Don't you just love the suggestion by one of Darren Mack's friends that he was "battered" and in fear of Charla? I wonder how he held his breakfast down when he made that claim. Ellen
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Funny that they both use the word "controversy" when referring to their collective and myriad problems and all the accusations of exploitation and abuse, the psychological fall-out, the hordes of victims, legal problems, bad PR, bad press, global criticism, rank exposure, and sad, sad legacy of silliness, of emotional casualties, destroyed lives, and of wasted time. Funny that they bot
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteonesharingthetruthModerator thank you. I just wanted to go on record here that Set Free was a great experience in my life and I am forever changed in a very positive way by the things I experienced there. I also attended the Huntington Beach Set Free and had a positive experience. I also helped open the Hawaii Set Free. This was many years ago but the people I was with had wonderful hearts a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Nice touch that they added the "cult" and "brainwashing" links at the bottom. -LOL
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quote * Mind Dynamics (1968, Alexander Everett from Silva Mind Control) * Leadership Dynamics (1970, William Penn Patrick) * est (1971, Werner Erhard from Mind Dynamics, Esalen and Scientology) I'd add that Alexander Everett was a school teacher who was employed by the Unity Schools of Christianity from whence some of the hypnotic "processes" came along with other
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteThe AnticultHere is a rough New Thought History Chart It ties Emerson into a part of it, which is actually sorta accurate...this seems to be a general overview of the nuttiness. Yes, that's my understanding. This is helpful. Emerson was one of the Transcendentalists, along with Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne (briefly). Might be interesting to note that Mind Dynamics came fr
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteThe Anticult -if you do what I tell you to do with this New Thought belief system, then great things will happen for you. -if you criticize what I am telling you to do, then your own negative thoughts are going to make your life a literal hell on earth. Its the same thing as primitive religion. Its based on FEAR. If you don't do what I say, then you are literally going to HELL.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteThe Anticult She got lucky, and is making millions as we speak. They are even literally selling Gratitude Rocks, which are just rocks, for up to $40. Rhonda is very slick, and is very dishonest, pretending its a Secret, when this crap has been promoted since the 1800's, starting with Quimby. ...Or earlier. I think unscrupulous types started taking advantage of the situation when
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Thanks for writing "exiled." It is typical that cults tap into these most primal needs and fears, those being the need for belonging and the fear of abandonment. In evolutionary terms, these were matters of life and death. Though most of us need not bother ourselves too much with these survival issues in modern times, we still feel them in an almost child-like way in emotional and
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotequestion ladyEllen, Your comment makes me wonder whether some sort of licensing and regulation is needed, just as for counselors. How do they get around it? These people are clearly dealing with people's emotions and thoughts. Perhaps it is difficult to draw a bright line between what is and is not psychological counseling. Maybe selling books & CD's isn't coun
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quotequestion ladyI was concerned when my husband started reading The Sedona Method and listening to Larry Crane's Release Technique tapes last fall. It sounded like they were teaching people how to dissociate. My husband is generally very uncomfortable with "negative" feelings so I could understand the lure of something that promises to get rid of them quickly and easily. I
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteConcerned EmployeeJack, I think I'm getting what you mean about twisting a word or it's usage in favor of the aimed result. Please tell me if you agree with this situation and the use of the words here: Last month, the boss proposed a project that would take place over the month. The staff agreed to do so. A couple days ago, we recieved a message reminding us that we had &qu
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quotesonnie_deeUnfortunately on2lf alot of lekkies use people like you have described above. I think for me this was one aspect of me they didn't break completely. I do not like using people, i will ask for help or assistance but I make sure I reciprocate. Even though my friends and I disagreed on a lot of things I still treated them with a certain level of respect and while I didn�
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteON2 LF I won't have to sever the relationship because my friend is one who, even without LE's brainwashing, is never wrong about anything and views me to be unaccepting, judgemental and conditional. Even if she snaps out of her trance today, she will still see me as the one person in her life who did not support her. It's finished. It's been a good lesson for me and you
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Funny but there are still lots and lots of "Werner-Worshipers" around, many of them still involved with Landmark and ~the work.~ Some are just as stubborn in their denial of his history and his hypocrisy as they are about any other bad news about Landmark. They have a whole raft of "explanations" for his behavior that they satisfy or comfort themselves with that make no more
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuotenettieI just started a selfhelp program that uses cognitive behavioural therapy. It started me thinking about how to make decisions in life. I could see how impared my decision capability has become. In the landmark way you just made decisions based on nothing. In normal life you are better off if you think and ponder the stuff going on in your life before you jump to a conclusion/decis
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

What's worse? Used cars or toilet-cleaning franchises? "...In 1969 John Hanley, a 23-year-old college student, was fined $1,000 by the U.S. District Court in Des Moines, Iowa, and placed on five years probation. The social-science major had been selling franchises for toilet-cleaning routes that didn't exist. In 1974, Hanley invented a three-course "human potential
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuotefuzbelflupI'm trying to find out information about Personal Dynamics in NYC. I have friends in the process of this nonsense. It sounds exactly like Landmark. Terminology and pricing etc. Does anyone know if it is affiliated with them. I sent Landmark an email asking them and they claim they are not. Who owns/controls Personal Dynamics? Are they just in NY? My best friend just s
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Here's an interesing article from that Moonie rag, The Washinton Times. (The link is dead so I haven't verified it -- pulled it off a newsgroup.) Anyhoo, it's sort of interesting that there is a "parallel universe" of organisations that concern themselves with human manipulation, "social engineering," and covert influence that trade in guile and deceit. It ap
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteLEC_escapeeI noticed their large masthead last night here in San Diego. Does anyone have experience with them? Are they a valid training program or another LGAT or other kind of cult? Can't tell much from their website -- it sounds like the usual gobbledegook -- but a quick trip around the internet turns up some pretty scary stuff including associations with the CIA and MKULTRA, Ma
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Nobody said it better than Corboy a few years ago: (From the thread "Considering the Forum??? June 2002) ____________________________________________________________________________ You cannot empower people by covertly manipulating them through use of trance. Treating people as objects for manipulation does not empower them, no matter how good the manipulation makes them f
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quotemazellan BTW, a lot of people I know, as well as some very close personal friends, are or have been Landmarkers. I wouldn't, and neither would they, consider themselves 'abused'. This statement, in and of itself, is indicative of a very poor grasp of the subject at hand. Firstly, you are speaking of other people who may or may not be in the deception phase where they lie
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quoteskeptic Ah, ok. Money has to be involved. Deception and exploitation, alone, don't constitute a pyramid scheme. Here's a little ancient history about the pyramidal foundations of all these groups. Actually, they were a weird hybrid that turned into a moneymaker for a lot of the earlier players: "...The four-day trainings, which were largely experiential, c
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteskepticI've had this thought and am interested in others' thoughts. Are LGATs pyramids? Aren't pyramids illegal? skeptic Immoral or at least sleazy certainly, but not illegal; there's no money changing hands from lower levels to higher levels. That's the beauty of brainwashing -- they do the labor for free. Ellen
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quoteskeptic Yes, a parallel intelligence was pointing me to the flaws in the "teachings". Why did I stay? I think the appeal to my psychological/emotional self was stronger than the shortcomings that my cognitive self saw. There is definite trickery involved. Also, some of the "teachings" were designed to give me ways to talk myself out of questioning the BS. Mindg
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quotesonnie_dee This is so true. It used to drive so many of my friends mad when I was a self righteous know it all. Many of the leaders even outside of the courses treat people like they are the know it alls. I lost so much respect while on staff for course leaders over the way they were unwilling to compromise or discuss differences of opinion. I am always heartened to hear things l
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteEurope-girlYou say "except for the Advanced Course" - there are more exceptions to be made. Sometimes things change over time, which may explain why we have different experiences. At Landmark, they use this "fact" as leverage. They do tinker with the program(ming) and do trim and make adjustments, (something they call "rearranging the furniture" in the cult
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteEurope-girlYeah, everything Sonnie-dee says I recognise. Listen, if they were talking plain bullsh*t that you could spot right away, do you think so many people fall for it? Do you think they sustain for so many years if it's so obvious? There is a real smart design to it, it's subtle, intelligent. Especially when you've never heard of LGAT's, or Landmark or whatever - a
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteEurope-girl@Elena After I did my posting I took some time to start reading about the jargon in SOC. I can see the similarities. It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that I want to grasp it for myself. I asked you about the clearing thing because it seemed Landmark uses it differently, and I think they do. It's not like in COS a state of mind or whatever, but like
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quotesonnie_dee I remember at the introduction I went to this question was raised and David Miles point blank lied and said their was no connection. At that point I had no reason to disbelieve him. I think if an american had been leading the introduction may be I would have been more suspicious but even then back then I wasn't suspicious, simply naive. Sonnie, do you think there was
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"