Can you believe this BS???? Denver PSI is "out of integrity." That is so sadddddddddddddddd..... hahahaha. PSI should go out of business, bu I know it will probably start up under another name. I found this in one of the yahoo groups. IT seems the light dawned for someone doesn't? Maybe for COUCH Darren.


From: darrencouch@...
Date: Sat May 6, 2006 2:30 am
Subject: RE: Player and Coaching positions available for PLD! drclight
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Friends,

I believe the following to be true or I wouldn’t have written it.



I think it would be wonderful to coach PLD!

However – and that’s a $2 but – the PLD that I know is no longer being played in the city of Denver. MLS is no longer MLS it is now WLS with testes, and the question that I have is WHY?

I know that ideas for bettering Denver-PSI were recently solicited from past graduates, and that some who have real and daring ideas were excluded from this round-table. That’s exactly what I have heard from other leaders of business and industry who would love to come back and play, BUT don’t feel welcome because they are dismissed for being ‘anti-PSI’. These people feel the city is out of . Ask us. You know who we are.



And while I am at it, what is this crap I have heard about having to have a paid Principia seat in order to staff Leadership? Is this true?!? Is not 10 or 11 days of my life enough of a commitment to myself or the work? Or what about being required to have a defined (within PSI, of course) next step while staffing the basic? What’s wrong with someone of good heart staffing because they simply want to refresh their use of the tools and give back – and believe me, when you staff with some of these facilitators, you are GIVING baby. I know of no better reason to staff than to for someone to become a better person, father, mother, sibling or friend of our community. PSI has so many capricious and arbitrary rules that make no sense that I am sure you could add more examples.

And here’s what I love even more: facilitators and employees within PSI have admitted to me that these policies are f_ _ _ed up and have no backbone about drawing a line to CHANGE it and make it right. That’s also out of integrity. And they know who they are.



And the reason these employees don’t do anything is that they are pressured by ‘the good old girls club’ who pass off these edicts as being for the betterment of the students. Know this: These ladies would only make a rule or a move when they believe it is their own best financial interests - nothing else. The Clan of Clear Lake are STILL in need of taking the basic themselves. Let me clarify, IN NEED OF TAKING THE BASIC AND APPLYING IT.



I send this to you because Denver was the best PSI city in the company at one time. You and I were a part of something very special because we felt we were contributing to the world – if only our little corner of it. So if you wish to contribute and change this city, DRAW YOUR LINE and STICK TO IT. If you want to play, then play BIG. If you choose to stay away, then let PSI know why you are – Wouldn’t you want to know why your company is wallowing?

These are only part of the reasons I have stayed away: Lack of integrity and honor among the employees and a feeling of condescending management through fear and scarcity.



Denver will continue to dwindle in terms of class size, support and real movement until we take a stance for what is right. And if you don’t know what that is, go sit in on the basic with fresh eyes and ears.



I feel cleansed for baring some of them and hope that good comes of this.

This may seem to you to be a bit harsh and I say that tough love is better than no love.

If you believe this, do what’s right within your heart to change this city and this company.



Peace, Love and Light,

Darren Couch

HI everyone. I received two email from another PSI 7 Group, which just graduated a short time ago. It appears one had his wife leave him and the other, a woman, feels lost with the decisions she is making and is being couched by “supportive partner, who's been through the Basic, incidentally.” I thought I send these into the board to update and to show apparently PSI 7 how has a new ‘game’ to play; blind mans bluff in the woods.” I really feel bad for these people and wish them the best

From Jess, “I have actually started practicing a similar activity associated with breathing and being thankful. In the book I mentioned there are some exercises that do exactly what you are doing, though this guy with a PhD could not say it quite so beautifully or eloquently. When I listen to people that have had similar experiences to my own, it inspires me and it horrifies me at the same time. Human
beings have such great capacity for love and for hate, for giving and taking, for serving others and serving themselves above all others. Well... lets pray PSI completes its mission even if it is one mind at a time.

During one of our quiet exercises at the ranch with eyes closed, our "angel facilitator" came up behind me and whispered in my ear that I was a beautiful man and that I needed to stop beating myself up. I realized how often I assumed blame or fault for my lot in life and right or wrong – I dwelt on that and let it consume me. Or worse yet, how I have listened to others that lay blame on me and I accept their judgment without hesitation. Suddenly I was remembering others in my life telling me the same thing. On my 5 hour flight back to Hawaii, I wrote a poem that tries to define this life-changing experience I had at PSI. Some degree of self-consciousness prevented me from sharing it before. For Terry Ritter: don't know if this meets the demands of my promised poem for PSI VII... now I'm not certain a single poem could do it.

I did write this poem with my wife in mind and I wrote it before I knew a lot of the truth, but please understand that though now things have changed, I am still honored to know her because I know there is a good person inside and I pray that she will move the mountains blocking her way to more fulfilling and lasting relationships. Though lives are heading in different directions, she did help me discover many glorious things about me.”


From Carolyn; “Hi Everyone,
Some of you will have seen my e-mail of a week or so ago. I was feeling a bit down in the dumps and had been struggling with my re-entry. I want to thank everyone who wrote and phoned me to offer support and tell me what your experience has been like. It really helped a lot. I'm feeling much better now. I did a lot of introspection and had the benefit of a few sounding boards from Team 433 to help me work it through. There was a lot going on, as there usually is. I'd been struggling for a long time to find my purpose in life and I think my expectations were that I would come home from the Ranch with a game plan in mind, knowing exactly what I was meant to do and how I should go about getting it done. Instead I came home feeling a bit lost. Fortunately, I have a very supportive partner, who's been through the Basic, incidentally. We sat down and really talked about what I'd been feeling and what I wanted and I feel much more optimistic about my future and my dreams feel much more within my reach. I'm not sure how it's all going to come together, but if I get my intentions clear, I trust that it'll all work out eventually.

In the meantime - I'm taking a lesson from the blind walk through the woods. Again, there was a lot I got out of that little exercise, but the one that really stuck was that I was more focused on what was going to happen when I got 'there', rather than on the journey itself. So, I've decided to learn from that and really enjoy my summer, living in the moment.

With that in mind, I started my horseback riding lessons this past Saturday and I'm hooked!! I've found my sport of choice. Now I just need to find the money to pay for it. Ha! Thanks again to everyone for being there for me during a frustrating time.

BTW, how about "Stop Talking, Stop Talking, Stop Talking" for our granite boardwalk? Just kidding....”

Molbro4k, I saw you post on another site, Factnet I think, and was interested if you would post your findings here. I am sorry if what I had was not what you were looking for. I myself have not attended PSI; my wife did and left me shortly afterward. I also read Margarent Singers book and found it very, for want of a better word, enlightening. It explained alot with this group and groups like it.

(Previous two posts deleted. Originals can be found on thread "Husband going to PSI.")


EZ

Molbro4k, have you finished that paper you were doing describing the PSI basic? I was very interested in reading it. Thanks

Molbro4k, have you had any lcuk on the paper???

Alright, before I post this junk; I wanna say a few things.

I've had a while since I attended the basic, so its no longer fresh in my mind and I've had plenty of time to sort it out.
Neither my fiance (that's right, we got engaged :D ) nor myself are going on to attend PSI 7. Neither of us are "playing" PLD, neither of us are "staffing", and neither of us have signed up any of our friends or family.

Looking back on the whole thing, the words "mostly harmless" come to mind. I can't fathom why I made such a big deal of it. It hasn't destroyed our lives, our families, or our careers. It hasn't cost us any more than the cost of the Basic, the gas I spent driving there, and the $50 (sucker!) I spent on purchasing the 6CD PSI set.

I apologize for taking so damned long to make this post, there are several reasons I did; the main reasons are that work started getting really busy for me, I wanted to have a little time between my attending PSI and my posting about PSI, and most importantly, I'm lazy.



What I'm going to post here are the notes/description that I made for friends, I planned to clean it up and post it in a public forum, but I never got around to it. So I am going to post my descriptions/notes of the first 3 days (I never finished the 4th day's notes) that I sent to my friends, in all their incoherent, unedited, crass glory.
As I'm sure you'll notice very quickly: I am not a writer, I am not a doctor, I'm just a guy with an internet connection who attended the basic.
Perhaps that's the reason that there aren't more details on the internet about the basic: there just aren't people out there that can write well. I know that the reason certainly isn't because PSI doesn't allow you to share with the non-PSI world. I was told by several PSI staffers, as well as the facilitator, that you are allowed to describe it to people.

I detailed my first day's experience on the Friday after my first day at Basic, so everything regarding that day was written from the point of view of somebody who's only attended a single day.
I've tried to make it a little easier to read by bolding the exercises, and italicizing all of my comments to the reader.

[b:744e058bc7]Day 1 6PM to 12AM[/b:744e058bc7]

The instructor introduces himself, introduces the PAID staff, introduces the volunteers, and introduces us.
Some people stand up, take the mic, and explain why they're there. Typical responses "I'm going through a hardship...", "I'm looking for motivation", "I want to trust others", "I'm an LGAT junkie, and I just finished _______", "_____ made me do it".
The instructor then asks "What have you heard about the seminar?" (Everybody laughs), people haven't heard much of anything, and people also state that their friends/church told them it’s a bad idea.
The instructor spends a good 1.5 hours telling his story and generally making every effort to humanize himself and allow the audience to relate to him. Our facilitator was extremely well spoken and very charismatic.
He went on to tell us that we absolutely CAN talk about the seminar, the only things we can't share are other people's confidential experiences (duh), and 2 exercises in the course.
He proceeded to inform us that PSI IS a business, there WILL be sales pitches, he DOES get paid extremely well, and they DO want us to take the next classes.

After that "business" was taken care of, he started to outline the structure of the class. We are encouraged to take notes, we are encouraged to do the homework, we're informed we may go to the restroom at any time if we need to (but that we need to be sure that we really have to go and that the need to go isn't just a "flight mechanism"). He told us a bit about "Win-Win" and how many of us THINK we know it, but we really only know OF it. The format will be: Concept -> Exercise -> Reflect -> Share. We are informed that if we are to get max value from the class that we must participate, be honest, be "open", and “take risks”. Our participation should be "Responsible, capable, and contributing".

Now, onto the exercises:
[b:744e058bc7]Day 1 - Exercise 1 - Name-Writing[/b:744e058bc7]
We are questioned about what prejudice is, and after our answers are heard, we are instructed to get a sheet of paper out and write our name on it, however we like, as many times as we can in 30 seconds.
[i:744e058bc7]** Go ahead, it’s a simple exercise try it yourself! I'll explain it a few lines down. Do it first, and then read the explanation. See? Learning can be fun! **
-
-
-Are you doing it?-
-
-
-
-You better be doing it!-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
How did you feel doing that exercise? What went through your head for those 30 seconds?
-
-
-[/i:744e058bc7]
Apparently, that is how you live YOUR life. Some folks said they were trying to figure out if it’s a trick. Some said they tried their hardest to "win" and do it the most. Others said that they were trying to do it in the most creative way they could. Others just didn't give a shit. I fall under the indifference category. Is that an accurate assessment of my life? Maybe a little.

He started asking us how many times we had managed to write our names, and finally one woman revealed she had done it 150 times!
He then pointed at "prejudice" scrawled on the board and accused us of already having preconceived notions about that "She's already done this so she's cheating!” he asked her how she did it and she reveals she wrote her name as "-" 150 times. Again he points to the "Prejudice", "That's not a name!", but indeed the exercise was to write our name any way we want.
He then instructed us to take the pen in our other hand (the whole room groans), which allows him to already show that we have a preconceived notion that he wants us to write with the other hand. ...He does.
We carry out the same exercise with our other hand (we're required to write out our whole name)

[b:744e058bc7]
Day 1 - Exercise 2 the AGREEMENTS[/b:744e058bc7]
This is the ONLY part of the day that truly matched up with anything I've read about PSI or LGATs in general. He gave us 5 recommendations [i:744e058bc7](read: Things we're NOT required to do)[/i:744e058bc7].
They are:
1. No alcohol or illegal drugs (he informed us that if we're heavily addicted, he doesn't expect us to stop cold turkey, but we will benefit from the course most with a clear mind)
2. We should stay in the room until breaks, as it may be disruptive to leave during an exercise..
3. We should have our cell phones off, and any electronic devices we have on our person should be turned off or at the bare minimum, to silent.
4. We shouldn't wear our watches [i:744e058bc7](WTF?!)[/i:744e058bc7]
5. We should arrange for 1 hour of silence on Saturday night.

Then he gave us the 7 agreements.

1. We need to keep the confidentiality of other participants. [i:744e058bc7](Of course!)[/i:744e058bc7]
2. We are to be seated by the time the music finishes playing..
3. We MUST attend all 4 class dates, the 1 hour after meeting, and the graduation.
4. No food, gum, or drinks are allowed in our mouths during the class. (Bottled water IS allowed).
5. We are to take a different seat each time we return from break. We are not allowed to sit next to anybody we knew before the class (2 seats or more apart at all time), and we must sit next to somebody new each time.
6. No side talk
7. We are to wear our nametags on our chests in a clearly visible manner each time we enter the class. We are to keep our name tags on our chest in a clearly visible manner at all times when we are in the class.

[i:744e058bc7]*Rules 1-4 are fine and completely reasonable. I'd expect those in ANY class.
Rules 5-7 seem to be designed to keep us from being able to effectively rebel against and resist the class.
If you can't group with like-minded folks who will question things, then it’s MUCH harder for you to do so yourself. Of course, it also forces you to meet new people and be more sociable.*[/i:744e058bc7]

All those who agree are to stand up and acknowledge that they take those rules as their own.
There was little resistance, but the trainer wouldn't budge on any of it. We left the room for our first break.
On our break we were given the assignment to meet 2 people we didn't know, and find out why they were taking the class. Apparently most folks take lots of these types of courses. I think I was the only person without any self-help under my belt.

When we came back from the break we were given a lecture on the 3 ways to listen. The 3 ways are:
1. Agreement. Which the instructor stated means "I already know that, I'm right, and you're right because I agree with you."
2. Disagreement. This means “I already know that, I’m right, and you’re wrong because I disagree with you."
3. "Be with" Where you are open to what they say, you see how you react to what they say, and you question why you react in that manner.

We are tasked with creating our microgroups. He explained that we should choose according to what we want to work on, if we want to improve our relations with women we should be in a group with women. If we want to relate to youths, we should be in a group with teenagers, etc.

[b:744e058bc7]Day 1 - Exercise 3 “Proudest Moments”[/b:744e058bc7]
Once we are in our microgroups, we are instructed to share things we are very proud of for 1 minute. The other members are to use the 3rd type of listening, and take in their comments. Everybody is quite nervous about the process. It seemed like the longest minute of my life.
[i:744e058bc7]If you've got somebody to share with, try it with them. Take turns and share.
Once the sharing is over, here comes the fun part.
-
-Did you share?
-[/i:744e058bc7]
Everybody is to take out a piece of paper and write the person to their right's name on it.
Then, each person who spoke is to take turns being a listener. The rest of the group is supposed to give positive feedback about the listener based on the 1 minute that they spoke for. The feedback is to be written onto the sheet of paper that has their name on it and given to them at the end of the exercise.
It was amusing to see the members of the group blush, smile, and laugh at the praise being lavished upon them by total strangers. I found most of the comments people made were very generic like "risk-taker", "courageous", "compassionate", etc. But that's totally to be expected since how can you REALLY know about a person's qualities after 1 minute?
After you get the sheet you are instructed to circle the one piece of feedback you have the most trouble accepting. And then ask yourself why that is. He then points out that you don't accept it because it’s not true, and it’s not true because you don't accept it. [i:744e058bc7](Deep stuff, eh?)[/i:744e058bc7]

After that exercise we are given a lecture about our limiting beliefs/programs. The instructor goes on to explain that when we are born we're perfectly capable of doing anything, and then we have experiences which cause us to gain beliefs.
Our Beliefs control our attitudes and feelings. Our attitudes and feelings control our behavior. Our behaviors create our results.

He gives a "perfect" example of an experience influencing a life. He tells the story of when he was in grade school, he flunked a math test. The teacher gave him his paper and said "nice going, stupid" which caused him to think he was no good at math and thusly caused him to become no good at math. [i:744e058bc7]*(The whole time neglecting the glaring fact that if he hadn't already been no good at math he wouldn't have failed the test in the first place.)*[/i:744e058bc7]

He proceeds to tell us that we should live our lives the way children do. Don't settle, don't wait, and fulfill yourself. [i:744e058bc7]*(Why the HELL do these people seem to think children are perfect beings? They aren't, if EVERYBODY was born naturally good, and EVERYBODY was born naturally successful there would be no failure! There never would have been that "negative experience" that caused them to develop their "programs" Shhhhhhhhh, that's dangerous thinking)*[/i:744e058bc7]

[b:744e058bc7]
Day 1 - Exercise 4 Cycles/Meditation[/b:744e058bc7]

The instructor then proceeds to tell us about how we are running on 80-95% automatic, we just don't know it. The automatic part of our behavior is in our subconscious mind, which our conscious mind can't normally access. Our conscious mind can only handle 9 things at a time, while our subconscious can handle over 725,000 things. Wow, that's amazing, it sure is a shame we can't tap into the power of our unconscious mind.... or can we?
He explains that he's going to show us this AMAZING technique which allows us to connect with our subconscious, send our brain into alpha state, and allow us to get 2-4 hours worth of rest in 10-15 minutes. WOW!
We are instructed to place our body into an "open position" where our feet are planted on the floor, we are sitting up in our chairs, and we have our arms out with our palms up. A tape is played that walks us through a meditative process, instructing us to be aware of and then relax each part of our body in very soothing, monotone way. We are then to visualize a nature scene that is very peaceful and serene. We are to physically reach out and interact with it. After this we are to open our eyes, straighten up and be refreshed. (It is now 10:45PM).
[i:744e058bc7]*I did not get to sleep until 2:00AM that night; I got up at 7:00 AM. I can assure you, I did not feel as though I had gotten an extra 2-4 hours of rest.*[/i:744e058bc7]
We are sent on a second break with the assignment of thinking of 3 people we would like to have a better relationship with.

[b:744e058bc7]Day 1 - Exercise 5 Personality Quadrants[/b:744e058bc7]

When we are all seated after the break, we are asked to draw a horizontal line and write "formal" on one side, and "informal" on the other. Then make a vertical line and write "dominant" on one side and "easy going" on the other. Then we are supposed to choose which quadrant we belong in.
[i:744e058bc7]-
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-Go ahead, do it!-
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-[/i:744e058bc7]
We are then instructed to imagine the whole room has been separated like that. And go to the quadrant we believe we belong to. Once we have formed our groups we are supposed to vote on our likes, dislikes, whether we're task or relationship oriented, what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are, and what we can do to improve.
If, from the answers that are being given, we feel uncomfortable in the group we chose, we should move to another group until we find one we fit with.
After that part of the exercise each group has their "scribe" stand up and read the group's answers.
[i:744e058bc7]-
-
-Go on; answer the questions before I give you the answers-
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-[/i:744e058bc7]
You learn that the formal-dominant folks are known as the "controllers" that they are task oriented, natural leaders, they want the finer things in life, they're very impatient, and they love to be in charge.
In sharp contrast to the formal-dominant folks are the informal-easygoing folks. They are known as the "supporters", they are very relationship oriented, they love love, they like hugs, they like puppy dogs, they love helping others, and they often get trampled and hurt.
On the Formal-Easygoing edge are the "Analysts", they love information, they love being organized, they are somewhat task oriented, they like being on time, they hate messes, and they're terrified of being wrong.
On the opposite end of the "Analysts" are the Informal-Dominant folks. They're known as "promoters", they are somewhat relationship oriented, they love to have fun, they are risk-takers, they are very friendly, and they don't get a whole lot of work done.

Once the traits have been illustrated and named, we are informed that everybody needs a little of each group within them, they need to be able to lead, analyze, have fun, and support. We are also told that usually people pick the group they are in the most because they're either emulating somebody else's behavior that seemed very effective or they're doing the opposite of a behavior they believe doesn't work.

After that we are given our homework assignments which are:

1. Pick 3 people that you would like to have a better relationship with, figure out what their personality quadrant is and then think of a way to more effectively communicate with them.
2. Notice the limiting self-talk you give yourself through-out the day. (Like "damn, I’m a lazy bastard" or "don't answer your IM, its just going to get you into trouble")
3. Do the 15 minute relaxation/cycle/meditation exercise before attending the next night.
4. Write a paragraph about an area in your life where you have resentment. Be specific.

I'm glad to see that my last post made it through without incident. I know that there was some questionable language in it, and while the TOS for this forum don't explicitly say anything about language, I was still a little concerned that it may not make it.

Before I post the Day 2 stuff, I forgot to say a few things yesterday, so I'll get them out now:


First off, when I say that I found PSI to be "mostly harmless", I'm speaking of my experiences with it. Believe it or not, I actually did experience some good during the time I was doing the Basic. I definitely saw how easy it would be for people to get sucked into PSI, and how easy it would be to spend an inordinate amount of time/money on PSI.
One of the things that was constantly reinforced (moreso as the course progressed) was that there's a special understanding in that room, and that special understanding does not exist in the outside world. The environment is structured around making you feel good, and everybody wants to feel good.
I'll be honest, for the week following the seminar I found myself considering (never seriously) the prospect of attending PSI 7.


Second thing, I want to elaborate on sharing information about PSI.
This is really strange, and I find it to be infuriating; PSI seminars made it a point to stress to those of us attending the basic that we ARE ALLOWED TO TELL PEOPLE EVERYTHING REGARDING THE SEMINAR!!!!!!(barring things you were told in confidence, and two of the exercises) During the course of the basic, it was reiterated and reinforced several times that if we did tell people who hadn't done PSI about PSI they would not understand, and probably think that we were nuts!
This means that if somebody who's attended the basic won't tell you about the basic, it has NOTHING to do with integrity. It likely has more to do with the way PSI has convinced them that YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND (Or they're just being an asshole).
Keep that in mind when you ask somebody specifics about the course.

Third, I'm not trying to "ruin the experience" for anybody. I think its a pretty safe bet that if you're reading this, you really want to know everything you can. I also have a strong suspicion that if you're on these forums, you've probably made up your mind that you aren't going to be attending the basic. Suffice it to say that if knowing Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father would ruin Empire Strikes Back for you. STOP READING!

Finally, the reason I AM posting this is because samuel requested it. The reason I typed the notes up in the first place is because these are what I wanted somebody to provide me with. After a month dedicated to searching for something like this, I could not find it. If there's just one other person out there who I can save from having to experience that, then I can feel good about committing this to the internet.


I typed up notes/details of day 2 on the following Monday. PSI's absolutely ridiculous schedule did not allow me time to properly type up my notes until AFTER the last 3 days of the seminar had been completed. I didn't even have time to be properly rested (with or without a bullshit 15 minute meditation).

Thank you for reading my walls of text, here's day 2:



[b:6bdfd5eddf]Day 2 6PM to 12AM[/b:6bdfd5eddf]

At 1:25PM I was called by my microgroup leader. He was just calling to check up on me (as we were informed they would do). Each microgroup has a microgroup leader; they are a PSI volunteer staff who has completed the basic. Most of them have completed much more than that.
I was a bit creeped out when he told me that he 'just wanted to hear my voice'.


The doors to the class open up at 5:55PM. People are standing out in the hallways before we enter. People are actually talking to people that they didn't know before Thursday. Everybody is excited and everybody is anxious to find out what Friday holds for them.
When we enter the class, the staff is dancing around to the music that plays before class starts each time. One or two folks join them in dancing.

The day starts off with sharing for about an hour. Already after the little bit we did on Thursday, there are people standing up with sobbing confessionals. People cry their eyes out about what they learned or what negative interactions they had with people about PSI. After each testimonial the facilitator acknowledges them and congratulates them. The whole class cheers for them.
During this session the concept of "if you don't believe it, it won't happen, and if it doesn't happen, you won't believe it" is reinforced. He also tells us another humanizing story about himself regarding how horrible his life was before PSI.

[b:6bdfd5eddf]Day 2 - Exercise 1 Sharing in the group[/b:6bdfd5eddf]

We are broken down into the microgroups and instructed to each take turns sharing on 4 topics for a minute each.
The 1st topic is "What have you discovered or rediscovered since yesterday"
The 2nd topic is "What do you need to do to improve"
The 3rd topic is "What risks are you willing to take this weekend?" [i:6bdfd5eddf](I went, didn't I?)[/i:6bdfd5eddf]
The 4th topic is "What can we do to support you?"
Pretty standard stuff, you divulge a little about yourself to the group. Everybody feels a little closer, the group doesn't seem that scary. Everybody pretty much says the same stuff "I want to be more open/less afraid/stronger/etc.", "Support me by listening to me/caring/being honest/etc", "I'm willing to take chances/be open/honest/etc.”


[b:6bdfd5eddf]Day 2 - Exercise 2 "Think Outside your limitations"[/b:6bdfd5eddf]

We are instructed to start shouting out the limiting self talk we experienced during the day [i:6bdfd5eddf](as per our homework. You did your homework, didn't YOU?). [/i:6bdfd5eddf]With each thing that is called out, the speaker makes a big black dot on the easel. This continues until we have 9 black dots arranged in a grid.
We are then instructed to connect all 9 dots with 4 consecutive straight lines; our pens aren't allowed to leave the paper. Those of us that have done this before are instructed to do it with 3 lines.

o o o
o o o
o o o

If you aren't already familiar with this exercise, give it a try on your own. I assure you it’s possible to do it.



The solution requires you to "think outside the box" ([www.naute.com])
He goes on to lecture us about the necessity of going outside of one's zone of comfort and outside of one's boundaries to achieve our goals and get the answers.
He tells us that most people are unwilling to do that, and that's why most people don't solve their problems.
People don't even see the solutions "outside the box" because they're so concerned with inside the box.
"Who do we know that's never discovered water?......"
.
.
.
FISH, fish have never discovered water because they have it surrounding them their whole lives. It’s only when they've been pulled out of water that they start to flop around, gasp, and understand what water is.

the speaker then proceeds to tell us about our programs and shows us the 3 steps of one of our strongest programs of all: Resentment. [i:6bdfd5eddf](Remember your homework?)
[/i:6bdfd5eddf]
Step 1: Resentment. Somebody does something that I don't like, or does something that I feel hurt by. I allow this to bother me, and I start to resent.
Step 2: Resistance. I start putting up walls and barriers to that person or others. This makes the resentment very difficult to let go of, and moves me along to...
Step 3: Revenge. I start doing bad things to get revenge for the wrong-doing that I have perceived the other person having done. This furthers the resentment and resistance.

[b:6bdfd5eddf]Day 2 - Exercise 3 "Resistance"[/b:6bdfd5eddf]

We are then partnered up for an exercise, we are instructed to put both of our arms out, touch our partner's palms with ours, and then partner A is to push. Then partner B gets their turn.
The point of that was to notice natural resistance, how we all unconsciously resisted force and as such we wasted lots of energy fighting.
We are then instructed to clasp our hand with our partner's hand in a "yo, wassup" handshake [i:6bdfd5eddf](his words, not mine)[/i:6bdfd5eddf], and each of us is to try and rest our hand on our partner's shoulder.
This leads to lots of struggling and pushing.
He then demonstrates in front of the class with a volunteer. The solution to that was to come close so that your shoulders were touching. That way you could both "win".
He demonstrates the pitfalls of resistance by having his volunteer sit in a chair with her arms out. He starts pushing her arms. The chair begins to tip backwards, she panics and pushes even more frantically, making her situation even worse.
The demonstration is repeated with her. This time, she is instructed to not resist. He pushes her limp arms back with ease, and she doesn't get pushed back or go anywhere [i:6bdfd5eddf](it’s never mentioned that by not resisting she's letting him into her personal space)[/i:6bdfd5eddf].

We are shown the ways to stop the three steps of resentment.
1. To stop resentment, we need only think about it and realize that we are feeling it because of us, not because of what somebody else did.
2. To stop resistance, we need to communicate what's going on. We need to communicate the resentment, and that will allow us to step it down. "What you resist, persists"
3. To stop revenge, we need to forgive. In PSI, forgive has nothing to do with blame, forgive is all about accepting what happened, letting go of the resentment, and forgiving ourselves for feeling that way.
We are introduced to the recurring concept of "what goes around comes around". We're informed that when you do bad things, they will always come back to you. When you do good things, they will come back to you as well.
We are given examples to illustrate the concept. One such example is that somebody cheats on their taxes, but then gets a heart-attack later. Somebody who steals, but then gets a divorce, is another example.

We are sent on break and given an assignment. That assignment is to write about the resentment paragraph we did for homework [i:6bdfd5eddf](you did that, DIDN'T YOU?)[/i:6bdfd5eddf]. We are to write about how resistance was showing up in that situation. We are to write about how revenge is showing up in that, and what the negative effects are that are showing up.

[b:6bdfd5eddf]Day 2 - Exercise 4 "Screen of the Mind"[/b:6bdfd5eddf]

When class resumes we are shown a technique to help achieve results in our lives and relationships.
It’s presented as a tool to help fix resentment and improve situations. [i:6bdfd5eddf][Pay attention, this exercise lays the foundation for a lot of stuff][/i:6bdfd5eddf]
We are brought into the "cycle" once again. This time we are instructed to visualize the colors of the rainbow [i:6bdfd5eddf][that part brought out an immense amount of stress and frustration with me, as I'm a bit color-blind. Sorry, PSI, my subconscious doesn't know the colors either][/i:6bdfd5eddf]. With each color, we are to relax a different part of our being. Once we relax, we are to visualize our nature scene.
We are to visualize that we have control over everything, plant, mineral, lower animal, and higher animal.
Then we are to construct our "screen of the mind".
Once the screen is constructed we visualize a situation in our life as it is now (a broken relationship, an unsuccessful career, etc.), and visualize it with a dark, murky frame.
You then "reverse the polarity" on it, and view the scene as you want it to happen. The screen should now be bordered with bright "white light".

[b:6bdfd5eddf]Day 2 - Exercise 5 "Victim/Responsible"[/b:6bdfd5eddf]

We move into dyads. Dyads are a 2 person group where the two people sit very close together while facing each other. We are instructed to be close enough to each other that our knees are touching. [i:6bdfd5eddf][This encourages a feeling of intimacy][/i:6bdfd5eddf]
Once we are in dyads, one partner is supposed to tell a recent victim story to the other. They have a minute or so to do this, and after the minute is up the receiving partner is to stand up if they believe that their partner is 100% the victim. Then they switch places and the other partner tells a story. During this process we are encouraged to make it the saddest, most depressing story that we can tell, and are encouraged to cry and weep while telling it.
Then each partner is instructed to tell the same story, but from a point of accountability and responsibility. Not from a place of blame, but a place of responsibility and accountability (there is a difference). This is to empower us.

We then go over the feelings, benefits, and costs of coming from both of those places.

He tells us about the sand wasp, and how it has a pattern that it will gather its food, bring it back to its nest, check burrow for danger, come back out, and bring the food into the burrow. He said that "scientists" have conducted experiments where they move the food while the sand wasp is checking. The sand wasp will grab the food, move it next to its hole, go in and check the hole, come back out, find the food was moved, move the food, check the hole for danger, come out, find the food moved... and on, and on, until the wasp dies of starvation. The wasp dies with the food in its mouth most times. The wasp "is a victim of its own programs". [i:6bdfd5eddf][Can anybody find me some research that supports this story?][/i:6bdfd5eddf]

We're told more in depth about programs and how when we're born we're perfect with no preconceived notions about anything.
By the time we're 4 years old we have developed 50% of our programs, meaning we're running on 50% automatic.
By the time we're 8 years old we've developed another 30% of our programs, which means that we're running on 80% automatic.
By the time we're 18 years old we've developed another 15% of our programs, which means that we're running on 95% automatic.
Science has proven this! [i:6bdfd5eddf][If you can find me that study I will pay you!][/i:6bdfd5eddf]
This means that we are only really aware of what we're doing 5% of the time, the rest of it, our programs are running us. That's pretty depressing.
We're quickly told that there's a solution though, we can learn NEW programs to replace the old, limiting ones. The best way to develop new, positive programs is by attaching them to a significant emotional event. That event is the Life Success Course (PSI 7), and he wants us all to go so that we can fix our programs! [i:6bdfd5eddf][Thanks!][/i:6bdfd5eddf]
We're given a 20 minute break and asked to think about what our word means.

Coming back from break, there are now 6 students dancing around with the staffers.

[b:6bdfd5eddf]Day 2 - Exercise 6 "Broken Agreements"[/b:6bdfd5eddf]

When we get back in the room he asks us all what our word means, people shout things like "I am my word" or "my word means everything". He then has us go over the rules, one by one, and in great detail. [i:6bdfd5eddf](Do YOU remember the rules?)[/i:6bdfd5eddf]
After we've gone over the rules, he asks us to think really hard as to whether or not we've broken any of them, about whether or not we broke our word.
Everyone who acknowledges that they've broken a rule is to stand and remain standing. He then lists each rule again in explicit detail, and we're to stand if we've broken any of them.
He asks anybody who's broken their word in the last 24 hours to stand. You must stand even if its something "simple" like saying you'd be somewhere at a certain time and showing up late.
How many people broke their word in the last week?
How many people broke their word in the last MONTH? Did you stay in the speed limit the whole time, when you got your license you gave your word that you would obey the laws of the road.
By that point everybody was standing. He asks us why we break our word.
What we get for it, what it costs us, and what happens.
We're told about the excuses we make, and why we make them. He tells us about how little excuses mean to him. He tells us that there are NO small agreements.
We're informed that the reason we make these excuses, don't keep our word, and then don't own up to keeping our word is because of two very, very strong programs called "looking good" and "being right".
Most people will do anything to look good and be right, and that is why they keep breaking their agreements, and that is why they keep making excuses. He says that the way to make amends when you break your word is to come to the person you've broken the agreement with, tell them that you've broken your agreement and ask how you can get back into agreement with them. [i:6bdfd5eddf][I still would rather hear WHY you're 15 minutes late for our date than just hear that your acknowledgement that you're late][/i:6bdfd5eddf]

[b:6bdfd5eddf]Day 2 - Exercise 7 "The Junkyard"[/b:6bdfd5eddf]

After we've spent a while talking about and thinking about the broken agreements, the chairs are moved to the sides of the room the lights are dimmed and we begin the visualization exercise called "The Junkyard".
This exercise is a little different, the speaker is narrating this process (it was usually a recording over the PA), and we're encouraged to walk in place and actually reach out and touch things.
After we are relaxed we find ourselves walking through a nature scene at night. While we're walking we find this wall, we follow along the wall for a bit and find a gate. We push the gate open and go inside. Once inside we notice that it is a junkyard.
You catch something in one of the piles out of the corner of your eye and go to it. You sit down at the pile and start sifting through it. You notice that this pile is all the broken agreements that you experienced as a child (people start crying). As you stand up from the pile you notice that you feel heavier and weighed down.
Once you are done sifting through it you notice another pile. As you sift through that pile, you realize that those are all the agreements that YOU broke as a child, whether it be the vase that you broke and never told anybody about or that test you cheated on, it was there. (Crying gets louder) As you stand from that pile you notice that you are heavier still.
You notice an even bigger pile, a pile that is all the agreements that were broken to you as you were growing up (sobbing intensifies). When you stand from this pile you feel even more weighted down still.
Behind you, you see the biggest pile yet, in this pile are the agreements broken as an adult. The flowers you never gave your mother, the divorce papers from your failed marriage, they're all here. (Even more sobbing and crying) You are so weighted down at this point that you can barely stand.
You struggle to your feet and realize that you are encased in this heavy, restrictive, limiting suit of armor. You can barely move because of the armor. If you choose, you may take this armor off. You notice there is one piece left, a thick and heavy piece, and its right over your heart. You use all your might to remove this piece and prepare to leave the junkyard. As you are leaving the junkyard, a small mound of dirt with something gleaming in it catches your eye.
As you start unearthing the gleaming object you notice that it’s a treasure chest. The chest has YOUR name engraved on it. You pry the chest open, look inside, and see a piece of you inside it. The part of you that you had thought you lost, the part of you that you had hidden from the world after all those broken agreements.
Is it your love? Is it your trust? Is it your compassion? Is it your openness? You hold it to your heart and take it in.
You feel much lighter, and slip out of the junkyard. As you leave the junkyard you close the gate and notice a key in the lock. You lock the gate and take the key with you.

PSI staffers were walking around passing out tissues to people during this exercise. As we left for the night, the staffers were standing at the door, collecting name tags and handing out tissues.
[i:6bdfd5eddf](I was exhausted)
[/i:6bdfd5eddf]

Thanks for reading my posts so far.

Looking back on my last two posts, I've noticed that everything I've had to say about PSI is mostly negative. I'd like to take this opportunity to post a little about the positive (which, incidentally, is related to day 3).

[list:2167fa11c8]The first positive thing is that I have improved my relationship with my father. The Mom/Dad dyad exercise at the beginning of day 3 allowed me to realize that in spite of knowing him for my whole life, I didn't really know anything about my dad. As a result of that, I called him and went to lunch with him that following week. PSI didn't convince me that I wanted a relationship with my father, it just made me consider about something that I had never given much thought to.

The second positive thing is the 90 day goal I set helped me increase my resolve to do something that I had been wanting to do for a long time. There was something about actually having to put it into writing and then tell people that I WAS going to accomplish it (even if the people I told were a bunch of PSI folks), that helped bolster my resolve to accomplish the task. Would I have accomplished that task without setting it as a goal at PSI? Of course! But I still feel that setting it as a goal at PSI helped me achieve it sooner than I would have otherwise.

Third, for better or worse, I think I understand people better. I have always had a hard time relating to others, and I feel that the exercises in there have given me a better understanding of what makes people tick (Myself included).

[/list:u:2167fa11c8]

Day 3 was definitely my favorite day of the seminar, it had much more content than days 1 and 2, and it didn't have the bullshit spiritual stuff, or the absolutely ludicrous sales pitches of day 4.
Day 3 is also the last day that I typed up notes for. I just lost the ambition to go through the trouble of typing up my notes. I also noticed that the people I was typing them for started losing interest in reading the notes (as I'm sure you are as well).

Let me know what you think if you actually read all this, I would definitely appreciate some feedback.

[b:2167fa11c8]Day 3 10AM to 8PM[/b:2167fa11c8][/size:2167fa11c8]

[i:2167fa11c8]I found it even harder to sleep on Friday night than I did on Thursday. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I found that my head hurt really badly and that I was having a really hard time remembering the events of the previous two days. Thank God for my notes.[/i:2167fa11c8]

The seminar started with a long sharing session. There were even more people crying during this session than there were during any of the previous sharing sessions. More and more folks were eager to spill their guts about how miserable they had been in their lives and how great they feel now that they’ve discovered the truth about themselves.

Something that the speaker said which I found was particularly interesting is that we are going to start feeling funny about everything, this funny feeling we’re going to get is our programs acting up and trying to keep us from making progress. [i:2167fa11c8](I always thought it was just my bullshit detector.)[/i:2167fa11c8]


[b:2167fa11c8]Day 3 Exercise 1 – Mom/Dad Dyad[/b:2167fa11c8]

Once the sharing is finished we are instructed to form a dyad position with another person in the room.
While we are forming the dyad the speaker takes extra care to point out the “uncomfortable” feeling we get when having to sit that close to a stranger (especially if its two guys).
Now that we are in dyads we are instructed to close our eyes and assume the same open body position that we have become accustomed to with the visualization exercises.

We visualize the house that we grew up in, we visualize ourselves as a small child, we visualize the layout of the house, and then we are to visualize our mother.
Visualize where our mother is, what our mother is doing, what our mother is thinking.
We visualize our mother in a posture that is unmistakably our mother. We are then to take that posture and imagine our mother.
Imagine our mother’s life; imagine our mother’s hopes and dreams imagine our mother as a small child and growing up into the woman that is our mother.
We visualize our mother walking into the room and taking the chair across from us.
We now have a few minutes to talk to our “mother”, tell her everything that we’ve ever wanted to tell her. Tell her how we feel about her, tell her how much we love her, tell her how angry we are at her, etc.
The room erupts into chatter as both dyad partners begin talking to their “mothers” simultaneously. There was a lot of sobbing and some pretty heavy emotions being expressed during that time.

We then do the same procedure, but with our dad this time.

We are given 30 seconds to say a final everything we want to our father, and then he will be gone, forever.
We repeat the process with our mother.

We visualize a photo album on the ground next to us; from the album we remove a picture. That picture is the small child (ourselves); we place the photo in the chair across from ourselves and watch as the photo starts to grow. The photo comes to life, and we are sitting across from ourselves as a small child. We hug the small child, and let that child feel all the warmth and love that we wanted as a child (we hug the visualization; we don’t hug our dyad partner). The child shrinks back into the photo.

We open our eyes [i:2167fa11c8](I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the room)[/i:2167fa11c8], and come back into awareness. We are given the option to thank our partner for their support in the “same manner a young child would” (“remember, young children DON’T shake hands”).
We’re sent on a 20 minute break. We are encouraged to spend the break as a child, and take the time to play with and get to know some other “children”.
The 20 minute break consisted of people running in the halls playing tag, playing duck-duck-goose, and generally doing things that any adult would be embarrassed to do.

Coming back from break everybody is in high spirits, at least 25 of the students are dancing around with the staffers.

Another round of sharing begins. People get even more choked up and teary eyed during this sharing. The instructor starts processing the people and trying to get them to realize the deep-seated event that started the programs and set them on the path they are on.

We are lectured on the “Realm of Now” and the “Realm of Meaning”.
The “Realm of Now” is the events that are happening. The “Realm of Meaning” is the meanings that we attach to the events. The problem that happens is we attach a meaning to an event that doesn’t have meaning. Such as attaching “nobody cares what I have to say” to having to sit in the corner for giving a wrong answer, or attaching “I’m not normal, and I don’t fit in” to being forced to write with your right hand by your grandmother even though you’re left-handed.
We’re taught that events in the realm of now don’t have a meaning, they get meaning because we attach a meaning to them.

[b:2167fa11c8]Day 3 – Exercise 2 “I’m Excited”[/b:2167fa11c8]

After the lecture, the speaker works us up and promises to show us a technique which will help us have a positive, energetic attitude.
We stand in a circle around the room.
We do whatever stretching we need (this felt really good after sitting for most of the day).
We turn to face the left; we extend our arms so that we’re touching the back of the person to our left.
We give that person a backrub for a minute or so. We then turn around and repeat the process with the person on our other side. This part of the exercise demonstrates “giver’s gain”.
We all face the center of the room, place our hands on our knees, and then jump up and shout “I’M EXCITED!” three times.

Everybody seemed to enjoy that exercise quite a bit.

The facilitator began a lecture about the 3 levels of consciousness/being.
The first level is the conscious mind. It houses reasoning, your senses, and little else.
The second level is the unconscious mind. It is much larger than the conscious mind and it houses your emotions, your intuition, your autonomic functions, your memories, your sub senses, and your programs!
The third level is the “super conscious”. It’s the universal power (God, “a higher power”, nature, etc.)
[i:2167fa11c8]
*Make careful note of the three levels of consciousness, they come up quite a bit, and they are also integral to the exercise that I am not allowed to tell you about*[/i:2167fa11c8]

[b:2167fa11c8]Day 3 – Exercise 3 “Workshop”[/b:2167fa11c8]

Since the conscious mind is so limited when compared to the subconscious mind, we’re told that we need to find a way to connect with the subconscious mind and make it work for us.
The way we can do that is with our “Workshop”.
He walks us through the process of creating the Workshop in our mind.
It can be in any locale we desire (We’re encouraged to be imaginative, like a child).
The workshop can be made of any materials we desire.
It can be laid out in any way we desire.
The workshop has a phone, with which we may call anybody we desire and talk about anything we desire.
The workshop has a clock and a calendar, which we may use to manipulate time and see events from the past and events as they will happen in the future.
The workshop has a chair for us to sit in and utilize our workshop from.
The workshop has a library full of information on every subject that we could ever want to know about.
The workshop has an elevator that we may use to bring people from the outside into our workshop (for instance, bring your wife in to discuss issues you’re having).
The workshop has your screen of the mind on a stage at the back of the workshop.
In your workshop there should also be two assistants. There should be one male assistant and one female assistant in your workshop. They are to give you assistance in anything you need. (Apparently it is unusual, but not unheard of to only have 1 assistant, to have 0 assistants, to have only male/female assistants, or for your assistants to not be people at all.)

Many people seemed a bit skeptical about the effectiveness of this process. Their skepticism was met with constant reassurances that it works regardless of our understanding of how it works. He used the comparison that he doesn’t know exactly how his toaster works, but he knows that he enjoys toast.

We go through our usual relaxation/visualization routine to create our workshops.
We create the workshop, the desk, library, the chair, etc.
We meet our assistants, become familiar with our workshops and are brought out of the visualization.

After we’ve been out of the visualization we take a blank sheet of paper, and describe our workshop on it.

Once we are finished with the description we cross out “workshop” and replace it with “myself”. This shows us that we are our workshops and that we are in complete control of our workshop.

A box is drawn on the board. He labels each side of the box. “Physical”, “Emotional”, “Wealth”, and “Spiritual” are the four sides.
Physical is relating to our bodies and our health.
Emotional is relating to our emotional well-being and health.
Wealth is relating to our money, our freedom, and our knowledge.
Spiritual is relating to not just our religious/faith-based side, but also relating to our unconditional giving nature.

We rate each of the four on a scale of 1 to 10 and then draw the square as represented by the numbers. Most folks had misshapen diamonds and some had triangles.

[b:2167fa11c8]Day 3 Exercise 4 – The 90 Day Goal Working Lunch[/b:2167fa11c8]

Before sending us to lunch, we are given an assignment.
Our assignment is to set a 90 day goal for ourselves. This 90 day goal needs to be announced to the microgroup during lunch.
The 90 day goal had a few parameters:
[list:2167fa11c8]It must mark an improvement in one of the four quadrants.
It must follow the S.M.A.R.T. method
It must be Specific
It must be Measurable
It must be Attainable
It must be a Risk
It must have a set Time.[/list:u:2167fa11c8]

During that hour and a half we all sit down for lunch. [i:2167fa11c8](I feel sorry for the poor souls that were eating at that restaurant. Most of the microgroups jumped up from their tables and shouted “I’M EXCITED! I’M EXCITED! I’M EXCITED!”)[/i:2167fa11c8]
While having lunch we went around the table with each person announcing their goal and then being acknowledged by the group for doing so.

It was a pretty uneventful 90 minutes.

[i:2167fa11c8]*I found this exercise to be very helpful. It is important for everybody to set goals, and very important for everybody to accomplish goals. I think most of the goals set that day will be accomplished, as people take things much more seriously when they feel they have a commitment to others. Announcing the goal to your microgroup forced people (myself included) to specifically state what they wanted, and come up with very tangible steps towards realizing that goal*[/i:2167fa11c8]

Coming back from lunch we find that the chairs are arranged in a circle, and that even more people feel like dancing with the staffers.
We have another sharing session. This time people loudly and proudly announce their goals. People announce that they will double their income, they announce that they will go on X amount of dates, that they will start a loving relationship, etc.

[b:2167fa11c8]Day 3 – Exercise 5 “Achieving Goals”[/b:2167fa11c8]

The instructor offers to show us a formula that will help us achieve our goals.
He scrawls “intention + mechanism = 100% results” onto the easel.
We’re asked what percentage of intention plus what percentage of mechanism equals 100% results.
50/50? 75/25? 10/90? 90/10? 60/40? 100/0? 30/70? After we’ve been allowed a few minutes to discuss the answer, we move all the chairs to the side of the room and all move to the stage in the front of the room.
A volunteer is selected; she stands at a point between two chairs. This point represents where she’s at. She runs across the room to another set of chairs, which represents her goal.
When she reaches the goal, we are asked what percentage of results she’s showing (100%). What percentage of intention is she showing? (100%, her intention is to reach her goal). What percentage of mechanism is she showing? (0%, she’s at her intention).
The volunteer is then moved to the center between the sets of chairs. What percentage of results is she showing? (100%, the result is she’s in the middle). What percentage of intention is she showing? (100%, she’s showing that her intention is to be in the middle, if her intention was anything else, she wouldn’t be there) What percentage of mechanism is she showing? (0%, she’s only showing her intention).
With that demonstration we’re taught that 100% intention is required to reach 100% goals.
Now the exercise begins!
We all have to reach our “goal” (the chairs at the other end), and we all have to do it in a way that is unique from anybody else’s way. Many people started crowding to front of the line so that they could go first and not have to think something up; the instructor pointed this out and informed us that this was a good example of the “scarcity thought process".
Dance music starts playing through the P.A. system and people begin crossing the room in their own fashion. Some folks crawled, some folks danced, others acted out sports or other activities across the room [i:2167fa11c8](I shambled). [/i:2167fa11c8]

[b:2167fa11c8]Day 3 Exercise 6 “Confronting Obstacles”[/b:2167fa11c8]

Having been shown the formula to get results, we’re well on our way to achieving our goals.
There’s just one major thing standing in our way: OBSTACLES!
We were instructed to write down our 90 day goal, and then a list of 10 obstacles standing in our way, preventing us from achieving the goal.

We are broken off into groups of 5 (4 students and 1 staffer), and given our instructions.
One person is to take the “hot seat” and confront their obstacles to achieve their goal.
One person is to be the person in the “hot seat’s” supporter; their job is to support that person and to encourage them to defeat the obstacles.
The other three people are to be three of the obstacles preventing the person in the “hot seat” from achieving his/her goals.

The “obstacles” are to continuously shout things that the obstacles would say (if your goal is to lose weight, your obstacles might be “procrastination”, “family”, and “Ben & Jerry’s”. So the person that is playing “Ben & Jerry’s” might shout “You know you want me, you NEED me. You can’t go two days without me! You’re thinking about me right now and you KNOW IT!”).

The person in the “hot seat” aided by their supporter is to confront those obstacles, also by shouting. (The person in the “hot seat” would shout to “Ben & Jerry’s” “I don’t need you! You aren’t important to me! I could go the rest of my life without you! You’re NOTHING”).

After each session of that, the group engages in a group hug, everybody trades places, and the exercise repeats.

We all sit down in our small groups and prepare for more lectures.
The instructor asks us if we’ve told anybody about PSI so far (only a few people raise their hands). He asks us how those people responded to what we told them (everybody mumbles a bit, and tells him that the people they told didn’t take it very well). Some people shared that the people they told thought it was a cult, others shared that the people they told thought it was stupid or weird, and others said that they just couldn’t explain it to others because they couldn’t understand.
He started telling us that most people wouldn’t understand what goes on; he told us that people who haven’t experienced it could never hope to understand what we’ve been doing. He said that the best course in life is to surround ourselves with loving, positive people who understand. We were told that one of the best ways to do that would be to enroll in PSI’s PLD program for only $395.

[i:2167fa11c8]*I was absolutely FURIOUS at this point in the course, on the first day he made it EXPLICITLY clear that we were encouraged to share whatever we wanted to with anybody we wanted to. He said that the only restrictions on the sharing were that we keep confidentiality (of course), and that we not reveal two of the exercises.
Here we were on the third day of the seminar, being discouraged about sharing with others. Being told that others just wouldn’t understand. Being told that we should surround ourselves with people that DO understand (PSI people).
I believe that him telling us this is completely and utterly wrong to do, and I think that its these kinds of teachings that lead to the incredibly negative perception many folks have of PSI.*[/i:2167fa11c8]

We’re given a 20 minute break, and told that when we come back from break we’re going to play a game.

[b:2167fa11c8]Day 3 Exercise 7 “Red/Black”[/b:2167fa11c8]

[i:2167fa11c8]This is the first exercise that I am not allowed to discuss.
I am going to uphold their request to not discuss this exercise.
If you have any interest in attending the seminar, and are unfamiliar with this exercise, I urge that you don’t research Red/Black.
Information about this exercise is widely available, so if you are curious, don’t plan on attending the seminar, and don’t already know about the exercise: LOOK IT UP![/i:2167fa11c8]

After the game is over, he lectures us on the point of the game (in a respectful and pleasant manner); he gives us our homework, and sends us home for the night.
We are told to get rest, be good to ourselves, and be refreshed in the morning.

Our homework for the night was:
[list:2167fa11c8]1. Have an hour of silence to contemplate the day.
2. Write a full page about how the way we played Red/Black relates to the way you live your life.
3. Write about what the prices are that you’re paying for living your life like that.
4. Write about what the prices are that others pay.
5. Write a vision for your future. Make a 1-year, 5-year, etc.[/list:u:2167fa11c8]

Molbro4k,

your description of the basic was very enlighting (sorry), and I thank you for writting it down here for all to see. I wondered why my wife acted the way she did when she returned from the basic and PSI7 and this explains some of the changes I saw in her.