Saturday, August 11, 2007

If it quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck!



Is it a good looking girl? Is it a charming young man? NO! It's a Landmark Shark dressed up as a charming young man -- "swim" for your life!

Landmark “Education” Corporation is not a non-profit society; it is not a benevolent organization; it is a Multi-million Dollar Business using questionable business practices, and practicing group-therapy without a medical license. Landmark “Education” Corporation cannot be referred to a cult because it claims no religious affiliation. It is worse than a cult.

Landmark “Education” Corporation practices the same mind-control techniques that were used during the Korean War when American POWs defected or denounced their country in large numbers. The brainwashing process would begin when the Chinese Communists persuaded POWs to write down a mild criticism of their country, such as “America is not perfect.” Once that stone had been laid, and enough psychological pressure exerted, it was often only a matter of time before the prisoners were making harsher statements.
This, say the experts on cults, is exactly how many of today’s human potential groups begin their programs – with strict observation of seemingly petty rules, such as needing permission to go to the bathroom, or having to be seated by the time the music stops playing. The group leaders really don’t care if you’re sitting or not, only that you’ve followed orders.

And once you say yes to something small, it is that much easier to say yes to something big – even if that means revealing your innermost traumas to a hundred strangers.

Landmark “Education” Corporation uses techniques that can seem innocuous, at first. Some of them – guided imagery, for instance – may actually be familiar from a relaxation class or self-help audiocassette. In the wrong hands, however, these techniques can do an astonishing amount of harm.

Take a few days without proper rest, add a regimen of closed-eye exercises, and anyone can become vulnerable to suggestion. You’re simply flooded with emotion. The trainers usually get you to think of all your most powerful memories, under the guise of somehow conquering your past. After several days of being “dragged down into the pits”, says someone who has had the Landmark ‘experience’… “the final day of exercises is usually designed to pump you up. By this time, customers usually just sort of drool and follow the leader. A false sense of community and camaraderie has developed. By now, they do everything they can to give you the ‘warm fuzzies,’ so that you’ll sign up for the next course.”

By the time Landmark is finished with you, your bank account will be empty and the only people who will want to be friends with you are other “Landmark Junkies”.


At some point of our lives we all feel unhappy. Even the smartest and most intelligent person will be emotionally vulnerable at some point in our lives, and the Landmark “Education” Corporation preys on us at these times. The programming starts the minute you walk into a meeting – before you have even put on your name tag – it is that insidious and subtle. In the first 15 minutes you will be instructed to look into the eyes of the Landmark “graduate” (often a son/daughter or spouse – i.e. someone you trust) at that point you have unknowingly taken the first step in the process of group hypnosis.
If you are someone who is syseptable to hypnosis it will only be a matter of minutes or an hour before you sign up for your first course. And then you are hooked!

For more information check out www.culteducation.com; www.rickross.com, or Google “neurolinguistic programming”

17 comments:

Theo said...

scary. and i thought church was tough. ;)

Jean-Luc Picard said...

Good post regarding this shady place.

dragonflyfilly said...

thanks for stopping by theo, yep, waaaaay more scarier! please refer people here to help spread the word so that people can make an IMFORMED decision about whether or not to take these courses.

hi jean-luc thanks, please help me spread the word.

cheers for now,
pj

Ian Lidster said...

Yes, my dear, you are still up and running and I got your comment. I've been sort of busy with other things of late and haven't been leaving too many comments with anybody. Not that I don't love you all.
I understand your Landmark angst, but I guess ultimately she will ahve to make her own decisions in that regard. Cults are scary, and we are largely defensive to protect those we love from them.
Ian

dragonflyfilly said...

*whew*

Thanks ian, glad I am still up and running...guess I am getting a bit paranoid, eh?

unfortunately, i do not believe she IS making her own decisions...i really do believe she has been brainwashed by Landmark/EST...but all I can do is wait it out and see what happens next...she has already run out of money, and is not getting many hours at her REAL job!

oh well, what IS a mother to do?

cheers for now,
pj

alan said...

Sometimes you just have to hang on and "ride it out", my friend. We've gone through a round of that with my oldest and his wife this summer; finally things might be beginning to look better, though it's really hard to tell, especially when no one wants to talk about it when you ask!

Best of luck!

alan

heiresschild said...

hi pj, yep, as parents, sometimes we just have to wait it out--especially when we're dealing with adult children.

you can't get sued by putting the company's name in print, can you? wouldn't want that to happen.

meggie said...

I really feel for you! We have been through something similar with a religious cult, getting their hooks into our Granddaughter.
They are so insidious. We were very alarmed at first, but we watched, & worried, & finally decided to just go with the flow, & try to discuss it with her.
She saw through them in the end, but it was very worrying for us. I think teenagers are so vulnerable at 15-20, & that is why these terrible mind control techniques work so well.

Belizegial said...

As what everyone says PJ, give her some time to sort things through. Easier said than done, I know.

She will ultimately appreciate and love you even more for giving her the space and respect to form her own opinion.

Cheers,
Enid

jumpinginpuddles said...

we hope the more info you give it gives those who are working for them a chance to get out, t his is as diblorable as people getting charity money and then spending it on themselves

dragonflyfilly said...

hi heiresschild; yes, quite conceivable Landmark (aka EST, and in South Africa i have now learned it is QUEST) - could threaten or indeed sue me. However, they won't win, as I have an ace up my sleeve. In addition, should they sue me, every newspaper in the Province and every news magazine in Canada will hear my story. Landmark has undertaken several unsuccessful Lawsuits, in an attempt to silence its critics. So. One More? - Good! they are the big loosers, not me - Just another NAIL in Landmark's COFFIN!

The thing is, most of what I have said others have already said, and anything new I have to say is based on my own experience, it is based on fact, and is therefore not libelous. Fortunately we still support Freedom Of Expression in CANADA.

hi meggie; thanks for stopping by. By now you will have received my e-mail. cheers.

enid, thanks for your support. unfortunately there is not much I can do anyway, as anything I say against Landmark she has been programmed to react to. The more one talks against the Programme, the more resistance is built up in the person who has been brainwashed. It is a very insideous scenario.

check out www.rickross.com for more information on Landmark, EST, Quest, Insight, and many other "human potential" movements who use this technique to GET recruits.

We really do need to get the word out because already a lot of damage has been done by these people, and their numbers are growing.

I had to see my Doctor today and when I told her I was not sleeping because I am so worried about my daughter she had an immediate reaction. She told me that her sister had to quit a very well paid job as Chief Human Resources Officer in South Africa because the company was implementing the Quest Programme (an offshoot of EST/Landmark) and she absolutely refused to support this action. They are everywhere -- I think i have to change the title of my Post to Invasion of the Mind Snatchers, eh?

Hi JIP quite right. please send over as many people as you can, help spread the word, and let's stop this evil practice.

Thanks all!
pj

Sonnie-Dee said...

As someone who was once very involved with landmark including being a paid staff member for 18 months I think you have every reason to be very concerned.

While the term cult is often used for religous organisations I believe it can still be applied to landmark simply because the definition of cult can be attributed to the practices used by landmark staff and volunteers. There is a charismatic leader who demands complete obedience. They encourage leaving friends, family or others who try and pull you away from landmark either that or you are supposed to convert them
to landmark.

There is some hope though - for many participants in landmarks programmes eventually they start seeing the truth about the lies that they have been told. I know for me i saw what was truly happening and eventually quit working for landmark and moved onto my real life again

dragonflyfilly said...

s'onnie thanks for coming by my blog, and for your comment...i sure hope i get my daughter out of their clutches...i will not give up until i do...and if i have to get Landmark/EST kicked out of BC to accomplish that, then that is what i will do.

i hope you are now thriving...

cheers for now,
pj

heiresschild said...

hi pj, thanx for explaining. there are so many loopholes in legal things these days. if my daughter were involved in something like that, i'd be doing the same thing you are. you just have to trust that it won't be too long before your daughter sees the light.

but isn't it amazing how so many people know about the reputation of this company, yet the company keeps on thriving? and i see you said they're in other countries under different names, which can make it easy for them to hide until people start learning about their reputation under the new name companies.

well, in spite of it all, try to have a relaxing and restful weekend pj!

dragonflyfilly said...

the problem is that the people involved HAVE been brainwashed, and part of the brainwashing process is to implant the thought that if anyone says anything bad about the LGAT process it is because we do not understand because we have not taken the course...and there is something wrong with us...we are trying to control the person who has been brainwashed because we do not have their best interest at heart...the only people who really cares about the brainwashed individual are the Leaders and other members of the group...that is how it works. and it has just been explained to me...the process works on the amyigdaly ...the brain chemestry has been changed...the person cannot think for themselves. It is really quite insideous (and my spelling is atrocious, hah hah)- the only way to break the cycle is to keep the people away from the source of the brainwashing, which is impossible if the person is an adult. - this process has been going on since the '60s, so there are a lot of these people around....and they spread like a virulent virus.

yes, i plan to relax...there are a lot of disgruntled people, we just have to get organized.

you have a fab weekend too, and thanks for stopping by hieresschild

Sonnie-Dee said...

I can tell you right away how the company keeps making money even though so many people have heard of their reputation.

People who have done the programmes take their friends and family members to the final night (the graduation landmark calls it) which is really just a big sales pitch.

The key thing is though that the guests trust the people they are with to not steer them wrong so they put aside any negative comments and trust the person they came with.

They are not brainwashed at the introduction, brainwashing is much more complex. they are however very much manipulated. Landmark uses peoples trust to get them hooked and then they use many many manipulative tricks to keep them hooked.

they take the bits of information a person shares and uses them to push the benefits and the good things about landmark. It is all a very well organised manipulation. everyone, staff, seminar leaders, introduction leaders are all taught how to talk to someone so that they keep them involved.

I have had many of those conversations on both sides of the table.

dragonflyfilly said...

thanks for the info s'connie...and a Merry Christmas and Happy new year!

cheers for now,
pj