Seminars Quotes
More Seminars Quotes
Although est and the Forum are frequently characterized as NRMs or 'cults' (q.v.), leaders and participants have typically denied that undergoing the seminars involves following a religion.
— George D. Chryssides (2006). The A to Z of New Religious Movements. Scarecrow Press. p. 121. ISBN 0810855887.
My girls suffered during this month or so, so did my seminars & lectures & my poetry even. To be a critic, ah, how deeper and more scientific.
John originally John Allyn Smith Berryman— 1971 'Olympus'.
There are too many "creative writing" courses and seminars, in which young wirters are constantly being taught to rewrite the previous generation. They should be experimenting on their own. Every writer faces different problems which he must solve for himself.
john dos passos— "Conversation with Dos Passos," New Leader, Feb 23 1959
For two years now, my office has had the honour and the privilege of sponsoring seminars on the functioning of government in this country for Eastern Europeans. These seminars and exchanges have brought together representatives from such nations as Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Republic, Roumania, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Ukraine, all of them anxious to learn what makes a society as diverse as Canada work and how our institutions make it governable.
john allen fraser— Afterword, p. 173
I believe […] that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts of science, in all their richness and ambiguity, can be presented without any compromise, without any simplification counting as distortion, in language accessible to all intelligent people. […] I hope that this book can be read with profit both in seminars for graduate students and if the movie stinks and you forgot your sleeping pills on the businessman's special to Tokyo.
stephen jay gould— Preface, p. 16
These gurus might all take the one-size-fits-all cookie cutter approach to self-help, but the founders of such programs as est, Landmark Forum, neuro-linguistic programming, Tony Robbins seminars, Impact Training, MJB seminars, Silva Mind Control, Dr. Demartini, Bryon Katie, PSI seminars, Mind Dynamics (the daddy of them all), Lifespring, Hoffman Quadrinity, Complete Centering, etc., use their own unique cookie cutters.
— Carroll, Robert (2011). The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. p. Entry: "large group awareness training program (aka self-help and actualization movement)". ISBN 9780471480884.
Although est and the Forum are frequently characterized as NRMs or 'cults' (q.v.), leaders and participants have typically denied that undergoing the seminars involves following a religion.
— George D. Chryssides (2006). The A to Z of New Religious Movements. Scarecrow Press. p. 121. ISBN 0810855887.
There are scores of modern religious cults and sects that have been influenced by Hinduism to varying degrees. Werner Erhard, founder of 'Landmark Education's 'The Forum',' and 'est' seminars, which have about 700,000 graduates, was influenced by Hinduism through Swami Muktananda, one of Erhard's principal gurus.
— John Ankerberg, John Weldon (1996). Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs. Harvest House Publishers. p. 216. ISBN 978-1565071605.
Rupert (1992) discusses a range of cases where religious or philosophical ideas have been used to underpin business training seminars, including both movements which fall under the 'New Age' umbrella and the so-called 'self religions' such as the human potential movement, est, or Scientology.
— Peter Bernard Clarke (2000). Japanese New Religions: In Global Perspective. Routledge. p. 64. ISBN 978-0700711857.
There are too many "creative writing" courses and seminars, in which young wirters are constantly being taught to rewrite the previous generation. They should be experimenting on their own. Every writer faces different problems which he must solve for himself.
— "Conversation with Dos Passos," New Leader, Feb 23 1959
There are scores of modern religious cults and sects that have been influenced by Hinduism to varying degrees. Werner Erhard, founder of 'Landmark Education's 'The Forum',' and 'est' seminars, which have about 700,000 graduates, was influenced by Hinduism through Swami Muktananda, one of Erhard's principal gurus.
— John Ankerberg, John Weldon (1996). Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs. Harvest House Publishers. p. 216. ISBN 978-1565071605.
These gurus might all take the one-size-fits-all cookie cutter approach to self-help, but the founders of such programs as est, Landmark Forum, neuro-linguistic programming, Tony Robbins seminars, Impact Training, MJB seminars, Silva Mind Control, Dr. Demartini, Bryon Katie, PSI seminars, Mind Dynamics (the daddy of them all), Lifespring, Hoffman Quadrinity, Complete Centering, etc., use their own unique cookie cutters.
— Carroll, Robert (2011). The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. p. Entry: "large group awareness training program (aka self-help and actualization movement)". ISBN 9780471480884.
Founded in 1971 by Werner Erhard, the movement, (which has operated under a variety of names), organizes intense weekend seminars intended to break down inhibitions and put the individual in touch with his or her true self. Many participants report occult experiences and encounters with spirit beings toward the end of the seminar, which is officially nonreligious.
— Irving Hexham (2002). Pocket Dictionary of New Religious Movements. IVP Academic. p. 47. ISBN 0830814663.
Werner Erhard, founder of 'Landmark Education's 'The Forum',' and 'est' seminars, which have about 700,000 graduates, was influenced by Hinduism through Swami Muktananda, one of Erhard's principal gurus.
— John Ankerberg, John Weldon (1996). Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs. Harvest House Publishers. p. 216. ISBN 978-1565071605.
Other seminars may offer supportive hugs; this one hits you between the eyes.
— Jill P. Capuzzo (March 22, 1996). "Discovering The Self If You Have A Spare Weekend And A Yen To Change, More Than A Dozen Personal-growth Workshops In The Area Are Ready For You. Be Prepared For An Intense Experience. Come On! There's A New Life Waiting Over The Weekend Get Rid Of Your Destructive Pasts. Get Intimate With Your Mate. Share With Others, And Grow.". The Philadelphia Inquirer. — re-quoted in Robert Todd Carroll (2011). The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. p. Entry: "Landmark Forum". ISBN 9780471480884.
There are scores of modern religious cults and sects that have been influenced by Hinduism to varying degrees. Werner Erhard, founder of 'Landmark Education's 'The Forum',' and 'est' seminars, which have about 700,000 graduates, was influenced by Hinduism through Swami Muktananda, one of Erhard's principal gurus.
— John Ankerberg, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs. Harvest House Publishers. 1996. p. 216. ISBN 978-1565071605.
Erhard seminars Training, more commonly known as est, was begun in 1971 by Werner Erhard. While not a church or religion, est is included here because it has often been accused of being a cult.
— James R. Lewis (2001). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. p. 306. ISBN 1573928887.
More direct evidence comes from a careful study of Large Group Awareness Training programs, variously known as Erhard seminars Training (est), Lifespring, or simply the Forum. The basic procedure of these courses parallels the group training workshops ... but the emphasis shifts from group effectiveness to personal development. By talking through life challenges, aspirations, fears, and the like with fellow participants and professional counselors/teachers, individuals hope to change how they view themselves, their family and friends, and their prospects for a fulfilling life.
— Gastil, John (2010). The Group in Society. Los Angeles: SAGE. pp. 228-229. ISBN 9781412924689.
Both est and Landmark Forum could be classified as LGATs (large group awareness trainings), a sociological grouping that includes neuro-linguistic programming, Insight Training seminars (see the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness), and a whole plethora of sales and motivational courses.
— Puttick, Elizabeth (2004). "Landmark Forum (est)". in Partridge, Christopher. New Religions: A Guide: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 407. ISBN 0195220420.
TM, Erhard seminars Training (est), and the Rajneesh Foundation are currently the most visible NRMs offering a release service to clients in Western Europe, but a large number of smaller groups are also in operation.
— James A. Beckford (1987). New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change. SAGE Publications Ltd. p. 44. ISBN 0803985916.
Wikileaks has published the video and transcript of an investigative report into 'est' (Erhard seminars Training) guru and Landmark Education Forum godfather Werner Erhard by CBS News, originally broadcast on the program 60 Minutes on March 3, 1991.
— Xeni Jardin (August 31, 2009). "Wikileaks re-publishes 60 Minutes piece on est/Landmark cult leader Werner Erhard". Boing Boing.
Wikileaks has published the video and transcript of an investigative report into 'est' (Erhard seminars Training) guru and Landmark Education Forum godfather Werner Erhard by CBS News, originally broadcast on the program 60 Minutes on March 3, 1991.
— Xeni Jardin (31 August 2009). "Wikileaks re-publishes 60 Minutes piece on est/Landmark cult leader Werner Erhard". Boing Boing.
TM, Erhard seminars Training (est), and the Rajneesh Foundation are currently the most visible NRMs offering a release service to clients in Western Europe, but a large number of smaller groups are also in operation.
— James A. Beckford (1987). New Religious Movements and Rapid Social Change. SAGE Publications Ltd. p. 44. ISBN 0803985916.
Est (Erhard seminars Training) has been a singularly successful synthetic derivation, which has itself gone on to generate new movements, transmitting aspects of Scientology thought or practice far from the domain of L. Ron Hubbard.
— David G. Bromley (1987). The Future of New Religious Movements. Mercer University Press. p. 82. ISBN 0865542384.
...the human potential and psychotherapy movements, as well as the more 'life-affirming' New Religious Movements and religions of the self. This was the complex world of the Californian 'psychobabble', of Scientology and est (Erhard seminars Training, later called Forums Network), of Encounter Groups, meditation techniques and self-help manuals designed to assist individuals 'realise their potential'.
— Jamie Cresswell and Bryan Wilson, editors (1999). New Religious Movements. Routledge. p. 35. ISBN 0415200504.
More direct evidence comes from a careful study of Large Group Awareness Training programs, variously known as Erhard seminars Training (est), Lifespring, or simply the Forum. The basic procedure of these courses parallels the group training workshops ... but the emphasis shifts from group effectiveness to personal development. By talking through life challenges, aspirations, fears, and the like with fellow participants and professional counselors/teachers, individuals hope to change how they view themselves, their family and friends, and their prospects for a fulfilling life.
— Gastil, John (2010). The Group in Society. Los Angeles: SAGE. pp. 228-229. ISBN 9781412924689.
EST. Erhard seminars Training, a program involving spiritual practices derived from Zen Buddhism and Scientology.
— Irving Hexham (2002). Pocket Dictionary of New Religious Movements. IVP Academic. p. 47. ISBN 0830814663.
More direct evidence comes from a careful study of Large Group Awareness Training programs, variously known as Erhard seminars Training (est), Lifespring, or simply the Forum. The basic procedure of these courses parallels the group training workshops ... but the emphasis shifts from group effectiveness to personal development.
— John Gastil (2010). The Group in Society. Los Angeles: SAGE. pp. 228-229. ISBN 9781412924689.
...the human potential and psychotherapy movements, as well as the more 'life-affirming' New Religious Movements and religions of the self. This was the complex world of the Californian 'psychobabble', of Scientology and est (Erhard seminars Training, later called Forums Network), of Encounter Groups, meditation techniques and self-help manuals designed to assist individuals 'realise their potential'.
— Jamie Cresswell and Bryan Wilson, editors (1999). New Religious Movements. Routledge. p. 35. ISBN 0415200504.
