August 22, 1992

Dear Lorene,

When I heard many years ago that you were working on a Home Study Piano Course, I knew I wanted it. Why? I didn’t know you personally but I knew that you were grounded in Universal Principles and that you were a competent musician and teacher and felt I would derive benefit from any course you might present. As soon as it became available I ordered it and must admit I was as excited as a child at Christmas when the Course arrived. I felt an overwhelming sense of EXCELLENCE as I examined the flawless packaging. Then and there I made a commitment, “I’ll give this course my very best and I’ll see it through no matter how long it takes!”

I have some knowledge of music and have played the piano for years “after a fashion” and so it seemed somewhat strange, both to me and to my children, that at age 69 I would be ordering a Piano Course. Right away you advised that we set aside all other systems of instruction, so I did just that to the best of my ability. Immediately I became fascinated with the uniqueness and clarity of your method and realized that in this Course I would be taught the right way to play! I am on Lesson 41 now and try to study some every single day – as you suggest. I do not allow myself to look even one lesson ahead for I want to live in the “now” and to “enjoy the journey” knowing that I am learning the foundational principles which I have missed thus far.

It is impossible for me at this time to put into words what the Course means to me. It is therapy and it is joy and it is accomplishment. I feel that I’m at the bottom of a new learning cycle. Some parts of my life are passing away but a new horizon beckons and the Course symbolizes hope for me. What I haven’t learned I will learn – my best is becoming a little better. I am also learning discipline and obedience – character traits which have been conspicuous by their absence in me! The Course is teaching me how to be organized, how to take one step at a time, how to be patient, how to “keep on keeping on” and to “practice the hard parts” – not just in the study of music but in all areas of my life!

I discipline myself to do exactly as you say even though it may appear to be tiresome at times and I may be chafing to get on to the next lesson. I may think, “Oh, I know this already, I don’t need to do this review, I worked too hard on it to begin with!” I do it anyway and always find that I didn’t know it as well as I thought I did, and being obedient to instructions in some unexplainable way puts more cement in the foundation of my learning process!

One would think that the absence of a “real live teacher” would present a great handicap. I have not found it so. Your consciousness is in every word of instruction and I can actually feel your encouragement when I sit down to study. A technique will be given and I think, ” I don’t believe I got that right” and of course with no “live teacher” on the scene to reassure me I just have to go back and read the instructions again, do what it says to the best of my ability and go on. A few lessons later the technique is mentioned again, I give it another try and find, to my surprise that I have an inner feeling, “Yes, this is correct, I’m doing it right!” And there is a great sense of satisfaction in that! The infinite detail with which you have arranged the Course is more than adequate for me thus far. I am learning, through the process, to trust my own inner guidance!

I am constantly amazed by the skill and precision with which we are led step by gentle step from one musical principle to another and all is interwoven much as a beautiful tapestry is put together. We are taught, simultaneously, many things. We weave back and forth in a sort of rhythmic fashion. We go forward and upward as in a spiral – gently, but with order, and with unrelenting insistence on forming correct habits of study and practice. If I don’t “get it” on the first turn of the spiral I don’t despair for I know I will have another chance. I act as my own cheering squad. If I do well there’s a warm glow of satisfaction from having done well “on my own” and I find that the praise of a teacher “with skin on” is not necessary for motivation to do even better. If I do poorly, I know, without having to have a teacher tell me. So, as the song says, I “just have a little talk with myself” and insist in gentle tones, “Mavis, you can do better than that!” And…..I do!

Thank you, Lorene. Thank you for your dedication and perseverance. There were times when I wondered why it was taking you so long to finish the Course but now, seeing the finished work, I know, and I’m grateful for your determination to “get it right” – no matter how many years it might take. Those qualities of excellence are embodied in the work, and the incredible DETAIL with which it is presented calls forth MY very best and I am deeply grateful.

With Love,

Mavis Mobley
1175 Lynmoor Dr.,N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30319
Telephone: (404) 321-4497