Landmark

An acquaintance (who believe me is NOW very estranged to me) cold-​called me yesterday under the guise that she wanted to «catch up». I saw her twice last year for a mutual friend’s wedding shower and wedding, but before that I hadn’t been in touch with her for 10 years, and made the mistake of giving her my phone number. She started the conversation like she was interested in sharing her life with me and got me to openly talk about my life. I shared with her what I thought my «struggles» were in life, work, stress, anxiety, being unmarried, etc. I repeatedly told her I was happy with my life, I feel in control, I have found solutions that have worked for my problems, and I am happy with who I am. However, by the end of the conversation she was trying to convince me that there was something missing still, something wrong with me, and I needed to be free from my life struggles, which I had clearly told her over the last hour that I had become happier in life with what I have been doing. She asked if she could be frank with me, and told me the way she sees things is that I am still struggling in life, and I am not «free from anxiety». She kept asking me, «don’t I want to be free?». She gave an example of her cousin who took this «leadership» workshop, who had body image problems before, no longer feels that way, blah, blah, blah. I asked her what part of the last hour of our conversation made her think I need to take this self-​help workshop? I told her that I am a successful leader at work and in my life, and asked her what her credentials were to teach me how to «lead»? I asked her what techniques are these leaders using? Have they been studied to be effective? What is the percent of success? She asked me, «so you will only pursue something if you have facts and evidence?» And to that, I said, «of course, how else should you approach things?». I told her she sounded like a salesman selling me a happy pill and I didn’t like where the conversation was going.
After her insistence that something was «wrong with me» that I needed «freedom from», using the same buzz words, I realized she was not really listening the last hour of our conversation. I basically stopped her by asking her if she really called to catch up or was this a sales pitch to sell this workshop, and it silenced her. Soon after that I wished her well and ended the conversation.
I was suckered into ponzi-​type participation before where I have wasted my time and money in my youth, and unfortunately back then it took 1 meeting for me to realize those events were scams, and I bounced. So I should have recognized this in her sooner than the hour-​mark of our conversation. Sadly, I thought this person was really trying to be my friend, and so I opened up to her.
Those who are seeking ‘answers’ will be open to listening to what this forum has to offer and maybe take some positives away. I haven’t attended these classes, so I cannot really say whether they would have worked for me or not. However, the individual that called me, sounded very rehearsed, and when I challenged her to give me specific success ratings of these workshops she couldn’t provide me details. She insisted that I had issues that I needed to work out, when I told her that I feel in control of my life and I was happy. Based on this phone call alone, I have enough intuitive sense to know that those who operate this business do not really care about their consumers (mentality of scammers). They are just doing their jobs to make money; feeding on those who are looking for answers, and offering endless possibilities. Please at least be mindful of this if you consider to buy any of their products.
No legitimate business is ever called «a scam» or «a cult». Even though there are positive reviews about these courses, I am inclined to think a good majority of these people have been brainwashed; by a business that encourages their attendees to keep purchasing products because it will make their lives better, the recruitment of friends and family, volunteering to help a «good cause». I would like to challenge Landmark to quantify how these workshops have improved peoples lives, rather than just «feeling positive» afterwards. What is the success rate of promotions at work? How many people have become more fit and healthy?, etc. Some statistically significant data, please! No data are listed on their website. No controlled studies to demonstrate their «tools» and «techniques» are effective at improving lives. Any person of a scientific mind should question the validity of their methods. I have been reading people’s testimonies about Landmark, and those who defend this business and have taken their classes usually express that they «feel better», «more positive», etc. but no one lists the measurable achievements after having taken these courses. Classic placebo effect, folks. The old adage is befitting here, «If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is».

Its a cult. Save your money and just spike your own Kool-​aid.

Do yourself a favor and read about the program, its founder and history before you attend. I attended this weekend and didn’t finish the first day. It was intellectually insulting and emotionally manipulative.
If you have any emotional maturity and self awareness, this is not for you. But if through the recommendation of others you feel the need to check it out, please read about the program first. It may change your mind. Ironically, reading about the program is the last thing the Forum would want you to do. Don’t believe me? Call and ask them. Then decide.

I was skeptical as most people are about the Landmark Forum. You hear all over the place that they use high pressure sales tactics, brainwashing techniques, and can be almost forceful in their seminars. I decided to give it a chance but I made the decision before I stepped into the place that I would not be forced or pressured into anything I did not want to do.
30 minutes into the first day of the 3.5 day course the first «group» activity was to ask the person next to you why they’re here. I participated reluctantly for obvious reasons: I’m still skeptical about the whole thing. After a brief conversation with the person next to me who was also very skeptical about the whole thing, the facilitator started asking people to raise their hand if they felt the person next to them would benefit by being at the landmark forum. Neither I nor my partner raised our hand. Among dozens of others. She then asked who thought WOULDNT benefit from being there. Again both me and my partner did not raise our hands. The facilitator spotted us and started asking questions. She asked me to come up to the microphone and talk to everyone about why we did not raise our hands to either question. I told her that I wasn’t going to do that. She proceeded to ask 2 or 3 more times to come up and speak on the microphone. I told her every time that I wasn’t going to. Because I didn’t conform to the «group think» brainwashing tactic, she asked me to go speak with some of the other facilitators in the back of the room about why I wasn’t going to participate. At this point not only did she not accept «No» as an answer, she proceeded to call me out and embarrass me in front of about 200 people. Typical group think brainwashing tactic.
I will not be a part of that and if you are a strong minded individual you will not either. It’s a well documented fact that brainwashing only works on the weak minds. Clearly this is for weak minded individuals

My hubby had me, and the kids, and his mom go to this landmark forum thing. on a Tuesday night from 7 to 10p.m. the 2 older kids went to one room, and the rest of us in another. Now get this I’m thinking this is a graduation handing out certificates, to all who participated over the weekend. Nope nothing was handed out, except a journal, but After going there for 3 long hours, I don’t think I am interested in doing this, especially since they don’t feed you!!! For the amount of money your putting out, you should get a couple of meals. I was approached by a woman asking me if i was going to sign up, and i told her i really have to research this on line, and im so glad i did… Also reading around the web, and people saying how mean people were if you got up to use the restroom. Sorry if I have to go use the rest room I am getting up to use it, and no one is going to belittle me for doing so… landmark get it together there is a way to talk to people without being mean. Also think about adding in a meal because people do have to eat…

The Landmark Forum was an utter and complete waste of time and money for me. I learned that if you disagree with them they tell you that you are stuck in your rackets, unable to see the truth, and are not coachable, thus a sad case. It was reminiscent of holy roller church with all their smiling volunteers saying «welcome back» and the fervour with which they impart their brand of wisdom, not to mention the «enrollment» schema. After preaching about authenticity, the facilitator told someone who had disclosed some pretty heavy stuff about his dad to just call his dad up on the break & tell him he loves him, even if he doesn’t. How authentic is that? He told another woman who was contemplating divorce that she had no right to do so as she had signed a «contract» with her husband for life… even though the facilitator (Will Steele — a pompous jerk) is D-​I-​V-​O-​R-​C-​E-​D!
*If you are stuck & need someone to preach & yell at you from 9am-​10pm 3 days in a row, then this is for you.
*If you want to be told that you are a machine, that life is empty and meaningless and that you have no self awareness, that you are not allowed to think critically because you will be accused of being in your «rackets,» then this is for you.
*If you prefer emotional abuse, belittlement, and complete and utter disregard for your wellbeing for not agreeing with every thing they present, then this is for you.
*If you want to be pressured into calling people to tell them you forgive them (how patronizing), then this is for you.
*If you want to feel guilty for not choosing to suck it all up hook line & anchor, no questions asked, then this is for you.
*If you want to be told over & over & over that not only will you ever be happy without Landmark, but none of your friends, family members, co-​workers, or ANYONE in your life will have the ability to be happy unless you ensure they «enroll» & spend $ 600 to attend a Landmark Forum, then this is for you.
I find yoga, meditation, and exercise more beneficial.
I wish I had never spent the time or the money.
Here are some great articles/​videos to read/​watch *BEFORE* you decide to pay $$ to take a Landmark course:
This one explains why Landmark left France :
This one is pretty funny (stand up comedian):
And check out the San Francisco Unilocal page here for more testimonials:

Save yourself from the pain and don’t step in to this place, once you do there is no going back. They will bombard you with their phone calls and annoying marketers will not rest until you pay them. And once you do, they will push you to «enroll» other people around you.
And once you take the class, IT IS USELESS. This is a CULT that brainwash you to be selfish and stupid.

It’s amazing to me that anyone would give Landmark less than 5 stars.
Quite simply, they are giving a rating to how much they enjoy looking at the worst part of themselves… the part that doesn’t work… the part that complains about pressure… the part that misses a session and groans about how they were told that it’s like missing a flight…
I absolutely LOVE looking at the part of me that doesn’t work, so of course I’m going to give this five stars. Anyone who gives it less than five stars is giving themselves less than five stars.
Landmark is all about taking a hard honest look at things like integrity and, surprise, there are lots of people who want to blame an educational company for their issues. Try blaming a college or university for the fact that you flunked out and you can see the similarities. Would you give a college 1 star because you didn’t do your homework, didn’t show up to class on time and didn’t like the professor? It’s the same thing!
As they say at Landmark, how you do one thing is how you do everything (if the shoe fits), so look carefully at the people who are giving bad reviews. All the CEOs and presidents of companies and movie stars and world-​renowned artists and extremely successful people are not the ones giving bad marks.

People should quit calling this a cult. There is no group think, no pressure, no intimidation, no weirdness, and basically no connecting with the organization afterwards… once you’ve taken it, you’re done. The only contact the company will have with you is sending out an occasional brochure or postcard, or calling you every 3 – 6 months to let you know about an upcoming seminar… something I appreciate. And as for that level of contact, if you ask them they will perminantly take you off the mailing/​phone list.
I guess some people like to label it a cult because it really is transformational, as opposed to most of those «personal development» seminars out there, which are inspiring but don’t really change you. This one does tend to change people, but only if it is in an area where you see the value of change. It doesn’t change you fundamentally; you’re still the same person. A cult implies that you are less able to think for yourself, when in fact after the Forum, you become freer to think for yourself than you were before because your are then aware of some of the «mechanisms» (my word) for how your mind works. They talk about learning «what you didn’t know you didn’t know», AKA your «blind spots». That’s a good analogy. After the Forum, you walk out thinking, «wow, I was so deluding myself» in certain areas.
The Forum is definitely not a place where the forum leader is above criticism. There were several times when the participants voiced their criticism of something the leader said, and this was totally acceptable and respected. And as for not being able to eat, drink or get up to use the bathroom, that’s also incorrect. I took the Forum in Portland, OR, and we could drink anything anytime, which was nice. (Although I hear they only allow drinking during the breaks at the Forum in San Francisco, which I think is unfortunate). They didn’t allow eating because it would be distracting to the other participants, but mints or Altoids were fine. And you can get up anytime you want to use the bathroom, have a cigarette, or make a phone call. You will find, however, that you do not want to get up because what is going on is so interesting and … sorry… transformational.
Two hours into the Forum on the first day, when it is time for the first break, the forum leader lets everyone know that if they are not seeing value, they can leave and get a full refund.
I got a ton out of taking the forum, and consider the $ 525 to be a bargain. (They also give you free optional six week seminar afterward to allow you to practice what you’ve learned, which I found very worthwhile). Here’s a bit of advice: only listen to the reviews (both positive and negative) from people who have actually TAKEN the Forum. Most of the negative reviews are from people who haven’t taken it, which is absurd. If someone has taken it and has given it a bad review, definitely take that into consideration.
I do understand how some people would think there is a cult element because by Sunday afternoon, most everyone is feeling extremely transformed, and they are encouraged to call their friends and invite them to an introduction. Many of their friends and family will hear them sounding like they have never sounded before, and it is understandable that some will think the caller has somehow been swept up in something that has taken away their better judgement.
Generally speaking, the more positive and open to self improvement you are, the more likely you will love the Forum. And conversely, the more negative and resistant you are to self improvement, the less accepting you will be of the Forum.
Speaking of negative reviews, I read an interesting one from one of the editors at Mother Jones, a magazine I normally like. You can google it to find it. I was very disappointed in the article because although he said he went into the Forum with an open mind, it was very obvious to me that he went into it planning to write something negative. This made me realize that a lot of publications CANNOT write anything positive about the Forum because it would not be acceptable to their readership. In the article he basically implied that the 90+% of participants who felt they got something out of it were idiots.
The saddest thing about most of the negative reviews is that they keep people whose lives really would be changed from the opportunity of something that would give them a high degree of benefit. I agree that probably 95% of the participants benefitted greatly from taking it. And NO ONE felt is was an adverse experience.
If you want to know what I got out of it, just read everyone else’s reviews, as they sum it up pretty well. My opinion is this: The question is not whether or not The Forum is legitimate or worthwhile, because it is very much that. The real question is do you have an interest in transforming your life to make it better, and do you have the guts to take that on. Life is short.

I wish I could give «0» stars
My brother, mother and I attended the 1^st class in New Delhi, India. My brother had done it before who was with me to renew the course. I found it highly disappointing, so did my brother. He shared a very different experience with me. The Instructor could not convey anything properly, people were laughing at him. Moreover more than 5 people slept off. People were on there phones, having a conversation amongst each other. I feel the instructor was not even prepared for this, he was reading everything and just couldn’t come across, everyone around was also confused. My brother and I had great expectations from this course. Due to the instructors negative attitude my brother, mother and I had to eventually leave without even caring about the money.
After speaking to the program head, who tried to convince me to stay for the last part of the day even he was unsuccessful as I feel even he was doubting the instructor.

I attended two pre-​forum sessions to support a friend who suggested that it would benefit our relationship. After enrolling in the forum, I decided to leave at noon on the first day. No hard feelings on my part, I just didn’t think it was something for me at this time. My instructor assured me that my credit card would be credited in full within 4 – 5 weeks. Well, after 8 weeks, this still hasn’t happened. I have called Landmark on three occasions and they promised to return the call later that evening. Not one person has had the courtesy to actually do what they said or to apologize for the disingenuous actions of other employees. Ain’t no stories here folks – when you owe people money – you pay them back. If you need a class for that – well, someone has failed you. Please stay away from these creeps.

Landmark Education
4.5 star rating
28 reviews Rating Details
Category: Education [Edit]
San Francisco Center
44 Tehama St
San Francisco, CA 94 102
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 882‑6300
business image
Add Photos
First to Review
Photo of Kristina R.
Kristina R.
Edit Business Info Work Here? Unlock This Business Page
Send to Friend Bookmark Send to Phone Update My Review
28 reviews for Landmark Education
Sort by: Unilocal Sort | Date | Rating | Useful | Funny | Cool | Total Votes | Friends’ | Elites’
Your Review
Review from erica b.
Photo of erica b.

22 friends
75 reviews
erica b.
Oakland, CA

2.0 star rating
10/​18/​2011
Well, we’ll see how long this stays up, since all the low reviews either filtered or removed…
I went expecting amazing things based on what I’d heard. It was ok. Lotsa yelling, ego-​beatdown, crying, basic existential philosophy, and some good cognitive behavioral tools.
If you need the catharsis of public humiliation to get you to call your mom/​dad/​whoever and tell them you love them, and want to pay $ 510 to lock yourself into a motivating and structured environment to make yourself do it, then this totally is for you. The call to action and the accountability are powerful. You will not be forced to do anything and the public humiliation is 100% voluntary.
I did see people get a lot out of it. As another reviewer mentioned, your level of need is a big factor. I get on great with everyone in my life and have peace, joy, and empowerment already, so there wasn’t much left for them to give me, but it renewed my appreciation for my great family, friends, and life.
It’s totally a cult (there’s the word that’ll get my review taken down!) but might get you off your butt. I think they are sincere in their fascinating manipulations of language and environment to get you to live your life more fully and happily. I know they are sincere in their desire to make themselves tons of money.
You’ll get a lot of useful content with more depth and less drama by reading Forgive For Good and The Power of Now.
In dollars per hour, it’s reasonably priced, highly dramatic theater.

After participating in a Landmark Forum introduction, I thoroughly checked out Landmark; here are some of the things I found.
CEOs Evaluate Landmark Forum

New York Times story:

Business Week/​Panda Express story:

Landmark Connect:

Landmark Results Blog:

Landmark Education in The News:

Pat Summerall on Discovery Channel
Top 100 Adventures Rates The Landmark Forum as # 3
Landmark forum — cult, scam, or path to enlightenment? February 2011

Recent Participant

Wall Street Journal April 16, 2011

After discovering this very positive information, I participated in The Landmark Forum. I have completed several other Landmark courses since then. They have all been truly life altering in many ways, including, I have a stronger and more loving relationship of my wife of 42 years than I ever dreamed possible and also with our daughter. My relationships with all of my family members and friends have never been better.
Since my participation, my wife, daughter, several of my family and friends have participated in The Landmark Forum. Their results have been positively life altering. I have participated in many business, college and personal development courses over the years; Landmark’s were the most reasonably priced and impactful courses I have ever taken.

I was introduced to the Landmark Forum by one of my classmates at Yale. At the time I was figuring out what I wanted to accomplish in the world, and was struggling with how to be a powerful person and lead a fulfilled life.
I took the Forum during my sophomore year, and thought it was phenomenal. One of the breakthroughs I had was in my academics. Previously I had spent a lot of time being frustrated with Yale students and professors, who I saw as overly focused on dry theoretical work, and ignoring the exciting, profound, and important issues going on in the world. I had decided that they were «wrong», and that I was going to have to work «outside the system» to pursue the things I was passionate about.
What I got from the Forum was the making others wrong accomplishes nothing, and once I stopped making them wrong, I could take ownership for my experience. Based on this insight I got the power to create my experience at Yale however I wanted it to be. Rather than being resigned to frustration and dissatisfaction, I suddenly had the freedom and the tools to completely alter my environment, enabling me to do what I was passionate about. To take a single example, I couldn’t find classes that allowed me to study what I wanted to study. Whereas before I would have been resigned to being dissatisfied, post-​Forum I realized that it would be way more fun and fulfilling to create my own class. Because I no longer saw professors as being «wrong», I could build powerful relationships with them, and one of those relationships enabled the best intellectual experience of my life, where I got to construct my own class and study one-​on-​one with one of Yale’s most brilliant professors.
That was one breakthrough of many that I got from the Forum, and I’ve successfully applied the training to many other areas of my life. It was definitely one of the best investments of time and money that I’ve ever made.

I did the Landmark Forum in 1996 and continue to be touched by the difference this work has made in my life. I actually never thought that I would be into something like this before I did it. I thought it was for people with «problems». But my dad and stepmom asked me to do it, I got to get out of school for a day, and I thought I’d go along with it to appease them and get them to stop bugging me about it. And my life has never been the same since — for the better! Landmark’s programs don’t add to your knowledge — there are plenty of ways to do that — rather they expose the barriers that keep all of us humans from being fully self expressed, and fulfilling on those things that really matter to us. So it’s about taking away barriers, not adding to knowledge. Life-​changing and amazing.

No matter how many degrees you have, no matter how many decades of meditation or study you have, no matter what disciplines you have studied or mastered, the Landmark Forum is going to ROCK YOUR WORLD? Why? How? Because it blows away your ego and your identity, and your strengths and weaknesses. I mean, when a single-​mother can get something a person with three Ph. D s is struggling with, when a teenager gets something faster than a CEO, when someone famous is humbled by someone who still lives with their parents there is something you don’t know you don’t know. I was blown out of my socks by this program and it altered my life, my families lives, and everyone I touch since that day that I did it.

Couple of things:
(1) Is it a cult? NO! Why are some people so afraid of what they don’t know. People today are so terrified of unknown world. That’s why they don’t travel to other countries. That’s why some people if given the chance to explore the universe, they rather sit at home in their own little comfort zone. Listen people: YOUR AN ADULT, YOU CAN MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND ABOUT STUFF, and YOU ARE SMART ENOUGH TO NOT GET BRAINWASHED BY ANY ORGANIZATION. That’s why Mother Nature gave you that wonderful brain of yours. If your honestly concerned that it’s a cult, tell them you’ll go on the promise that «it is not a cult or I will get my money back» guaranteed.
(2) Landmark Education is a great SELF-​HELP seminar. They keep insisting its not a self-​help seminar but IT IS. Period.
Its a combination of Self-​Help, Buddhism, the Tao Te Ching, and some new philosophy. Very deep, very powerful. You can use it to get whatever results you want out of life. And it gives you clarity.
Some people don’t need the seminar. Some people are already very successful, and have all areas of their life worked out: family, friends, relationships. But if you don’t, I say take this seminar.
(3) Couple of things I didn’t like about the seminar: It is so long (so many hours in one day). From 9am to 10pm. I hate sitting down in a room all day. They should have ½ hour «excercise/​stretch breaks» if they are going to do that. But I wouldn’t let that stop you from going though. Its part of the training.
The other thing is the hard sale. (Yes, I agree with Keith on that). They really do put so much emphasis on signing up other people. Its like if they want you to be a recruiter for them. Well, they’re a business and they have to make money. That’s fine. But I’m only going to convince the people that I think really need the seminar…

The Landmark Forum is a 40-​hour weekend seminar series that is a combination of:
— group therapy intervention
— Oprah reality show
— Zen Buddhism humanistic existentialism
— Amway multi-​level marketing
— cult-​like jargon and pressure (though it’s not quite a cult)
The $ 400-​$ 500 price could be either totally worth the money or a waste of time, depending on your:
— level of emotional need
— prior experience and knowledge
— value of time
— tolerance of cult-​like aspects
I thought it was a somewhat worthwhile experience. Pros — I didn’t have anything better to do that weekend, and it gave me some interesting things to think about. Cons — I was already familiar with much of their teachings so I didn’t have any major breakthroughs, and my emotional issues are relatively minor — mainly a desire to improve self-​confidence. Other participants benefited a great deal though — reuniting with long-​estranged family members, coming to terms with past abuse, etc. — appearing as though the weight of the world were lifted off their shoulders. So YMMV — Your Mileage May Vary.
One last consideration is the concern that Landmark is a cult. It may not be a cult exactly, but there are definitely cult-​like aspects to the experience. They constantly push you to sell to your family and friends, and they have an excessive use of jargon — both of which can wear on your nerves (or simply brainwash you). Personally, I found the cult-​like aspects rather annoying — costing about a star in my rating.
Now, to get into more detail about the bullet points above — the Landmark forum can be described as being similar to:
Group Therapy Intervention
Not once during the entire weekend was the term «therapy» used. The Landmark Forum is probably careful to avoid that word for marketing reasons — they want to create their own unique branded experience, and they understandably want to avoid the stigma attached to the term. That said, the people who benefit a lot from the Forum would probably also benefit from other forms of psychotherapy. Landmark combines elements of cognitive-​behavioral therapy, humanistic existential therapy, and psychoanalysis in a reasonably effective manner, similar to the current movement towards «integrated» psychotherapy in the profession. Also, it’s somewhat of an intervention in that it enforces commitment to the process by consuming every single waking moment of three days straight (13 hours/​day), is run under strict rules, and that some people who are «invited» by their friends probably really need the help.
Oprah Reality Show
Participants are encouraged to stand at a mike in the front of the room and share questions and issues. The forum leader holds a one-​on-​one conversation with them, kind of like public psychoanalysis. Personal issues are brought to the fore, sometimes causing the participant to break down in tears, then things are resolved with realization and some form of relief or happiness. To the audience, this can be touching, moving, inspiring, and/​or entertaining — just like Oprah!
Amway Multi-​Level Marketing
Every hour or so the forum leader pressures the audience to invite their friends and family. At first, they use euphemisms like «enroll» and «invite» — the term «sell» is avoided — but by the end, they admit that they want you to help «sell» additional enrollments. The frequency of these sales pitches can be pretty annoying — about 30% of your time is spent listening to their advertising — whether it be for recruiting, additional seminars, or other products. Technically it’s just word-​of-​mouth marketing because there are no commissions. There is some truth to their pitch because the more family and friends who can be freed of their issues and supportive of you, the more you’ll benefit. However, it’s also very self-​serving because this is entirely how they get more customers.
Zen Buddhism Humanistic Existentialism
SPOILER ALERT: Landmark’s punchline is that «life is empty and meaningless» — directly inspired from the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, Sartre etc. Some people resist this punchline to the point of having existential crises, but eventually, with the help of discussion and exercises, this way of thinking helps them come to some form of enlightenment. The Zen/​existential approach works from the therapy perspective as well — similar to Landmark’s borrowings from cognitive and behavioral therapy, there are also established humanistic and existential approaches to therapy that can help free people from attributing too much meaning to things in their past.
Some last thoughts on the cult topic. The jargon of Landmark introduces a «tortured relationship to grammar» as put well by another review (
). The jargon isn’t strictly necessary. And one interesting tidbit — Scientologists scorn Landmark for cribbing from them.
Hope this review helps shed more light on the Landmark Forum. I’m out of my 5000 characters!

I originally gave this company 5 stars for the amazing benefits to my life. I have to take off one star due to their compulsive need to fill their seminars with bodies. Are you listening Landmark? People don’t like to be sold and pressured!
What makes Landmark so effective and convincing to people is that IT WORKS! You take a 3−½ day seminar called the Landmark Forum and you leave with a new perspective on what you’re up to in life that creates entire new realms of possibility for you to live into. To call it a scam or a trick is to say that the people like me who take it and love it are all wildly deluded. Since 95% of people who take the forum report powerful beneficial effects, that would have to mean that Landmark is incredibly effective at deluding people. Given the huge range of experience, education, lifestyle and perspectives I observed of people who take the course, I’d say that claim does not hold up.
Since taking the course, I have apparently been «tricked» into having a much closer relationship with my family and friends, more self confidence, far less stress, and better interactions with people everywhere. This is not by me endlessly repeating «be a good guy, work hard at being nice to people,» or other «techniques.» It’s just by my recognition of certain distinctions that they make clear in the Forum: that I have «rackets», that I like to make up stories about what I see that aren’t true, etc. Facing up to who I’ve been took some courage and an open mind, but it was worth it, because now I’m not trapped by the old me. I think the people who leave and get upset are really just upset that maybe they’ll discover something about themselves that is not that pretty. It upsets their egos… My friends and family, after seeing how it has impacted me, are all getting very interested and my Mother and a brother have already taken the Landmark Forum and both loved it. Same for my ex-​girlfriend. Each of us is a very different person, but we each got something from it we value. I highly recommend it!

I am not a sensitive, touchy-​feely man in search of enlightenment, but rather a middle-​aged Asian guy, an architect, who felt that things like cars (especially BMW’s), degrees (two Masters degrees from UCLA & Berkeley) and looking good was what life was all about.
I’m married, have a son who was in 1989, two years old.
One night, my sister calls me from Florida, around midnight which meant it was 3AM her time. She says: «…(my name)» if you agree to take this course, I’ll pay for it, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to pay me back. And if you do, of course you’ll pay for it — and, I’ve signed you up for it and it starts next month.“
Then, for some reason (probably shock), I said «OK.»
Unbeknownst to me, she had signed me up for the Landmark Forum, and my wife, too. We went to the first session at 9AM on Friday morning with no clue as to what was going to happen. Our Forum leader, Laurel Sheaf, looked dynamic, spoke clearly and powerfully and scared the hell out of me.
Laurel spoke in a language that I had never heard before, and resisted like heck. Terms like «possibilities» and «transformation» and «breakthroughs» rolled off her tongue and I’m thinking: «are you kidding me? No one talks like that, seriously.» About that time, the back of my neck began throbbing — a sure sign someone was trying to make me do something I didn’t want to do. Then she promised that we all have a breakthrough and transformation by the end of The Forum, at which point I almost got up to leave, but didn’t.
Even though the course was long, lasting from 9AM to past midnight, we were back before nine again the next morning. «Integrity» means keeping your word and being on time — I guess I was learning something after all.
After a while, my worst fears were confirmed, we have to talk about ourselves in public! Oh God! But, physically shaking, voice quivering, I managed to say a few unworthy (I thought) things and got something out of it.
To make a long story short, I got so much out of it, and so did my wife, we have now done almost all of Landmark Education’s graduate courses including the Advanced Course and the Introduction to the Forum Leader Program (IFLP), 1-​year course. It was not all fun, a lot of it painful, soul-​searching, and downright scary. But what happened is that it became downright exhilarating to speak in public. Out of The Forum, I realized I wanted to teach and became a guest lecturer at U.C. Berkeley, CCA, San Jose State and U.C. Extension.
I now have my own firm, and am doing well. I got my Mom and Dad to do The Forum, and my wife got her Mom to do it as well. We’ve all become closer as a result.
But the main thing is that I was able to impart a sense of enthusiasm and well-​being to my son.
He did The Forum for Young People when he was ten, and now at age twenty as a Junior at U.C. Davis, is taking The Forum again this summer as he wants to find his direction in life. The Forum is not brain-​washing, it does not make you do anything you do not want to do, in fact, it does the opposite.
It helps you to realize that the choices you’ve made in your life that got you where you are today are the right ones — you just didn’t know it. It’s now been maybe ten years since I last took a course from Landmark Education, but I find myself using some of the concepts and exercises I’ve learned, daily.
I highly recommend The Forum to anyone looking to make some positive adjustments to their life — it worked for me.
A good article on what happens in the Forum: «I thought I’d be brainwashed…»
An article by a clinical psychologist on whether or not it is a «cult»