People Synergistically Involved - PSI Seminars Outrageously Expensive Courses California

The following is how former cult members and members of spiritually abusive systems described how they felt when they finally left their group. This may give you some insight into their pain and why there are no easy answers for them.

"It Hurts"

It Hurts to discover you were deceived - that what you thought was the one true religion, the path to total fredom, or truth was in reality a cult.

It Hurts when you learn that people you trusted implicitly - whom you were taught not to question - were pulling the wool over your eyes albeit unwittingly.

It Hurts when you learn that those you were taught were your enemies were telling the truth after all - but you had been told they were liars, deceivers, repressive, satanic etc and not to listen to them.

It Hurts when you know your faith in God hasn't changed - only your trust in an organization - yet you are accused of apostasy, being a trouble maker, a Judas. It hurts even more when it is your family and friends making these accusations.

It Hurts to realize their love and acceptance was conditional on you remaining a member of good standing. This cuts so deeply you try and suppress it. All you want to do is forget - but how can you forget your family and friends?

It Hurts to see the looks of hatred coming from the faces of those you love - to hear the deafening silence when you try and talk to them. It cuts deeply when you try and give your child a hug and they stand like a statue, pretending you aren't there. It stabs like a knife when you know your spouse looks upon you as demonised and teaches your children to hate you.

It Hurts to know you must start all over again. You feel you have wasted so much time. You feel betrayed, disillusioned, suspicious of everyone including family, friends and other former members.

It Hurts when you find yourself feeling guilty or ashamed of what you were - even about leaving them. You feel depressed, confused, lonely. You find it difficult to make decisions. You don't know what to do with yourself because you have so much time on your hands now - yet you still feel guilty for spending time on recreation.

It Hurts when you feel as though you have lost touch with reality. You feel as though you are floating and wonder if you really are better off and long for the security you had in the organization and yet you know you cannot go back.

It Hurts when you feel you are all alone - that no one seems to understand what you are feeling. It hurts when you realize your self confidence and self worth are almost non-existent.

It Hurts when you have to front up to friends and family to hear their I told you so whether that statement is verbal or not. It makes you feel even more stupid than you already do - your confidence and self worth plummet even further.

It Hurts when you realize you gave up everything for the cult - your education, career, finances, time and energy - and now have to seek employment or restart your education. How do you explain all those missing years?

It Hurts because you know that even though you were deceived, you are responsible for being taken in. All that wasted time ... at least that is what it seems to you - wasted time.

The Pain Of Grief

Leaving a cult is like experiencing the death of a close relative or a broken relationship. The feeling is often described as like having been betrayed by someone with whom you were in love. You feel you were simply used.

There is a grieving process to pass through. Whereas most people understand that a person must grieve after a death etc, they find it difficult to understand the same applies in this situation. There is no instant cure for the grief, confusion and pain. Like all grieving periods, time is the healer.

Some feel guilty, or wrong about this grief. They shouldn't - It IS normal. It is NOT wrong to feel confused, uncertain, disillusioned, guilty, angry, untrusting - these are all part of the process. In time the negative feelings will be replaced with clear thinking, joy, peace, and trust.

Yes - It hurts but the hurts will heal with time, patience & understanding.

There is life after the cult.

DJ here is another example for you on PSI. Are you sure your not a DRONE?

Mary wrote:

Thanks to PSI SEMINARS for destroying my life.

Well I have been officially divorced for 2 weeks now thanks to my husband leaving me after returning from PSI Seminars. My husband of 23 years had the gall to text me with his "I want out" statement. It was such a blow. He left a week after his return from the ranch telling me that he loved me, but wasn't in love with me anymore. The "I love you but am not in love with you" statement is so common that it's redundant. It's just an excuse for selfish actions. A reason for doing something so unthinkable to someone you care about. I couldn't eat, breathe, sleep...it was like being one of the walking dead. The only thing I did do was go to work and think about him. I even neglected my children due to the depression.

I have begun to assess my life as a newly-single woman. First of all, let me tell you, it is scary. To be 47 and divorced is not what I had planned. Actually, I had thought that, at this point in my life, I would be enjoying the fruit of my labor; enjoying the freedom to come and go as we pleased, visiting friends and family members, eating breakfast for supper, or vise-versa, sleeping and waking when we wanted, grabbing up the grandkids, spoiling them rotten, then taking them home all rowdy and full of themselves of course,
lots of spontaneous love-making (isn't this what we wait for all of our "nurturing" years for?) Now that none of these things are going to happen or, at least, not with the person I had always planned to do them with, I find myself quite sad.

I don't think people really understand what really happens when 23 years of your life goes POOF and everything that you have worked toward and looked forward to becomes a wish unfulfilled. Twenty-one years is a long time. Twenty-one Thanksgivings, Christmas', New Years, Valentines, Easters, Fourths of July, Halloweens, birthdays,
anniversaries, so many friends and relatives passed away, the hurt shared, so many new babies born, the joy also shared...it would take all day just to list everything that has happened over the course of 21 years...so much fallen behind me, like taillights in the rear-view mirror and the specter of a very long road ahead...where will it take me?

I miss having a partner to share the big and the small happenings of life. I miss having someone there when the furnace goes out, when a tire goes flat or a sink is stopped up. I miss having someone there to rub lotion on my back in that one place you can't reach, no matter how you bend your arm. I miss having someone there who has watched the same TV shows and wonders, along with me, why they killed off a certain character. I miss cooking a special dinner and that special someone digging in with gusto and complimenting me on how good it is and coming back for seconds, or thirds, or fourths...
I miss someone coming along to the mall and grumbling the whole while as I "look" at everything on the shelves. I miss walks in the park or long rides in the country. I miss hearing a great song on the radio, turning up the volume and singing along. I miss having a craving for something and running out at midnight to buy it. I miss dirty socks on the bedroom floor, wet towels thrown over the shower- curtain rod, muddy footprints from work boots, discarded change on the dresser, fighting for custody of the TV remote and I miss snoring.

I know that every person here has a list of things they miss, too. I would give anything to feel normal again. The theme of many seems to be "it will be ok"...How? How can it be okay when every second I wonder if this is the last time I will ever see my soul mate again? How will it be ok if looking at my children, whom I love more than life, makes me sick because all I see is my husband. How will it ever be ok for them when I don't want to get out of bed. I love him more than my own life and he doesn't love me because he found something called PSI. The hurt might be less but it will never be ok. You lost your family....we all have... and without family life is worthless.....you hide the pain...but it will NEVER be ok!

How do the PSI Drones live with themselves selling this crap to their family and friends?

So Thanks to PSI SEMINARS for destroying my life.

I've heard that 60 Minutes is going to be doing a segment on Large Group Awareness Training Programs such a PSI Seminars.

DJ, I've read your post and think this is as sad as it gets...to manipulate someone like you into turning over their money is criminal and the consequences might be far reaching and long lasting... but to manipulate someone into turning over their mind is immoral and the consequences will be untold and forever. You haven't learned a thing. "Take the Basic" and you can re-audit the class for free, forever. Come on, the only thing you're doing is feeding off the emotional high your getting from being there. And how do you know that 90 percent of the people attending are happy with it? All I've seen is a large amount of people getting ripped off of their money, making decisions that break up families and you tout the benefits of "PSI." PSI is a candy bar wrapper wrapped around a turd.

DJ, I've read your post and think this is as sad as it gets...to manipulate someone like you into turning over their money is criminal and the consequences might be far reaching and long lasting... but to manipulate someone into turning over their mind is immoral and the consequences will be untold and forever. You haven't learned a thing. "Take the Basic" and you can re-audit the class for free, forever. Come on, the only thing you're doing is feeding off the emotional high your getting from being there. And how do you know that 90 percent of the people attending are happy with it? All I've seen is a large amount of people getting ripped off of their money, making decisions that break up families and you tout the benefits of "PSI." PSI is a candy bar wrapper wrapped around a turd.

I am a graduate from PSI from the late 80's early 90's. I haven't gone back to reaudit for 10 or more years (?) now but I have gone through 4,5 , and 7. I didn't do pld or MLS (which are other advanced seminars).
First off I can relate to how you feel about the "pressure" given by other graduates. I have felt some similar feelings at different times while I have been involved. I can honestly say for myself when I have recommended going to the advanced seminars it was I truly believed it was worth every penny and more. I would think I recommended those courses because of the benefit I received . Even though I haven't been involved for a very long time I still benefit from the concepts and experiences I received all those years ago. The money and effort I spent going to PSI was the best money I have ever spent.
You mentioned you felt you learned about now choosing to be responsible instead of being a victim like you have done in the past. If you did not pay the money to do this course do you think you would face this aspect about yourself?
For me and for many others money represents an obstacle. I became serious about making difficult changes for myself when I had to throw down some cash for these trainings . I also don't want people who are not serious about making changes with me in these seminars. I want people who want to respect themselves and the others in the class. If you go to college for free and if you pay $10,000 a year for college do you think you will be as serious about studying in both instances? I believe those graduates want you to gain the benefit they got. I know it isn't because of the money because the graduates that help make no money. I know this . I have volunteered to help staff basics before.
Here is another concept.

If you do not want to go to the advanced seminars don't go.

There it is that simple. .. but please don't trash these people when you haven't taken the advanced seminar that they have taken. If I go to Hawaii and say how nice it is and you haven't gone and say it is a ripoff to go what's up with that!!!!
Here is another thing . If you feel you are being responsible instead of a victim why are you whining to everyone in cyberspace.
I learned from the trainings to be responsible too. If I had a problem I would talk to PSI world staff first and try to fix the "Problem".
When you paid your money to go to PSI basic you may reaudit that same basic class in whatever city it is in , all over the world forever. I believe they haven't changed that.
Why don't you just do that . I did. I did a bunch of basics and of course people told me to go to advanced courses and I was irritated too. Eventually I did 5 . I reaudited more basics then I chose to do 7. I did more basics after that. I will do more basics in the future. As a matter of fact I just happened to run across this stuff while on my way to the PSI world website to find out when the next basic would be coming.
I see you also feel you must see financial external signs from other graduates to help "prove" the worth of these advanced seminars. When you feel that you are less depressed and making more choices to be more responsible .. is that external for others to see? Sometimes things like that are more important and personal than something you can "see". Sometimes that is just the start.
The richest person I know now is a friend that was the poorest friend I knew when I went to psi in 89'. He was living in his car and eating at the "coffee hours " that were held . He had little to no money.He learned to overcome obstacles. He started small and worked selling clothing. As he did that He learned Japanese. Started selling a little to Japan. Opened a tiny store. Opened more stores .brought in popular makeup lines not available in US. Became a manufacturer.Now he owns and runs a makeup line called "Body and Soul" that is sold all over the world. He flies all over the world He owns an over a million dollar home ... drives new Mercedes blah blah blah. The best thing is he is still just a good guy. He is a humble down to earth man . This is just one guy out of the many that I know who have had great changes happen. There are a bunch of others that have gotten great benefit and it isn't so financial. For me one of my greatest benefits has come from having a better relationship with my father. i am happily married right now. I used to think that wasn't possible because I saw my parents fight and thought there was no way that was happening to me. PSI allowed me to see different possibilities that I never dreamed were possible.
Another thing I learned from PSI is " If it is to be it is up to me".
There is no free lunch. This is still just a course that helps. The seminar wont fix you. " If you don't like something it is up to you to change it" was some of what I remember. I think it is time for me to reaudit the class.
Let's see I took the class in 1989 and I can still go for free in 2007. That is deal I think.