kdag: thanks for your thoughts.
"I don't know how much it matters whether or not they/Warner believe that they are making you a "better" person."
If I understand you correctly, you're saying we should look at the consequences more than the intent. Whether Werner really wants to help or not, the consequences of his words and programs are so bad that everyone should stay away regardless.
I agree with that, and I would go further and say that everything Werner does is bad, including the stuff that actually helps people, because any good he does is used as advertising for the bigger problem, which ultimately looks like slavery within not only his view of life, but also his legal power over you as one of his "employees", presuming you fall for the trap of joining Landmark's team.
Your thoughts on hypnotic induction also ring true to me. The reason I still find it important to know Werner's intent is this: if the goal is to change people for the "better", then Landmark is just relatively as dangerous as Catholicism. Christianity might be OK, just like how Catholicism has Christian concepts packaged in a way to manipulate and control. Landmark takes useful concepts and uses them for their own manipulation and control. But I don't really care about the Catholic church because I don't feel like their brand of brainwashing necessarily destroys the fabric of society like Landmark can. Catholicism isn't a $500 3 day seminar. I can go to a Catholic church for free and never pay anything. I also don't think the Catholic church's primary goal is to enslave you into being one of their unpaid servants.
If Werner's goal was relatively as "benign" as the Catholic Church's then I would still avoid it but feel like he's just a delusional egomaniac. But if Werner's goal is more malicious, with the intent of tricking people into being his slaves with no desire to truly help, then he can't be convinced that his methods are bad because he already knows they are. It's like telling a murderer that murdering is bad. Most murderers already know that, but their goal isn't to help, so it doesn't matter. Werner can't be un-brainwashed because his very goal was to be a snake oil salesman. But if he's more like a heretic, a guy who genuinely wants to help, then maybe it's just a matter of ignoring and moving on.
If his real goal is to destroy people, then I feel more compelled to contact the US government to get Landmark and similar LGAT brainwashing made illegal.
"I don't know how much it matters whether or not they/Warner believe that they are making you a "better" person."
If I understand you correctly, you're saying we should look at the consequences more than the intent. Whether Werner really wants to help or not, the consequences of his words and programs are so bad that everyone should stay away regardless.
I agree with that, and I would go further and say that everything Werner does is bad, including the stuff that actually helps people, because any good he does is used as advertising for the bigger problem, which ultimately looks like slavery within not only his view of life, but also his legal power over you as one of his "employees", presuming you fall for the trap of joining Landmark's team.
Your thoughts on hypnotic induction also ring true to me. The reason I still find it important to know Werner's intent is this: if the goal is to change people for the "better", then Landmark is just relatively as dangerous as Catholicism. Christianity might be OK, just like how Catholicism has Christian concepts packaged in a way to manipulate and control. Landmark takes useful concepts and uses them for their own manipulation and control. But I don't really care about the Catholic church because I don't feel like their brand of brainwashing necessarily destroys the fabric of society like Landmark can. Catholicism isn't a $500 3 day seminar. I can go to a Catholic church for free and never pay anything. I also don't think the Catholic church's primary goal is to enslave you into being one of their unpaid servants.
If Werner's goal was relatively as "benign" as the Catholic Church's then I would still avoid it but feel like he's just a delusional egomaniac. But if Werner's goal is more malicious, with the intent of tricking people into being his slaves with no desire to truly help, then he can't be convinced that his methods are bad because he already knows they are. It's like telling a murderer that murdering is bad. Most murderers already know that, but their goal isn't to help, so it doesn't matter. Werner can't be un-brainwashed because his very goal was to be a snake oil salesman. But if he's more like a heretic, a guy who genuinely wants to help, then maybe it's just a matter of ignoring and moving on.
If his real goal is to destroy people, then I feel more compelled to contact the US government to get Landmark and similar LGAT brainwashing made illegal.