Landmark Forum Revisited
Date: May 25, 2007 06:45AM
"DAY THREE
"II. CHANGE VS TRANSFORMATION
"We take for granted that things “are” a particular way. To effect change, we go to work on altering circumstances, the people around us, even ourselves. In this session, we explore the difference between change and transformation. Change is essentially a comparison to something that previously existed. By its very nature, change is past-based. Essentially, change yields more, better, or different from what came before. Transformation, on the other hand, is an act of bringing forth or inventing. It is something created, and is inherently expansive and infinite.
It is here in this section of The Landmark Forum that the shift, or transformation, occurs for people. This dramatic shift enables us to think and act outside existing views and limits, and to redefine ourselves and the reality we have known."
TRANSLATION AND WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW YET
This blah blah above is the lowest they've gone so far in this syllabus: basically for lekkies 'change' means..hem...'change' and 'transformation' means 'creation'. Now that's twisted english. But 'transformation' sounds cooler than 'change', and after all, they're salesmen.
The major point is the 'dramatic shit' stuff. Sorry, shiFt. That's the section with the biggest shi(f)t of the entire forum. The point that - allegedly - the forum would be all about. I'm talking of the "LIFE IS EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS" mantra. According to the lekkies, the essence of being human is to attach meaning to everything. To analyze our reality, the things we see, perceive, experience. The data, the object, the event, evrything got processed in a dreadful "meaning-making machinery" (their words). And human beings are "meaning-making machines". This concept has been phrased before by great philosophers, but under another light: Basically, this meaning-making machinery, ever so horrible, is THOUGHT. it is the ability to think. Human beings think. That's what make us human. For lekkies, it's the greatest tragedy tht could ever happen to us. A dooming personality disorder from which all problems come. A machinery that doesn't let us live our own life freely. So there you have it, the big truth: life is empty and meaningless. I.e., nothing really exist and life as no meaning at all. It's pure matter and atoms and all the rest doesn't exist. Nothing else really exist. Life is empty. And thought, being purely abstract, doesn't exist either. So give it up. Life is meaningless. Do not stop think about things, do not analyze things, do not ask, enquire, judge, evaluate, esteem, appreciate anything. All that is abstract, that doesn't exist.
Are you following so far? Well, next step. You can't obviously stop thinking altogether. That's impossible. So the trick is, think up whatever empowers you, whatever you feel good about, and act on it. And whatever happens, do not worry about the outcome. Judgment and critical thinking do not exist really, so you can create whatever reality you choose.
I'll give you a practical example i've just read about. This guy, under the heading of 'life is empty and meaningless', create a new empowering meaning of the concept of 'rape', that is 'sexual initiation', and call it touching moving and inspiring. The girl who he 'shared' chose to stick to her rackets about making him wrong. That's actually an extreme example. There are better ones, but this is how it technically work. "Life is empty and meaningless" is a complete detachment from reality and critical thinking.
So why people 'pop' here? Let's remember that this is day three, afternoon. You didn't have water enough. You didn't eat but once a day. You didn't sleep but a few hours. You have been seating on a very uncomfortable chair for about 30 hours now with no toilet breaks nor a chance to loose attention or distract yourself. You've seen abuse, coaching, everything. You've been pressured by the staff and the others to play the game and 'get it'. Now they prepare a huge climax and finally speak it out. I am no expert of what technically happen at this point but i remember my 'popping'. I just give the life is empty and meaningless shi(f)t a try and i found myself thinking 'well if that's so one needn't worry that much' and then i thought 'i got it!'. And i finally relaxed and felt peaceful. The best way i can explain is that they just stress you to the point you can't bear any longer, they pressure you to get this 'it' that is coming and when this 'it' comes it's just a little mantra but the stress combined with the pressure and the expectation makes it look like something big And being a simple mantra it's easy to understand, after all you've been through, at that moment you see it as an enlightenment. And you're fucked.
I remember now what happens immediately after this point. The leader explains the life is empty stuff. Then he pauses while you 'share' the excitement with the others. Just one minute, than he starts talking again. I remember now, just now as i wrote this now, i remember the very first sentence the leader said there. "Now you got it, go invite everyone you know for tuesday night so they can get it too". This very words. I can't believe i never remembered that...