I've been reading the threads about room set-up and the manipulation of language in LGATS, and how all of this affects the nervous system.

Here's another of their "tricks." I experienced "the staredown" on two occasions at L.E., so it's maybe used more sparingly than their other tools, but I think that it is worth mentioning.

I was recruited at a home introduction, at the house of a friend. When I showed up at that introduction, the door was answered, not by my friend, but by a woman I had never seen before. She instantly fixed a Lugosi-like stare on me, and would not break eye contact.

This was not eye contact that was held just a few seconds too long, but went on and on. They are very much aware of how unnatural and uncomfortable this is, and it is very deliberate. A guy friend went to this introduction with me, and even mentioned to this woman how uncomfortable the staring made him. She acknowledged his discomfort, but continued to do it. She did say that she had learned to do this in her training.

I don't know exactly the context in which LGATS train their people to do this, but it is my understanding that this is a strategy of dominance and intimidation, (I have even seen this work on dogs, who avert and lower their eyes and ears in submission. Don't try it with a strange dog).

If I had things to do over again, I would have left right then and there.
It does have an effect.

The psychopathic stare is a well-known phenomenon.  It seems to me that LGATS may use it with a similar motive, but I don't know what they are telling people about it.

Here are some links with info about staring in social interactions, and the effect it has:


[books.google.com]


[books.google.com]


[flyingmonkeysdenied.com].

(LGat is an abbreviation for Large Group Awareness Trainings)

Scientology

[www.google.com]

Emphasizing the eyes as a guru technique - ever notice how many publicity
photographs for gurus emphasize their oh, so soulful eyes?

(This entire page is well worth a peek)

[forum.culteducation.com]

From Scientific American

Eye Contact Can Be Overwhelming
Research shows that maintaining eye contact can make it harder to think
By Victoria Sayo Turner on December 20, 2016


[www.scientificamerican.com]

Quote

And you may have noticed that thinking deeply can cause someone to drop their eyes. A recent experiment conducted in Japan suggests that eye contact draws on the same mental resources used for complex tasks, so trying to maintain eye contact can impede your reasoning. In this case, the break in eye contact comes not from emotion, but from the need to preserve cognitive resources. Eye contact can deplete your mental bandwidth.

The final paragraphs of the Scientific American Article give this punchline:

Quote

If looking away to think is cross-cultural, then perhaps cultures with less emphasis on eye contact enable deeper thinking during a given conversation, while those using more eye contact might give better social feedback between conversational partners. In our everyday lives, do we talk more fluently about complicated subjects without eye contact, and if so, do we lose something in exchange?
Eye contact is something we prefer from birth, but it is not advantageous in every situation. Back in 1998, researchers theorized that averting the gaze from surroundings aids thinking by disengaging from potential distractions around us. While it remains to be seen which tasks are harmed (and which might be improved) with eye contact, complex verbal tasks seem to be more difficult for people trying to maintain the gaze of another person. So the next time you’re in a polite staring contest with an interviewer, take the time to look out the window while you ponder the hardest questions. They should forgive you the breach of etiquette if you come up with your best answers.

Quote

"A recent experiment conducted in Japan"

[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Cognition. 2016 Dec;157:352-357. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2016.10.002. Epub 2016 Oct 15.
When we cannot speak: Eye contact disrupts resources available to cognitive control processes during verb generation.

Kajimura S1, Nomura M2.
Author information
Abstract
Although eye contact and verbal processing appear independent, people frequently avert their eyes from interlocutors during conversation. This suggests that there is interference between these processes. We hypothesized that such interference occurs because both processes share cognitive resources of a domain-general system and explored the influence of eye contact on simultaneous verb generation processes (i.e., retrieval and selection). In the present experiment, viewing a movie of faces with eyes directed toward the viewer delayed verbal generation more than a movie of faces with averted eyes; however, this effect was only present when both retrieval and selection demands were high. The results support the hypothesis that eye contact shares domain-general cognitive resource with verb generation. This further indicates that a full understanding of functional and dysfunctional communication must consider the interaction and interference of verbal and non-verbal channels.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Interesting study in that link, corboy.

There is also the way that many of us have more difficulty performing physical tasks when we know that someone is looking over our shoulder or "breathing down our necks."

I don't know if, or how, that ties in, but there is something about being stared at too much that has a negative effect on most people.

Very interesting, kdag. I experienced this staring effect on many occasions in Landmark. In my Advanced Class, I looked over and saw a girl staring at me with a smile, like she was in a trance. I was caught off guard but started to feel special. She seemed like a regular Landmark customer, but later I found she was "reviewing" the Advanced Course in order to become a leader.

I know others who've been in the Landmark Leadership program, and I don't think they are taught to manipulate people deceptively. It's more likely that they buy into a different point of view, one that makes them appreciate life in such a way that they can't help but stare at people. It's as if they have a new, lovely look on life. It's weird, but I caught myself doing it a little bit during my Landmark high.

They're so confident in the "technology" they've discovered. If I had gone through the leadership program, I can totally see myself staring at people a little bit longer than usual, in part because I believed in the "work" at the time, but also because I would've gone through staring exercises. There's one in the Advanced Course. You do an exercise where you stare at a person for like 30 seconds and then move on to the next person.

It's creepy and has hypnotic power, but I doubt the LGAT leaders intentionally do it as a clever social engineering technique. They might see it as a convenient sales tactic, though.

anonday,

I understand a small delay, but we're talking minutes, not seconds, here.

Are you trying to tell me that there's no manipulation intended when you look down and to the side, even turn away, maybe, and they step around you and stoop over to stay in front of your face? It felt to me like an attempt to force submission, though your experiences with this could have been different, of course.

The LGAT Psychology of Vision run by Chuck and Lency Spezzano also use staring techniques. They call it "joining" and claim that it is not staring, not hypnosis, but rather some sort of spiritual experience that supposedly creates miracles.

What they are actually doing is predatory, abusive staring. Their victims cry, laugh hysterically, and hallucinate. Chuck and Lency can then get more money and attention out of them.

I've been through the staring exercise done on stage at a Forum/Landmark event. I've also experienced people using staring to persuade, make me uncomfortable and confused, and to be aggressive.

Hi, kdag. You said, "Are you trying to tell me that there's no
> manipulation intended"

I said, "I don't think they are taught to manipulate people deceptively".

I do believe they teach to manipulate, just like my school training had an entire course on how to manipulate teachers into doing what we want; or how salesmen are taught psychological tricks.

I don't believe they teach to deceive people any more than salesmen and school administrators.

Not that it makes it any better.

kdag Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> anonday,
>
> I understand a small delay, but we're talking
> minutes, not seconds, here.
>
> Are you trying to tell me that there's no
> manipulation intended when you look down and to
> the side, even turn away, maybe, and they step
> around you and stoop over to stay in front of your
> face? It felt to me like an attempt to force
> submission, though your experiences with this
> could have been different, of course.

The book "Cults Inside Out" has a chapter specifically about LGATs and how they manipulate people. There is also a chapter about "Cult Brainwashing" and how it works with extensive research footnotes.

See [cultsinsideout.com]

There is a distinct difference between the level of manipulation used through education, advertising/sales and thought reform, which is commonly employed through LGATs.

Psychologist Margaret Singer included a chart making such distinctions.

See [www.culteducation.com]

Oh my gosh!! My now ex partner did this to me inky last week when we were breaking up. I had been in an intimate relationship with him for the last 18 months but have been close friends for essentially 18 months. He has just come off two days of the SELP course, the fifth weekend of training, and was being non sensicle. He was accusing me of being someone I'm not and that I say mean things. He has misinterpret things I had been saying ever since the second day of his "self extension and leadership program" he had facilitated through his work. It is continuing for another three months. I would not break eye contact with him. I have a health science degree and I knew what he was doing but it didn't occur to me it was a Landmark tactic. In the end he put his head down and then could not return my gaze as my answers remained the same each time he attempted to paraphrase and supposedly catch me out. I know my truth. I don't know though to get through to him. I think he is completely lost.