[Oe List ...] EST etc.

Mon Oct 4 13:47:34 CDT 2010

Growth, personal growth, comes from learning from life.
Many organizations, including EST, used brainwashing/pressure tactics while also "selling wisdom".
I know many who feel grateful for the growth they have experienced.
I'm also grateful for the growth I've had from my time in various organizations and/or workshops.
But that does not mean I agree with the methods I've heard of and experienced.

I don't know what else I want to say about this for now.
I do know that I celebrate the growth and wisdom,
and I do not celebrate manipulative, abusive and fear-based tactics.
We can do better than this.

Jon Mark Elizondo

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I don't think there was any connection between 
RS-1 and EST. Ron and I took the EST training in 
Chicago in 1976 or 1977. Marshall's take is on 
target. Ron and I both felt the EST training was 
a unique avenue to getting people to look at 
their lives rather than escaping from life. It 
was far more aggressive than any thing EI/ICA did 
with people and I think it was an avenue of 
transformation of many people. There were about 
three hundred people in the training we took. The 
trainers were outstanding. In any EST event I 
attended trainers used no notes, the set-up 
impeccable, and no excuses were accepted for 
anything. While at the EST training we became 
acquainted with an interesting couple. We brought 
them over the Kemper to see the ICA. They were 
more interested in getting us to go to additional 
programs than in the ICA. We did not keep up the 
connection with them. The EST enrollment tactics were high pressure.

There is a film out on his life which I have 
seen. Enjoyed it. There is a site with his quotes.A sample:

“Happiness is a function of accepting what is. 
Love is a function of communication. Health is a 
function of participation.  Self expression is a function of responsibility.”

-Werner Erhard

I think Erhard is an interesting character. Here 
is a bit on him from  http://www.wernererhard.net/
For nearly 40 years Werner Erhard has been the 
creator of innovative ideas and models of 
individual, organizational, and social 
transformation.  His ideas and models have been 
the source of new perspectives for thinkers and 
practitioners in fields as diverse as business, 
education, philosophy, medicine, psychotherapy, 
third world development, 
<http://www.masteryfoundation.org/peace/ireland/blockanderhard/>conflict 
resolution, and community building.  He has 
created new ways of seeing things in areas where 
progress has stalled or where breakthroughs would 
make a significant difference.  A majority of the 
Fortune 100 companies and many foundations and 
governmental entities have used his ideas and 
models. 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_%28magazine%29>Fortune 
Magazine’s 40th anniversary issue (May 15, 1995), 
in examining the major contributions to 
management thinking, recognized Erhard’s ideas as 
one of the major innovations of the last few decades.

While <http://www.wernererhard.com>Werner Erhard 
may be best known to the general public for 
applications derived from his models including 
<http://erhardseminarstraining.com>The est 
Training and The Forum of the 1970s and 1980s, 
currently Erhard commits his time and 
intellectual effort almost exclusively to the 
academic world.  Werner Erhard's recent research 
and writing, and lectures and courses can be 
found on his author page in the 
<http://www.ssrn.com/>Social Sciences Research 
Network – http://ssrn.com/author=433651.  More 
than two million people around the world have 
participated in the public, corporate and 
academic programs and courses he has 
created.  Social scientist 
<http://www.danyankelovich.com/>Daniel 
Yankelovich said of a study he conducted of 
participants of The Forum: “Several of the 
study’s findings surprised me quite a bit, 
especially the large number of participants for 
whom The Forum proved to be ‘one of the most 
valued experiences of my life’. This is not a 
sentiment that people, especially successful, 
well-educated people, express lightly.”

Werner Erhard is largely self-educated, albeit 
with tutoring from some important thinkers of his 
time, 
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper/>Sir 
Karl Popper, 
<http://www.webalice.it/af_gazzola/putnam/home.htm>Hilary 
Putnam, 
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/foucault/>Michel 
Foucault, 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humberto_Maturana>Humberto 
Maturana and 
<http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/feynman-bio.html>Richard 
Feynman to name a few.  Professor of Philosophy, 
<http://www.colorado.edu/ArtsSciences/CHA/profiles/zimmerman.html>Michael 
E. Zimmerman said of Erhard “He had no particular 
formal training in anything, but he understood 
things as well as anyone I’d ever seen; and I’ve 
been around a lot of smart people in 
academia.  This is an extraordinary intellect I 
saw at work
”  In recognition of his humanitarian 
work around the world Werner Erhard was awarded 
the Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award.

There is a site with his more recent papers. I'm going to take a look.
Beret Griffith

At 06:41 PM 10/3/2010, you wrote:
>I choked and gagged reflexively when I read that 
>RS-1 in any way birthed Werner Erhard's EST. [pardon me while I throw up].
>The only similarity I can think of might be the 
>style of boxing people into a weekend format and 
>forcing them to deal with something rather than 
>escaping into their favorite avoidance patterns.
>Hmm, sound familiar?
>Or maybe this one: "There ISN'T any Messiah..."
>Marshall
>And I don't think we made people hold it until 
>they wet their panties--a famous Erhard tactic.
>
>
>From: "slottaglobalnews at earthlink.net" <slottaglobalnews at earthlink.net>
>To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at wedgeblade.net>
>Sent: Sun, October 3, 2010 4:04:14 PM
>Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] FW: Landmark Education News
>
>I think Landmark Education is a spin-off from 
>RSI through the work of Werner Erhard. Once 
>called EST it became Landmark Forum and then 
>Landmark Education. It is still recruited pretty much like RS-I.
>
>On Oct 2, 2010, at 10:10 AM, 
><mailto:KarenBueno at aol.com>KarenBueno at aol.com wrote:
>
>>That looks like a dynamite organization.  I 
>>wonder if they have plans to replicate it.
>>
>>Karen Bueno
>>
>>In a message dated 10/2/2010 8:29:53 A.M. 
>>Mountain Daylight Time, <mailto:amnoel at comcast.net>amnoel at comcast.net writes:
>>the following video that has impacted my family and 3 million lives
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>OE mailing list
>><mailto:OE at wedgeblade.net>OE at wedgeblade.net
>>http://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/oe_wedgeblade.net
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