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It's not a scam. I went to an meeting after being invited about 1,000,000 times by an associate.

I went to the meeting The first thing I noticed is how the people seemed to be dependant on it.

I did some research and didn't like what I found. IMO, it is cult. A secular cult. The members use catchy phrases like "you don't know what you don't know" (which is true.)

I'd stay away.

Here is a anti-landmark link for more info: http://homepage.mac.com/jk8/landmark/

I do proofreading for a living, and they have been a client of mine for about five years. They're headquartered in San Francisco - I'm in the East Bay. Let me start by saying that I am a long-time Freeper, conservative, and a Christian (and a mom, s I know how to worry!). I have proofread their various versions of their website several times, as well as many articles written about their company and forums.

I suggest you look at their site, which is www.landmarkeducation.com. The new version, which I proofed this summer, just went live. There is a lot of information there, and the overwhelming impression I got - and I read every single word that went online - is that the goal of these seminars is to create a self-reliant, honest person who is accountable for their words, actions, and lives. It sounds more conservative than new-agey to me.

I have never gone to a forum, and probably won't. However, there is sufficient information on there to debunk the "It's a cult!" claims. There is no "cult of personality" (unlike, say, the DNC :-) ), and they don't mind if you go to the bathroom (more grins). From what I've read in the materials, there is a commitment to being honest with yourself, and therefore, with others, and to stop using excuses to get through the day.

On a personal note, I can say that out of the many people I have worked with in my 16 years of being in business for myself (as well as the previous 12 years of working as an employee in a variety of fields), every representative of Landmark has been unfailingly honest, clear, and accountable for everything they did and said. I cannot say that many other people with whom I've worked have been as consistently honorable and honest (and that includes paying me not only on time, but early).

I've always believed that you can tell a lot about a person, and a company, by the way they treat the "little people." They have treated me with the utmost respect for my time and talents, and have kept every promise made to me. So, that's my experience.

My gut feeling? I don't believe that a few days spent in honest self-examination can be harmful. Please let me know if I've addressed your concerns accurately, or if you need to contact me through FReepmail, just let me know.

Best...

It's a scam with cult-like aspects, though it seems to have no interest in keeping people involved for life -- just long enough to get them to waste thousands of dollars on useless seminars, and to get a bunch of their friends signed up to waste thousands of dollars on useless seminars. They put heavy pressure on new participants to recruit their friends, with the result that many participants become Amway-style obnoxious for a while.

I have a friend who got involved in this outfit through a boyfriend, and she's spent a colossal amount of money with no self-improvement to show for it (still irresponsible, still living in a fantasy world, still full of herself), though it doesn't seem to occupy the role of a cult in her life. I overheard a Landmark devotee trying to recruit someone on the NYC subway a few months ago, and SHE sounded like a true cult member -- going on and on, babbling ridiculous claims to a complete stranger about the miracles it had worked in her life, utterly oblivious to her target's total disinterest.