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From: suhre@trwrba.UUCP (Maurice E. Suhre)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: est etc., risks, and cults
Message-ID: <804@trwrba.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Jul-84 12:46:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: trwrba.804
Posted: Thu Jul 12 12:46:58 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 14-Jul-84 00:13:23 EDT
Organization: TRW EDS, Redondo Beach, CA
Lines: 27

I find the general question "How can tell if a given process
is going to leave me just bananas even though many (thousands?)
have survived before me?" very tough to answer, if not impossible.

I started therapy in 1959 or 60 sometime.  About 1965 I had a clear
fantasy that I might remember something that I couldn't handle,
would flip out into a catatonic state, they would haul me off to the
mental hospital, and that would be it for the rest of my life.
How's that for catastrophic expectations?!!

Well, in 1975 I did remember something awful.  Had to do with my father
going away in the Army.  I did not go catatonic, but I cried a *lot*.
A few months later I went back to Esalen for a Gestalt practice workshop
with this as my primary agenda.  The results were satisfactory.

The point of the above is that I was not satisfied with the direction
(or lack thereof) of my life, and I was willing to take a perceived
risk in the hope of getting some improvement.

The previous postings about est vs cults was very well put.  My experience
is that the graduates generally share about *much* better relationships
with their parents and siblings.  Has to do with "getting off" of old
outmoded positions and attitudes.

Maurice

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