Susan,
the nose event seems similar, for me it was kind of a slender cone-shaped end that they used.

The gateway cds have been pretty good so far. The first impact for me was that it took all the self inflicted stuff one might do that jeapordises your exit attempts away. Everything becomes repeatable, which is what I wanted. I still need to work a lot on exit technique (and there are exercises for that). They do a lot with the roll technique.
The nonverbal communication work has been an interesting reveal for me. Didn't realize how much the solar plexus aids in that.
Ive been working slow through the tracks, there's 18 disk if you buy all 6 sets lol.

That said, i suspect that the actual classes at TMI would be a little stronger than just listening to the tapes