I, like some of you, are involved with a Landmarkian. I am hoping that we all can share our ideas and strategies for dealing with them. If you have any great ideas, post them here!

check out

www.bpdcentral.com

Life w/ a cult member is very similar to life with someone with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Tks for that reference, corboy, it's been helpful.

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Toni
check out

www.bpdcentral.com

Life w/ a cult member is very similar to life with someone with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Tks for that reference, corboy, it's been helpful.

YES Tony!!! Your are absolutely right. Walking on Eggshells that is, and you can turn from the most cherished and loved person in the world to being his/her most fierce enemy in a flip of a coin (or flop of the mind).

I always thought that my girfriend was so close to being a borderline, and I would trigger her dark side everytime I would say something negative about Landmark. Perhaps the brainwashing they've gone through could be cured by medication. I wonder.

Micheal D.

Its interesting to hear how this person has changed because she probably can't see it, I know i certainly coundn't.

Landmark does this with out you knowing so you end up defending on a flip of a coin. Often defending to the point of loosing your relationships.

while working for landmark I can safely say other then one or two friends who stood by and my family I had no non landmark friends. Landmark friends were always around because I didnt have to argue.

I have noticed that Landmarkians have no ability to converse without their "notebook". This holds all of their precious info, and they gaurd with all of their being. When confronted with a question and the answer (Landmark babble) does not suffice for the listener, usually they go for this nugget.

Sonnie, i really would like to know more. What is it like? Were you living in a haze? Could you, would you please shed some light on what it is like?

foodguypdx

[quote="midonov123 Perhaps the brainwashing they've gone through could be cured by medication. I wonder.

Micheal D.[/quote]

Wouldn't it be lovely?

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) cannot be treated with medication, nor can cult indoctrination.

Yes, hanging around as supportive noncult friend is important for the cult member. I remained friendly for a few years.
But sometimes we (outsiders) have to protect our own sanity too. We each make our individual decisions in that regard.

I stay away.. it's too hard for me to continue interaction any more, despite caring. :(

My ex's cult teaches that "all of the Illusory (non cult) world will fall away". The reality is what we stop interacting, because we feel like we're going insane if continue involvement w/ their insanity.

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Sonnie, i really would like to know more. What is it like? Were you living in a haze? Could you, would you please shed some light on what it is like?

I dont think I was living in a haze but then when I think of the word haze I think of a drug induced high. I was still a thinking adult however my critical thought processes and my inner voice were not functioning normally. Its actually hard to say what it was like because I can only compare to what I see myself as now! Landmark really does affect you in intangible ways.

Landmark creates an emotional high and when the inevitable crash comes you get coaching over many days and then you get the high again.

I didn't realise just how much they caused the crashes I always believed it was me, something I needed a break through in.

Prior to doing the landmark forum I was a sucessful adult. Making $50k a year at 25! which was more then my father made at 60. I was idealistic and this where they got their wedge into me. I wanted to make a difference in this world! Landmark picked up on this and really convinced me I could do this by being on staff.

Its only when the crashes happen more and more and you get pushed more and more to give more and more that you realise what this company really is.

I dont know if this answers your questions. Its very hard to put into words sometimes. I can fully understand why the particpants struggle to put it into words because the words they use are normal words that they have changed the meaning on. its very manipulative and confusing. You learn to distrust yourself with out even realising that is what you are doing

I find that "wordplay" aspect of Landmark Forum extremely facinating. It's pure, down-the-rabbit-hole, babblespeak -- "When I use a word, Humpty Dumpty said, it means just what I choose it to mean, no more no less" - Through the Looking Glass (paraphrasing).

I think Landmark Forum is completely worth the $395, for the entertainment value. I did plenty of research before attending, with great help from Rick Ross's writings. The emotional buttons they try to push, the invented language, the anti-intellectualism. Landmark is the perfect religion for Americans. Wish I'd thought of it.

Sincerely,

AspiringCultLeader

There are a hundred copy-cats. Most don't even bother to change the "buzz-words," the vague, idiotic, nonsense words and ~concepts~ taken from scientology, or the format. The fact that there are still scammers making money off this low-rent psycho-con-game should give you inspiration. Have at it. Just what the world needs - another cult. Maybe the whole stinking mess will come to a head and that will be the end of it.


Ellen


Oh, and here's a little something to get you started. (I'd put up a link but a quick look shows they are all dead.)

****************************************************************

How to Become a Cult Guru

or, You Too Can Induce Mass Suicide

by Phil Milstein

Becoming a cult leader is not as tough as you might think. All it takes
is a little charisma and some insecure, feeble-minded followers. The
reasons you might wanna become one are many -- it pays well (and all of
it tax-exempt), you get lotsa nookie, you can get other people to do
your laundry, etc. As a cult guru, it is kind of tough to get health
insurance benefits, but that's really about the only downside to a
career as a leader of men, women and bastard offspring. What follows,
then, is a set of E-Z instructions by which you can soon amass your own
group of pasty-faced, glassy-eyed sycophantic no-hopers who will do your
bidding for you.

Rule #1: Confidence = Charisma

To be a messiah you don't have to be big (Charles Manson was only 5'2"),
you don't have to be smart (David Koresh had an IQ of 89), and you don't
have to be good-looking ('though it doesn't hurt). All you have to be is
confident, to the absolute. Once you've established your basic set of
core beliefs -- your schtick, as it were -- no matter how ridiculous
they may be, entertain no doubts and brook no arguments. They are truth,
and by extension so are you. Remember that everyone you meet is, deep
inside, like a scrawny branch wavering in the stiff wind of life, just
waiting for a big tree to sprout up alongside and protect them. Be that tree.

Rule #2: Charisma is Relative

To be charismatic, you don't have to be JFK or Madonna. There are always
people more impressionable than yourself, and as long as you can find
those people, you too can have charisma, even if those feebs are the
only ones who sense it. This has been the key to the cult equation from
Christ to Koresh.

Rule #3: Develop Your Schtick

For better or worse, it's no longer sufficient for the potential guru to
simply spout chapter and verse from the King James. People can get that
kind of stuff anywhere -- there's way too much competition in the
straight Jesus field, and most of the others are much better at it than
you'll ever be. The trick is to find an angle, some niche, and it
needn't even involve the Good Book.

Keep in mind that it doesn't really matter what tripe you feed your
troupe, so long as you feed it to them with unswerving conviction. I
read about one guru down in Australia who has nine wives and 69
children, and all he ever preaches to them about is equal rights for
women and Hawaiian culture! A recent issue of Vanity Fair had an
interesting article about cults, which referred to the Rev. Thomas Lake
Harris, who founded a colony in upstate New York in the 19th century.
According to the article, "Harris believed that a race of tiny fairies
inhabited women's breasts, with kings and queens in the left breast and
priests and priestesses in the right." And people fell for it.

Armageddon is always an excellent lynchpin around which to hang a
schtick. One cult out in California is building several of its own
rocketships, the better to escape the coming End Times with. Elizabeth
Clare Prophet's Church Universal and Triumphant, like most of the major
kook outfits, is also predicting that the end of the world is imminent.
She has hundreds if not thousands of followers who have nestled
themselves in the mountains of Montana, with an underground fortress
that could sustain them for months. They are armed to the eyeballs, and
if like the Branch Davidians they decide to provoke their own Apocalypse
they will make the scene in Waco look like a Cub Scout jamboree. But
Prophet's preachings are nothing more than a pu-pu platter of world
religion, grabbing a little bit from Jesus, a little from Mohammed, a
little from Buddah. Her many marks buy it, and they eat it up.

There's an audience of willing believers out there for almost any kind
of manifesto. Take one that already exists, add a few elements from
another, twist it into you own words and presto, you've got a dogma
worthy of any small band of mayonaisse-eaters, Try telling people you're
the reincarnation of Mahatma Ghandi and you've been brought back to
earth to preach the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Or that Albert Einstein
comes to you every night to interpret the Quran. Libertarianism and
survivalism are red-hot these days, so you might try thinking along
those lines. Use your imagination and above all, believe in what you say
with everything you've got.

Rule #4: Finding the Feebs

Locating your marks is one of the easiest steps in building a cult of
your own, because they practically grow on trees. A favored method is to
figure out a particular personality that might be most prone to falling
for your schtick, and go after that type exclusively.

To paraphrase Elvis, white trash is as white trash does, there's no
in-between, you're either with it all the way or you've blown the scene.
In other words, try the laundromat. Down at the local suds parlor you'll
find oodles of brain-dead scum, just sitting around twiddling their
thumbs and spitting pumpkin seeds. Perfect cult fodder. An idle comment
can lead to an innocuous conversation can lead to a subtle introduction
to your confidence, your magnetism and, ultimately, your compound. Play
your cards carefully and you can put out three or four successful
invitations to your next communal dinner and/or prayer session per load
of laundry. And before long they'll be doing your laundry for you.

You needn't end your search at the laundromat, of course. Remember the
Elvis dictum, and go where the feebs go, especially where they're most
likely to have time on their hands and be more susceptible to your
interest in them. Bingo parlors are good. Little league games, too.
Bowling alleys and pool halls. White-bread church services. BBQ pits.
Seek out those who seem to be alone, and those who act like whipped
pups. Manson preyed on teenage hitchhikers, 'though you won't find too
many of them these days. Koresh went after Australians. Again, use you
imagination; think like your potential victims think. Don't rule out
ethnics. And above all, remember that no matter how dumb you are, most
of the population is even stupider, so almost everyone you meet is worth
your consideration.

Rule #5: Winning Them Over

Since you've already stereotyped your prey, you can now devise a formula
approach that will be most effective with that type. Brainwashing is OK,
I suppose, but it merely attacks the person's superficial belief system
and not their fundamental beliefs, so it is inadequate for long-term
devotion. To truly capture the body you must truly capture the mind, and
the first step in doing so is to figure out your mark's weaknesses.
Think big -- decide if they're insecure, alienated, feeling unloved,
etc. A big fat juicy sucker will most likely exhibit symptoms of all of
these and more, and be ripe for the picking. The specific weaknesses
will differ from person to person, so stay flexible, but you should be
able to select one general scheme and stick with it for everyone.

Once you've sussed out the Achilles heal, your formula will practically
devise itself. Whatever your potential followers' needs are, give to
them in grand, exaggerated gestures. If they want for food and shelter,
provide them with sumptuous meals and a comfortable bed, and make sure
they know they can stay as long as they like. If it's love they long
for, you cannot possibly show them too much of it, and passing a little
pussy their way couldn't hurt, either. If it's spiritual fulfillment
they're after, go all-out with the holy-holy routine, and don't rule out
speaking in tongues -- it's hard to come up with a convincing counter to
somebody speaking in tongues. If lack of self-esteem is the problem,
tell them over and over again how good they are, how worthy of being
alive. Lie as much as seems necessary, and don't be afraid to pounce on
any and every vulnerability they might display.

Those already won over to your way will be most helpful in seducing new
recruits. Surrounding the mark with love and devotion and making your
group seem like the happy family the poor schmuck undoubtedly never had
will quickly fool them into believing wholly in everything you say.
During the indoctrination phase gradually begin giving them chores to
do, thus making some use of them while also keeping them too busy to
question what's happening to them.

Before long you will have the poor sap eating out of your hand, ready to
do anything you say, even die for you if necessary. Unless you rescued
them from the gutter then they should have some money and worldly
possessions for you to take over. If they are pleasing to the eye and
approximately of the gender of your preference, then so much the better
-- you've got another sex slave for your harem.

Rule #6: Sticking Around

You, being a sane, grounded individual, do not want to go up in a blaze
of Apocalyptic glory --- not yet, anyway. You have found the perfect
occupation to suit your meager skills, and you intend to keep the game
in play for as long as possible. Achieving this takes gaining a certain
measure of legitimacy, as reaching a breakwater level of antagonism
towards the authorities will cause you more trouble than you really want
right now.

In the cult game, the simple equation is: Longevity + Growth =
Legitimacy. Simply sticking around, all the while gradually adding
numbers to your membership tally, is just about all it takes to keep the
heat off your back. All the Roman Catholic Church is is a cult that's
managed to stick it out a couple thousand years, and as you slide down
the cult chronology the legitimacy level slides down accordingly. At the
next level are the acceptable Protestant churches: your Lutherans, your
Methodists, your Baptists, your Calvinists, etc. Next level down you
find those groups that were begun during your grand-parents' and
great-grandparents' time, such as your Seventh Day Adventists, your
Mormons, your Jehovah's Witnesses, your Christian Scientists. These
groups by now have earned a certain grudging respect, whereby society in
effect says to them, "We don't really like what you do, but you've
gotten away with it thus far so we'll let you keep getting away with
it." The longer you get away with it, the less hard time they'll give you.

Down one more step on this evolutionary chain of worship are those
formed during your and your parents' day: your Scientologists, your
Moonies, your Krishnas, your Larouchites. They are ill-regarded by
mainstream society, but groups in this category have grown large enough
that they are now difficult to fight. In recent years Rev. Moon and
Lyndon Larouche have each been convicted of felonies and done time in
the pokey, while the elusive founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was
persecuted, in absentia, for years after he had died! Yet their
respective followings continue to thrive.

Finally, we come to the upstarts. These are the groups that are still
officially classified as "cults," and are the ones we have mostly dealt
with in this guide. They are young, small, hungry, and often nasty.
Society hates them. You will be in this category for quite some time,
and therefore I recommend you keep a low profile for the duration. If
you've got what it takes, you can eventually begin the incremental climb
up the ladder of religious respectability. If you do your job real well,
perhaps one day your group will find itself joining the world's major
religions upon the lofty perch of untouchability. But it can't possibly
happen in your lifetime, so don't make it your primary goal.

And that's all there is to it. Six easy steps and you're on your way to
a life of leisure and possible immortality. Best of luck, my friend, and
may God be with you.

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