Jeri442 if you're still reading this thread I wonder if you could offer anymore insight into these posts from another site.

[www.ripoffreport.com]

I am from Denver and have watched (name removed) being a sexual predator in the PSI class. He teaches the class and then gets women to trust him and leads women on with lies and convinces them to have sex with him. I know of several already he has done this too and was disgusted that this was part of the program. It leads to the question; is this what goes on in this cult company? No better than Jim Jones for the most part. I have even written the owner Jane several months ago (several times) and see that nothing has changed so she must be Okaying this as I have let her know. The fact that she does nothing only confirms the company is sick as she has been made fully aware. My husband has asked me not to be involved anymore than what I already am and that was contacting the right person which I did. Yet to spite all my concern it obviously didn't matter. I am disgusted. I thought J**e was a person of integrity which is what they preach at you but if integrity means being emotionally opened up by a sexual predator teaching you then watching this go on to woman after woman after woman please give us all a break. I am not the only one who has watched this I can only assume others have told J**e the owner as I have myself. I will warn others if I have too to beware.

Dear (name removed),
I am responding to your narrow minded complaint. I have been around the classes for over 10 years. These are the best courses around. J**e has hired the best there is. These are real people, with real lives. Tim has done these classes for at least 10 years that I know of. He has done all of my family members basics. He is best instructor bar none. Has he had relationships with graduates? Of course he has. Find one man in this company who hasn't. Let me broaden your small scope!!!

(Name Removed) was the best of all the PSI instructors; he was in and out of rehabs the whole time, serious drug addiction, and a sex-alcohol. Do you know any other great men with this issue??? He changed more lives for the better than anyone I know of. Did he struggle with his woman issues (many times!!!!!!!?)

Greg K (area director LA) just recently stole a graduate’s wife and is living with her.
M*** and J*** (speakers at Principia) enjoyed a three-way with (name removed) (lucky) (recognize the name? President of PSI World's daughter)
My girlfriend walked in on a chick from Las Vegas, shall I say pleasuring B*** and C**** (Area Directors of SF and Phoenix) at the same time at Principia behind the tent.
(Name removed) (Area Director Denver) has a mistress that he flies in almost weekly, not to mention his ' Denver stable.' I know personally that every instructor has slept with a graduate; I have slept with 2 of them myself.

I could go on and on!!! Here is a truth. All of these men are great men. The boys in this company bring in the money!!! The girls spend it.

Your attack on J*** is misguided, I think. We are all adults and make our own choices! The women involved also made choices. Find me one company that does not have these issues.

J*** has the oldest seminar company in the US. 33 years of the best courses on the planet. You will not find another Woman who cares more deeply about people than her. If anyone deserves a Nobel peace it is her (not Al Gore).

Does she have to deal with a lot of crap like we all do, who own companies. Yes.

Give her a break; the work is great the people are human. Enjoy it!!!

(Reply)
Talk bout narrowed minded!!!! Have you read what you wrote here? You have been around the classes for over 10 years? Can you even spell BRAINWASHING? T** has done all of your family members basic's? How many of those family members have thrown away their relationships with their loved ones? T** has had relationships with graduates? How ethical is that? I assume he is being paid to teach these classes right? He was supposed to maintain his objectivity you closed minded idiot.

***** is the best PSI instructor(?) is in and out of rehab, is a drug addict and a sex alcoholic, but has changed more lives “ the better.” How? How does he change the lives of these people for the better? Does he screw these women behind the barn? Does he take advantage of these women when their defenses are lower during the BRAINWASHING?

***** stole a grad wife and is living with her. Again another ethical violation.

M*** and J**** enjoyed a three-way with ***** and you consider her lucky or the two guys?

Your girlfriend walked in on a woman having sex with two area directors of PSI at a Principia tent and you see nothing wrong with that. I thought PSI was supposed to enlighten people and make their lives better. What example are they setting? What exactly are you trying to say?

M***, area director of Denver, has a mistress he flies in weekly? Is she another PSI graduate that has been BRAINWASHED to believe the lies of PSI? And you could go on and on? Please do because it sounds like you have an axe to grind with PSI even though you say J*** had the oldest seminar in the country with the best courses in 33 years on the planet. And J*** does care about her people as long as they keep bringing in the MONEY.

As for me. PSI is a cult. Pure and simple. It destroyed the mind of my wife and turned her into a mindless drone. It destroyed her mind and she lost more than she gained. How did it “improve” her life? Well if didn't. It destroyed her mind; cost me my marriage and mental anguish for my daughters. What would you tell them? We all have a lot of crap to deal with in life; but why does PSI add to it?

And I think you should give ******** a break because the work is NOT great, it's bulls*it!!

Quote
Joann2004
Hi everyone, thanks for letting me join. I started doing research on PSI a few weeks ago as I have a major problem with my husband. First I have not attended PSI nor have I taken any Large Group Awareness Training Programs, therefore I have no idea what they do there except what I have learned on the board and other sites. My husband has also not attended PSI.

My husband and I have been married for about 2 years this past October and were dating a year before that. The relationship is very good except for the fact that his first wife attended PSI7 a few weeks before she left him about five years ago. (This was my first marriage and his second.) Unfortunately my husband still runs in the same circle of friends as his ex-wife. The rumors run rampant, people think she is out of her mind and naturally they go to him and tell him what’s going on in her life.

My husband has started coming home these past few months with the rumors that are currently going around about his ex. A few months ago, after several failed relationships, she started dating guys from an internet dating service, apparently met a man who has been married twice before and has some children from one of those marriages (not sure which). This new guy it seems is not the nicest person. Lately it seems she has made some drastic changes to her life style. I would have said it appears that she is suffering from a midlife crisis but after reading this material I can see she might still be under the influence of PSI. I would add that I do not know if she is still attending the seminars.

When she left my husband a few years ago she immediately purchased a new house and car, neither of which she could afford. The house was lost to a foreclosure and the car repossessed several months later. Several times she has called my husband asking him for money and because money was tight he gave her what she could so as to not damage their credit rating. He found out later she was buying more of these seminars and it had placed him in a hole financially as well. After being gone for six months she filed for a divorce leaving him with most of her bills.

Now when I met my husband I was taken with the shy, but confident person he was. He was a kind and caring man who loves his family and friends. He would give you the clothes off his back and is always ready to lend a hand to a friend. He has a heart of gold and I love him for the person he is. During our dating relationship I thought he was haunted by something in his past as there was always something distant about him. I fell in love with the man and I initiated a relationship with him after he had been divorced for two years. But I now believe that my husband still loves his ex-wife, and it is hard for him to gain some distance from his relationship with her. According to him he was unaware what PSI was about at the time she was initially going to it as she was very level headed when they were dating and later married. She always had a sharp sense of herself and took care of things like most of us do in the course of our lives. After taking PSI she returned with a new found attitude and started spending money like it was water. She spent their savings and charging the seminars to their credit cards, which left him in debt to the amount of $30,000 dollars. Guess who had to pay when she left and divorced him?

So for the past few weeks my husband comes home and seems to be depressed. Last week he told me the reason that he is having problems with all this and that is why he is sometimes preoccupied; he is worried about his ex-wife. He told me that he considered her the ‘true love’ of his life and continues to love her in a spiritual sense. He says he loves me, but is still haunted by his feelings for her. He said he sometime thinks of her when he sees something or someone that reminds him of her and is sadden when he thinks of the loss of his marriage. He said he is reminded of the good times and thinks that his marriage to her could have been saved if she had stayed away from PSI. These memories cause him to become depressed and more so lately when hearing the rumors about the damage she is doing to her life.

Now I have tried to understand why he feels this way and that’s why I am checking out these websites. I am afraid that I am going to lose him because of this. After reading the material here I am scared to death. I can’t see how someone can throw their marriage away after attending these seminars, but after reading several examples here I understand that she is too far gone to help. I also see why my husband has these feelings. I feel that this has scarred him more deeply than he lets on and I feel so bad for him. There was nothing he could have done to save his marriage and yet he stills feels responsible. How do I get him to understand this is not his fault, that it was her responsibility? I have tried to make him see what this group did to her but he still feels that he is supposed to take care of her. He even broke down and cried, cried so much I thought he was having a nervous break down.

I don’t want to tell him that this is putting our marriage in trouble for fear it will cause him to go into a deeper depression, and I don’t want it to be the end of my marriage, but it seems he is more concerned with her then he is for me. I am very scared for him as he has come to be very depressed about all this and it seems to be getting worse. I don’t know how much more I can take. For that matter I don’t know how much more he can take.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I was reading this post a few days ago and wondered what happen with Joann's husband. This has been a strange time for me and my family.

Was checking the net and found this on livejournal. The link and narrative are below. Sounds like another family member got involved and this person has concerns. And when he posts a blog on it the bloggers delete it because of its "negative" comments.


[spasticity.livejournal.com]

PSI Seminar - just say no
Last Thursday through Sunday I attended a PSI Seminar in Portland, OR with my stepmother & sister. Yes I was wary, however, I didn't pay for the course it was purchased for me as a "gift". The schedule went something like this:

Thursday: 6pm to 12am (One 20 minute break)
Friday: 6pm to 12am (One 20 minute break)
Saturday: 10am - 9pm (Two 20 minute breaks and one "working" lunch)
Sunday: 9am - 8pm (Two 20 minute breaks one of which is an "in room" break to sign up for seminars and one "working" lunch)

Due to the temperature of the room (freezing) I made sure to wear my hoodie and stay warm the entire time. As it was difficult to get dinner Sat & Sunday I spent my breaks in the lobby or in the hotel room eating apples to stay full. I also did this to get time to myself because being around 60 strangers on an emotional rollercoaster for 4 days with little time to yourself other than to sleep is overwhelming.

The ideas or "tools" they teach I believe are positive for the most part. WIN-WIN, GIVERS GAIN etc. It's the methods they use to teach the "tools" that I absolutely don't agree with. Lectures are fine but food deprivation (one lunch and only 20 mins for dinner where you were highly encouraged to stick around and talk with others), sleep deprivation (due to physical,mental/emotional exhaustion) and being made to sit in a physically uncomfortable room for extended periods of time I don't agree with. The chairs were uncomfortable and the air conditioning on - it was 30 degrees outside airconditioning was SO not necessary. The perceived option to "choose" to participate in the program/"tools" was given however there was no mention they would be given to you in a reduced/vunerable mental state.

Interestingly enough the Psychologist Robert Jay Lifton identified the various steps used in brainwashing or in this case I think PSI calls it "reprogramming". Wow PSI Seminar's really must have liked what Lifton had to say about former Korean & Chinese war camp prisoners because they used each and every one of these:



1. Assault on identity - Went through a meditative exercise - to literally break down. By mid session of the first day pretty much the entire group was crying men and women. Some people were outright sobbing. You are not a bad person - you are a set of learned behaviors from your parents - and your parents their parents etc. I'm fairly certain 60 strangers sobbing in a room is abnormal.

2. Guilt - Meditative exercises - some with another person to discuss/reflect on "broken agreements" with yourself and others and how that makes you "feel" - this also resulted in most of the room sobbing.

3. Self-betrayal - Exercises and lecture going into detail about "broken agreements" and staying true to your "word" to avoid "broken agreements" because broken agreements only hurt yourself and others.

4. Breaking point - By the 2nd & 3rd day some of the group had some sort of "break through" and felt the need to share. Some people shared that they were confused at the point. Other people would periodically cry for no apparent reason.

5. Leniency - After two days of crying on and off, lectures & group exercises we were informed that the "tools" we would need would be taught to us

6. Compulsion to confess - 2nd day we were all asked to stand up if we broke any of the "agreements" such as eating during a session, chewing gum, side talking etc. This went on until every person in the room was standing due to a broken agreement. Basically admit what you've done wrong so you can be helped. Interestingly enough, many people "broke agreements" with themselves and didn't stand up right away when they knew they had broken an agreement.

7. Channeling of guilt - Meditative state flipping through past "piles" of "broken agreements" in addition to a lecture of identifying you're negative feelings and attaching them to past "broken agreements" to yourself and/or others.

8. Releasing of guilt - Lecture & meditative state you can change your "programs" now by locking your old programs away. Now that you are aware of your programs you can now be truly accountable. Before now you didn't know better and were not responsible for your "programs" yadda yadda

9. Progress and harmony - You can choose to be + or -. Use + I am statements and use the tools (visualization) they've provided. There were various exercises that encouraged + feedback verbal & physical (hugs)

10. Final confession and rebirth - Meditative state - reflection of who you really are - shedding of the old hard,putrid,crusty you with "broken agreements" to the new shiny white light suit wearing better person.


If the above is done without ones true understanding or consent (whether it be for
a perceived good) it's not really fair is it? I think there are better (more
consensual) ways to incorporate these types of values on others' lives without
resorting to the LGAT methods PSI has to offer.

That said, I had a good time at PSI and was very thankful I was there with my family. At times it was extremely uncomfortable (one exercise involved yelling and being yelled at by multiple people) and I left physically and mentally exhausted so having family there was certainly a relief. I will say that there were very noticable changes in a few people in the class (for the better). I still feel pretty tired from it all and know it will take me a few days to decompress.

Is it a cult? According to Dictionary.com a cult is the following: a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc. I guess that means yes. But Then it also means I work at a cult and that people at the store are a cult because they all have a veneration for groceries. HA I don't even know what veneration means.

How nice, I participated in a LGAT cult that attempted to brainwash me into being a better person. Interestingly enough the person that was our sponsor was my stepmother's shrink. I'm sensing a big conflict of interest here. In fact our sponsor brought in more people to the seminar than any of the others and now that I think about it many may have been her own clients. I didn't opt into the additional PSI seminars they offered for $3000-$4000 however there were people that did in the class.

There is a "graduation" (ie recruitment) ceremony in Tacoma on Thursday. I was going to go. Hell I even invited Lady to come for the graduation without really thinking about what the hell I was doing at that moment (please smack me for that one). I walked by the schedule laying on the bed in the hotel room while I was on the phone with her and without thinking was like HEY you should totally come next Thursday. (SMACK SMACK SMACK) Instead I'm opting to use my PSI tools against themselves and choose replace PSI with better things like....friends and food on Thursday.

My stepmother has been on the phone rounding people to go up on Thursday. I called my dad and let him know the worst thing he could do right now is argue with her or be negative about her experience at the seminar since it would just reinforce everything she learned.

Would I recommend PSI Seminars? I recommend the tools not the methods used to teach them so at this point after much reflection yesterday and today...no it's probably not for most people although I can (and have) see how some people can benefit.

All I have to say is that I LOVE FREE ORGANIC APPLES. I LOVE MY HOODIE. I LOVE MY STRONG WILL. I LOVE MY SANE BRAIN (even if it momentarily lapses) *edit* and last but definitely not least I LOVE LADY!!!

Suspicious
I posted a comment on a blog regarding PSI the other night and my post was deleted. The only reason I noticed is because I got an email confirming a new comment on the particular blog. The new comment..there was none but my post was certainly deleted. So much for people trying to make informed decisions about PSI Seminars. At least I've proved a point to myself. One of my sentences was in my reposted comment twice but hey maybe it drives the point.

[www.blogger.com]

Might be interesting to watch this string to see if my post sticks around.

*UPDATE*
As I anticipated my comment was again deleted as of January 31, 2008. Interestingly enough it was deleted and the blog owner responded with the following post: "Please only leave positive comments on this blog."

That said this is what I posted - is it negative? I suppose if you're only wanting people to see one side of the story.

Well my comment can hang out...


If you only are hoping for positive comments regarding PSI then state that up front in your blog. My post from yesterday was deleted so I'm reposting it below.

The ideas or "tools" they teach I believe are very positive. I know because I opted to attend a seminar in Portland over the last 4 days. It's the LGAT methods they use to teach the "tools" that I absolutely don't agree with. Lectures are fine but food deprivation (one lunch and only 20 mins for dinner where you were highly encouraged to stick around and talk with others), sleep deprivation (due to physical,mental/emotional exhaustion) and being made or as we all know "choosing" to sit in a physically uncomfortable room for extended periods of time I don't agree with. The chairs were uncomfortable and the air conditioning on - it was 30 degrees outside air conditioning was not necessary. The perceived option to "choose" to participate in the program or "tools" was given however there was no mention they would be given to you in a reduced/vunerable mental & physical state.

LGAT's are a mechanism to promote awareness change and thorough rapid commitment to a cause or idea which is exactly what PSI is. LGATs tend to brief but intense sessions of a few hours or days in which participants ideally adopt the message of the training promptly and enthusiastically.

LGATs utilize peer pressure and group dynamics in a high-pressure environment to promote uncritical togetherness and thus market their "tools" with a propensity to recruit new participants into a participation-oriented money making scheme under the guise of providing useful training.

Interestingly enough the Psychologist Robert Jay Lifton identified the various steps used in brainwashing or in this case I think the following may ring the right bell for many of you as "choosing new programs".

Any of the following look familiar?

[people.howstuffworks.com]

If the above is done without ones true understanding or consent (whether it be for a perceived good) is it truly fair? I think there are better (more consensual) ways to incorporate these types of values on others' lives without resorting to the LGAT methods PSI has to offer.

Keep the tools they are valueable. Keep your $$. There are cheaper and less financially & less destructive ways to grow.

I'm truly glad the seminar has helped each of you. Yes I really mean that. However, please keep in mind of what was really occurring.

Here is another site I found if anyone is interested.

www.psiseminarsblog.com

Steve I remember reading about your wife. Well my ex-husband called me this afternoon and told me that his new wife just left him after cleaning out his bank accounts. Did you have this same issue with your wife?

Yes, after several failed relationships she returned pregnant with another man's child. That relationship failed also. The has been very hard on me and my daughters.

Check this out. This idiot says he can increase your wealth if you took courses in Landmark and PSI Seminars.

[sandiego.craigslist.org]

Quote
Steve989
Check this out. This idiot says he can increase your wealth if you took courses in Landmark and PSI Seminars.

[sandiego.craigslist.org]

Steve989, I read this and it is quite scary. Sounds like someone is setting up another scam to take peoples money.

Mary,

all of the PSI drones will tell you that PSI is a company and as a company its in the business to make MONEY. Hell, they even offer to give you your money back if you're not happy with the basic and what other company will do that. The only catch is your have to finish the course to collect but by then your BRAINWASHED. Mighty big of them isn't?

But to those of us "left behind" what is the real cost?

Jeri, I was wondering how you are doing?