harness for good the energies of love and then for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire", wrote Teillhard de Cardin. Forgiveness is the ability to understand the nature of mistakes and failures and to let go of the obsession with perfection. Mistakes and failures are information for correction, for adjustment to change. No matter how well someone showed you how to drive a car, you had to stall it. No matter how well anyone explained how to cut a 2 x 4 or swim -- you had to try it, make mistakes and correct yourself. Dr. Garfield points out that the flight of the Apollo from the Earth to the Moon was off course more than 90 percent of the time yet it arrived successfully. It was simply shifting the attention to correction rather than failure. We learn to make lemonade out of lemons, every kick becomes a boost, every "no" brings us statistically close to a "yes".

N: Nexus, our last letter of PASSION, is defined as a bond, link or tie between members of a group, a means of connection between things. "We are the world" has become a common theme in the last few years. One of the positive things to come out of the stock market downturn of 1987 was the painful realization that even financially we are a global unit and must begin thinking in that frame. We all have personal, local, group, national and global connections. It has been reported that peak performers are people who act as team members rather than the Lone Ranger. They have replaced a more secretive style of interaction within that group, toward one of collaboration, knowing how, when and where to ask for support. At the top of their priority list are love, family and friends.

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Light Upon Our Lives Through Blending Astrology with Holographic Hypnosis  / Mary Orser (coauthor who became a friend )
I knew Richard for many years.  However, it was not until the late 1980's that we got in deeper touch with each other as a result of authoring together a book, Changing Your Destiny: Dynamic New Astrological and Visualization Tools to Shape Your Future.

I have been an astrologer for many years.  As such, I know astrology is one of those fields of knowledge that has many levels of understanding, each more exciting and enlightening than the last.  As I have journeyed down and up these levels, I have increasingly seen the power of this art and science to throw light on our lives and to transform them.  But understanding is one thing; making the transformation is another.

I was somewhat familiar with a number of consciousness changing techniques such as meditation, visualization and self-hypnosis.  I had seen these practices bring important life changes both to myself and to others.  Also, I had heard that Richard's techniques were easily learned and highly effective for helping people perceive and tap into their deep personal resources and potentials, far beyond what they had ever thought possible.  People had been drawn from all over the United States and Europe to his seminars and private intensives.

One day he and I visited in his Japense garden and he told me about techniques for bringing about states of excellence that can only be described as self-transformation.  I shared with him about how the new science is putting astrology back into a meaningful context of how it can be that from earliest times people have used the Sun, Moon, planets and stars for navigating not only on their journeys over land and sea but also in the course of their lives --  whether they were leading nations or simply charting personal directions.

Richard invited me to attend his Futureshaping Technologies^TM siminars at Omega Institute and I was delighted with the opportunity to see in action Richard's wonderfully dynamic synthesis and expression of the art of consciousness changing.  I was impressed by what I saw and experienced.  Richard had put together a dynamic set of tenchniques that were able to bring amazing breakthroughs.

Changing Your Destiny came about because we saw that joining the art and science of astrology to the art and science and transformation makes it possible to achieve states of excellence in expressing astrological potential that most of us have touched only rarely.

Working with Richard on this book was a stimulating and delightful exerience.  His keen insights, ability to cut through to basics and above all his sense of humor were marvelous and noteworthy memories.  He is always remaining close to my heart.  I am glad that his many contributions of writing and art are with us yet. Close

Missing His Confidence  / Joe Vitale (Fellow student of hypnosis )
I never met Richard personally but had a deep connection.  I remember we talked about everything from weight-lifting to writing to playing blues harmonica.  He once said he was the greatest harp player in the world.   He may have been.  I sure liked his confidence.  I miss him. Close

Positive Change Using Futureshaping Technologies  / Regina-Sophia Siegel (ex-student)

I studied with Richard Zarro in 1993 and 1994 and graduated from both his Basic and Advanced level of classes in Futureshaping Technologies.

And his teachings truly were as advertised...

Futureshaping for me and in my work as a Holistic practitioner, a Polarity therapist and teacher, as a Reiki Master of the Usui and Karuna lineage, as an ordained Interfaith Minister and as a mother and human being has resulted in much positive change in a direction in which I truly wished to progress.

Richard was a very important teacher along my path of becoming both the healer and person I am today.  He opened my mind and taught me powerful healing tools to use in my work with people as well as animals (talk about using communication skills, pacing and leading with a frightened horse or dog or cat -- very helpful).

His training had provided me with an expansive professional training as well as spiritual uplifting and expanding of my consciousness and awareness.

At the time I took his classes, I was terrified of speaking in front of a room full of people and the chance he offered his students to become an assistant in future trainings has been both a personal challenge as well as a blessing in this regard.

As I look back over the intervening ten plus years later, I can see the tremendous progress I have made as I now am able to command almost any audience with ease and a feeling of being almost totally relaxed.

The tools I have learned in his trainings have served me both in my healing practice as well as my personal life and my personal relationships.

To this day I continue to value Richard Zarro's passionate teaching as he evidenced caring for people and the Earth very deeply.  I will never forget his many wonderful and fun sayings he wove into his lectures.
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By way of sharing, Regina visited Richard at his home the last afternoon of this incarnation.  She followed her instincts and went although she felt to do such would be an intrusion.  Richard told me later that day how important it was this exstudent had come and shared with him about the positive changes she had made in her life as a result of the time she spent in training with him.

From Roberta who sponsors this site:  I personally remember Regina from my Basic Hypnosis training.  I was very much tempted to give up on the classes partway through the training when this total stranger who introduced herself as Regina told me she "knew" my intent regarding considering not finishing the training (which was a true statement).  However, she wanted to tell me to stick it out to completion; that it would come out alright in the end.

Regina and I reconnected at the Celebration of Richard's life about a month after his transition.  Without her encouragement none of these experiences for my benefit would have been possible.

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The Best  / Robert Brizel (student)

Richard was "the best" of all hypnosis practioners.  And gave his best for others.  Period.  Thank you.

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Just a Couple of Many Memories  / Jillian LaVelle (President, IACT & friend )
Richard -- what a teacher, philosopher and healer.  He was the kind of man you either loved or hated.  Bless his heart.  He polarized people.  One instance was when he gave a presentation at the International Assocation of Counselors and Therapists in 1990.  We had asked him to create a speech on a particular topic, which he readily agreed.  But, when he gave the presentation, it wasn't on that topic at all.  He always was a maverick who did his own thing in his own way.  While the person (my ex) who co-ran the organization was fuming, I was inwardly laughing.

Richard was well-liked by so many of his students.  I think about how giving and forthright he was.  I really respected that.  He loved training and passing on his knowledge and experiences.

I remember the time that he stepped in front of a small child who wanted desparately to pet a huge St. Bernard dog.  Neither he nor the child knew the dog.  Richard paid the price as the dog turned on him and Richard was mauled.  Recovery was painful and he always carried the scar on his jaw.  Yet his attitude was that he knew he had saved the life of the child.  The child would have had no chance against this massive dog.  There was always a purpose to everything.

Richard, I bid you a fond fairwell on your journey.  I know that you are on a new adventure.  Go into the light and venture into your new path.  God bless you, the Goddess blesses you and I bless you. Close

Webeth and The King of Numbers, a children's book by Zarro  / Mel Fowler (Illustrator & book designer of the children's book by Richard )
My recollection of Richard goes back to the 1970's to the beginning of the newly created WESTBETH artist's low to middle income housing.  It is a remarkable complex providing 380 studio/ apartments, a huge art gallery space, a small theatre and an auditorium reserved for Merce Cunningham's dance company.  An adjacent building provided work-space studios for painters and the newly formed Westbeth Graphic Arts Workshop.  I might add that Westbeth is multiracial and was available only to accomplished artists of all artistic disciplines, the focal point of my introduction to Richard Z.  Westbeth was a truly remarkable complex! 

At the time I met Richard Z, I had fully mastered wood engraving, printing and book design.  However, I knew nothing about creating etchings.  Richard was my mentor and I shall be forever grateful to him.  At the time of our meeting, I had been doing freelance work for several publishers, including the book publishers Jarrow Press.  Richard's King of Numbers manuscript, which he handed me at the time, was met with praise and enthusiasm on my part so I brought it to the proprieter's of Jarrow.  They recognized its merits and commissioned me to design and illustrate the book.  Several months after its publication, Maestro Zarro moved away from Westbeth and I never heard from him again.  Alas!  I regret that a successful collaboration ended so abruptly. 

After an interval of more than a quarter of a century, he phoned me with the idea of somehow getting The King of Numbers reprinted.   It was a nice idea but tracing publication rights at this time presents very difficult problems, quite impossible for me to cope with so further collaboration was a, "no".  I am sorry for that for I was aware that he was seriously ill.  He is gone now but to me he is not simply "out of sight, out of mind".  He changed the course of my work as a printmaker, a rewarding vocation.  My gratitude goes with him.

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The King of Numbers received an award, a formidable one per Mel Fowler, but according to him it was shot down by a vindictive  Times critic and is now out of print.  As an aside, the book sold for $4.95 when published in 1971.  The sponsor of this site paid $25.00 for a mint condition copy from Amazon who at the time did rare book searches for customers. Close

"When You Wish Upon a Star", Reaching for Fullfillment  / Roberta Culver (best and special friends )
How well I remember that July 1, 1994 in upstate New York, a truly pivotal time and place in my life.  Several things were rapidly changing or would so within the next couple of years.  These changes appeared to be beyond my ability to control.  Career-wise, because the law partnership where I was employed was being dissolved, this was my last day in my favorite job.  I would start new employment the following week.  However, I sensed the move would not be in my best interests.  The lawyer whose employ I would be leaving was extremely busy and I frequently was the contact between the clients, many of whom were in Family Court or dissolving a marriage, with their attorney for whom I worked.  I had asked for that last afternoon of working for him to be unused vacation time and worked very late the previous nights  to ensure that his move to a new office location and my time off  would not be waylayed.

A registered nurse who had worked as a substance abuse counselor for many years had scheduled a meeting to interview a trainer who lived about one hour's drive from the area where this friend and I lived.  "Come on.  It'll be fun", she assured me as we started the  countryside drive to the trainer's office.  If one were to ask, I was sure the leaves on the trees that July day had changed to specutular  autumn hues of sunshine yellow with some flaming reds and greens intersperced.  On the way to the appointment, I learned my friend, who was driving, had for a long time wanted to learn hypnosis to use with appropriate clients.  She had selected three different trainers that she was checking out to determine who she wished to learn from.  She felt that this training might also be of interest to me.  Besides, I was the only one "crazy enough" to do this.

Walking through the Tori gate and up the path through the zen rock garden complete with an artificial pond containing goldfish and decked with singing fern and other oriental items, I seemed to leave my earthly concerns behind me.  All I know is that I recognized something or someone when I saw the interaction between Richard Zarro and the woman who brought me there.  When he finished greeting her, he came to me and invaded my space (something I would not normally tolerate) and he said "hi".  Eyes lower left, I was speechless.  Since he had an appointment elsewhere he left us to meet with his associate.  That very brief interaction with this truly remarkable and unique man was the beginning of my journey down the new path and included only in part how I interacted with life.  Upon my friend and I leaving  this magical place, the woman who had given me the ride there  said to me as we got into her car, she would check out the other two programs and we could decide from there. She never heard me say "if I was going to take the basic hypnosis training (having always been fascinated with how the mind works), it would be with this particular trainer".  Eventually, my freind agreed that she would take her training that Fall with Richard Zarro and his associates.

At the time I took the certification training, I envisioned a new lifestyle and, yes, even a new me.  Most of the things I envisioned have come to pass, including such mundain things as improved health, maintaining my weight for several interventing years at approximately fifty pounds less (in 2004 it is 66 pounds less than when I took the training, getting an article published (in less than a year this neophyte to the field had an article published in Unlimited Human Magazine -- the trade journal for IACT,  making my fledgling business my sole support, etc.   As a result of private training with Richard, I have met some truly amazing people such as a world-class astrologer who taught me the basics of the natal (birth) chart [or the potential we come into this incarnation with] interpretation.  I have seen this insight gained work with others whose charts I have prepared and have shown the seeker some of the basics of their ability to control within the Universe what occurs in life or at the very least control their reaction to it.  I have see aura (which I did not believe possible to learn without doing muscle exercises) and other extraordinary experiences too numerous to recount here.

Because of some extraordinary events that occurred the second weekend of the Basic Certification training, Richard and I talked in the hallway briefly at the end of the training about paths to reach a desired goal.  At the time, I erroneously thought my question had to do with extraordinary perception "via" such as Tarot cards, clairvoyance, astrology, etc. to reach the desired information.

Toward the end of that conversation, Richard heard me telling him that control had always been an issue for me.  I thought that pronouncement would be a revelelation to him.  He kindly did not remind me that "we all give away our issues".  In retrospect, I realize that my standoffish actions for the entire time of the training had been telling this unmistakedly to him, loud and clear.

It was approximately two weeks before I had let go enough of my own ego to tell this man most of what had occurred within me during the two weekends as we progressed through the training attended as a result of a "chance encounter".  He quietly reminded me that he is not a guru and that we all are capable of this level of action, including change which comes from within and the client is in total charge of the events.  This remarkable individual uses hypnosis and communication skills to teach life's tools.  As a result of this telephone conversation, I set up a private "session" with Richard so I could experience what he calls a "holographic cleaning", a technique used to detach the emtional tag(s) to an event or events or pattern developed in response to life.  Since this master teacher/facilitator and recognized leader among his peers originated Holographic Hypnosis, he teaches in part life's experiencesare input into the mind through all one's senses at the rate of 24 frames per minute.  This input, which becomes your memories, is not just in the form of pictures.  The input also includes what you heard, felt, smelled and possiblly tasted.  I also know first hand that these stored memories can include extrasensory perceptions.  These memories or your individual  holograms are accessed by any sensory modality that contains enough similarity to trigger the original or tap root incident.  These memories are likened to holograms with each tiny fragment containing the memories of the whole.  Each individual's history is stored in hologram form along with the history of the entire human race which is also able to be tapped into.  Amazingly, the individuals are only a part of the whole hologram.  Also learned during this certification training is that all these neurotransmitted messages are stored in the brain, which has vast archival potential, in a manner similar to documents stored on a computer disc for use in a computer.  During the training, Richard allowed each of us in a supervised setting to access how these holograms control our lives and how our accessing them, which is frequently done in an out of control manner, can affect our current lives.  We are not our holograms, we are the observer of them, Richard again reminds us through some very basic exercises/experiences.

In retrospect, I have come to realize that the pattern of life that I had developed was that of anger in response to many of life's events.  Anger, I read somewhere, is a secondary emotion.  What was the real emotion and my personal threat it manifested from?  What common human experience results in such a self-destructive  attitude, perspective and feelings which were allowed to get out of  control.  Anger, I reason, can lead to violence.  Anger denied or repressed or not dealt with turns inward and causes all kinds of physical, psychological or emotional issues commonly called amongst other things life's stressors and dis-ease.  The knowlege is not new.  In the 1950's the American Medical Assocation recognized  the connection between the mind/brain and our physical well-being when it recognized the therapeutic role of hypnosis in the treatment of stress-related diseases, thanks largely to the work of psychiatrist Milton Erickson.

One of the original target state I chose to attain at the Basic Hypnotherapist Certification training with Richard included the health concern of needing to have the scale registering 50 pounds less.  Somehow the human mind has the capacity to switch without conscious direction from me to the desired target state of improved health including and not limited to somehow dealing with the anger issue in me and the reason for its existence.  By this shift in perspective, it allowed me to change my my focus to the control issue of which anger was just a part.  This refocusing came from the extremely powerful and large percentage of the mind referred commonly to the preconscious or the subconscious mind by using the tools of Richard's Holographic Hypnosis.

Many tears have been shed as I let go of the "old" angry and self-protective at all costs me.  Tears continue to flow as I write this (in 1997).  Somehow I am now addressing the need to control on a very peronal level.  I have learned that not facing the demons of guilt and fear that feed into refusing to change including one's perspective is worse than standing up to them.  Although as a human being I backslide, my new perspective is to live as much of my life in the now moment as possible rather than fear the future or feel guilt over the past.  A new sense of freedom and a joy in living to the fullest possible extent of which I am currnetly capable have become my constant companion.

In retrospect, what did I learn as a result of this fateful meeting in 1994.  A different perspective has come to the forefront which I am not really able to completely put into words.  One piece is my personal discovery of an inner strength and resiliency that I did not realize existed.  Change is scary and my life has become totally different.  All of the people in my personal life prior to meeting this facilitator and agent of directed change have chosen different paths.  I have come to accept that such is their choice.  Because of skills learned in training with this Master teacher and valued friend, I was able to forsee the serious decline in physical health of a woman whose on-again, off-again wandering through each other's life at trying/ challenging times had come to mean so much to me.  As is so often the case, I regret never telling this friend how much she meant.  In the end, she taught me a valuable lesson. She believed that death from recurrent cancer would soon overcome her. She had cut her smoking in half after two "sessions" with me and her learning holographic hypnosis, so I knew that whatever she needed to accomplish could be accomplished through hypnosis.  I offered that if she did not wish to work with me since we were friends that I would give her Richard's telephone number.  Declining that alternative, she announced she would not be dissuaded from her belief that there was "nothing here" for her.  There was a time when I would have pushed.  Instead, I quietly reminded her that she had options and maintained respect for her right to choose, no matter how much it personally saddened me.  I was aware of at least part of why she said there was nothing here.  I "knew" that whether or not something is a viable option for me, I have no right to make that determination on this level where the discussions were not wanted from me.  Letting go of my friend was another example of learning to let go of the need to control.

As part of another "project" in my promise to accept respectful responsibility to and for the Universe, I was in the process of writing a letter.  Searching for a statement to close the letter with, I finally realized in one of those "aha" moments that the experiences that I had started with that July initial meeting in Woodstock, New York, coming "by no accident" on the last day of a favorite job had been to fill an unnamed and even frequently unrecognized  something more, some undefinable within me that was not being filled.  I was awe-struck at my self-relevation of having figured out what was obvious to others -- that control, like all other life's tools, required proper perspective and proper use in order not become self-defeating.  It is akin to the walls that most of us erect to protect ourselves from being hurt (and also the reason for one's excess physical weight). Effectively constructed, the walls accomplish their intent.  The also keep out what we truly need and want in life.  Thanks to Richard for yet another lesson learned and who allowed me through his training to see what I needed to progress.  The meeting has allowed me to see the spirit behind the mask, both his and mine.  I have come to accept who I am and can be, to learn not only am I truly blessed (for the astrologers -- I have five planets in Gemini in my natal chart), I am guided down a path that has the ability to give to others a level of growth, prosperity, accomplishment and peace which to any other person would not have otherwise known.

      *              *             *            *            *

Richard Zarro's Holographic Hypnosis is about life and how it is to be navigated. It is finding a solution within yourself and lighting a candle for yourself and for others rather than cursing the darkness on both an individual and global/universal level.  And, in case you have not guessed it, the sharing of this article is another example of my letting go of the need to control.

For me, I had either forgotten a long ago uttered heartfelt "wish upon a star" or was so close to the situation that the myopic view I held would not let me see how the events of the two Basic Hypnotherapy Certification training weekends and for much of my subsequent life were part of leading me down a path to attain that special wish.  All I had to do was to let go and let God and the Universe provide what was needed.  Life is a journey and I have learned to deal with that in which I have not reached total fruition of my wish.  However, without this change in me via the tools of hypnosis in general, improved communication skills and attention to detail and specifically with the assistance of the "magic" of Holographic Hypnosis, the granting of my wish with any permancy would not have been possible.
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The foregoing article was written three years after my Certification training and my several private sessions of training by Richard as an advanced student.  It was written in response to an "assignment" from Richard that I write a book.  Me?  Who would be interested in it?  I was quietly assured that my article on using Holographic Hypnsosis on a horse was published by the International association of Counselors and Therapists, wasn't it?  In response, I asked Richard if he would be interested in reading what I wrote.  A quiet "No" was his response and as Jillian LeVelle from the International Association of Counselors and Therapists Association put it, that interchange was "so like Richard".

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I called to tell Richard's friend Jillian of his passing to the other side in mid-August 2003 and to question who held the copyright on the "horse article" printed many years ago in Unlimited Human Magazine as I intended to include it on my web site currently being developed.  During the convention, Jillian suggested I might like to submit another article for consideration of publication.  Still very much involved in the events that occur after a "death" and especially one of such a close friend, since I was asked by him to be the executrix of Richard's estate, etc., along with my own sense of "grief" at what seemed to be such a final loss, I couldn't settle down to write.  Forgetting Richard's promise that we would have a relationship afterward, out of necessity, I pulled out this "assignment", have polished and added to it for submission.

Oh, yes, and by the way, that long ago uttered wish? .... As a fairly young child, I had made the conscious decision to go through life "unattached" to anyone.  The wish uttered none to quietly to the Universe, the Supreme Being(s), was two-fold.  One part is I no longer be alone and wished to be in a meaningful relationship.  The other part?  Being a fan of Richard Bach's and specifically of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, it was I wanted to proceed faster and fly higher than any other gull.

*        *          *          *        *         *         *

In closing (since Richard crossed the veil on 8-12-03):
To the Entity known in this lifetime as Richard:

There is so much, where to begin?

I send you my love.
I wish you happiness.
I hope for your health.
I hope for your growth.
I pray to God He/She looks after you.
Because I love you; because you are loveable.
I love you in every way possible across all eternity.

It truly was my privilege to be your care provider the last few years of this earthly existence as I marveled at your strengths and attempted to compensate for shortfalls on every level while doing the every day mundane things necessary for day to day physical existence.  As best able, I was there emotionally and most of all spiritually.  We were family more than blood relatives can be.  I am honored that you, Richard, allowed this.

We both grew from the interaction and learned to value, respect and love each other for both who and what we were and were not.  With time, I further learned in providing care-giving the value of love freely given as well as to be freely loved.  The last birthday present [a spa day] was very special as were all his other gifts to me for they sybolized a lesson I was very slow to learn .... how much he truly loved me.

You were right when you told someone who has since turned his back for his own personal gain that I would be the one most touched and upset by your transition to another realm.  I guess that goes with being the one most touched by your life.

To a very special, unique, gentle, kind, giving and loving being, please know in this relationship that we never talked about:

I love you and sincerely meant the two roses with their intertwined stems that your son placed on your casket for me for the trip from the funeral.  It was all your two best friends could think to do.

Roberta and Dice Close

Soaring Spirits  / Michael Ellner (Friend & fellow hypnotherapist )

I have many heartfelt memories of that crazy, brilliant being who was known as Richard Zarro.  I share this particular memory because remembering it always makes my spirits soar.

The Z-man and I became instant friends in the mid-80's when we met at a hypnosis meeting.  By then, we were both well established legends within our own minds and we thought of ourselves as rising young stars within the emerging world of hypnosis.  Oh, to be young and foolish.  The chain of events leading to this very special day began several months earlier when Richard called, one night, out of the blue and very excitedly told me that he had been talking to one or our hypnosis heros Ormond McGill and that the "Dean of American Hypnotists" wanted to teach a workshop with US!  Richard went on to explain that in a moment of mania he called "The Dean" and told him that he thought it would be a great fun for the three of us to co-teach a workshop.  Richard was calling me after the fact to see if I wanted to play.  I did!

Our intention was to create a practical synthesis of our approaches to helping people with hypnosis based on McGill's "Hypno-Meditation", Richard's "Futureshaping Technologies" and my "Quantuum Focusing.  The National Guild green-lighted our Proposal for the Ancient Wisdom meets the Cutting Edge Institute of the NGH.

We decided we trusted ourselves and each other enought to just show up and wing it....  I met Richard the night before the workshop and he showed me a beat up autographed copy of one of McGill's books on Hypnosis and Mysticism and read me a quote from the book.  This was the quote he going to use to launch the training and pay tribute to McGill.  Richard loved to feed two birds with one seed.

Even before the workshop started, the room was filled with the kind of excitation you can cut with a knife and Richard was really charged and passionate as he began to read McGill's inspiring quote.  

As soon as Richard finished reading the quote, McGill commended, "That was beautiful, Richard.  Who wrote it?"
And Richard said sheepishly, "You did, sir."...  The room roared with laughter and McGill said that he merely channels information and that he was delighted to have channeled that quote but felt no ownership for the thought.  When the class took a break, I asked Richard what he had learned from the experience and he looked at me in a very loving way and said 
"_ _ck you Michael" and claimed HE was channeling...

Within the span of a several hours the students got to see Richard Zarro transform himself from an adoring fan to masterful teacher.  McGill, Zarro and I worked and played especialy well that day and I am certain that it was an experience that every one involved will always treasure ....

Thanks for the memories, Richard!

Michael Ellner

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From the Dean of American Hypnosis  / Omond McGill (Friend)

I am honored to be known as Richard Zarro's friend. 

Richard was a man (in this lifetime) of very high spiritual development.  His life was devoted to helping people with whom he came in contact advance to higher spiritual development in their own life. 

I had the privilege of presenting a workship with this remarkable man for the National Guild of Hypnosis Convention and had hoped to do many more.

I send my love and energy to him in the spirit realm in which he now dwells. 

Other thoughts by Ormond include:
He did so much good on this Planet .... and yet had so much pain to bear. 
Richard was a Master.

From the published statement by Ormond, please see the legacy section of this website.

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A Rare Glimpse of a Many Faceted Jewel  / Bill &. Mark From Shandaken, NY (Love that wood stove and Quanset hut )

Just a reflection.   The day we came to pick up the stove from Richard, he shared some nice things about the "woman in the background" that we thought you might like to know.  He told us the story of how he had laid with no hope and full of despair.  He said if it wasn't for Roberta, he didn't know what he would do.  At the time he talked about how she saved his life.  Also, he mentioned that Roberta was his guardian angel as he had such a good friend in her..... how both of the individuals had been there through thick and thin and how this remarkable special friend always pulled through for him.

As Roberta knows, our encounter was brief but it must say a lot that he offered those kind words about her not knowing either one of us and how much your friendship must have meant to him during his time of need.  His comments also demonstrate what a special person he was to think of her needs also no matter his pain....

Bill and Mark

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One Example of a Special Friend  / Patti De Blasi (friend from Dallas )
I visited with Richard Zarro on the phone the evening before his death.  He sounded resolved and I thought it was because he had come to terms with moving to the apartment.  We talked at length about 'new horizons' and I shared with him my favorite quote, 'why are known hells preferred over strange heavens?"  He liked it very much.  I told him I thouhgt this new move might be an opportunity for new experiences and he agreed.

We also talked about Roberta.  He told me he enjoyed surprising her with a spa day for her birthday and knowing it wasn't 'practical' made it all the more special.  He said she was a special woman in his life and that she had done so much for him.  He wanted to do something special for her.  On more than one occasion in the past, during a phone call, Richard mentioned how he could not keep going without Roberta's help; that between his health, financial, legal and personal challenges he had to face daily, Roberta was always there for him.  She encouraged him, reprimanded him on what she believed to be the necessary rare occasion and kept him on focus.  He mentioned he knew she did without so he could have.  I think the only reason he stayed on his earth this long was to be near Roberta.  She warned everybody that he was capable of doing something deparate.  I didn't want to believe with all his obstacles most of which we didn't even know about that he would do as he was about to and "leave".  Roberta unselifishly kept going forward, taking care of him, helping him, as long as he was here.  And even in death, Roberta still continues to do for him.  I hope he is in a  better place and watching over Roberta now as she did him in life.

Patti Di Blasi

Sworn to 14fh day of January, 2004

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Remembering Richard  / Robert Brizel (Student)

It seems incredible (after completing my studies in 1996)
that Richard is gone. His IQ, personality, and concepts in
Holographic Hypnosis and Futureshaping were ever moving,
so it must be realized that Richard's life was a life largely unfilled, incomplete and not remembered to the level he was worthy of.

The dynamics of Richard's mind also gave him a unique perspective and perception of the world around him and the events which which took place in the world, and the forces behind them. I found his perceptions not only fascinating, but on a plane far beyond the norm.

As an instructor I found Richard dynamic. He had many videos, cassettes, and instructional materials in his system, and it pains me that these materials may be lost forever and I do not have them. Although I completed my studies with Richard, his standards were very high. He waived my fees, but I'll always regret never realizing the level he felt I was capable of in terms of working with him. Part of it might have had to do with the fact that after Richard, I opted to continue my studies in Woodstock with Peter Blum group style in an electric tee-pee, rather than work for Richard. Peter's mind has other tangents for exploration,
which is probably why Peter broke off from Richard to explore his own soul. I think we all do. Richard was strict within his concepts. My mind is very open to different people and approaches beyond Futureshaping.

Richard's advanced concepts (as he put it) were heavily influenced by his involvement with Scientology in his early days (quoting Richard "They'd like me to come back-I still get mail from them"). He knew Dr. Hubbard.  What's interesting is Richard knew about Dianetic concepts at a time when Scientology, for all intensive purposes, was relatively unknown.  Also, the fact that Richard was heavily influenced by Scientology is often lost.

Richard's use of failsafe clauses shows of Scientology influences, but his curious obsession with past life regression was part of his own unique personality. He remains the only practitioner in the hypnosis field to explore this unique parameter of the mind. Overall, Richard's ability to discharge negative repeating enneagrams (reaching state of clear) with his clients spoke for his abilities and understandings on a functional level beyond the Scientologists. Part of it might have had to do with the fact that (according to Richard) Hubbard was originally a good personality that went astray. Noone could really do what Richard did as well or as competently as Richard did, not even his students. For the love of me, I cannot imagine Richard ill, sitting around at home for seven years.

With his energy I cannot imagine him gone.

Robert    September 18, 2005

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I've read a few of Richard's books  / Barbara Seagle (none)
I feel he was advanced for his time and contributed much through his teachings. I'm glad we have this place to keep Richard's spirit alive. Close