THE BLACK LOTUS ACADEMY
Our Year Course Certifies You To Change Lives
The world's only immersive live-in training program for certifications in Hypnotherapy, NLP Master Practitioner, EFT and 1000-Hour Master Ceremonial Cacao Practitioner
YEAR-LONG RESIDENCY
Become a Highly Effective Healer
HYPNOTHERAPY
Deep dive into multiple types of hypnotherapy, not just one. We find any course that takes less than a year to certify you as a hypnotherapist to be borderline unethical. A week or month-long training simply cannot prepare you for working with clients and the serious traumas or unexpected issues that may arise. After six months in the course, you will start working with clients directly, with mentor support.
NLP
Many Neuro-Linguistic Programming
(NLP) programs take a week to teach each certification. For the level of depth and expertise we want you to reach, that is simply not sufficient. The first 6 months will get you certified as an NLP Practitioner, and the last 6 months as NLP Master Practitioner. There will be plenty of theoretical learning and experiential hands-on practice for both certifications.
CACAO
Become a 1000-Hour Master Ceremonial Cacao Practitioner. The only training of its kind anywhere in the world. Learn to work with cacao as a plant medicine for group & individual offerings. Attend 100 ceremonies at The Black Lotus and co-facilitate some of them. In addition to exploring the spiritual and medicinal properties of cacao, you will understand its history, biochemistry, production and more.
EFT (TAPPING)
Emotional Freedom Techniques are more commonly known as tapping. Learn and master evidence-based EFT, rather than a looser form of EFT that has not been heavily researched and substantiated by the scientific method. You will practice EFT regularly with other residents and on yourself to fully understand its healing potential in processing emotional blocks. Your future clients will thank you.
LUCID DREAMING
Many people don't even know that they can awaken within their dreams. This ability is powerful, but there are far deeper levels of lucid dreaming. We not only teach you to lucid dream regularly, but we spend a year unlocking the deeper levels and states of your consciousness. Lucid dreaming helps with your own personal creativity, healing and awakening. And it teaches you to assist others with theirs.
MEDITATION
Spend a year meditating daily for one hour or more, and you will experientially understand the power of meditation to self-heal and access deeper states. The meditation practice is a foundation for all of the other practices we teach. It will transform and elevate the way you work with your own clients. That's why the Year Course is rooted in Herb's 20-plus years of experience teaching meditation.
A YEAR OF INNER WORK
The Year Course gives you many lifelong tools to help others, while you do your own inner healing work and growth.
Helping others and ourselves go hand in hand.
A Year of Selfless Service
Giving back is a central component of the Year Course and a value we actively pursue at The Black Lotus. Ten hours a week is devoted to community service efforts like trash cleanup and collaboration with local nonprofits.
Free Client Sessions
After your first 6 months in the Year Course, you will shift some of your selfless service hours toward offering free client sessions, as a way of giving back and getting valuable hands-on practice (with mentor oversight).
Year Course Rates
Includes all tuition, lodging, 42 vegetarian meals per month, 8 cacao ceremonies monthly, class materials, welcome gifts & weekly housekeeping.
$1,650 USD
Per Month
Shared double room (two people in one room) with shared bathroom.
$3,150 USD
Private room with private bathroom. King-size bed.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I start the Year Course?
Before enrolling in the Year Course, you are required to first complete the Month Course. After that, the Year Course is designed to accommodate any start date. You will be guided by a chronological series of 49 weekly online lesson modules. These lessons depend on your own pacing and mastery of the material. In person there will be regular classes, events and hands-on practice sessions that provide context for the online coursework.
Can I take the course but choose to live off-site somewhere else in town?
At this time, we only allow on-site living. This is actually for your benefit. Living near and among other course residents accelerates personal and collective growth. We are purposely keeping the course enrollment size small and offering both single and double room options to accommodate different budgets and preferences.
How many course residents are there at one time?
Section Heading
Our maximum capacity is 12 people. About half for enrollment in the Month Course and the other half in the Year Course.
Can I start the course and then take breaks to renew my tourist visa, or simply for personal reasons?
Yes, breaks are absolutely allowed. Because the weekly lesson modules are self-paced and cumulative, you are free to take breaks as needed, pause the course, and pick up where you left off. For visas, Guatemala grants a 90 day stay on arrival, which you may easily extend for another 90 days without leaving the country. There are also daily shuttles to Mexico directly from San Marcos, where you will be able to reset your visa and return. (If you choose to pause the course for less than one month, you are still required to pay for housing, as we cannot rent out your bed for a short term stay. If pausing more than thirty days, we require 30 days advance notice to pause, in order to fill your spot with a Month Course resident.)
Will I have time for a job?
It depends what type of job and how many hours per week. The Year Course runs 5 days a week (Tuesday through Saturday), with Sunday and Monday being days off. For course days, you will know your set schedule of required classes, practices, and selfless service hours before you begin the course. If your outside job hours are flexible and don’t exceed 15-20 hours per week, it is possible to find time for both a job and the course. That said, it may be challenging to balance the time and energy demands of an outside job with meeting the time and energy demands for the course. We understand the crucial importance of financial income, and of finding your personal balance between getting the most out of the course and using your time off most productively.
Can my friend or partner stay with me if they are not enrolled in a course?
No, at this time we only allow live-in residents who are enrolled in either the Month or Year Course. This is both for logistical and energetic reasons. There is a unique schedule, rhythm and energy to the courses that feels most aligned when everyone living here is committed to their own growth.
Why is the Month Course required before the Year Course?
The topics, themes, lessons, and techniques covered in the Month Course provide a crucial foundation for the content in the Year Course. Also, before you commit a year of your life to The Black Lotus and vice versa, it is wise to make sure that the Year Course is truly what you want and that you fully understand its teaching approach and requirements.
Will I get a special certificate, diploma or certification at the end of the year course?
After completing approximately 49 weeks of thorough, intensive coursework and hands-on practice, you will graduate with the following certificates from The Black Lotus Academy:
Certified Hypnotherapist; NLP Master Practitioner; NLP Practitioner; 1000-Hour Master Ceremonial Cacao Practitioner; EFT Practitioner. Many training programs claim to have the best content, but never seek objective third party oversight to ensure they have the best training possible. We are seeking independent third party accreditation by the most reputable accreditation boards in the world, in three areas: Hypnosis, NLP, and EFT. Once accredited, these third party stamps will be added to your certificates.
What happens if I start the year course and then change my mind or decide not to continue?
When you first enroll in the year course, you will pay for the first and last month up front. For all the time in between while you are enrolled in the course, you will simply pay month to month, due on the first day of the new month (e.g. If you started the course on January 15, your monthly payments will always be due on the 15th). If at any time you decide to leave the course permanently, we will refund 100% of your last month payment, as long as you give 30 days advance notice of your intent to leave. If you fail to give 30 days notice, we are unable to refund your last month’s payment.