TL;DR: If a friend or loved one invites you to a graduation ceremony at PSI Seminars (or other LGAT), you may want to decline. It's a carefully staged hour-long session based on artificial shame, guilt, and commitment. PSI's aim is for you to make a substantial financial and time obligation based only on the emotions they want you to feel, without critical assessment.

Details: I attended a "Free PSI Basic Introductory Seminar". Everyone in attendance were either graduates of the PSI Basic program, PSI staff, or friends/family of graduates. The MC had each group stand up for applause and adoration. But you could tell who was who before that. The graduates were wide-eyed, wearing an overly enthusiastic gaze, the staff had a paternal vibe, overlooking their flock, while the guests seemed confused, waiting for an explanation.

After a short introduction, the instructor of the graduating class walked to the stage. He had the style and flair of a church preacher, cycling his content between three main goals:

1) Inspire group cohesion: He asked yes/no questions that everyone would agree with. "You're either living the life you want to live, or you're settling for less. Am I right?" or "Do you ever start something but you don't have the energy to finish it?" Everyone would agree in unison, particularly the graduates.

He would also inject jokes, often self-deprecating but in good taste. Sometimes the laugh from graduates was alarmingly loud, or robotic. "....HA!...HA!...HA!" At one point, the instructor (clearly a man with genetic baldness) said, "I promise you, we're not a cult. I shave my head on my own accord." It received genuine laughs, even from the guests.

2) Obtain and maintain a commitment: Before he described the course benefits, he asked if we ever lie to ourselves. We all did. He asked everyone if they like being lied to. No one does. Then he emphasized that that it's absurd that we lie to ourselves, knowing how it feels. He then went straight into getting the audience to promise that they'd all at "least listen with an open mind" to his presentation. He would bring up honoring commitments several more times.

3) Emphasize how the guests are loved and are special: After asking the students to describe the course in one word ("Amazing!" "Indescribable!" "Life-changing!"), he said that we must be special since our friends and family would invite us to take part in their graduation. Our friends/family love us, and they want us to be just as happy as they are.

One graduate was nearly manic when describing his success, as if he took a bump of speed or cocaine. He fumbled his words, stuttering in excitement. The instructor took control over the discussion and brought it back into focus quite quickly.

The "content" of the seminar was very thin, talking about how there are things we know we know, we know we don't know, we don't know we know, and we don't know we don't know. It mostly centered on making us commit to listen to our friends/family's experience at the seminar, laugh and agree in unison, ending with asking the guests to ask a question. "Turn to who invited you and ask 'Why do you want me to take this course?'"

As I had arrived alone and had nothing to guilt, shame, or commit to, I wasn't phased by the situation. But I could see the emotion in all the friends/family members' eyes as I left. Many were looking side-to-side, or down, as the graduate expressed their love and confidence about how good the course is.

As I left, one of the senior staff locked her eyes at me and said, "Hello, [NAME]." It was incredibly cold. It felt like she saying "You don't belong here. You need to leave."

Or possibly she was an incredibly cold and icy person. But it was creepy and I left.

I can understand why people sign up for these seminars. The graduates have infectious enthusiasm and I believe that they believe in its effectiveness. Even the instructor seemed like a good guy who believed in his product. It's very convincing, despite being toxic.

That's how they get you. They used your loved ones to guilt you into committing to the program, and once you've taken it, you believe it too (despite no evidence of its effectiveness). It's a mind virus.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/2017 03:43PM by SirReal.

This feels toxic

AmeliaRobertson:

If you subjectively feel it is "toxic" what is your purpose here?

@SirReal, @AmeliaRobertson

You're not wrong. Although my experience was at Landmark, (and i was there for over a year), what you have written, SirReal, is so familiar that I would have to say the programs are identical, for all intents and purposes. The creepiness is noticeable right from the start. It's a wonder that anyone actually signs up, but they are already causing people to distrust their own instincts, (which are screaming at them to run!). And the psychological environment is extremely toxic, imho.

I can somehow agree with you, but personally, I had a really beautiful and unique experience when I went to one of these meetings. It's true I was at the lowest point in my life and I was in desperate need of a change. The instructor came to me after the session (in which I cried) and calmly, purely, with an attitude and words I've never encountered in my life, he said: look, buy some shoes and clothes, see here what you like https://thecandylei.com/college-style/graduation-shoes/ and then live your life after the graduation too. I don't know how to explain it... These words filled me with joy and hope. There is life. There is always life, even if you think it's not worth it anymore. I never went again because I moved to another town but I felt like these meetings could pull me in... in a toxic way.

Agree, though I wasn't at a low point in my life I decided to check it out because one of my family members was getting involved and I wanted to know what was up.
I had a great experience with the processes which helped me to see how I was showing up in my life outside of the group training which gave me what I needed to step up to the world plate.
There was an exercise or two that didn't really 'do' much for me, but maybe they were helpful to others.
I've completed the full course that was offered and I don't regret it at all.
I'm a normal person in the working world middle aged with adult children.
I don't much like how they 'enroll' people because it 'feels' pressurized - mostly I think that's because it's all word of mouth.
And yes, there are a lot of volunteers, but here's the deal, you don't HAVE to volunteer, it's a personal choice. They also have paid staff, just like any other seminar type scenario.
So, now that I've done it - I can say it's not a cult and if there's chatter about that, I say it's because evil wants to over-rule good.

titLwayhalnoyou wrote:

"So, now that I've done it - I can say it's not a cult and if there's chatter about that, I say it's because evil wants to over-rule good."

Are you kidding me? They attempt to normalize incest and pedophilia, and blame rape victims for their own attacks. If you don't believe me, read the last post, (on Page 1), in this link:

[forum.culteducation.com]

These people are sick! On top of that, they'll tell you that the holocaust was "no big deal."

As to the volunteers, (for one thing, we were not allowed to call ourselves "volunteers," because they use language to skirt the law), even they are set up to fail at every other task, so that some staff member, (or a more "advanced" volunteer), can ask them how that feels, for the purpose of mining more information about what bothers that person the most, the better to f#ck with them EVEN MORE.

Their sole and entire goal, for volunteers, participants and even staff members, is to scramble your brain and cause as much frustration and confusion as possible, because frustrated and confused people are so much easier to control. The entire concept of "popping" is giving up and letting them take your hand and lead you wherever they want, and you are NOT to ask questions, (especially not "where are we going?"), other than, "what do you want me to do, oh Master?"

I got the "special" treatment because my recruiter told me that Werner Erhard had sold the company to some people, and i asked, "To whom?" I wanted to know who was behind it. (Now I've read that it was sold to "employees." Who were they connected to, other than W.E.? I smelled a huge rat).

Nope. Not cult-like AT ALL.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2021 01:01AM by kdag.