-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 From: dvattanasio@msmail.mmmg.com (Dan Attanasio) Newsgroups: alt.self-improve Subject: Life Spring Date: Sat, 12 Mar 94 17:08:34 GMT Organization: 3M Fiber Optics Laboratory Lines: 5 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: dans_data_service.mmm.com X-Newsreader: VersaTerm Link v1.1.1 I have a friend who is excited about this retreat/seminar program called Life Spring. Does anyone out there know anything about it; ie. what techniques they use, etc. Thanks, in advance. Dan From: glockner@cosc8.uucp (Alexander Glockner) Newsgroups: alt.self-improve Subject: Re: Life Spring Date: 14 Mar 1994 20:51:42 GMT Organization: University of Oregon Network Services Lines: 64 Message-ID: <2m2iou$3dq@hecate.umd.edu> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: cosc8.bsu.umd.edu Dan Attanasio writes: >I have a friend who is excited about this retreat/seminar program called >Life Spring. Does anyone out there know anything about it; ie. what >techniques they use, etc. Thanks, in advance. Disclaimer: I have not taken the training. I have read and done the exercises for John Hanley's _Lifespring_ (Simon and Schuster 1989). Yes, he's the founder of the training and no, I'm not selling my copy. I found the book much less direct than writings on est I've read, but more thoughtful, more open. Major points of the book include: "The most relentless enemy to learning is what you already know." (p.15) Perhaps you *don't* have a fixed self... Transforming by reinterpreting your life, determining your purpose, and sticking to it. "Your life works to the extent that you keep your word" (quotation from a David Gerrold sci-fi novel, actually) "So what if things aren't the way I want them to be? The relevant questions are 'What's next?' and 'What am I going to do about it?'" (p.142) "As far as anyone else is concerned, you are what you do." (p.163) There are no relationships (those are labels), only relating. "Choose the games that you are committed to, and then surrender to the discipline of those games." (p.216) The book is useful precisely to the extent that you can remember and act upon how you rewrote your belief system while reading it. Disclaimer II: "Explaining the training is a problem given that it is either unlike anything else you have experienced, in which case you will have difficulty relating to what I say about it, or similar to something else you have experience, in which case you are likely to make incorrect assumptions about it." (p.12) Exercise for the skeptical student: identify an explanation that Disclaimer II does *not* apply to...eh? Disclaimer III: The summary is my view, and may reflect what I believe is important to me (and what I may not wish to perceive, of course). Since Hanley points out that the book cannot provide as much reinforcement for transformation as the seminar can (and I agree), I got over my natural avoidance of confrontation and went to a guest seminar 18 months ago. Yes, I learned some things from the exercises, much more than my Forum guest seminar. Yes, I was subjected to the same high-stress sales pitches that the Forum, and its predecessor est, are known for. For various reasons, I didn't sign up. (Graduates will nod knowingly at this point.) On the other hand, I don't always show up in my life...and I do reread the book and my answers yearly (I'm in the middle of it right now, actually :-) Summary: if this is your kind of schtick, go ahead. Final disclaimer: Your mileage may vary. - - -- Alexander Glockner glockner@cosc.bsu.umd.edu Asst. Professor, Dept. of Computer Science Bowie State University Bowie MD 20715 USA (301) 464-6609 (voice) (301) 464-7827 (fax) Newsgroups: alt.self-improve From: hutton@pluto.dev.promis.com (Don Hutton) Subject: Re: Life Spring Message-ID: Sender: usenet@promis.com (USENET News System) Organization: Promis Systems Corp. References: Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 05:22:16 GMT Lines: 20 dvattanasio@msmail.mmmg.com (Dan Attanasio) writes: >I have a friend who is excited about this retreat/seminar program called >Life Spring. Does anyone out there know anything about it; ie. what >techniques they use, etc. Thanks, in advance. Considered to be a Brain-Drain Cult (along with the rest of the Erhard Training Seminars family of stuff) by many. Get the full package of nasty articles about the lawsuits and the mail-fraud convictions of the founder from those nice people at C.A.N. (312-267-7777, 2421 West Pratt Blvd, Suite 1173, Chicago, Ill, USA, 60645) or bug cultxprt@indirect.com or post to alt.mindcontrol. I'm really busy right now and won't respond to E-mail other than to Snail-mail the great expose' in SELF magazine from a couple of years ago. Yikes! The 'at' batch jobs sendth me mail! Gotta run... - - -- If you meet the Buddha in the Net, put his address in your Kill file. Don Hutton, hutton@promis.com From: timothy@crl.com (Timothy H. White) Newsgroups: alt.self-improve Subject: Re: Life Spring Date: 18 Mar 1994 18:37:49 -0800 Organization: White Lightning Software Lines: 34 Message-ID: <2mdoht$t6u@crl.crl.com> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: crl.crl.com X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Don Hutton (hutton@pluto.dev.promis.com) wrote: : Considered to be a Brain-Drain Cult (along with the rest of the : Erhard Training Seminars family of stuff) by many. Get the full package : of nasty articles about the lawsuits and the mail-fraud convictions of the : (blah, blah, blah...) For an alternate viewpoint, I have not taken Lifespring but was involved in a *very* similar training called Actualizations. I personally found it to be extremely useful, and was a critical point in my life. I took it around 8 years ago, and it is no longer in business. I could also site 'dirt' around the founders, and many questionable items regarding their integrity. HOWEVER, none of these items at all discount or invalidate the usefulness of the training. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. You will most likely hear flames from others about this type of stuff. Just take it with a grain of salt and remember that a teacher can be fucked up and still be an amazing teacher. The flamers most likely haven't had personal experience with this anyway. I would recommend Lifespring from everything I've heard about it over the years. It is one of the trainings that has been around for the longest time. Timothy ============ PGP 2.3a Public Key Available - finger me! ============== ____ \ / "This is the strangest life I've ever known." \/ Jim Morrison ====================================================================== Newsgroups: alt.self-improve From: "Jeff Benson" Subject: Re: Life Spring To: dvattanasio@msmail.mmmg.com Message-ID: <26629.bensonj@maroon.tc.umn.edu> X-Minuet-Version: Minuet1.0_Beta_11 Sender: news@news.cis.umn.edu (Usenet News Administration) Nntp-Posting-Host: dialup-2-189.gw.umn.edu X-Popmail-Charset: English Reply-To: Organization: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Date: Sun, 20 Mar 1994 09:01:41 GMT Lines: 48 On Sat, 12 Mar 94 17:08:34 GMT, Dan Attanasio wrote: >I have a friend who is excited about this retreat/seminar program called >Life Spring. Does anyone out there know anything about it; ie. what >techniques they use, etc. Thanks, in advance. I took the Lifespring Basic in February, and I'll just add a few thoughts to what already has been said: It truly is a unique experience, very strong on experential learning and forcing you out of your comfort zone. It's funny, when people recommend the Basic, they won't tell you what happens there. Well, you're made to scream at each other, weep, disclose your failings, etc. I'm pretty low key, but it's impossible to not be fully involved during the course. The instructor won't let you simply observe. It's a very controlling environment. You agree to certain rules about showing up on time, not chewing gum, doing assignments, etc. If you fail to follow through on "your word," you are taken to task in a big way. It's interesting to observe how the instructor becomes such an authority figure. People were scared to death of him. But it very effectively gets across the concept of being true to your word and your commitments. Is it a cult? No, although it certainly has some cultlike features. You are supposed to become very bonded to your group. They use humiliation and physically wear you down (on the first day, the class went on for nearly five hours without a bathroom break). And many of the enthusiasts become so devoted to Lifespring, that it seems like a religion in itself rather than a self-help tool. If you want details on the specific exercises, I can share them with you. The actual content of the lectures can be found throughout the self-help field. I found little that was original or eye opening. The idea of not being victimized, that thought precedes action, of the need to stay true to your commitments... it was all old hat. The best part for me was the experience of getting pushed off my stump and being made to be uncomfortable. The worst part is this authoritarianism, obedience at all costs. Also, I believe the program lacks a spiritual component. It invokes a "fist through the wall," take no prisoners approach. I believe that life requires compromises (I have children after all). Also they approach everything on a highly emotional level, as if feeling passionate about something will always make it happen. Well, I think that emotions can often be deceiving. What about the contemplation and quietude that clears away emotions and lets you see clearly into yourself? jeff benson bensonj@maroon.tc.umn.edu From: infante@acpub.duke.edu (Andrew Infante) Newsgroups: alt.self-improve Subject: Re: Life Spring Date: 25 Mar 1994 20:42:45 GMT Organization: Duke University, Durham, N.C. Lines: 23 Message-ID: <2mvic5$7p0@news.duke.edu> References: <26629.bensonj@maroon.tc.umn.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: teer1.acpub.duke.edu This sounds alot like the Erhard Seminar Training... I have done Landmark education's Forum, Advanced Course, Beyond Fitness Seminar, and just completed SELP (Self-Expression and Leadership Program), and will be a coach for SELP in June... Yes, there are some aspects that get you off of your butt and thinking about what has gotten you to where you are... Lifespring seems a little more "in your face," but from many people I've talked to that were part of EST in the 70's and 80's, that's not a bad thing ("bad" being subjective anyway), unless you think it is, and _want_ it to look that way As Wayne Dyer always explains, "What you think expands..." - -- Andy Infante | A weak man has doubts before a decision: | '71 BMW R60/5 | A strong man has them afterwards. | DoD #2426 | -- Karl Kraus | ==============| My opinions, dammit, have nothing to do with anyone else!!! | -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use iQA/AwUBOrOW5DL5APkWv2amEQIjrACfSZQF4KMJjQv2WqM5263svHsmf+QAoKoc hr0+CEhMjwUrCa9LIrmCWm78 =k1rv -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----