Has anyone done the Landmark Education / Forum course?

This was mentioned to me by a friend who loved her course but it gets mixed reviews online. Mostly good but a few not so good.

PM me if you'd prefer to stay anonymous. 

I've never personally had anything to do with Landmark.

But, I do know two people, both women, who were involved with it. (In NYC)

They got a lot of smack from people we knew, because many people insisted that it was a cult.

A lot of people in NYC call Landmark a cult.

Anyway...

One of the women who was involved with them ended up divorcing her husband over her involvement with Landmark, based on the cost of their lessons, and the changes in her personality.

But, the oddest part of that story is: He was a jerk! I mean, he was a real mean person, and she had stayed with him for years knowing he was a jerk, and her Landmark lessons, according to her, helped her end the unhealthy relationship.

The other woman I know who did it was involved in it for several years, loved it, and eventually stopped going. She felt she got what she needed from it.

Neither one of these women shaved their heads and danced around in airports handing out religious material. Nor were they forced to stay involved after they decided they were through participating in the program. Both still have several friends who have done or are still doing the program.

Both seemed to get a lot of positives out of attending their sessions.

So, from the outside, it seemed to have a very good effect on the two people I knew, and it did not seem like they had joined a cult to me. It seemed more like a form of therapy, than a cult.

Hope that helps!
L.

OH! And I remember seeing their written material, and it seemed focused on "Life Skills" and "Positive Thinking" and stuff like that. It had a "Self Help" vibe, and the prices were rather expensive... increasingly so, as one progressed through the lessons.

I think there was a large discount for the classes, if the members got other people to join.

For whatever reason, Landmark was REALLY popular in NYC in the early 90's.

If I remember anything else I will let you know!

Thanks for your input Lara.

I've read about the cult thing and also about people feeling pressured by friends/family to attend the course.

The friend who told me about it is someone I've worked with for 4+ years and this was the first she mentioned it. She was originally my colleague and is now my boss and I do find her way of dealing with things to be quite positive. We were having dinner last week and I was telling her about how my personal motivation has completely left the building and that's when she asked if I had ever heard of it. She loved it and went on to do 2 more courses and said she highly recommends it.

My company has a budget for courses so I may be cheeky and ask for them to pay for it as my mid year PDR is next week. At least my first line manager would say yes! 

I have had two close friends who have had experience with the forum.
 
One of them was engaged to a woman who was very involved with it, and she was pressuring our friend to attend. He did some research and agreed to go to an introductory meeting. The weekend she wanted him to attend was the weekend of my husband's and my wedding. Our friend explained to his fiancée that he wanted them to attend the wedding, and she was very upset with him for this. They did attend, but they broke up shortly afterwards. I think her commitment to the forum was a big factor in their relationship breakdown.

My second friend had heard about the forum from another friend and thought she would check it out. She went and said she could see why people liked it, but there were a number of things that put her off. You were asked to call all of your friends and relatives to try to get them involved. You were also not given much information until you committed to paying a significant amount of money.

I have heard it compared to religion or therapy in that it helps people who are looking for guidance or advice. But the thing that differs is that you are not expected to recruit others before getting counsel. I don't like the business model in that I think it exploits people who are in need.

All very interesting comments - especially from Geeta.

I really don't know enough to comment on it further.

But, if your boss is willing to have the company pay for it... I guess you could check it out, see if it works for you, and if not, just don't go again, right?!

Geeta~ That's a shame your friend's then partner was so uptight. They run a course every month in London so imagine they must be as prolific in the US. Surely it could have waited?

Not sure what you mean by not getting enough information before committing? They do post the syllabus online for anyone to look at.

I am not someone who would feel comfortable recruiting or even calling my friends and family nor would I. If I decide to do this, it's my business. Although the recruit your friends and family model is not uncommon. Think Tupperware and school fundraisers! 

Geeta~ That's a shame your friend's then partner was so uptight. They run a course every month in London so imagine they must be as prolific in the US. Surely it could have waited?

Exactly.  That was our friend's point.  I think this woman felt that our friend was hesitant about it in the first place, and she thought maybe he was using our wedding as an excuse to get out of going.  He pointed out that the events happened very frequently, and our wedding was a one-time event!  They had a big argument about it, and although he did 'win' and they came to our wedding, it cemented a lot of doubts he had.

Not sure what you mean by not getting enough information before committing? They do post the syllabus online for anyone to look at.

I think she felt they gave you just enough information at the first session to try to entice you to commit to more sessions that cost money.  She didn't like that. She said at the session she went to, they actually made you sit in a room and call your contacts right there to see if you could get them to agree to attend a future session.  That turned her off right away.

Clearly this is only one person's experience, and I have no idea how the events work in other areas.  Both of my friends are strong individuals who are also perhaps a bit skeptical.  The thing I don't like about these sorts of organizations is that people who are perhaps needing help in some aspect of their lives and may be vulnerable can end up spending a lot of money and losing relationships over this.  I don't doubt that these things can help people and even do good for some people, but when they ask for a lot of money and ask you to recruit people for the sole purpose of increasing their profit margins, it makes you wonder about the motivation behind the business.

Good points again Geeta.

Courtney, you said the issue you were discussing was as follows: "I was telling her about how my personal motivation has completely left the building."

I get that way too. I can relate. I hate having that feeling so much.

There are often many different 'possible solutions' to the same problem, so maybe trying Landmark is one of them, and maybe there are also other things you could try as a solution for that issue?

If you end up going, and it is not right for you, you can just... try something else!

Geeta~ You know me and I am skeptical too, which is why I'm asking around. I can see your concern about vulnerable people. Thanks for your input.

Lara, yes of course there are other options. This one just happened to be brought up so I'm looking into it. 

Ya got nothing to lose by checking it out, right!?

It could be great!