Hai sa mai public in engleza, pentru diversitate  

I participated in a personal development course popular in Bucharest these days, 
and as the guys suggested there, I’ll share my experience with you.

The course uses two main formats: a.monologue of the presenter,
b.case-studies with participants. There’s a third type of activity which
all participants are constantly encouraged to do: to communicate to
relatives and any other close people how great the results are (and even
if no results: “first share, then the results will come”).

The information part of the course touches a little of everything and
inspires itself from:

- The fourth way (the main source, you can read more here)
- Psychology
- Philosophy 
- Christianity

Of course the format (3 days, 210 participants) doesn’t allow them go too
deep in any of it, they don’t give you the sources to study at home, and
forbid you to take notes.

What they’re talking about is:
- it’s good to be sincere to yourself, even about your bad parts: trying
all the time to look good to others create tensions;
- it’s good to take responsibility of your life, instead of blaming
others/fate for your failures;
- it’s good to communicate with others about your problems, especially the
bad things that marked you before, don’t let the past influence your future;
- it’s good to be empathic / understand others, forgiving other people sets
you free (hate is hurting you);
- realising that life has no meaning frees you to put your own meaning in it;
& other things that most people get to know one way or the other, and some
of them are debatable (for example they preach the virtue of
peacefulness/impacare, although progress/reaching one’s goals require
action/neimpacare instead).

A lot of importance is put on language: they invent their own words for
things, they play with them (change is bad, transformation is good), they
say that ‘creation is in language first’, like analytical philosophers do.

The work-with-public part of the course is a mix of mass therapy session
(which of course makes it less useful than an individual one) with
Iarta-ma/Surprize Surprize and other poor tv shows. Well-managed from the
presenter, but the participants…

- Ildika’s business is not going well, and they concluded it’s because
when she was 3 years old by a boy named Csabi told her she’s fat (she was
fat);
- Andi, 27, comes late to work, gets penalised 15% of the salary, then
people ask him to do stuff but he doesn’t want to (nu-mi convine), they
found the source if his problems too;
- a girl tells that nobody leastened to her until now, and today on the way
to the course in the bus she had a breakthrough: another course coleague
asked her several times ‘what do you say?’ and she realised she doesn’t
speak loud enough, so now the course changed her life. “How many of you
where influenced by her story?” - ALL hands rise and then applauses - now
the girl will shout instead of speaking..
- a lot of people with problems in their relations, divorced women, a guy
who comes for the second time to the course told me his main problem
is sex, the quality but especially the quantity of it  

There where some normal people as well, but it seems that
crazy/non-interesting people speak more than others. Luckily you’re asked
to discuss your ‘breakthroughs’ with your neighbor, and if you know where
to sit it happens to be a good-looking girl.

Work with public was boring like hell most of the time.

The presenter is a very good one: first he wins the public trust (telling
stories about his wife & son), then he manipulates the audience as he
wishes (there are no contradictory opinions allowed, anyone with wrong
ideas is told to shut up one way or the other).

At the end, when everybody understood that life is meaningless, each can
build it’s own meaning, by choosing who s/he will be in the future.
Integrity is the key: you have to keep your word, so you have to become
the person you choose you’ll be, otherwise you’re not keeping your word.

The show ends with a great discourse, volunteers who assisted the course
are praised/applauded like at Great Opera show, everybody is happy.

Did the course help some people relax about their problematic past -
Definetly! Will it help Ildika improve her business? No.

Mai curand recomand cititul de carti, discutiile cu oameni interesanti, si online video:

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This entry was posted on Saturday, 23 February 2008 at 5:38 and is filed under viata. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.