Landmark Education - fear of the unknown?
Posted by:
Straight Talk
()
Date: December 09, 2004 05:43PM
Hello everyone,
My name is Daniel and I am a recent Landmark Education graduate. I began the education about 5 months ago. I wanted to address to the members on this site their concerns about their loved ones/friends who have taken the course.
From what I have read so far, you are all concerned about cults, brainwashing and manipulation. I understand your concern about the people you care about in your life showing up different, using language that you haven't heard before, and wanting you to register in the Landmark Forum. You all have every right to wonder what the f*#@ is going on - and 'why is this person saying this or acting this way.'
Let me first address my opinion about Landmark Education. Everyone has different experiences. In life, we all have different experiences about occurences that happen. We paint a picture about life and our experiences, and it is through language and communication that the listener recreates that experience in their minds. One person's experience will be completely different than another person's experience, and their communication about that experience will paint a completely different picture according to how the other person listens to what they have said. My opinion about Landmark Education is that it is an extremely profound and powerful look at how we relate to ourselves and to others. It has made an incredible impact on the way I relate to other people. It has drawn me closer to people I care a lot about, and has made me re-evaluate my interpretation on how I act around others, and how I view others and the world. However, I may not always communicate this effectively to people in my life and sometimes I find that it is hard to fully communicate and express exactly what I have learned from Landmark Education thus far. This leaves people confused and frustrated at times - leaving them no choice but to draw their own conclusions and paint their own picture on how THEY SEE Landmark Education. This is PERFECTLY understandable. That is how we relate to life. We constantly judge and evaluate.
I have gained deep compassion for people and the world I live in. So, I take full responsibility for the fact that some people may thing Landmark is a Cult. I'm just not communicating effectively. Instead of looking at organizations as 'cult' or 'trying to take my money,' consider looking at the CULTure we live in. Constant images on television and in movies relating to how we should dress, look, act, think, and spend money on. No wonder we view things through this looking-glass! I'm sure that if we went back 200 years people would look at us like we were nuts! The way we talk, the way we act, the way we dress, etc.
Consider for a moment that Landmark Education is not a cult. Just consider. I'm not saying that it is or it isn't. I don't know. I don't even know what the word 'cult' really means. I do know what I make it mean sometimes, and judging and evaluating has kept me from having power in life - in the workplace, with people I care about, etc. I've learned that if I just listen to people and not be so concerned about how I appear in life through adding my judgements, I become more effective.
So, if anyone on this website reading this gets ONE THING from what I have just typed. It I would like it to be this: have compassion for people in your life that have done this education. Try to listen to their view, ask what they are committed to in life. I bet that you're both on the same page in some areas. And try not to make your friends and people that you care about wrong for seeking some wisdom and enlightenment in a time where there is little wisdom on the T.V. Have an open ear and maybe consider that what's keeping you from having power in life with other people is just listening to them, and accepting them for who they are. Not making them wrong and judging them based on the fact that they sat in a room with 100 other people over a weekend and engaged in powerful discussions that has made a profound impact on their life (by the way those 100 or so people are JUST LIKE you and me - same fears, same concerns.)
Thank you for taking the time and reading what I have to say.