Hello everyone... I am a new member and I would like to ask for help, information and what ever else is out there.

I have recently had the privilege and misfortune of being involved with an LGAT (large group awareness training) that has been both a high point and a low point in my life. I am wondering about what others expereinces have been and if there are any others that have been taken advantage of by this one company in particular. This company is known as millennium 3 education at the moment, it used to be and/or/is affiliated with lifespring. The man in charge of this particular center is Bernie Nathan, and not exactly what I what would call the most ethical. I am also wondering if there are any attorneys or anyone that knows any attorneys that I could talk to about legal recourses. There are some legal matters that are coming up and he is actually threatening to sue me. Help please, This site was instrumental in getting me clear of their hold on me and I can only hope that there is more help here to be found. Below is an accounting of some of what my experience was with them up til now, if I was to detail everything I have figured out so far, it would take me days to write it all out, so I am just covering key points right now.

I spent two days and a night being "deprogrammed" in a mental ward in regards to millennium 3, and it looks as though my wife is finally about to break free of them too, but not before they did everything they could to split us up. I am getting ahead of myself, let me start from the beginning. My wife and I experienced a lot of wonderful and valuable things in the first two workshops, known simply as "the basic" and "the advanced" courses... after each of these, there was significant pressure to continue to "the next level" where we would continue to learn about our spirituality. The third phase is called the "leadership program" where we are expected to be a part of a team and make firm commitments to the program and the team and give our word that we won't let anything get in the way. I never anticipated that meant my marriage might be construed as something that is in the way. I made it about halfway through the "leadership program", where I was first encouraged to create a 90 day plan that included such things as following my dreams, being a source of community service, and enrolling others into the program. We were assigned "coaches" who, we were told, would be there to coach us along the way when we had our "breakdowns". We were also told that this was an "enrollment game" and that for 90 days we would "transforming" into who we were supposed to be. After everything I had already experienced in the two previous workshops, this appeared to be an ideal next step in the process. Looking back, what it ended up being, in my opinion, was nothing more than a scam using us to enroll people in their program at the cost of our free will. In short they put us in a position of either doing things their way and making it look like we were choosing it, or they wouldn't give us our pat on the head and tell us what a great job we were doing… I know, it sounds silly, but unless you have experienced it, this is where the REAL brainwashing occurs.

What I experienced with them was after I had set in place the goals and "declarations" I was making about the next ninety days, all of which were up to me, with the exception of how many people I would enroll, I was to put my plan into action and be coached on a daily basis as to what would be the best way to handle the problems I came up against as they occurred. Ok, so first things first, one of my goals was to have my own business, I was encouraged to pursue that by contracting with Bernie Nathan to fix a fence of his. So I quit my regular job, made arrangements to fix his fence in the spring to fund the next seminar, and started working on my business.

So now there is an issue about money, and my wife is having problems regarding it… ok, so she isn't talking to me about it, she is talking to her "coach" about it. She is being advised to pressure me about it and begins doing so without even telling me that she is under pressure. So my wife and I sit down and work out what we are going to do, we recreate our plans and start working on them again. Things aren't going very well, we need another vehicle and the money is becoming more and more of an issue. (we were encouraged to spend 4200.00 dollars that we really didn't have and ended up mortgaging our future to get it) Aside from all of this, we are both being badgered on a daily basis to keep enrolling people. Out of the required 25 people that were on my list, more than two thirds won't speak to me any more and I am still being told to keep at them, that I need to keep my vision of them being a part of the program in my head while I am working on enrolling them. The coaching is now no longer about ALL of the goals, only about enrolling people. When I took a stand and said I needed to be worried about my life as well, I was coached that I was being "inward focused" (selfish) and that if it was such a problem, then I needed to get a job that would "make me feel like man" so I could get on with my other commitments and stop making excuses. The whole time this is going on, my wife's coach is telling her she needs to do something about the situation with me because it is affecting her achieving her "goals" (enrolling people, she is told that she is using our situation as an excuse for why her life isn't where it should be). I am currently not privy to all of what was said to her and I am not even certain at this point that she is being honest with me about all of it either, but the "coaching" she received boiled down to things like, "you need to make a decision about what is best for you" and when she said she would take whatever steps were needed, that wasn't good enough, they pushed her by asking "what e, what kind of people will tell you that a commitment to enrolling people in this sort of thing is more important than a committed lifelong relationship with kids?

With all of this said, where I am right now is still trying to rebuild the damage in my relationship with the help of a LICENSED counslelor, find a way to pay the thousands of dollars that it has cost me in both medical bills for psychiatric care, lost wages, and "tuition", and find a way to keep from this all costing me another 1500.00 which Bernie Nathan is now demanding from me due to a fence that hasn't been fixed. By the way, that 1500.00, 1200.00 of it went to the "leadership program" in fees and tuition and we never even completed it, I am not being allowed to finish it (not like I want to anymore) and my wife is on the verge of a breakdown as she is trying to leave so that we can actually get our lives back. They actually had the police come to my house last night at 1130 pm because we wouldn't answer the phone that was ringing every 15-20 minutes.

The hold they have on people is almost unebelievable, I would not have believed it if i had not expereinced it myself firsthand. Things at one point had gotten so bad for me mentally that I told her I felt like my life had no value left in it and I needed her support to figure out which way was up. She chose to go to a seminar instead of taking me to the hospital and advised me that "I made my choice, now I get to live with it". I spent 28 hours in a psyche ward trying to regain myself enough to figure out that exactly happened… any advice, thoughts, or comments? Please help me here, is there anyone who knows how best to handle these types of situations? I am in serious need of legal counsel as well, I am considering trying to sue for damages. If nothing else can be done, I would be thrilled if someone would help me to spread the word about what a dangerous thing this place is. Before I signed on for the "trainings", my brother showed me this site and because I couldn't find anything about millennium 3 education, I thought they were ok. I will take whatever help I can get in what ever form it comes in.

Thank you all in advance for all of your input.

Jimmy P

Hi there, Jimmy P,

I hope you've gotten some responses by now. Sorry to hear your misfortune with this group, but it sounds typical. The "offspring" of Lifespring are a pretty nasty bunch. There is a lot of information about LGATs on this site and also the below. The fact that Lifespringers are still in business, under many different names, is testament to how effective they are at fleecing people. The fact is, they make a few people very wealthy off the hopes and decency and labor of others. There is no shortage of human predators who would set up their own groups copying the ones that started with Werner Erhard and Jack Hanley. The best thing to do is educate yourself about how these people operate. If possible, find others who were victimized in your area. There are bound to be many. Sadly, the victims of these scammers are reluctant to speak out. The shame and humiliation keeps them silent. They become doubly victimzed at that point.

[perso.wanadoo.fr]


Ellen

Hey there Jimmy P:
I am just going to make a few general comments.
I too got suckered by some LGAT stuff years ago, so i feel your pain.

If i were you i would be very cautious about legal action. If you are "only" dealing with a few grand, then it is not going to be worth it, unless you had some type of personal injury lawsuit, which is not easy to win.
THINK CAREFULLY before you act.

I don't want to sound like Oprah here, but i want to give you some hope.
Look at is this way. Once you get scammed, and then figure it out, then its much more difficult to get scammed again, IF YOU LEARN FROM IT.

Study up on LGAT's.
Write up your experiences like you have, and post them anonymously on the internet.
Writing things out is therapy.

See a REGISTERED therapist who knows what they are doing.

If you can LEARN from this, then you have the rest of your life ahead of you. Pay those debts down, and in short order you can start fresh, and no sleaze-artist will get their hands on your cash again.

Anyway, that has been my experience.
Turn it into a learning process, learn about LGAT's and these con-artists, learn about yourself.
If you want a little revenge-therapy, post the GENERAL facts about this group anonymously on the internet.

Sometimes we learn our greatest lessons from getting our ass kicked by some two-bit LGAT supersalesman brainwasher.
I sure did.

Coz

Hi, freeheart, sorry to hear about your misfortune.

Your group sounds very much like Landmark and Lifespring. Your group may not be listed on this site, because it's difficult to keep pace with all the coercive groups that grow from other groups or pop up all the time. But most of these groups have a tremendous amount in common, so there's a lot on this site that can help.

I don't know what you've read yet, but learning about Lifespring and Landmark in particular may help. There are sections on those two groups here. In addition, you'll find information about warning signs, mind control, how to cope, etc. I agree with Coz that the best first step is educating yourself about the methods these groups use and how they affect you.

It's also important, in my opinion, that you speak with a professional counselor who's familiar with coercive groups and their psychological effects.

Sorry to hear about your wife's involvement and the group's attempts to break apart your marriage -- this seems to be a common tactic, especially if one spouse is thinking of leaving the group. Divide and conquer. :cry:

But the good news is that you're breaking away from their control, and that you're here educating yourself about this subject. The more you learn, the stronger you'll feel.

Welcome and let us know if there's anything we can point you to.

Glam

This sound like the same program "offered," and I used that word losely, by PSI. There are other posts on PSI and this message board.

Quote
freeheart68
one of my goals was to have my own business, I was encouraged to pursue that by contracting with Bernie Nathan to fix a fence of his. So I quit my regular job

I cannot offer any help but I have to ask, the fence was big enough to quit a regular job over? Dude, how big was that fence? Also, would your wife share her experience too? She's not even unhappy about all of this?

Are you still reading messages from here? I've had brief (thankfully!) contact with Mil 3 before deciding that it wasn't worth my time. I'll write more if you are still around.

Come on folks, how can you find fault with a group that convinces you they can solve all your problems and make your life better.

To receive these benifits all you need to do is give them all your money and everything you own and do everthing they say and think every thing they tell you to think, plus give them your first born child.

Isn't that better than putting on a video helmet and playing 3 D video games ,and having your food delivered, while sitting on the toilet.


Where is you sense of freedom to scam your fellow citizen.

I tried to make the above sound funny but this is a serious problem, especially with our children.

My sister is getting active in this group now and I want to contact people who have experienced this.

She is really happy right now - how do I get her out before everything crashes?

okay, I really need some information on the mil 3 education, I have several family members that are going down to texas for this seminar and I am very worried about them. If any one can please let me know more about this stuff please do. thank you