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BalkanBoy
Elena - I picked up the Landmark 'jargon' while looking for cult news. This site is one of the most informative ones on the issues and so I thought I'd play a practical joke by provoking people into thinking I've been at the Landmark forum :). So now you know - I have not been to it - but I enjoyed the response I squeezed out of getting people to think that I could've been in it. It was interesting to see the responses actually :).

No prob, BalkanBoy. I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. There are lots of readers here and many who don't post, so I address just about any assertion, query, or concern with that in mind.

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There is a lot of hostility toward Landmark

You betcha! Hostility, anger, loathing, disgust, repulsion....you name it. Some experience with them might give you the same, IF you have any sensitivity and a functioning conscience.

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- and I don't know whether their intentions are cruel or honest - only what I read here.

Only? Either/Or? Can't you come up with some other possibilities?

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I actually have no idea what 'enrollment' means :), or that it was used at the "forum" (or what have you) but I gathered as much to know that it means some sort of subtle propaganda.


Listen, I'm really sorry I got you guys all wound up -

Not "wound up" at all. Blowing off a little steam against newly-minted Landmark know-it-alls (pretense or not) is like shooting fish in a barrel to me. (Not all that strenuous.)

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I hope you can forgive me. Curiosity just got the best of me :), so I played a fool here ;). And yeah, I'm an engineer, and I've had my sense of good honest humor surgically removed from me long time ago (maybe that's why my wife hates it too ;)

No need. "No harm, no foul," - so to speak. (Unless you were thinking your post was more significant than it really was. We get lots of phonies around here.)




Ellen

I am so glad I researched Landmark Education now even though it was after I went through the forum. I would like to share my experience as a Landmark forum "graduate." This will be a purely subjective and personal recount. I just finished the Landmark forum and I must say that I cannot believe I paid $410 for their "epiphany." I wanted to voice my opinion because it looks like too few people don't become hooked (according to some stats I came across, frightening stats really) and I feel that those who have participated and haven't been hooked absolutely need to share their experience.

They begin with the disclaimer, "This is not the truth," and proceed to "coach" you as if what they are telling you is in fact the truth. When someone went against what the "coach" said, she replied, "Remember, this is not the truth." This occurred several times their response is such a cop-out. My "coach" would target the ones that were "defensive" and "cynical" as if to make them prime examples of people "running their rackets." She spent about 50 minutes on one woman, drilling her and breaking her down saying things like "What killed you?" and "You're dead." It's amazing the frightening Landmark community that builds after one day as the participants begin to act as if they're the coach. People started to mumble to themselves and to those sitting next to them about the "defensive" participants saying, "He/She's running her racket." People also began to simultaneously sigh and become impatient when someone speaking at the mic was "running a racket."

They give new definitions to established words and spend one session teaching and establishing the difference between their meaning and the other real meaning of the word. I can tell you that enroll and register are synonyms, but not for them. Everything they say is repeated in circles which simply wasted my time. What they tell you can easily be taught in half a day at most but they keep you in the room for 3 solid 15 hour days in stiff chairs. Apparently going to the bathroom is just apart of your resisting what they're talking about, but it seems to me, that's just they're interpretation and the meaning they attach to someone going to the bathroom. No pills (we're talking aspirin here), no food, no notes, that's right.

On the second day the "coach" discussed the importance of completeing the relationships with your parents. I myself had an past issue with a parent and went up to speak individually with a leader. I asked if it was necessary to speak to my parent in order to "complete" my relationship with my parent and she asked me if I wanted to live an "extraordinary" life. She said that I could not speak to him and live an "ordinary" life or speak to him and live an "extraordinary" life. There's a problem with what she said on many levels but to put it in landmark terms, that simply would be her interpretation, would it not? Graduates, you know what I'm saying and for those of you who are reasearching, you don't want to know. Please don't waste your time. They even insisted that even though you had a great relationship with your parent, that there was still some sort of issue that you didn't see. Each evening after I returned from the 15 hour day, I would discuss with my mom what was taught. After the second evening, my mother became visibly worried as she told me that yesterday when I returned I was okay but that suddenly after the second day I was saying weird things. This scared me as I realize now that I was indeed thinking oddly. Thank God for my mom who kept me accountable and watched out for me.

Today was the last day (Tuesday night) and I am heartbroken to see all the people in the forum get hooked. The only reason I stayed was because I paid for this. This last night our exercise was to get in a group of four and complete this sentence: The possibility I am standing for myself and my life is the possibility... I shared to my group that the possibility I am standing for myself and my life is the possibility of someone who is a strong woman of God. The response was "What?" from three people (I had five people in my group). Sorry, my answer was not being whole/complete/happy but I am that already. Needless to say, I did not sign up for the advanced course and all I wanted to do was get out of that place as soon as possible. Not only that but the time for registering for the advance course is set about 10 minutes before the end of what they have to say (acknowledging the participants and themselves). I can only question why they do not just leave registration to the very end so that people can leave if they are not registering instead of sitting around for about 15 minutes while people register. I can only conclude that this is how they make people register even when they don't want to. Of course, don't let the reasons stop you because those reasons aren't really there and are simply excuses (I apologize for the sarcasm). Out of this experience, I regret two things: not professing how they invalidate my Christian beliefs, not presenting their contradictions at the mic and not leaving with a full refund when they gave me that chance on the first day. I wish I took a stand in front of everyone earlier but I certainly will take a stand now.

Please protect those you care about. I almost believed the things they said but a loved one protected me. Don't become a victim. I applaud those who quit or who will quit from the pressure put on them by their work. That is integrity.

Please tell me why they use jargon normal people cannot understand. Why do they use words and change the meaning, i.e. change and transform, enroll and register? It sickens me that I even think in Landmark terms now. People can't even stand up and speak without using the word racket. Who else but Landmark participants can understand you? Is that not odd in itself? So many people said, I want my significant other to do it so he/she can understand me. They shouldn't have to

The fact that they also address the rumors about them like being a cult, using the 15 hour day, making us sit in stiff chairs and having plants makes me question why they take this defensive stance. Oops, sorry, that's just me putting my own interpretation right?

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sun
They begin with the disclaimer, "This is not the truth," and proceed to "coach" you as if what they are telling you is in fact the truth. When someone went against what the "coach" said, she replied, "Remember, this is not the truth."

This is a deliberate attempt to confuse your mind and place you in a paradoxal situation with an invalid system of logic. It's an example of what is called "self-reference" in logic. Let me explain:

If I say "This is not the truth" and say the sentence is true, then it must be false.

If the sentence is false, then it must be true ... and so on.

So you are in a mental state where you are confronted with a chain of True-False-True-False... and this causes a "cognitive dissonance" in your mind. When you are in such a state, your mind can be manipulated. They do it deliberately. This is the "technology" they say they have developed, but in fact, it's nothing new. They simply make use of it in a very deceptive way. Everything is put in place for a reason. Those people simply cannot be trusted! But then, they will say you don't trust them and this is why you have an "ordinary life" insetad of an "extraordinary life". Another manipulative and deceptive puch-line they use all the time. I hate Landmark for what they do to peoples mind. What they do is unethical.


Michael D.

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midonov123
“Be racket free: Give up being right even when you know you were”.

This sentence is paradoxal (very cleverly though). For example, if you think you’re so right about Landmark, why don’t you give up that you’re right about it? Why don’t you listen to the other side of the story with an open mind? Don’t you get that Landmark is your new racket, but the system doesn’t allow you to get rid of it. You’re caught in a trap, but you choose to. Or did you really choose to be in “It”? Think carefully about it. Was it really your decision to believe all about “It”, or have you been manipulated into thinking Landmark is so great? Only one answer can lead to salvation.

This brought to mind a Landmark friend who has a good sense of humor. I kept referring to Landmark as a 'cult' and she got pissed. Finally she began referring to her Landmark friends as a cult members as a joke- "admitting" she was wrong so I'd feel like we were on the same side and I could "trust" her judgment again.

Thankfully she moved away from the tri-state area so I am no longer badgered about going to introduction/salespitches.

Unfortunately a friend of mine's roommate got pulled into landmark by his aunt...She resisted going to the intro, and I gave her the Rick Ross URL and the Kopp paper site so she could see the picture.

Thanks for all your help, as always.

-Valerie

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kittypaw
This brought to mind a Landmark friend who has a good sense of humor. I kept referring to Landmark as a 'cult' and she got pissed. Finally she began referring to her Landmark friends as a cult members as a joke- "admitting" she was wrong so I'd feel like we were on the same side and I could "trust" her judgment again.

My ex-girlfriend from Landmark did the same. I often referred to Landmark as a cult (to see if her reaction was cult-like - and it was!!!), and she finally gave in and admitted "Ok, maybe Landmark is a cult but it's the greatest cult on earth!". At times, she would even get cynical referring to Landmark as her "cult" but I could feel it was only to ridicule me. Those people are highly trained to resits any critics. And they make you feel guilty for not trusting them. But how can you trust someone who says (one of the Forum leader sales pitch ...):

"Believe me when I say that this is not the truth" ?!!

A blatant example of flawed logic as I mentioned before. This is sick. Very sick!