This is an excellent thread. And I share the concerns of my fellow posters. I don't have any solutions other than to stand our ground and not accept this faulty thinking. Here is an example of how deeply entrenched this is now. A few weeks ago an old friend of mine sent me an email, out of the blue, listing all the reasons she felt gratitude for our long friendship. We rarely communicat
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Kdag, I truly hope you are right. From reading press reports though, they concentrate on the sensational elements and gloss over those introductory courses as simply "self help" when we know that in those sessions, this is how they begin the mind control. Its very subtle if you don't know what to look for but it works. Luckily for me I got so terrified/had nightmares and
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Just to add that its now 9 years since I did those 3 courses with LE in a 3 month period. Hearing this podcast has me back in that room, remembering all their lies about changing the world for the better. This was something that hooked Sarah E into Nxivm. And resonated again with me. I can see why many are upset that she recruited people. And when she recounts how to persuaded people to spend
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

By chance, today the day of the guilty verdict, I started listening to this podcast from CBC about Sarah Edmondson who exposed the horrors of this cult when she left. When she talked about how she got into the cult and those early esp training sessions, triggered my Landmark Forum experience. I'm not surprised having read this forum and learned how they manipulate people. But hearing some
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

To add more details to this thread, in response to Kdag's experiences which jogged my memory. One element that also destabilised me was the way they would always make it the participant's fault and never the LGAT's, if you experienced a problem. I'll give you a specific example. On my 2nd weekend, a few months after the initial weekend, I experienced such a powerful sens
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

corboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Another person's description of the fear > exercise. > > > > QuoteFear exercise > this was the biggest no-no to me…and I actually > stepped out after this… > > an hour long exercise had us all sit with our eyes > closed and the coach walked us through feeling > intense
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Corboy, Thanks for you question about the fear exercise. No, I don't mind mentioning as it was a long time ago now. We were asked to close our eyes and to imagine feeling afraid of the people around us. This moment was held until we could hear people sobbing. I remember feeling nothing but discomfort. We then had to repeat the process but this time to imagine laughing at them. Wh
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hello Noncompliant94, I participated over a 3 month period. I did 2 weekend sessions, plus a 10 week course plus 1 day of a longer course which I opted out of. I was in a depressed state before I participated but I was also aware that the sessions were making me worse and that is why I opted out. I became terrified. Initially I felt euphoria at having realised I had to get out and escape
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hello, I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling with your emotions one year on after losing your ex-fiancé in this manner. Did you also participate in the training too? I'm sorry if I haven't read any earlier posts and you did. Its now 8 years since I participated in a LGAT and I think it does take time because I found it hard to accept that I 'fell for it".
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

It was the devious calculation of these methods which I found most disturbing when I first discovered them back in 2010 via this forum. Throughout the first Forum weekend, our course leader kept saying - "you're going to pop on Monday afternoon." I had no idea what he meant until I experienced a natural dopamine high induced by all these techniques to stress out my nervous s
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Good to know that you're feeling much stronger now Throughmyeeyes. This is a great place to find out what is really going on. It helped me a lot, simply reading through all the threads on here too.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

goneinawhistle Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was very sad to see an article by a well known > UK celebrity in a national newspaper lauding the > Landmark Forum just yesterday. The article > contains a link to Landmark with no other > information other than the celebrity describing > how it changed his life: > > Its been 7
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

To add to what kdag and Corboy say: Landmark also play this trick. They say things like, - "we don't do X or we don't do Y." Since researching my experience after leaving their programme, I've discovered that the mind doesn't take in the negative aspect of each point. It only reads the rest which then tells your mind that they do do what they say they don&#
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

The LGAT high I experienced was via Landmark. I participated in 2 of their 3 day weekend sessions. During the first 3 day session, The Forum, our leader kept saying, 'you're going to pop, like popcorn, on Monday at 3pm" I thought nothing of it because on Monday evening there was the final part where they had this faux graduation event which was in actuality another recruitme
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Landmark2, The Forum weekend is designed to give you a massive dopamine high at the end of the 3 stressful days, so that you believe you are strong enough to make radical changes in your life. And if you already have a condition like bipolar, then it can trigger an attack also, I did the Forum and I experienced the high and but I also felt weird and didn't trust it. So I didn'
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

@LEInsider, I support dkag with my own experiences in the UK. I wasn't gaslighted but the emotional blackmail applied to me to stay when I tried to leave both the Advanced Course and the SELP course was terrible. During the Advanced Course I told the course leader I was so upset that I wanted to kill myself. This was said in private. And then the leader said that I had hurt him by sa
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

The immediate memory of using laughter that springs to mind, is the fear exercise that Landmark use during the first Forum weekend. The exercise starts by imagining that everyone around you is frightening and then many people start crying. And then I remember we were all asked to laugh at the fear. (I think that's what happened but it was 6 years ago.) I didn't cry or laugh in
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Yes, @kdag, I remember now, a friend I'd made from The Forum weekend was also doing some assisting, and she told me how aggressive they were to these volunteers. They had to clean the toilets in a particular way and were spoken to very rudely. She was very angry and unhappy about this and didn't do any more. And it certainly put me off assisting. What is fascinating though is tha
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

kdag, Thanks for sharing this insight into Landmark. I had a chill reading it because I remembered someone coming up and whispering in my ear that I make a great introduction leader. At that moment, I was flattered. But luckily I didn't take it too seriously. And in hindsight, reading your account kdag, I again recognise my lucky escape. And I know why they chose me too bec
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

kdag Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bouncing off of what corboy just posted - Landmark > makes many thousands off of buyer's remorse. They > have a $100 non-refundable portion of the deposit. > > > So your friend, who is in the Introduction > Leader's Program, (ILP), calls you up, crying, > because she doesn't hav
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Sportguy44, To answer some of your questions why do they promote participants getting healthier relationships from doing their course? Because that is the bait to lure someone in. Why does a person who took the course then run from a good relationship? I can't answer that one specifically but,from my own lgat experience,they put huge pressure on you to bring all your friends a
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Anonday, I can see why you say that was how you experienced those calls. But (and I'm struggling to remember precisely the words used as this was 6 years ago, what I remember was the tone of voice), the way the words were used were as a form of control to my ears. I guess because I'm someone who always turns up on time etc, trying to control one member of the group who was a fe
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Anonday, Glad to be of help. Yes, you've rumbled their method of control very well. In the 10 Seminar sessions that follow on the Forum, I volunteered to be a small group leader and we had this coaching phone call each week. And that too was all about control. If someone was late on the call, we were told that they didn't need apologise because that wasn't necessary but t
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Sportsguy44, I hear you. And I thought that there was nothing wrong in the questions you asked the receptionist at Choices. They won't be able to answer your questions because your instincts are correct. This is not a good organisation with transparency - where you can check up on the qualifications of their trainers etc.. just you would why you select a therapist to work with. H
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hello Sportguy44, I'm sorry you've had this traumatic experience. I hope my experiences with Landmark, another lgat gives you some answers. And when I joined I had to sign a disclaimer that I was not suffering from depression. And that is because they know that the experience might trigger negative responses from those who join in a low or depressed frame of mind. In hindsight
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi, I did The Forum and The Advanced Course 6 years ago in the UK. In a nutshell, the good bits that worked for you are why they are able to keep going. They take elements of psychology that works and pass them on with new terminology to make them sound fresh. If it was all bad, then the business would have folded by now. So I say, its fine to hang on to the good but you probably don't
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I've already posted that about 6 years ago I did the Landmark Forum, The Advanced Course and part of the final part before my subconscious terrified me into leaving. And I was extremely grateful to discover information on this forum as to why I'd been so frightened. I'm posting this to share the legacy that taking part in Landmark leaves. Yesterday a friend, more of an acquaint
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

So here is my personal experience for you. I took part in the Forum, the Advanced Course and 1st day of the 3 month session. After the Forum, which was a highly charged, emotional 3 day experience, I felt high, as if I was on something. And I felt very powerful. But I did not feel like me. During the Advanced course, I felt very frightened and I wanted to leave but I was coerced into st
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Knotty, Yes the book is on Amazon. Good luck with helping your friend. I agree that stuffing negative emotions causes damage to yourself. I think its a common sense that we've lost sight of. I often feel so much better after a good cry and talking about something that is bugging me. It must be natures way. But so many cultures teach us to bottle up our feelings. Or make us feel
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Yes Knotty, I have come across this. And I agree it is all BS. And you're right. There is no scientific basis for this rubbish. Its phoney science. The best deconstruction I have come across is in a book by Barbara Erenreich called Smile or Die. Its a look at the whole culture of positive thinking. And there is a section on the Laws of Attraction and The Secret. The author is
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"