Landmark Education and the Landmark Forum

May 18, 2009

Landmark Education and Forgiveness

Filed under: Breakthrough Results, inspiration — Tags: , , , , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 10:46 pm

I’ll admit it: stories about forgiveness tend to make me a bit weepy. Nothing moves more than a tale of how someone who walked around with decades of bitterness and anger gives up their burden and forgives those that they are blaming, or even more powerfully, realize that they themselves ought to ask forgiveness for the damage they’ve done to people through their own rage and self-righteousness. I don’t know quite what is about the Landmark Forum, but peace and forgiveness seem to come to a lot of people who do the course.

This next woman describes how she had hated her mother her whole life, and made herself miserable in order to make her mother miserable. In the course of taking the forum and other Landmark education courses, the woman decides to give up all of her hate. She says is much better than I can. Go read this remarkable blog post titled how to live.

May 12, 2009

Three Laws of Performance – My thoughts

Filed under: inspiration — Tags: , , , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 8:45 pm

I’ve been meaning to write a review of Three Laws of Performance, the book written by Dave Logan and Steve Zaffron, who I believe at one time led the Landmark Forum. I confess that laziness has prevented me from writing a lengthy review, but I do think I have the time to make a few comments about the ideas in the book I find the most interesting.

The first notion, that our actions are correlated to the way the world occurs to us, seems rather obvious at first. It gets more interesting when one distinguishes that from the way “the world really is”, but it still seems incomplete without the second idea, namely that the way the world occurs exists in language. Since mostly we aren’t declaring the way the world occurs to us to everyone we meet, Logan and Zaffron talk a lot about unspoken language, things like thoughts and body language – things that communicate without words.

Combine these two ideas and you get the notion that our actions are correlated to our thoughts. Again, seemingly obvious, but actually a bit scary when you think about it. How many stupid thoughts do you have throughout a day? How often do you think have a period of anger and think some thoughts that would embarass you if you said them out loud?

Our thoughts appear scarily random, from cruel to beneficent to insane, and the idea that people take action based on their thoughts, believing them to be god’s truth, goes a long way to explaining the state of the world.

The third idea is what I think gives one power, the idea that future based language transforms how things occur to people, or in essence, transforms our thoughts. It’s kind of like this for me: if you go through a day with no plan or vision, your actions are given by whatever random thoughts go through your head that day, good bad or ugly. When you are actively creating a future, looking forward to it, anticipating it, “living into it”, as someone at Landmark Education might say, your actions are still given your thoughts, but your thoughts are focused into the satisfaction that will result from having that vision come through, and are disciplined by the anticipated future. If you’re getting out of prison tomorrow, it’s amazing how the random thoughts of despair will disappear.

This also explains why with no plan and some time off, we tend to eat a lot of pizza and watch television all day – thoughts tend to drift towards the comfortable! But invent an inspiring future and invent it in language and your thoughts and actions will suddenly become focused. Anyhow that’s my interpretation of much of the book! If you want more of the official view, visit the three laws website.

May 5, 2009

how we did it – making a dream a reality

Filed under: Breakthrough Results, Graduate Projects, inspiration — Tags: , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 8:25 pm

Ok, I have another post here that’s really only tangentially related to Landmark, although the person who wrote the post said that why they wrote about wouldn’t have happened without attending the Landmark Forum. It’s about a couple in their thirties (I believe) that essentially took a year off from working to buy an “RV” (recreational vehicle, one of those big camper trailers) to tour the United States. It had apparently been a dream of the author’s to do this. Why I love this post is that it details the bridge between having a dream and making it a reality – all the hard work that must be done to make something happen. And after reading this post, I’m clear that the hard work, the bridge, helps make the fulfilled dream that much more rewarding. (Here’s the link to read the whole thing).

how we did it

It’s not all pretty, but here’s a look at the behind-the-scenes action.

We saw an opportunity for ourselves in creating this RV trip of a lifetime but knowing we were going down a road society teaches you not to take. You retire after 65 and not in your 30’s, even if it is just for a “pretend” year. We surely had mixed reviews along the way about what we were going to do. Most would say, “I have always wanted to do that” or “I am so envious”.  Yet, we did find ourselves challenged almost daily by the resistance of the others, but endured it.

Read the rest of the inspiring tale at the site above!

April 7, 2009

What Matters

Filed under: inspiration — Tags: , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 7:03 pm

I read a very interesting piece today on a blog by the name of “On Things That Matter”. This person, who has not done the Landmark Forum, came to an introductory session about the course, and during the three hours had a keen insight into why she wasn’t taking action around many of the things that really mattered to her. Here is some of that blog post.

What Matters

My friend invited me to attend the introduction to the Landmark Forum. I have not seen her in a while so I decided to go. I don’t really know what the landmark forum is but then, what do I have to lose? So, I went and there I found out what it is – self-improvement seminar unlike the others we already know. It does not add anything to our knowledge, instead it helps us realize what stops us from going after our dreams. There, I was confronted with the question: What matters to you? I guess, that goes with a follow up question – What are you doing to achieve it?

It helped me analyze the way I live my life. What are the things that I want and why am I not getting those? I know what I must achieve, what I must do but what stops me from doing it? For instance, my ultimate goal is to achieve a more intimate relationship with God. I know I have to pray more. I know that I have to put God first. But why am I not praying more? Why do It put myself first? Why don’t I wake up earlier so I can recite my morning prayer? What stops me from going to confession? I can say that I am busy but if I am really committed to that, what is 30 minutes? What is an hour when I can spend more than 12 hours a day in the office? Why do I stay in the office longer than I have to sometimes?

I have come to some realizations after that introduction session. I have realized that somehow staying in the office is my security blanket. I have realized how my childhood affected my perception. I use to feel that my parents prefer to have my sister over me when I was a kid. My sister and I live with our great aunts and whenever my parents bring my sister with them to our house, I feel that they love her more. It somehow affected my perception. In my relationships, I stive really hard so my partner will not leave me.

March 25, 2009

Landmark Forum on Canadian TV

Filed under: Breakthrough Results, inspiration — Tags: , , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 6:31 pm

A contact on Linked In tipped me off to this – Apparently a Canadian television show called Positive Living has a feature on the Landmark Forum/Landmark Education on Sunday night, the 29th. Looking at the Positive Living website, I found that the feature is already available on their website. Go to the Positive Living episode index and click on the ‘Landmark Forum’ episode on the right:

March 10, 2009

Children Surprise Parents

Filed under: Breakthrough Results, inspiration — Tags: , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 3:33 pm

I found this next blog post, extremely moving. Ordinarily if I quote a blog I leave a lot of the post out so that I’m respecting the original work being done by that writer. But with next post, I couldn’t bring myself to leave much of it out. Read for yourself.

Clarity of Distance

Children surprise parents. I had this unforgettable experience in a seminar that my daughter recently attended. My wife and I were invited as her ‘graduate guests’ since both of us had attended this seminar earlier organized by the Landmark Forum.

The forum leader asked the participants to share their learning and experience of the forum and our daughter’s hand went up. She was invited to the podium to share. With a lot of confidence and nonchalance she stood before the audience numbering around four hundred and literally created magic. The entire audience listened to her in rapt attention and both of us were dumbstruck and overwhelmed.

She spoke eloquently about her vulnerability in life and as to how the seminar had opened her mental windows and made her present to the ‘present’ and the beautiful moments around. Her concluding remarks still ring a bell in our ears – “I thank you, Papa, for enrolling me to join the seminar. Papa and Mamma, kindly stand up. I want to acknowledge both of you for being such wonderful parents, and Shashank for being a wonderful brother. I thank you for trusting me and believing in me. I love you both”. There was thunderous applause in the auditorium and we were in tears. The forum leader looked at her and remarked ‘very powerful, keep it up’.

We never realized that our daughter had so much potential. Probably, we had always looked at her as a child. This was our moment of truth and we realized she had grown up to be a very confident human being.

March 9, 2009

The Landmark Forum: a Year Later

Filed under: Breakthrough Results, inspiration — Tags: , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 7:35 pm

I know for myself that sometimes when something profound changes in my life, I’m oblivious to it. For instance, I just noticed recently how much less I get angry get than I did a year ago. Then I read this story by a blogger named “InsideOut Anna” and I saw the same kind of thing happening: She did the Landmark Forum, went along with her life for a year, and all of a sudden looked back and noticed huge and dramatic positive changes in her life and its direction. Here is some of that blog.

How Landmark Education Changed my Life in 1 Year

I’m sitting in my car with my husband, just getting home from the park. I ask “Have I changed at all from last year?” He laughs and iterates a whole list I wasn’t aware of. I thought I’d share this list before my monkey mind forgets it all.

Life Before Landmark Education: The Real Truth

I worked a lot. I would stay up late working after coming home, getting 5-6 hours of sleep. I would “forget to eat” during the day until I’m shaking (high metabolism), be consistently late 20-60 minutes for meetings (but at least I always showed up or called ahead!), and get immediate stomach cramps (IBS) from stressful situations and have to go to the bathroom.

I thought “I had no friends” and would notice how I didn’t fit in with anyone in my office at work, lamenting my lack of community on the weekends–with my husband beside me.

I was silent in group get together with friends, assuming no one cared what I cared about. And in conversation with people I knew well, would interrupt or daydream while they talked. I started to at least admit I wasn’t listening and ask them to repeat themselves–but mostly enjoyed being in my own head.

I would beat myself up in my head constantly, then make myself wrong for doing that, doubting my decisions and whether people got how special I was. A bit self-centered, unaware of the energetic impact I had on others.

One Year Later after participating in Landmark Education:

I listen much better and can be myself around people, accept others where they at, allow others to be themselves, and accept myself for who I am.

I have healthier sexuality, and can create time by being present in the moment despite an overloaded schedule. I have better mind over body: consistently sleeping 8 hours/day, eating every meal time, no cramps during stress and am punctual. Overall, I am happier.

February 23, 2009

Luckiness

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 6:08 pm

I’m always moved when I see someone who is genuinely appreciative of the life that they have and the people they have around them. This woman scores a perfect 10 on the appreciation scale.

Luckines

It just hit me how unbelievably lucky I am. Things in my life are going so wonderfully, I never could have dreamed of such contentment and bliss in all aspects of my life. Since FUEL, things have gone so uphill, I feel like I’m in the heavens. Obviously the movie in itself was a blessing, but also to have met Jon was just the beginning. I could not have imagined such a wonderful man to share my life with. He impresses me and melts me every single day. The fullness of his love, his kindness and his protection is so empowering, I miss him every moment.

Through FUEL I also found Landmark Education, which has overwhelmingly empowered me. Half of what I have, including Jon, has stemmed from Landmark. Without it, I would not appreciate and respect Jon as much as I do. I would not care so much about being the perfect girlfriend, the woman who loves endlessly. I would be merely selfish and juvenile, a girl playing games. Without it, I would not have this strengthening relationship with my family, and my mom, especially. Since I opened up and had conversations with everyone, moments have become so much more special and light. Without it, I would not have reached for AIDS Cycle. Well, I would have reached, but I would have given up, in lack of faith. I would not work so hard alone on anything. Without it, I would not have acknowledged my best friends, building our relationship to surprising heights. Without it, I wouldn’t be as upward-moving as I am in my career.  It has been wonderful to finally become the person I’ve wanted to be.

When Jeff, my Forum leader, told his story of how he started to walk taller after Landmark, head held high, I thought he was exaggerating. But, to my gleeful surprise, it is true. I walk taller now, and I love the view.

This came from this woman’s serchingforthewords blog. I believe that the FUEL referred to in the post is the documentary film made about alternative energy that won prizes at Sundance and other film festivals (I don’t know if this is accurate, but I read that FUEL began as a Self Expression/Leadership project. I might as well show a bit from that film.

February 12, 2009

co-creating the future

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 7:17 pm

This next post comes from what looks to be a cutting edge business consultant, a far cry from the usual personal accounts that I like to put up on this blog. But I think the author made some interesting points about personal growth and development that are worth repeating. Here are a few highlights of ideas the author saw from the Landmark Forum and Landmark Education that have influenced the author’s business methods.

  • These sessions overturned the idea that powerful, intimate, personal speaking could only occur in small private environments.
  • Magnified resistance is created by working for very long sessions and there is a corresponding relief as resistance was revealed as the false friend it so often is and people broke through it and their ideas bloomed.
  • There is flexibility for processes and styles of work offered by a very large group working for an extended period.
  • I witnessed the vitality of both the formal and informal cultures that sprung up and the aliveness of both to innovation and different ways of thinking.
  • If the task was inspiring enough there was sheer pleasure in taking time for yourself and doing your best in a challenging environment.
  • An inspiring invitation to a task well worth tackling that most people have some doubts they could accomplish at the outset.
  • The utilization of an extended period of time (two full days)
  • The working through resistance and using it as a source of breakthroughs/new thinking.
  • The encouragement of formal and informal cultures within the work group.

In addition to the importance of a powerful group dynamic, I am especially taken with the idea that people’s resistance to change is something that can be examined in the light of day, without drama, as an access to a powerful new way of thinking. To view the whole post, visit the co-creation website.

February 9, 2009

Stuft Expresses Disappointment at the Lack of Mind Control in the Landmark Forum

Filed under: inspiration — Tags: , , , , — landmarkeducationinaustralia @ 8:24 pm

If you’ve never read the “Stuft” blog, I recommend it highly – I’ve linked to it before, but I feel compelled to do so again-over the weekend author Samantha did a brilliant job at poking fun of alarmist websites that believe that personal development programs like the Landmark Forum somehow engage in mind control or spout lies about the so-called ‘Landmark Education Cult’. Here is some of that story. If you have time read the whole thing at STUFT-There’s a lot of great stuff over there on a wide variety of topics, particularly education.

Have I got the Cult for You!

For those of you who don’t know us well it may have slipped by you that my husband and I are in a cult. But don’t feel left out, you probably are too. There are several places you can do your research online to find out if you currently belong to a cult and don’t be suprised if you discover that your frequent trips around the drive through at McDonald’s means you are a victim of a cult too.

Chris and I, however, knew that we were participating in the activities of a registered cult when we began attending Landmark Education Seminars and quite frankly we were dissappointed by the lack of mind control and domination as was promised on various websites and blogs.

What we have experienced after now completing the Landmark Forum, Advanced Course and Landmark in Action seminar series is a pale shadow of the mind control we had anticipated. The Soviets would have been disappointed had they used Landmark’s brainwashing methods for trail.

Unfortunately we still have to think for ourselves, tie our own shoes and take responsibility for our own mistakes. The charismatic forum leaders were completely relatable and easy going folk and we feel no compulsion to carry and effigy of their image in our wallet or even mention their names on a daily basis. They presented not a single concept that was any more bizarre than mainstream philosophical insights presented in scientific or religious circles and they did it using totally secular curriculum that was well-structured and used all the principles of effective pedagogy administered in most state schools today.

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