Holy Cow: Co-worker Approached Me About 'Landmark'

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Any here have any knowledge or know anyone who's part of Landmark Education?

One of my co-workers whom I carpool with says it has changed his life. He kept urging some of us at work to attend a meeting this last Saturday night hosted by his gf. I told him up front I couldn't go. I asked him if they had a website and he sent me this link:

http://www.landmarkeducation.com/landmark_education_home.jsp

Then I Google searched and found this:

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/l30.html

A Landmark critic sums them up as follows:

To round things up, everything in short:

1. THE BAIT

A friend/relative tricks you with the most sincere words into attending an introductory meeting, while appealing to your trust and curiosity, or actual weakness, or all of the above.

2. THE TRAP

Group pressure techniques and wordplay are used upon you and at least 100 more people in 3 days, during which, proper rest and natural needs are denied from you.

3. THE EFFECT

Overwhelming. Might lead to personality disorders. The Forum becomes the most important thing, not its outcomes. You might become a zealot for the Forum (without even registering for the advanced courses), or addicted to it by registering for more, or both. The real effect, most importantly, is economically beneficial to the Forum (unless, of course, you lose your mind and sue them...)

I'm not sure if I should confront him on this or just let him continue. He just said yesterday that he'll be taking an additional course on Fridays (currently he attends meetings every Wednesday). Holy smoke.

Edited August 5, 2008 by Jabberwocky

[Teacher Mark 53]

Any here have any knowledge or know anyone who's part of Landmark Education?

One of my co-workers whom I carpool with says it has changed his life. He kept urging some of us at work to attend a meeting this last Saturday night hosted by his gf. I told him up front I couldn't go. I asked him if they had a website and he sent me this link:

http://www.landmarkeducation.com/landmark_education_home.jsp

Then I Google searched and found this:

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/l30.html

A Landmark critic sums them up as follows:

To round things up, everything in short:

1. THE BAIT

A friend/relative tricks you with the most sincere words into attending an introductory meeting, while appealing to your trust and curiosity, or actual weakness, or all of the above.

2. THE TRAP

Group pressure techniques and wordplay are used upon you and at least 100 more people in 3 days, during which, proper rest and natural needs are denied from you.

3. THE EFFECT

Overwhelming. Might lead to personality disorders. The Forum becomes the most important thing, not its outcomes. You might become a zealot for the Forum (without even registering for the advanced courses), or addicted to it by registering for more, or both. The real effect, most importantly, is economically beneficial to the Forum (unless, of course, you lose your mind and sue them...)

I'm not sure if I should confront him on this or just let him continue. He just said yesterday that he'll be taking an additional course on Fridays (currently he attends meetings every Wednesday). Holy smoke.

Tell him you belong to VJ already Mr. 13,000 post (and counting)!

I've never heard of it before. Sounds a bit creepy. I'd listen to him a little before I ended up telling him to drop it.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Take a course and report back to us.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Tell him you belong to VJ already Mr. 13,000 post (and counting)!

hehehe...with a snap of my finger, I can have 3 unmarked cars full of VJ agents show up at your doorstep with a 'cease and desist' letter regarding any derogatory remarks made about my outrageously high number of posts. B)

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

Tell him you belong to VJ already Mr. 13,000 post (and counting)!

hehehe...with a snap of my finger, I can have 3 unmarked cars full of VJ agents show up at your doorstep with a 'cease and desist' letter regarding any derogatory remarks made about my outrageously high number of posts. B)

noob!

[Teacher Mark 53]

Tell him you belong to VJ already Mr. 13,000 post (and counting)!

hehehe...with a snap of my finger, I can have 3 unmarked cars full of VJ agents show up at your doorstep with a 'cease and desist' letter regarding any derogatory remarks made about my outrageously high number of posts. B)

I'll behave Daddy..I promise!!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Tell him you belong to VJ already Mr. 13,000 post (and counting)!

hehehe...with a snap of my finger, I can have 3 unmarked cars full of VJ agents show up at your doorstep with a 'cease and desist' letter regarding any derogatory remarks made about my outrageously high number of posts. B)

I'll behave Daddy..I promise!!

Good....I may need you to join my forces when I'm ready to overthrow Charles from his post throne.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Yup--two friends from my college days (a married couple) are really into it. Of course, they're kinda nutty. It's basically an organization that offers expensive "self-betterment" courses on different topics and is sort of cult-ish in the way that people are encouraged to recruit others. I think the foundational course takes place over a weekend, and sleep deprivation is involved--like, you stay until midnight Friday night and then have to show up really early the next morning. A lot of psychological games are involved. And you get to pay a lot for the privilege!

I think there's some 12-steppy aspect to it as well. For example, the male in this couple was trying feverishly to get ahold of me for a few days, which was a bit odd because I'd only see him (and the wife) every couple of years (they live in another state, and we have mutual friends). I couldn't imagine why he was trying so hard to contact me. When I called him back, he apologized profusely for a minor misunderstanding we'd had a few years earlier. I barely remembered the incident in question but assured him that I wasn't scarred by it. He went on about how he had issues with women that stemmed from a childhood experience in which he cut himself while he was at a friend's house, and his friend's mother screamed when she saw the blood. Ever since then, he said, he thought that all women were afraid of him and treated him accordingly. (!!) I guess some Landmark genius helped him to realize this. He then explained that he was involved with Landmark and encouraged me to contact the Phoenix branch. I said something like, "Do you get a pen for referring me?" I didn't mean to be snarky, but I was kinda pissed off. I thought something bad had happened. I got over myself after that and have seen them since. They don't talk about it much, but I know they still participate.

From what I gather, it's basically just a ripoff but not really damaging to people who are psychologically healthy. A lot of "break the chains that are holding you back from your fantastic potential!" kinda stuff.

I think the best thing to do is politely decline.

[Marilyn. 340]

wow, I even have more posts then you , steven...

[MrsCat 6]

sounds like another Tony Robbins. My coworker is totally into the TR, and spends like $10,000/yr to attend his seminars. They're no better when they come back, but they can break a board with their hand.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Yup--two friends from my college days (a married couple) are really into it. Of course, they're kinda nutty. It's basically an organization that offers expensive "self-betterment" courses on different topics and is sort of cult-ish in the way that people are encouraged to recruit others. I think the foundational course takes place over a weekend, and sleep deprivation is involved--like, you stay until midnight Friday night and then have to show up really early the next morning. A lot of psychological games are involved. And you get to pay a lot for the privilege!

I think there's some 12-steppy aspect to it as well. For example, the male in this couple was trying feverishly to get ahold of me for a few days, which was a bit odd because I'd only see him (and the wife) every couple of years (they live in another state, and we have mutual friends). I couldn't imagine why he was trying so hard to contact me. When I called him back, he apologized profusely for a minor misunderstanding we'd had a few years earlier. I barely remembered the incident in question but assured him that I wasn't scarred by it. He went on about how he had issues with women that stemmed from a childhood experience in which he cut himself while he was at a friend's house, and his friend's mother screamed when she saw the blood. Ever since then, he said, he thought that all women were afraid of him and treated him accordingly. (!!) I guess some Landmark genius helped him to realize this. He then explained that he was involved with Landmark and encouraged me to contact the Phoenix branch. I said something like, "Do you get a pen for referring me?" I didn't mean to be snarky, but I was kinda pissed off. I thought something bad had happened. I got over myself after that and have seen them since. They don't talk about it much, but I know they still participate.

From what I gather, it's basically just a ripoff but not really damaging to people who are psychologically healthy. A lot of "break the chains that are holding you back from your fantastic potential!" kinda stuff.

I think the best thing to do is politely decline.

Interesting. Yeah, my co-worker sent out this email to several of us, and said some rather personal things about him that I thought were not something you should be sharing over a work email (past drug use, suicidal tendencies) but it was testimony to how is completely free from those issues now...and that's when a red flag went off in my head. I don't care what program it is, there are no magic bullets, or religion, IMO, that will free us from ails us... Some days are just better than others.

wow, I even have more posts then you , steven...

Hmmm... (should I form an alliance with Marilyn and together overthrow Charles, or do it on my own?) j/k, Marilyn.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

sounds like another Tony Robbins. My coworker is totally into the TR, and spends like $10,000/yr to attend his seminars. They're no better when they come back, but they can break a board with their hand.

10g's??? Holy sh!t!

[MrsCat 6]

sounds like another Tony Robbins. My coworker is totally into the TR, and spends like $10,000/yr to attend his seminars. They're no better when they come back, but they can break a board with their hand.

10g's??? Holy sh!t!

I should clarify - that's for he douchebag husband to attend a personal seminar with Tony in FL. 4 days with Tony personally. Her last trip to Seattle cost $2000 - for 3 days. Its a money making venture make no mistake about it.

By reading the previous post - it sounds EXACTLY like Landmark with the emphasis on breaking down those things that are holding yourself back from being the best you can be.

I totally agree with your previous post - there are no quick fixes to deep underlying beliefs and experiences. Only time and careful introspection.

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

wow, I even have more posts then you , steven...

Hmmm... (should I form an alliance with Marilyn and together overthrow Charles, or do it on my own?) j/k, Marilyn.

you'd better about triple that count.......

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I must have been 18 when I had the oppurtunity to observe one of these meetings. It was like closing ceremony night of a series of courses and one of my friends was going to sing for the group. From what I saw it's a group of people that get together to learn techniques that will help you follow your passion in life. I didn't think anything of it until after the meeting when several ppl approached more to join. I asked them the price and when I learned it was a couple hunderd I was like "No way!" Then ppl around us heard me and offered to donate money in a basket to get me started. It was embarassing but I had to flat out refuse the entire group saying, "I don't have that much intrest in this thanks."

Then I promptly forced my starry eyed friends, who were high off the excitement of the cult like revival I'd just witness, to take me home.

Edited August 6, 2008 by Olivia*