So I just did the basic training, and I would like to provide some input.
It wouldn't sell if there wasn't anything good about it. I feel like I have become more serious about my commitments to myself and others, and I think that is a huge thing in our day and age. How many people can say that they've kept every commitment they've ever made? That was a concept that I really enjoyed thinking about.
As far as the sales aspect, that's the only thing that bothers me. At the end of basic, they asked who would be going to advanced, and they had all those stand up who had decided to continue. Our eyes were closed at this time. Then they sat there and cheered for a minute or so. I guess the eyes closed thing was to help people feel free of shame or embarrassment if they felt they couldn't continue. But I definitely felt like they were trying to encourage people to sign up.
The real issue is the price point. It's very high. I'm taking the advanced course and I'll be telling you about that experience next week, if allowed by the moderators here on this website.
I'll tell now you about the basic, because I feel that, yes, I will be breaking my confidentiality agreement, but I do so for your benefit.
First day: Our trainer discussed how amazing this thing was going to be, which I was a little annoyed at because I felt like I just wanted her to hurry up and get to the point.
We then did an exercise were we asked each other if we trusted each other or not. This was quite mind opening, to see how different people had different levels of trust, even to strangers. I liked this part a lot.
We then went into the ground rules, which we stood to acknowledge our agreement to them and then signified if we did not agree. Our trainer utilized this time to demonstrate to those that were resistant how, despite we having signed previously in the online paperwork that we were fine with all the rules, that many people were not really committed to their word and honor. I mean, how many of us really read the EULA's for every game we download from Steam lol?
This was a powerful experience.
Next day, we split into groups of two and sat across from each other. we then took turns standing and they asked us if there had been anyone that had looked down on us, or that we had looked down upon, that brought us painful memories. They talked to us about being willing to be vulnerable, so that we could experience the painful memories again. They dimmed the lights for this process, as we stood, then sat, the laid down in front of our partner, to bring memories of each time we had been in different situations.
For me, it was a mixture of memories. I remembered my father telling stories in a foreign language, and laughing about weird sounds he made. I remembered getting yelled at by my mom. The laying down thing didn't do much for me, but whatever.
Fake memories? No. Out of my comfort zone? You bet.
For the next few days, I'll be honest, the chronology of events in my brain is fuzzy, because I'm jet lagged from flying from LA, but here are some other things we did:
-we played the "red-black" game, which kinda gives you a Lord of the Flies feel of working together. This is a game that the FBI and other government agencies have their trainees play to demonstrate human nature. That was actually really cool.
-we did an exercise where we imagined having a conversation (we split into pairs, or "diads" as they call them) with our parents about the good times and the bad times. That was life changing for me. I realized how much I had wanted to see my parents together again, but I know that's not possible because they're both remarried and it's been years since their divorce.
-we did an exercise where we imagined our broken commitments in a junkyard pile and we also imagined shedding our defenses like armor and finding out what we really wanted in life. That one is hard to explain, and like other activities, is pretty much just guided meditation.
-we did an exercise where we split up into diads and took turns shouting "what do you want?" while the other person responded their first emotional response to the question, and this was done rapid fire for several minutes like you just won the Superbowl. That one was fun
-we then did (Last day) a hug circle where we got to put our hands behind our backs and vote 1-4 what level of interaction we wanted with the person standing in front of us in a smaller circle, 1 being turning our backs to them and 4 being giving them a hug. I feel like if everyone in the world did this exercise, we may achieve world peace, to be honest.

Sleep deprivation? Only if you were working full time, which I was on vacation so no. In fact, best sleep I've had in a while.

I'll let you know what happens because I won't be doing LP just yet. Got to recover financially. Want to go to school this fall.
As far as peer pressure, you can take it a couple ways. Their spin is to become your most authentic self, so if you don't want to do it, then you're being authentic, and that's more valuable.

I haven't been pressured to remove my clothes, but if I do, I'll let you guys know about it.

The LA MITT is no longer run by this Margo, it's run by a woman named Kathy and a guy I'm not sure what his name is.

I paid only $300 for the beginner course, because I had a friend who had discount passes. The next course was discounted to barely under $1000 and the next is $1500, I don't know of any discounts there.

In one of Corboy's comments above, last quote is probably the best, where it talks about don't try to work and don't be late. If you can stand being in the public spotlight and not taking it personally, do it. You have to remember that they are making an example of you only because they want you to see how effective the ideology is at identifying why people do what they do. They just want you to realize how uncommitted we as a society are to keeping our agreements, and it's rather revealing. I think society as a general whole is over-committed and this is the cause of most of our problems.

And I would agree, there is a degree of public humiliation to it. I have a tiny bladder and had to go. I came back and they made me commit to the ground rules I had missed, and we were done. No harassment. Just making sure we were all on the same plane.

So, I'll keep you posted. There are some cultish things to it. An intense commitment to keeping commitments. You can hold up four fingers and get a hug from random strangers if they know what you're talking about, so I guess if that's the worst thing you've had done to you when holding up a gang sign, then you're lucky lol. And they have phrases like "Do you acknowledge your broken agreement?". So those are the most cultish aspects to it.

Is my mind weak? No. I'm studying materials science and engineering at the University of Utah, and I want to get my PhD in Physics. Did I get plenty of rest? Yes, and I took care of my body, so that probably gave me the edge to not break down at every moment. I had fun, I had a friend that I got to talk to every day during the training. I've got a good support system, so if I do become a zombie, they'll help me snap out of it. And I'm reaching out to you guys because I would like to test this out. We're surrounded by fake news, so this is the best way to get information, through an inside source.

To robin62true:

Filing deadline. Those are the words to keep in mind. Filing deadline.

Go see an attorney, See an attorney NOW.

Do not reply to any private messages if someone in this group tries
to contact you via the Cult Education Institute Private message function.

Copy all those private messages and keep them for your attorney.

Two, make a chronology as soon as you can - its a date and time record, who what when where why. Make arrangements to get all medical records and police reports.

You need an attorney who will tell you what the filing deadline is and how to avoid making tactical mistakes.

Once you have a legal advisor, that's the person the group should communicate with. Any mail, texts, phone calls they send you -- give it to your lawyer.

You can be almost certain that this group has its own lawyer; you deserve a lawyer, too.

Hiring an attorney does not mean you are over reacting, does not mean you are being hostile or unreasonable or aggressive.

Hiring an attorney means you exercising your rights as an American citizen. Hiring an attorney means are *intelligent* and you are doing the right thing to protect yourself and your daughter.

Do NOT communicate with this group yourself. Do not, do not. Do not sign anything. Do not let them persuade you to have meetings with them or for mediation.


Make sure to read the post on the previous page, written 5 days ago by robin62true on March 23rd 2018

[forum.culteducation.com]

Quote

Re: May also be known as MITT ? new
Posted by: robin62true
Date: March 23, 2018 05:59PM

I've just read your posts.

My daughter tried to kill herself immediately after she left the LA MITT program, after endless phone harassment. She was pushed into it by her aunt (my sister) and was made to feel guilty when she tried to get out of doing the LP portion, both by the group and by my sister. She drove to New York and jumped into the East River at 4 in the morning in April of last year. A police officer happened to be driving by and saw her. She was hospitalized for hypothermia and then in the psych ward for a month. she was terrified that the people in MITT were coming to kill her.

She has stabilized after a year of therapy, but it was a terrifying and arduous road to recovery.

I want to warn people about the dangers of their methods (pressuring them to remove their clothes?) and general creepiness. I'm wondering if you could refer me to any reputable organizations or blogs so I can learn more about this - specifically if anyone else has had an experience like this - and if there are any class action lawsuits against Margo et al. I have to try to prevent this from happening to anyone else. thank you Corboy,
R True

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/2018 09:20PM by corboy.

Yeah I read that one, that's why I said I'll let you know what happens in advanced. If they hound me to do LP, then I'll just block their numbers and emails, no biggie. They won't be able to find me where I live either.

Cult Education Institute archived articles about Lifespring.

Earlier discussions of Lifespring on Cult Education Institute message board.


MITT LOS ANGELES (Lifespring) May 12, 2004

[forum.culteducation.com]

MITT Today October 25, 2006 02:43PM (4 pages)

[forum.culteducation.com]

LGATS - one person's experience of Lifespring (4 pages)

Date: June 15, 2010 03:20AM

[forum.culteducation.com]

Many loyal supporters of these groups claim they are not aware of any complaints or of anyone being harmed.

Quote

About the Founder | Mastery in Transformational Training
[www.mittraining.com]
Margo Majdi. Her life changed forever in 1980, when she was introduced to transformational trainings. By 1998, she completely transformed her own life by purchasing the rights to the trainings, naming her new company Mastery in Transformational Training (M.I.T.T.). Through over a decade of networking and expanding, ...

Margo Majdi | Facebook
[www.facebook.com]
Born in Holland, lived 3 Yrs in Spain, moved to USA in 1970, owned a beauty salon, cosmetic, skin and hair care line, 4 years of volunteering as a Docent at the ZOO, 1998, purchased rights to Lifespring, which became M.I.T.T., Founded the "Torch FOUNDATION", and the rest is History in the making! ;). Favorite Quotes.

Lawsuits have been filed against Lifespring.

[www.google.com]

Hello!

That is because these groups hate and fear publicity. They fight to prevent
anything about them getting into the public record, which is why they fear
journalists and fear lawsuits.

LGATs are usually very wealthy and have lawyers on call. The strategy is to drag out the lawsuit until plaintiffs are exhausted and then the group offers a fat
sum of money to the plaintiff -- if the plaintiff agrees to have the record sealed.

Thus, the group admits no fault, all records describing the plaintiff's suffering are SEALED.

This is also why so many LGATs send in trolls to disrupt discussions on message boards like this one..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2018 05:36AM by corboy.

Are you calling me a troll?

Hello my name is JC and I am actually a graduate of the LP program. well... actually I got kicked out the first time I did it and came back and finished seven months later (more details on that later).

As someone who has done and completed the program I just wanted to chime in and adress some concerns regarding what this program is and is not. some call this a cult and due to the intensity of the program I can understand why people can think such things. THIS IS NOT A CULT. Cults don't let you leave. Yes there are many people who are part of the program who are incredibly passionate about the training and the results it creates. I myself have enrolled my little brother and my mother to do the trainings and have seen major results in how I communicate with my family and how they have created more results in their life as a result of the training.

This is definitely a no nonsense kind of program that incorporates intellectual and "spiritual" aspects of human behavior on psyche and many of the people who attend are there to create results in theri life.
When I did the program I had major addiction problems and was not fulfilling my dreams of being an artist in Los Angeles. MITT is made to make people wake up to the reality of life through experiential exercises that incorporate psychological practices from many different schools of psychology and psychoanalysis. This is LIFE school.

I had my concerns going into the program that I had been tricked into something that was not legitimate or moral and what I found is that that actually part of the training. How many institutions do we know today that we question or fight against? I know plenty and I live my life as a skeptic of most institutions.

I would like to ask you however why you chose to Break the "ground Rules" of confidentiality? I believe it's clear that nothing major goes on inside those rooms that should be of any concern to people. Yes people get called out on their bullshit, and yes there is an element of life or death intensity that is presented to each and every individual about the severity of their actions and the results in their life.So Why did you choose to Break your commitment of confidentiality?

Also I know of one person who committed suicide after "taking the training" and I can empathize with the concern that this training may have had on that person and the correlation that may or may not how been a result of this program. I guess a different kind of question would be how many people have not Hurt themselves after taking such training??? Who could know...? But I don't believe it is fair to jump to the conclusion that someone who may have suicidal tendencies acted on them after taking the training. I could be wrong but I don't believe that's the case.

As to the LP program (Legacy Program) it is designed to incorporate everything that you learned in basic and advanced and living on a day-to-day basis with a group of your peers surrounded by volunteers senioring the program and who are themselves graduates of the Legacy program. It is by far one of the most challenging things I have ever done and it brought to the surface a lot of my natural tendencies and deficiencies as an adult and individual. So much so that i took an action that causes me to break one of the rules and then I was kicked out of the program. I left angry and resentful of MITT, my team, and the owner Margo. My team took a stand for me that I should be kicked out because the real breakthrough for my life was to see the results of my actions and the results in my life. After some months and after my anger Society I begin to realize that this is a pattern have done many times in my life and it was not serving me in my career my relationships or my finances. That's when it hit me. That's when I realized what this whole thing was about. Me. My life. My commitments and my and integrity in my word. It's been one of the hardest lessons I've learned in my life to have put so much time and effort into something and just like that get kicked out. But that is exactly what I got to see and after-the-fact I made a commitment to myself to shift my life. I know these are just a bunch of words to a lot of people who maybe reading this and maybe skeptical about the program to begin with (hence why you are on this site) but I came back and finished the Legacy program with the permission of the owner. Since then my life has taken a major turn and I am no longer a server at a restaurant but a full-time artist with major credits to my name in both acting and music. I owe much of my growth to this program and I cannot imagine how else you could design a training as effective as this. I'm sure someday in the future there will be, but for right now this is pretty fucking good...

I'm open to any questions regarding the cult ;)

Hi, yes Robin - Please check you PM and get touch with me.

Re: masters in transformational training.
Posted by: AScoWard ()
Date: March 29, 2018 12:41PM



I’m curious what you thought about Level II (18 months ago is a long time, but if anything stuck…)

Thanks!

I know it’s been a long time, life hits ya and you don’t stop rolling, y’know?

I thought level II sucked, lol. I never went back. It was the worst. I didn’t like all the shouting they encouraged. If you resisted, you were publicly called out. Tried to get you to sign up to level three (Legacy). Didn't have the money. I also didn’t feel right about it. Glad I bailed. Got a life and got married instead.

I felt like there were uncanny similarities between the LDS church and MITT, in the way they manipulate you to stay. So I left the LDS church too.

It took about a year to recover from the programming. There were definitely some powerful insights, but you can always tell when someone is full of shit by how hard they try to make your version of reality the same as their version.

Went through some psychological recovery. Lived in Oregon for a week or two, homeless for two days but got taken in by a farmer. Came back home, left the church, had premarital sex against my family’s beliefs. Mom gave me an ultimatum to read the Book of Mormon or leave, along with a whole slew of other horseshit, so I left. ‘Bout time anyway, I was an adult but wasn’t acting like it. Shortly afterward got married to the woman who took my virginity.

Is MITT a cult? No. Lacks a central figure of devotion. The LDS church is starting to be like this though, mainly culturally in Utah. This isn’t what I think the church intended, I think, but I won’t argue if you have a good counter to that statement.

Is it intense? Yes.
Inappropriate? Yeah, I’d say so. Just another cash grab. No licensed professionals. Lots of pointless shouting. Kinda like boot camp, without the physical/combat training. Psychologically taxing for sure.

Definitely gained some insights. Learned that we don’t take enough responsibility in life in general—responsibility is empowering. However I have experienced, after MITT, that most of your reality is beyond your control. Responsibility is being able to respond. You can’t respond for the actions that a criminal takes against you, for example.

Learned that I’m not as bad of a guy as I thought I was; in one exercise I saw that my opinion was valued and that I was less of a leader and more of a trusted counselor, which was definitely not what they were trying to get me to say. In another exercise, I saw how lucky I was to have not been sexually abused, or to have been raised in areas with more poverty and violence. I learned that about 2/3 of most women have been sexually abused, along with a surprising portion of men, too. Gained a ton of self confidence, as it seemed that many women there saw me as attractive, definitely had some flirtationships...

I made a contract, but I burned it. I am who I am and I’m ok with whatever I become.

Legacy is just a continuation of the training, but more autonomous. I was out of state so it wasn’t sustainable.

And yes, there is an activity where, depending on the group you are assigned to, you are encouraged to get as naked as legally possible..... but you can opt out if you’re not comfortable. I dressed up like cupid for a little skit. All I wore was a diaper, wings, and a little bow. Played guitar for the group.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2020 01:09PM by AScoWard.