a few weeks later, and ended up in a psy. ward for 10 days. And then I was put in a cognitive theropy program for 2 1/2 weeks, and put on meds for over 6 months. (I had no mental problems before, and was happy) It was definitely a combination of a couple things, but my involvement in Landmark was by far the biggest contributor to my phycotic episode. So, I searched online and several people have experienced this. I did get good things out of the forum, but something that is so harmful to few, I don't know if it should exist. I have very mixed feelings about it.

****

I first learned about Landmark Education through my boyfriend almost two years ago. He had taken the courses a few months before we started dating and he was blown away by the program and his life was completely changed for the better. I do believe Landmark is good for most people, but I also think it can be very dangerous, I've witnessed that first hand. I can also understand how graduates don't see how Landmark can be dangerious, but they do know it's power and how it's an emotional roller coaster. It sturs up the past as well.

My story is long, so I will break it up into parts.

My boyfriend Paul is involved with Landmark and volunteers. He has done the Forum and the Advanced Course. I was interested in it, and asked questions about it for over a year. But it was just too much money in my eyes and I was happy in my life, so why woud I pay to go to this thing?

Pauls mother, step father, and uncle have all taken the course and he has alot of friends, which I became friends with, that has taken the Forum. After so much talk about it, I decided to go to an introduction. A forum leader was coming into town and doing it, so it was a rare opportunity.

I was extremely moved by the introduction and her experience. She was dragged into the forum, and got alot out of it- including a better relationship with her mother, as well as starting a program to feed children and pay hospital bills for the poor.

During the introduction, the leader told the graduates to turn to their guests and ask them if they wanted to sign up. Paul said he would pay for it if I wanted to take it, and I said I would pay half. We got a form and I carefully looked it over. There was a huge section about how if you've had mental problems in the past, they recommend getting your doctors ok. They also make you sign saying you won't hold Landmark countable for any mental problems that may occur.

I wanted to take it home and read it all, but one of the volunteers kept on coming up to me and trying to get me to sign it that night. He came to me like every 2 minutes, like 5 times and it really pissed me off. I told Paul that he's making me not want to take it. I finally just signed it and gave it to the volunteers.

Something odd and fasinating I saw at the introduction was how everyone was extremely happy, and strangers would come up to me and introduce themselves. I had never seen so many happy people, they really seemed interested in who I was as a person.

I told some people at work I was going and someone gave me internet info on the dangers of Landmark. I read them and it was several people saying they had mental break downs and there was crazy stuff like people thinking they were vampires and hallucinating they were a river. That seemed ridiculous to me at the time.

I looked online and also saw all the studies done and doctors who say the prgram is amazing and there is no mental threat.

I waited a few months in anticipation, and Paul said the Forum had already started in me. He already started to see changes.

Wayne,
about landmark, just read this forum and the websyte database, you'll find everything you need to now.
just one trivia info from an ex insider about the introduction and everyone looking sooooo happy:
it's rehearsed. it is actually rehearsed. not the intro, THE HAPPYNESS. they (we) rehearsed being happy to get the people in. to 'enroll' them. You HAVE to look happy and be friendly. if you don't then there must be something wrong with you, you don't want to share landmark with the people you love THEREFORE (in thier psycho brains) you don't really love them. So they rehearse and rehearse until you fool yourself ('the breakthrough) and the others (the registration)

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maurice
Wayne,
about landmark, just read this forum and the websyte database, you'll find everything you need to now.
just one trivia info from an ex insider about the introduction and everyone looking sooooo happy:
it's rehearsed. it is actually rehearsed. not the intro, THE HAPPYNESS. they (we) rehearsed being happy to get the people in. to 'enroll' them. You HAVE to look happy and be friendly. if you don't then there must be something wrong with you, you don't want to share landmark with the people you love THEREFORE (in thier psycho brains) you don't really love them. So they rehearse and rehearse until you fool yourself ('the breakthrough) and the others (the registration)

Do they rehearse together?

It's not so much about rehearsing together as it is not wanting to stand out (although the Forum is a form of group rehearsal). Maurice is spot on when he suggests that LEC is a kind of play-acting. I know many Landmark folk who can put on a happy face when they're in 'salesperson mode'. The logic is pretty simple (and very sinister) in that to progress within the organisation all you have to do is 'be happy, don't worry.' Because what's the alternative? To be shamed and humiliated that somehow 'you just don't get it!'

I never in my time at landmark rehearsed being happy with anyone. there was reversing the introduction and other things like that but never reversed being happy.

That unfortunatley is a side affect to the high that you get when you do a course.

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sonnie_dee
I never in my time at landmark rehearsed being happy with anyone. there was reversing the introduction and other things like that but never reversed being happy.

In London in the SELP we did! They made us do a list of personalities and we had to rehearse enrolling conversation pretending to be different things. And the breaktrough was that if you rehears being happy and enrolling and touching etc..you start to really be that and the others 'notice the transformation' and you really become enrolling. Plus a lot of invitation to be rehearsed in different style to 'distinguish' which one worked better.
Or maybe i don't remember well.