Hi PSIsurvivor,

This "agreement" stuff came directly from L. Ron Hubbard. Along with the "acknowledgment," "communication," and "responsibility" concepts, or whatever words they are substituting these days. It was ElRon's method of enforcing obedience and compliance and, for the most part, all cults and LGATs use this because it works so well. Of course it only works on those who feel some sort of social obligation or constraint. As every tyrant knows, honesty and dependability are for the worker-bees. Any technique that keeps the slaves in line will be instantly appealing to those in power. And the despots know ideological slavery works so much better than whips and chains.


Ellen

I should mention that I did send the letter to Jane Wilhite a couple of months ago. I sent it by email to all the people I know at PSI in any leadership position. About 8 people I thnk. I didn't have an email for Wilhite so I sent it too her through Shirley Hunt who is her President of sales or something. Anyway at Women's Leadership they showed up together and announced how they are like best friends for years yada yada. They actually said to write them and they would answer. I guess they only answer the fan mail.

I never got any reply.

I'm not surprised though.

Hmmm... what kind of organization just ignores reports of abuse of students?

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PSIsurvivor
It's ironic really that PSI seminars indoctrinates students with the concept of "responsibility".

You are responsible for everything in your life. Your circumstances, your feelings, everything. You are responsible for everything that happens to you.

Don't blame others. Blameing anyone for anything gets you labeled a victim.

Being a "victim" just does not work according to PSI. Don't be a victim. Winners don't choose to be victims.

Accept responsibility for the state your life is in. Accept resonsibility for how you choose to feel. Ask yourself how you are/were being that you have created what is in front of you right now. What is it about you that you are experienceing this right now.

This is exactly the stuff my mother believes!!! She even believes that we cause our own illnesses (ie if you develop cancer, then it's because you don't want to face something and so are getting sick to get out of something).

As far as I know, she never attended any LGAT -- but perhaps I was wrong. I sincerely believed she got all this stuff from New Woman magazine (I still hate that magazine with something approaching passion today)

I just don't get why people go for this stuff. Even when I was small, this attitude annoyed me immensely.

Hi Savernake,

I just got done reading your other two recent posts as well. I sense your anger at your friends attempt to enroll you in landmark as well as your irritation at your folks for their apparently poorly thought out beliefs. I do understand the frustration of trying to communicate with people who respond with slogans and cliches.

I hope that you keep your resolve and don't get sucked into doing the seminar for any reason. They will be relentless in enrolling you. It took our so-called friends over a year to get my husband to the first class.

In my opinion these LGAT style groups are not targeting any "type" of person intro/extro etc. What they are targeting is the wallet. They don't give a crap about the person. They want the money. IT IS A SALES PITCH. They target people by selling them the idea that they will get what they want from life by taking these classes. Everybody wants something. It's just human nature. It is not weak people or stupid people who get sucked into these courses. It's people who want something more in life. That applies to almost everyone doesn't it.

My husband was completely against taking the seminar for a long time. Then he lost his job and was feeling down. The so-called friends promised that taking the seminar would get him back on track and finding a great job. They made promises of increased contacts, friends, better attitude etc. He fell for the pitch when he was feeling down and needy. You will find that is when many finally fall into the grips of these LGATs or even cults.

What is it you want? That is the huge hook used to get people to sign up. It is implied that by taking the seminar you will get it, and if you don't take the seminar it will remain elusive. Desire for the goal and fear of not reaching it are triggered. What is it you want?

The so called philosophy of these groups is cobbled together new age feel good shtuff. Some is hard to disagree with. Some is just dumb crap. Most of it is presented in the form of slogans. Thought stopping cliches that shut down critical thinking. Many people are lazy thinkers to begin with. Many of us want to take a shortcut to the answer.

Being an independent and critical thinker who is willing to be perceptive and discerning takes effort and introspection. Lazy thinkers will grab onto the slogans as if they were true. They are afraid to question them or think them through.

I would encourage you to ask your friend lots of questions about what he/she believes and why. Just don't tell them you want anything. Just say no to landmark. If they ask why you should say "because I say no." just keep repeating that.

Good luck

PSISURVIVOR

Thanks for the advice PSISurvivor. The more I learn about these LGATs the worse they sound. Ugh, it sounds like we might be facing a lot of pressure in the future from this friend :(

Fortunately hub is taking this seriously so he's not going to suggest just going along "for the fun of it" (which is what I was worried he might say). In fact, he even said, "Thank God we weren't able to go this weekend" (ie as it gives us more time to learn about it before we see him, and he'd invited us this weekend specifically to take part in this introductory seminar).

Still interested in attending a PSI seminar?

I've had a PSI woman hammer on me for the last month about attending a PSI basic in Chicago. She is a business contact and she has been doing a very hard sell. I explained that I was not in the financial position to afford the $445.00 seminar fee. In miracle like fashion, she secured a partial "scholarship" for me. My end cost came to $145.00. Don't worry, I just put a stop payment on the check and I am anxious to see the fallout of that action. I'm sure there will be some. These people are becoming pests. It's ridiculous. I did some research about PSI today, I was to attend this seminar this coming Wednesday to Sunday. I was concerned about the crazy hours, 6 p.m to Midnight both Thursday and Friday nights then 10 am to 8 pm on Saturday and Sunday. THis is a huge amount of time. Now I realize that they do some sleep deprivation tactics, seperation from family and friends etc. I had a bad gut feeling about this and my feeling was accurate. When I called the woman who recruited me and told her that I wasn't going to attend she went a little balistic and started to attack me personally, telling me that I am standing in the way of my own growth, what have I got to lose, she had all of these people pulling for me (like I ever asked anyone to do so) and that she was just beginning to love me and all of this other bullshit. Bottom line, really trying to convince me that I was making a big mistake. When I mentioned obtaining a refund of my $145.00, of course that just can't happen and it's against policy, blah, blah, blah. I told her that if PSI people were about what they preached the $145.00 refund shouldn't even be an issue. She said that if I attended I could get my money back. I told her that my time would be better spent contacting the BBB or another agency that examines consumer fraud. Luckily, the check hadn't cleared and I just stopped payment on the check this morning. Hope that doesn't bite me in the ass but I do work for a very powerful law firm in Chicago and if I need a letter written to these people, I can have that done by one of my attorneys. This organization is very scary and I would include them under "cult status". I regret that you experienced what you did at the hands of these new age shrinks or whatever they want to consider themselves. I do believe that there is a special place in hell for people who present themselves as kind and loving only to gain access into someones head and pocketbook. Good luck to you. I'm grateful I listened to my gut.

Smartypants

if you ever see someone on Craigslist.org asking questions about whether to attend any such group, write a post and describe what you went through. You can use your experience to educate other people.

I wish something could be done, starting in middle school and high school to teach people to do the equivalent of consumer research on ANY growth program or religion, just as we customarily do when looking to buy a new car or computer.

The mind you save may be your own--or that of a loved one.

Let the games begin! This PSI Psycho Woman is turning into a stalker. And now she is having other people contact me via e-mail at my work and at home. I'm not responding to them. I'm saving them because they might be useful in order to obtain a restraining order because I'm not playing. If this PSI woman had half a brain in her head, well, first off, she wouldn't be so into this garbage, she wouldn't have started to tangle with me. I'm angry and I am not going to be harassed by these people at home or at my job. But unfortunately, the more I've been reading I see where these LGAT groups fall into a lot of legal gray areas. However, stalking and harassing is pretty black and white and I'm collecting evidence. No means no. I wasn't wishy washy about saying it. It came right on out of my mouth followed by I want my money back. I just hope that this doesn't become a war with these people because I stopped payment on my check. Even though I work in the legal field, the thought of doing any type of litigation with these kooks puts a pit in the bottom of my stomach. And all I did was say no. I didn't go into anything with this PSI woman about the exact information I uncovered about this group. I just told her it wasn't right for me, I'm not going and I want my money back. Period. I know better than to get into it with a crazy person. And her behavior is indicating that if she isn't totally mad she is at least slightly bent. I really understand how these people can do a number on someone who is perhaps having a rough time in their life. The phony befriending and caring bullcrap. Because this PSI woman works as an event planner for many law firms in Chicago and I happen to work at a pretty big one and I have an excellent reputation, I can make future party planning for her mighty difficult if she doesn't lay off. Apparently, PSI is relatively new to the Chicago area, I truly hope they don't make it here. This woman did a lot of her PSI stuff in California, her daughter and son got her involved and she has had her kids contact me trying to get me to change my mind. It's kind of like a bad dream to me. I was careful when I walked out of my building today because I was afraid she or some of her PSI zombies were out there waiting for me. I really want to avoid any law involvement because I'm a little red faced that I actually filled out the application and sent a check. I'm kicking myself for not doing my homework first. So I'm not too anxious to admit to any of my attorneys what I had done. I know I did it to shut her up because I wanted to possibly do some business with her in the future. I can't cry over spilt milk and I did recoup most of my losses and they are tiny compared to some of the people who did the whole enchilada and came out of it poorer and psychologically damaged but how long is this harassment and badgering going to last? Hopefully my silence will make her go away. If not, I'm on to plan B. LEGAL ACTION.

Hi,

An organization like LGAT won't single out a person, I think, unless there is "huge" benefits involved. Maybe you should think what benefits her if she continues assaulting you and makes you go all the way to court. I was constantly bombarded with phone calls even after I had a heart surgery after LGAT workshop early this year. They were "ruthless". They want to make an example out of their enemies so they can fullfill their enlightenment. However, just recently, I knew there was an authority figure in my family kept monitoring my action. Those LGAT staffs were merely solders and they followed the mind of their ultimate leader. So unless you can pinpoint and catch that person, you would spend a lot of energy on small details which might not give you a desirable outcome.

Hsuchi