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Rachel
I've encountered the blocking behaviour too. I've challenged two Landmark people that I know and get the same fixed smile and non-response. They seem to lack emotion at that point, but when talking positively about Landmark one of them, put her hand to her heart and declared that Landmark was the most wonderful thing that had happened in her life. She had more of an emotional response.
I pressed her as to why she was always trying to enroll people, and pointed out that it wasn't just about her experience of Landmark, it was Landmark doctrine. I asked WHY Landmark had this need to enroll? She became very confused and there were tears in her eyes and she said in a quiet 'little girl' voice - 'I don't know'. It was quite disturbing - for me and her - a bit like a revelation to her 'why am i doing this?' - a sort of short-lived wake-up out of the mind-control. However, she then quickly energised though, and said 'why don't you ask ___' - another Landmark person. ( A referal to someone of more authority than her - he is an Intro leader, and doing heaps more training than she's done.) She then recovered her composure.
I think that it's a case of maybe challenging their behaviour, and pointing out their blankness to them????? But, I'm wondering that to push them, will cause some sort of breakdown?
Hi Rachel,
There are accounts by ex-cult members who have told of a "separate personality," or the "real, non-cult personality" that shadows the cult persona and registers all the criticism, questions, doubts, confusion, and problems in a hidden or secret "file" that, over time, becomes larger and larger till it reaches some sort of critical mass and causes the whole thing to come tumbling down. As hard as they try and as extensively as they train or desensitize themselves, this "negative" information does reach some deep part of the original person who still responds to the truth, depending on what type of person they were before the cult involvement. Some have written about the critical material reaching them in dreams, when they have no control over their own psychological processes. Professional deprogrammers talk about providing a non-threatening mirror of reality or offering non-judgmental information in an as calm and friendly manner as you can muster. They say it is a good idea to talk about feelings and events that happened before the person got involved with the cult.
Ellen