The Byron Katie system can be complicated in certain areas, but in essense it is very simple.
It terms of the LGAT seminar business, and "Facilitation" for-profit, and products sales...
Its just a large private business.
What is the primary cost of any business?
LABOR.
Its those dang employees, with their salaries, OT, benefits, health insurance.
So what if some clever people, thought of a way to run a multimillion-dollar business, with very few employees?
Well, they have.
The LGAT seminars for many years, have figured out how to get people to work for 16 hrs a day, for literally no pay. For years, they have been able to get their own followers who have attended the LGAT seminar, to work at the LGAT for free, and even pay their own expenses, pay their own hotels, and transportation, everything.
Some even CHARGE people to work at the seminars.
What they do, is make it seem like a "reward" to get "picked" to work at a seminar for no pay. And the people who volunteer to do this, really do believe they are "helping" people, and even saving the planet, as that is how they indoctrinate them.
And they give them little cookies, like maybe a group photo with the Guru, and they give them a label, like "Crew" or "Staff".
Meanwhiles, the LGAT seminar could be grossing 2 million in ticket-sales, not even including all of the upselling, which can be thousands more per person. Its a cash bonanza.
So there is plenty of money to pay people to work, but if they did pay people, they would have to pay over-time, and give breaks, and it would eat into the profits of the seminar Guru.
What about the people Byron Katie calls "Staff" who work at the seminars, and don't get paid?
What's up with that?
And if so, is it even legal to call people "Staff" and not pay them to work? Someone at some point is going to check into that.
And they run their LGAT companies with as few employees as possible, all the money goes to the top.
And like Landmark, even their employees, end up running into trouble getting paid even the minimum.
"Landmark Education Labor Violations in California. Landmark pays $187000.00 in back wages to employees." [
www.culteducation.com]
Even Janaki talked about how Byron Katie cut down her pay.
[
janakisstory.wordpress.com]
QUOTE: " I asked for $ 2500 per month. Katie told me that she would expect me to work full time for this. Even though I was already doing this above and beyond the call of duty, I took her literally and for as long as I was on her pay roll, I took no weekends off and no vacations. The agreed salary only lasted a few months. Soon I received a phone call from the manager at the head quarters, telling me that BKI was almost bankrupt, and would I work for $ 1000 a month"
[
janakisstory.wordpress.com]
QUOTE: "...it came down to 12 to 14 hour work days, often 7 days a week. That I had worked for her for 7 years as a volunteer, then received a salary which was soon after cut down to less than half,..."
Notice how $2500 a month = $625 a week. Working 100 hrs a week = $6.25 an hour.
Many LGAT's use that exact same model. (Landmark does the same thing.)
And then, they even cut it back more, to $1000 a month, which even at a mere 80 hrs a week is about $3.00 an hr.
None of this is an accident, these are "labor" strategies the LGAT's use on people, as they know how to manipulate people using their techniques.
And every "cult" gets their followers to work all day everyday, for no pay. That is how they make so much profit.
This is common practice with these groups. They manipulate "volunteers" to do all the work. Then they groom a few to take jobs, which they give minimum pay for 100 hr weeks. They then even cut that down, using various tactics.
Anyone who understands business does the math at their first LGAT seminar, and then sees why the Guru's love them so much.
Its a massive money machine, as if they can get 400 people to pay $5,000, that is 2 million in ticket sales, plus product sales.
And if there are no labor costs, and they get discounts on the hotel ballroom as they have filled up the hotel rooms, its all pure profit.
On top of that is the upselling to the next seminar, and they sign them up on the spot.
And now they are adding the "cash gifts" night, where people hand over their valuables.
The people who run these seminars know most of their followers get caught up in the "Enlightenment" dream, or confused with the Non-Dual stuff, and don't think about where the millions are going.
Where are the vast amounts of cash going?
Have a look at the Guru's houses, assets, and holdings.
But no one will ever see the LGAT Guru's offshore accounts.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2009 04:09AM by The Anticult.