by K. Scott Teeters - Reiki Master

Pick Your Model - Easy or Hard... Long or Short

Have you noticed that just about everyone you know has “issues” about something, or perhaps many some things. It was only a few decades ago when if someone was upset about something major, they went to a psychiatrist and usually kept it to themselves. Don’t want anyone to know that you’re “nuts” or have a “mental problem.”

There are several old schools of thought that support the notion that forward progress in someone’s life is hard, hard work and can take many years, perhaps even a lifetime and then some. Let’s review three popular models that support this first notion.

The Psychotherapeutic Model

The psychotherapeutic model often has people “in therapy” for years and years. They keep digging and digging, often times dredging up old, nearly forgotten slights and hurts that then have to be examined and discussed. People sometimes get into trouble with this model because when we start digging up old issues and start paying attention to them, that is exactly where your energy is going. If you keep putting your attention energy on to these old issues you are empowering them and make them grow. This is not a bash on the psychotherapeutic model, just an observation.

The Christian “Original Sin” Model

Then there is the Christian model of “original sin.” It basically tells us that we are all born with the stain of Adam and Eve on our soul and that the one and only path towards salvation is through the acceptance of the Lord Jesus as your savior. Otherwise, it makes no difference what so ever what you do with your life, you simply will not go to Heaven when you die.

There’s also the admonition of “Thy will, not my will.” The problem here is that if you follow it to the letter, how can you ever relax and feel safe? Should you not follow the dreams and aspirations that come into your mind because they came from “your” mind? You’ve been given a mind, the “gift” of the frontal lobes that separates us from the animals. It is a sin to use the gift and act on your dreams? And since we all have the ability to think and make our own decisions, why is it right to defer our decisions to a priest or a person leading a congregation? If we are all flawed, isn’t the priest or pastor flawed as well? If you really start asking questions, this can get very murky. That’s why Christians are often instructed not to “think about it” too much. Just believe.

Please, please understand, this is not a rant against Christianity. The Bible is filled with insights and wisdom, but the implementation of the ideas has had a very strange 2,000 year history.

The Eastern Reincarnation and Karma Model

And then there is the reincarnation and karma model. This model has it that somewhere... somewhere... way... way back, you did “something.” You did something bad and as a result, you now have “bad karma” and that’s the reason why things go wrong in your life and that you suffer. It’s God’s way of working the balance sheet.

Unfortunately, “how much” karma you have to work off is a total mystery and you won’t really know how much bad karma is in your karma account until your die. (maybe) So in the mean time, if you lose your job, it’s just karma. Lose your family, it’s your karma. Lose your life... karma. No matter what, it’s just karma.

Do you see a pattern here? The shrink says “your nuts” and it could take years to work out your issues, the church says “you’re a worthless sinner at birth and there’s only one way to salvation - their way,” and the Easterners and the New Agers say that “if you’re having a rough time it’s because you’ve been bad in a past life.” “How bad” or “what you did” is a total mystery and no one knows how long you will be servitude to the Law of Karma. The model says that you could be suffering for a very long time, so stop asking and complaining.

The Landmark Education “Curriculum For Living” Model


As they sometimes say in Landmark, “Story, story, story.... Racket, racket, racket.” The “Forum experience” is a conversation that lasts for three days and one evening. By staying in the conversation of the Forum and the later courses offered by landmark education, you see that your life has been made up of stories, rackets, and winning formulas. All of which are often anchors that hold you down and “ways of being” that are at their core, false. This is part of what really shakes people up in the Forum. Participants see and realize how and where they have been faking in their life.

When you become aware of this, what is left is a “new realm of possibility.” Please consider this. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, the Creator. And what does the Creator do? The Creator, creates... and creates... and creates... forever and ever... worlds without end. Cutting edge physicists are finally coming to the conclusion that there really only is One Moment... and that is the Forever Moment of Now. Always has been... always will be. It’s an esoteric question than makes most minds go on “TILT.”

So from here, an excellent seed question to plant is this, “Where could I go and what could I do if all of my issues were resolved?” Ready? Here we go...

The Way of the Forum

When the ‘70s came around we saw an explosion of self-help books written by doctors and therapists. Self-help books lead to self-development books and then self-actualization books. And as usual, there was all the backlash centered around the misunderstanding of what these books were all about. Many looked down at those that read self-help books claiming that those people are only interested in themselves. It was a sign of their self-centerness and selfishness. BUNK!

I didn’t read every self-help book back then but maybe it wasn’t clearly expressed in those early books that when you “work on yourself” if you stay with the process, you become more of a person. When you become more of a person, there’s more of you to give to others. Also, if there are things in your life that are causing you pain, it will color how you interact with others as well as all of your interactions with your family, friends, coworkers, and colleagues. “Working one yourself” is one of the highest things a person can do for themselves AND their family, friends, and co-workers.

One modality that was both praised and vilified was EST. Warner Earhardt had distilled information from many cultures and came up with an experiential program that was mind-bending and life changing for many, and over the top for some.

Warner moved on to other things and now lives a very quiet life and is out of the limelight. EST morphed into a kinder, gentler version called The Forum and is facilitated by Landmark Education. In ancient Greece, the brightest and smartest people would gather together to have conversations about life, science, and the mysteries of life. They called it “The Forum” because it was simply a “conversation.”

Landmark Education now offers a wide variety of educational programs that are all designed to help you to see a “new realm of possibilities,” as they like to say. So what is this “new realm of possibility”? I started this section talking about “issues” and the fact that we all have them. What was once a hush-hush thing has now become common place. Nearly everyone talks about their issues.

The Forum is a 3-day and one evening conversation with 100 or so people and a Forum leader. The Forum leaders are extraordinary people that have been through rigorous training in the subtle distinctions of Life. Many people are called to want to become a Forum leader, but very few are chosen. And those who are chosen forgo whatever their previous career had been. It is also a lifetime commitment, like joining the priesthood.

Since the Forum is a “conversation,” people attending are encouraged to speak up and ask questions if they want to. It’s encouraged, but not required. In fact, you could not say a word to anyone for the entire time and still “get” what the Forum is about and benefit from the experience.

However, when people ask questions, share, and sometimes debate with the Forum leader, what happens to those in the group is that they often relate to what’s being said because it’s the same or similar to their own thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. So even though you might be just sitting there, the brain may be clicking away with thoughts like, “Oh wow! That’s what I do too!” or, “I’ve had a similar experience and have the same feelings!” So even though someone might just be sitting there, they’re getting the benefit of the conversation because it’s addressing their issues as well.

The Forum leader explains a handful of powerful truths that boil down to these things - Stories, Rackets, Winning Formulas, and Inauthentisities. Briefly, here’s how they breakdown.

Your Story

Everyone has “their story.” Something traumatic happened in their past, usually in childhood, by a grown up or an older sibling. and you made up a story about it to justify your innocence and label them as WRONG. Perhaps your dad humiliated you by slapping your face in front of your friends. Or your older brother exposed himself to you. Or your family was poor and you were shunned at school because of your cloths. Or your family was rich and everyone thought you were just a snobby little rich kid. The “stories” are endless and we ALL have our stories.

Your Rackets

Based on our experience we develop “ways of being” as tools for getting what we want. Rackets are most noticeably in bullies. Rackets show up the most in overt, negative ways of being. They can become finely developed methods for manipulating, dominating, and controlling others. Rackets show up all over the place from demeaning teachers and bosses to politicians and leaders, moms and dads.

Winning Formulas

These are closely related to Rackets, but are much nicer. Winning Formulas usually show up as “nicey-nicey” ways of being, regardless of what’s going on inside of you. Winning Formulas can be carefully honed into what appears to be a successful career. I recall one woman who was a successful business person who realized that she was a sneak and had been that way all her life. She cheated every chance she got and did it all with a smile and a sweet professional manor. The net result was that she’d been indited for accounting fraud. Another man was functionally illiterate and covered it up with his good looks, charm, and his ability to play football pretty well. The net result was that when I finally took over the business from his partner, because he couldn’t read well, he tanked the business

Not all Winning Formulas are that overt, but that all have one thing in common. They are “Inauthentic.”

Inauthentisities

Inauthentisities are the conglomerate of Rackets and Winning Formulas. Inauthentisities are always a form of manipulation and not telling the truth or being evasive. They are the mechanism that carry on the process of “dysfunction, programming dysfunction, that then programs dysfunction.” We learn these things from our environment and our surroundings. It’s what often times keeps our “issues” alive in a back door kind of way. We justify our story, then use rackets and winning formulas to try to win at the game of life, all the while being inauthentic because underneath it all we’re still clinging to our story.

So How Does This Fit In With Designing Your Life?

Now here’s the amazing part and why Landmark Education is part of our “Design The Life You Love, And Have Doing It” program. The experience of listening to this extraordinary conversation in the Forum is often enough to shake us out of our dysfunctional ways of being. By sharing and listening in a safe, nonjudgemental facility where you don’t have a clue if the person next to you is rich or poor, from your country or a foreigner, or any sexual orientation, people are able to get to the root of their issues, and are then shown a new realm of possibility.

What If You Were REALLY Free?

Have you ever considered what you could do with your life if all of your issues were resolved? How much more mental focus and attention could you apply to creating your dream life if you weren’t held down with the anchors called your issues? Try to think past the things that was holding you back because of your issues. Have you ever considered who would you be without your issues?

Experiencing The Forum can take you there. It can show you the way out of the maze of your past and thus, open up nearly everything to you. Landmark Education provides everyone with a safe, secure space to do that kind of deep interpersonal work. It’s really an amazing thing to see people have major break throughs and then to see them on the phone or their cell phone making amends often with people they haven’t talked to in years or decades. We’re talking about MAJOR break throughs and reconciliations. I have never seen anything like it!

Such A Deal!

The Forum also includes 10 follow up seminar sessions to help you to stay in the energy of the Forum. After that they offer “The Advanced Course” which is the same basic information, but taken to a deeper level. Then the third part of the Landmark Curriculum For Living is the “Self Expression and Leadership Program” (S.E.L.P). This program lasts for 3 months and includes 3 all-day Saturday classes, then a once a week meetings. The point of the S.E.L.P. is for you to create a project that is a stretch you you, but it can not have anything to do with making money. It can be a fun event, such as a block party or a social cause, such as creating a peace park in your neighborhood. The point of the S.E.L.P. is to take you through the process of creating a project, organizing the project, enrolling others to help with the project, and to complete the project. In the life cycle of your project a hundred things can pop up that could derail your plan. The S.E.L.P. leader and the coaches are there to guide and assist you through your inner challenges.

Landmark Education has several dozen courses besides the Curriculum For Living, but the Forum and The Advanced Course or considered the core essentials. You could take those two or possibly all three and leave Landmark with everything you need to have an extraordinary life.

Not A Magic Bullet

Please keep in mind that the Landmark Experience is NOT a magic bullet. Changing the flow and direction of your life is an on going, moment-to-moment experience. Each and every moment of our experience of life is an opportunity to pulse out our thought energy in either a positive or negative way. The energy does not care, it will emanate from you and do what it does. It is a very good thing to remember that any way of being that we construct can be deconstructed by the thoughts we choose. Our thoughts can build us heavenly mansions of joy and peace, and later take up to despair and heartache.

This is why I call inner work the “work of a lifetime.” That’s because we will all be working on this every moment of our life, all the days of our life, and then some.

Going through the Landmark experience is not a guarantee that you will be issue-free afterwards. But you will be miles ahead of where you were just a few short weeks before your started with The Forum. My experience was like I had gone underwater and cut the big chains that had me anchored in the harbor. With most of your issues cleared up and dealt with you can really begin to design an extraordinary life. The work you do at Landmark is highly leveraged. That is, for a relatively little amount of effort, you will get amazing results.

The Landmark experience certainly isn’t a requirement for designing the life you love, but it sure will make things MUCH easier, clearer, and fun.

Why I Call Landmark “A Modern Urban Mystery School”

To close this out, I’d like to explain why I call Landmark Education a “Modern Urban Mystery School.” In ancient Greece there were special places where people who were so inclined, could go and learn the mysteries of Life. They were called “mystery schools” because they taught things that were generally unknown to most of the people then.

Most people today are walking around and living their lives with all of their stories, rackets, and winning formulas FIRMLY in place with little to no awareness of what they are doing by holding on for dear life to these dysfunctional, inauthentic ways of being. Well the good news is that there are places where you can go an learn all about these hidden aspects of Life. Now there still are today, “metaphysical” mystery schools (such as The Ramtha Mystery School), but they are few and very far in between. Landmark Education has facilities in over 70 major cities in the United States alone and over 20 in foreign countries.

Landmark facilities are in major cities because, well, that’s where the most people are. What better places to put educational opportunities such as this where people from not only the cities where the facilities are located, but the surrounding suburbs as well.

So, since Landmark Education offers knowledge of what is for most of us hidden and a mystery, and the facilities are in urban locations, that in my book qualifies they to be called, “Modern Urban Mystery Schools.”