Old News - Landmark Is A Cult For A**holes
elle...@hotmail.com
Copyright 1990 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
The San Francisco Chronicle
APRIL 3, 1990, Tuesday, Final Edition
SECTION: News; Pg. A4
LENGTH: 889 words
HEADLINE: Ex-Employees Describe Abuse In Suit Against est's Erhard
BYLINE: Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer
BODY:
Former employees of est founder Werner Erhard say they were forced to
obey the pop psychology guru in a manner ''akin to God'' and to submit
themselves to ''numerous instances of verbally and physically abusive
behavior.''
In sworn statements, the ex-employees also charge that they were
required to worship Erhard as ''the Source'' and were controlled with
exhausting work schedules, loyalty oaths, threats and emotional abuse.
The allegations -- by five former staff members of est, of the Forum
and of Werner Erhard and Associates -- were filed last week in San
Francisco Superior Court in support of a wrongful termination lawsuit
against Erhard by Charlene Afremow, a longt ime associate of the human
potential movement czar.
Vincent Drucker of San Anselmo, the former chief financial officer of
est, said in one of the affidavits that a program begun in the late
1970s ''put great pressure on the executives, including myself, to
surrender to 'Source.' ''
Erhard often compared the relationship between himself and his
trainers ''to the bond between a samurai lord and the samurai
vassals,'' Drucker said. ''Mr. Erhard threatened me with death on two
occasions,'' he said, by citing ''certain people in the Mafia.''
ALLEGATIONS DENIED
In a statement released yesterday, Erhard denied all the allegations,
calling them ''ridiculous fabrications from a few disgruntled former
employees.''
''Responding publicly to these unsupportable accusations point by
point would only further the malicious intent of the individuals in
question,'' he said.
Erhard's weekend est trainings -- launched in 1971 and repackaged as
the Forum in 1984 for a more corporate clientele -- are among the most
financially successful human potential movement seminars. Nearly half
a million people took the est training, and 500,000 have participated
in the Forum, an Erhard spokesman said.
Werner Erhard and Associates, which runs the Forum and several other
consulting businesses, last year took in $ 45 million in U.S.
revenues, the spokesman said.
Born in 1935 as Jack Rosenberg, Erhard created his ''personal
transformation'' empire by combining ideas from Zen Buddhism,
Scientology and some of the alternative psychotherapy and self-
motivation techniques developed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Today, initiates to the Forum pay $ 595 for two consecutive weekends
designed to inspire ''a breakthrough in personal effectiveness'' and
produce ''a new experience of vitality and aliveness'' through a
''challenging, rigorous inquiry . . . into the profound possibility of
being.'' Groups of 100 to 250 people participate in the workshops.
RANGE OF OPINIONS
Opinions vary as to whether Erhard is a leading-edge thinker or slick
purveyor of meaningless psychobabble, but the accusations in the court
documents paint one of the darkest pictures yet of his San Francisco-
based organization.
Former est trainer Irving Bernstein of Mill Valley, who quit in 1985,
said in one affidavit that ''the Source'' was understood ''to mean
that Erhard was akin to God.''
''Leaving WEA ( Werner Erhard and Associates) was looked upon as an
act of heresy,'' stated Bernstein, who said employees ''essentially
committed their souls forever to do the Work and do what Erhard
asked.''
Michael Breard of Corte Madera said in his court declaration that his
''interview process'' for becoming a personal aide to Erhard involved
spending two days ''cleaning the bilge of the boat on which Mr. Erhard
was living with a toothbrush and Q-tip.' Breard, who said he was hired
on Erhard's staff in 1984, stated that he was told by Erhard's
brother, Harry Rosenberg, that he would be harmed if confidential
information about Erhard's posh lifestyle were ever revealed.
Breard said he was told that ''Mr. Erhard had a friend in the Mafia''
who would ''take care'' of anyone who leaked information.
WAKE-UP MASSAGE
He said one of his duties was to wake Erhard up every morning by
''kneeling at the foot of the bed, putting my hands under the covers
and massaging his feet and calves in a particular manner.'' Breard
also was supposed to make sure that Erhard's toiletries were lined up
in an exact row each morning. ''Mr. Erhard was an incredible
perfectionist and was extremely verbally abusive if tasks were not
performed according to his exact specifications,'' he said.
Breard said that he was physically struck on one occasion but that
Erhard's usual way to ''berate me would be to scream obscenities at me
in a voice which is louder than I can describe.''
At the request of Erhard's attorneys, the affidavits were put under
court seal last week by Superior Court Judge Ira Brown. For a short
time, however, they were open for public viewing and photocopying. The
suit is set for trial April 16.
In previously filed court documents, Erhard's attorneys have denied
Afremow's allegations of age discrimination, sex discrimination,
defamation and the intentional infliction of emotional distress.''
Based in San Francisco, the Forum is offered through 35 Werner Erhard
and Associates offices in the United States and 14 other offices
around the world. Erhard has also expanded into the corporate
consulting and personnel management business in recent years through a
network of franchise businesses sold under the name Transformational
Technologies, Inc.
Tex
for Landmark, according to Enric.
It seems they have reconciled their differences. She now leads the
Children's Forum.
Charlene always seemed a bit cranky to me.
The below article could explain why. :-)
<elle...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1184533310.8...@i38g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
computeruser
news:59KdnamwAKuSOQfb...@comcast.com...
> One of the plaintiffs in the suit, Charlene Afremow, is once again working
> for Landmark, according to Enric.
> It seems they have reconciled their differences. She now leads the
> Children's Forum.
> Charlene always seemed a bit cranky to me.
> The below article could explain why. :-)
Charlene was a Holiday Magic person and then went along with Mind Dynamics.
Alexander Everett reached out to William Penn Patrick with the idea of
selling training to the pyramid/MLM/Network Marketing crowd around Holiday
Magic and beyond. IIRC she was Werner's Mind Dynamics trainer.
She and Stuart Esposito were written about in Jess Stern's "The Power of
Alpha Thinking" which explored the Mind Dynamics training sessions. Her son
was also discussed in this book.
Werner took the Mind Dynamics course in November 1970 and went on to become
an instructor. He lead the Mind Dynamics sessions until October 1971 when
the first "est training" occurred.
Tex
"computeruser" <cyra...@postmaster.invalid> wrote in message
news:d9b04$469ad87e$d0662a4c$30...@FUSE.NET...
> "Tex" <ritte...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:59KdnamwAKuSOQfb...@comcast.com...
>> One of the plaintiffs in the suit, Charlene Afremow, is once again
>> working for Landmark, according to Enric.
>> It seems they have reconciled their differences. She now leads the
>> Children's Forum.
>> Charlene always seemed a bit cranky to me.
>> The below article could explain why. :-)
>
> Charlene was a Holiday Magic person and then went along with Mind
> Dynamics. Alexander Everett reached out to William Penn Patrick with the
> idea of selling training to the pyramid/MLM/Network Marketing crowd around
> Holiday Magic and beyond. IIRC she was Werner's Mind Dynamics trainer.
>
> She and Stuart Esposito were written about in Jess Stern's "The Power of
> Alpha Thinking" which explored the Mind Dynamics training >sessions. Her
> son was also discussed in this book.
I didn't know that Stewart camefrom Mind Dynamics also. He was CEO of WEA at
one time.
>
> Werner took the Mind Dynamics course in November 1970 and went on to
> become an instructor. He lead the Mind Dynamics sessions until >October
> 1971 when the first "est training" occurred.
And Charlene was his instructor in Mind Dynamics.
Do you know if Charlene was one of Werner's Trainers before she helped found
Lifespring, or did she join Werner after Lifespring?
<enter Eldon, stage left> :-D
computeruser
>
> "computeruser" <cyra...@postmaster.invalid> wrote in message
> news:d9b04$469ad87e$d0662a4c$30...@FUSE.NET...
>> "Tex" <ritte...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:59KdnamwAKuSOQfb...@comcast.com...
>>> One of the plaintiffs in the suit, Charlene Afremow, is once again
>>> working for Landmark, according to Enric.
>>> It seems they have reconciled their differences. She now leads the
>>> Children's Forum.
>>> Charlene always seemed a bit cranky to me.
>>> The below article could explain why. :-)
>>
>> Charlene was a Holiday Magic person and then went along with Mind
>> Dynamics. Alexander Everett reached out to William Penn Patrick with the
>> idea of selling training to the pyramid/MLM/Network Marketing crowd
>> around Holiday Magic and beyond. IIRC she was Werner's Mind Dynamics
>> trainer.
>>
>> son was also discussed in this book.
>
> I didn't know that Stewart camefrom Mind Dynamics also. He was CEO of WEA
> at one time.
I pulled the Jess Stern book out. The Power of Alpha Thinking [Signet
paperback] Copyright 1976.
[I think Mind Dynamics stopped operating in 1974.]
Here is part of the relevent passages about Stewart Esposito.
~~~
Chapter 2
Miracles or Mirage [begins page 14, chapter three starts on page 35]
page 21 - 1/3 of the page down
...
Asking Alpha teacher about Alpha was like asking Republicans about
Eisenhower. Of course, they believed. Why else would they be teaching after
taking the course?
"I wanted to change a few bad habits," said the instructor Stewart
Esposito, "and it changed my life."
Stew looked like a successful young insurance agent, and that's excactly
what he was until Alpha struck.
I didn't know what I expected an Alpha teacher to look like, but it
wasn't Stew. He was serious-faced, soberly dressed, and very determined. He
made me think of that old ditty, "There's no one with endurance like the man
who sells insurance."
He lived in Stamford, Connecticut, commuter distance from New York City,
had an economics degree out of Cornell, was married, with a child, and still
in his mid-twenties. He had everything going to fulfill the middleclass
American dream of comfortable security. A few months out of college, he had
sold a million dollars in life insurance, and was regarded by associates as
a coming man. Hell, he was only twenty-five, and nobody could sell insurance
like he could. He was making it. He was a blooming success. And he was a
nervous wreck.
He had migraine headaches, coffee jag, and he bit his nails.
"Everybody said I was a success, and I knew I was a mess." He exercised
regularly, jogged daily, but it didn't help. "I'd get uncontrollably sleepy
after lunch, pep myself up with coffe, and get tension headaches at four
every after noon."
~~
That brings us to the top of page 22
in the index:
Afremow, Charlene 11, 24
Afremow, George 11-13, 54
Esposito, Stewart 21 - 25, 171
Everett, Alexander - is referenced on about 75 pages total.
I may type more or you could all spend the five bucks and buy your own copy.
>> Werner took the Mind Dynamics course in November 1970 and went on to
>> become an instructor. He lead the Mind Dynamics sessions until October
>> 1971 when the first "est training" occurred.
>
> And Charlene was his instructor in Mind Dynamics.
> Do you know if Charlene was one of Werner's Trainers before she helped
> found Lifespring, or did she join Werner after Lifespring?
I remember it being after Lifespring. Here is part of my proof.
~~~
according to "the graduate review" publication of est, an
educational corporation, july/august 1980, the chronology
of the organization as it pertains to the "trainer body" is
as follows:
october 1971 - est incorporates as erhard seminars training;
first standard training; phyllis allen designated a children's
trainer; january 1973 - stewart emery formally designated a
trainer (fd) (left april 1975); august 1973 - randy mcnamara
fd; november 1973 - landon carter fd (left december 1979);
ted Long fd; march 1974 - tony freedley fd (left march 1976);
november 1974 - stewart esposito and ron bynum fd; june
1975 - hal isen fd; august 1975 - jerry joiner fd; April 1977 -
ron browning fd; december 1978 - laurel scheaf fd; charlene
afremow fd; december 1979 - neil mahoney fd; february
1980 - roger dillan fd.
total (remaining) formally designated est trainers as of
february 1980 (not including werner) = 12
~~~
According to the above post:
Charlene Afremow was formally designated December 1979.
&
Stewart Esposito was formally designated June 1975.
Tex
"computeruser" <cyra...@postmaster.invalid> wrote in message
news:1b037$469c24c0$d0662a4c$50...@FUSE.NET...
computeruser
paperback] Copyright 1976.
[I think Mind Dynamics stopped operating in 1974.]
~~~
Chapter 2
Miracles or Mirage [begins page 14, chapter three starts on page 35]
page 21 - 1/3 of the page down
...
Asking Alpha teacher about Alpha was like asking Republicans about
Eisenhower. Of course, they believed. Why else would they be teaching after
taking the course?
"I wanted to change a few bad habits," said the instructor Stewart
Esposito, "and it changed my life."
Stew looked like a successful young insurance agent, and that's exactly
what he was until Alpha struck.
I didn't know what I expected an Alpha teacher to look like, but it
wasn't Stew. He was serious-faced, soberly dressed, and very determined. He
made me think of that old ditty, "There's no one with endurance like the man
who sells insurance."
He lived in Stamford, Connecticut, commuter distance from New York City,
had an economics degree out of Cornell, was married, with a child, and still
in his mid-twenties. He had everything going to fulfill the middleclass
American dream of comfortable security. A few months out of college, he had
sold a million dollars in life insurance, and was regarded by associates as
a coming man. Hell, he was only twenty-five, and nobody could sell insurance
like he could. He was making it. He was a blooming success. And he was a
nervous wreck.
He had migraine headaches, coffee jag, and he bit his nails.
"Everybody said I was a success, and I knew I was a mess." He exercised
regularly, jogged daily, but it didn't help. "I'd get uncontrollably sleepy
after lunch, pep myself up with coffee, and get tension headaches at four
every after noon."
He didn't look nervous or tense to me, stolid and placid, even
phlegmatic.
But this was the new Stew Esposito. "The day I finished my mind class, I
stopped drinking coffee." He looked quizzically. "You say 'big deal', but I
drank eight to ten cups a day. to keep alert for night time activity that I
considered essential to the insurance business."
All the little Miracles, and how were they done? Just by closing the
eyes, going into the levels students talked about so glibly, and visualizing
the horrible effects of coffee? But hadn't he done this before? He must
certainly have known what coffee was doing to him or he wouldn't have been
alert enough to have taken the course.
He had visualized himself, in class, as fresh and wide awake, without
coffee, and it had worked. He had imagined the bitter aftertaste of
excessive coffee drinking, and it had worked.
It had all happened in the Workshop, that wonderful dreamroom where all
these dreams seemed to come true.
He had to keep up his autosuggestion - for what else was it? - just as
he had to school himself every day, as an insurance man, to see so many
prospects.
~~
This brings us two-thirds down page 22
in the index:
Afremow, Charlene 11, 24
Afremow, George 11-13, 54
Esposito, Stewart 21 - 25, 171
Everett, Alexander - is referenced on about 75 pages total.
I may type more or you could all spend the five bucks and buy your own copy.
"computeruser" <cyra...@postmaster.invalid> wrote in message
news:1b037$469c24c0$d0662a4c$50...@FUSE.NET...