Re: masters in transformational training.
Date: March 29, 2018 12:41PM
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.