Copyright 2005 The Sunday Tribune plc  
    Sunday Tribune

    July 31, 2005

    News - Labour senator promotes group classified in France as 'cult-like';
    Senator Kathleen O'Meara leads introduction seminars for 'international training and development company' she says changed her life following her election defeat

    by Una Mullally and John Burke

 A leading Labour Party politician spoke this weekend about her involvement in a controversial transformation group that she believes has changed her life.

Senator Kathleen O'Meara became involved in Landmark - which has been designated as a "possible cult or cult-like" in France - after failing to win a Dail seat three years ago. She has since taken four Landmark Education courses and is now leading introductions to The Landmark Forum movement around Ireland. Besides the designation of the group by a French parliamentary commission, in a report entitled Les Sectes en France, the Israeli government also includes EST, an organisation closely linked with Landmark, under the ambit of its Inter-ministerial Commission to Examine Cults. After defeat in the 2002 general election, O'Meara (45), from Tipperary, was subsequently elected to the Senate. Following the general election defeat, she considered counselling, but instead attended The Landmark Forum in Dublin upon the recommendation of a friend.O'Meara told the Sunday Tribune: "I was feeling bitter, burnt out, stressed out, failure and basically life was pretty tough. Now, I thought I would get over it. To be honest with you, I just put it down to the election. "But the following year - February/March - it still hadn't shifted. I thought to myself 'I'm not sure I can continue with this'." O'Meara considered quitting politics at the time and said she hid her anxiety from her colleagues. "I was thinking: 'Kathleen, you're in the Senate - what are you worried about? You're not a failure. You're elected to the Senate'. "I felt very down. I felt very upset a lot of the time. I wouldn't let anyone know and I felt it took everything I had to get myself to Dublin and to Leinster House, and to not let anybody know how I was feeling. I went to a conference and this woman came up to me who happened to be from Nenagh and she said 'I'm really sorry you didn't get elected'. And I burst into tears." She now credits the forum with changing her life, improving her family relationships and saving her political career.

O'Meara revealed that she now works on a voluntary basis for the Landmark Education Corporation. Her son (then 19) has also attended The Landmark Forum and her daughter has participated in The Landmark Forum for Young People (ages 8-12). Two weeks ago, O'Meara addressed a public introductory meeting to The Landmark Forum in Dublin and last week she led an 'introduction' in Limerick. O'Meara is the Labour Whip in Seanad E ireann and also the Labour Party spokesperson on Children. She was first elected to the Senate in 1997, and re-elected in 2002. She sits on the Committee of Selection of Seanad E ireann and also on the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. She is considered one of Labour's main prospects for a seat gain at the next general election in Tipperary North.

The Landmark Education Corporation is derived from EST, the controversial 1970s human potential movement founded by Werner Erhard, who fled America in 1991 following allegations of incest and tax fraud, of which he was subsequently cleared. Erhard claimed the allegations were part of a smear campaign. The Landmark Education Corporation was established in 1991 and its CEO is Harry Rosenberg, Erhard's brother. The Landmark Forum operates in over 20 countries and the company claims over 800,000 people have taken part in their seminars. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. Regarding the 'cult-like' designation in France, Landmark spokeswoman Dr Nancy Zapolski this weekend told the Sunday Tribune: "The commission at that time never contacted any of those organisations on the list, and never gave them the opportunity to present the real facts."

News - 'Una, I'd really encourage you to do the London and do it';

Sunday Tribune reporter Una Mullally attended an introductory public meeting of the Landmark Forum, at a hotel in Smithfield, Dublin on Wednesday 20 July. At this meeting, Labour senator Kathleen O'Meara gave a personal testimony about her experience with the organisation. The following is a transcript of an interview conducted this weekend by Mullally with O'Meara

    by Una Mullally

 Kathleen O'Meara (KO'M):  I'm very happy to give you my perspective, as I spoke on the night - it's a public forum. I did the Landmark Forum two years ago. Actually, it's this weekend two years ago (2003). It was a bank holiday weekend. It does operate through word-of-mouth. The introduction you were at, that's the way people get to hear about the Landmark Forum. I didn't actually go to an introduction myself. I live in Nenagh and I went to a friend of mine for reflexology because I was feeling very stressed out. The reason I was feeling stressed out was because having stood for election the previous year, 2002, I was very much stuck in the failure, to the extent that it was getting in the way of my being. It's like if you're stressed, or if you're feeling burnt out, you feel like you're carrying some sort of burden, it has an impact on you.

    Una Mullally(UM): Did you feel like that?

    KO'M: I felt very much like that after the election. I was feeling bitter, burnt out, stressed out and that basically life was pretty tough. I thought I would get over it - to be honest with you, I just put it down to the election. But the following year, in February/March, it still hadn't shifted. I thought to myself, 'I'm not sure I can continue with this.

    'UM: Couldn't continue with your political career?

    KO'M: Yeah. I wasn't sure I could face into another election feeling the way I did about the last one. Also, the anxiety about failing again. If failure had that effect on me, I wasn't sure I was going to take that risk again. And also the way I felt about myself - I knew it wasn't who I normally am.

    UM: Because you were down?

    KO'M: I felt very down. I felt very upset a lot of the time. I wouldn't let anyone know and I felt it took everything I had to get myself to Dublin and to Leinster House, and to not let anybody know how I was feeling. I would meet people, for instance ... I went to a conference and this woman came up to me who happened to be from Nenagh and she introduced herself and I recognised the name, and she said "I'm really sorry you didn't get elected". And I burst into tears. Now that was more than six months after the election. And I thought, 'I just can't really go on with this'. I remember discussing it with my husband on several occasions. Somebody said to me, you should go and get some reflexology, it's great for stress. Off I went to see this friend of mine, she did reflexology. Booked in a Friday afternoon, and she had just come back from doing the Landmark Forum. It was March/April 2003. She was blown away by it. She just thought it was the most amazing thing. She said to me, "Kathleen, do the Landmark Forum, you'll get everything you need in the Landmark Forum." I said, "Yeah, I'll do that so." Because I thought I'll do whatever is required.

    UM: It's quite a strong claim - "You'll get everything you need if you do the Landmark Forum." Did you believe that straight away?

    KO'M: "No, but I thought it was worth trying. I was curious, because she was so enthusiastic about it. She talked a little bit about it, but I didn't really get it. What I could see from her was this was a very, very powerful course, and on that basis, I was curious.

    UM: "Did you think of any other ...?

    KO'M: "Sure I did. I thought about counselling. But then I thought, 'That's like there's something wrong with me.' So I said, I'll give it Landmark a try. When I discovered then that it was on the August bank holiday, I thought, 'Sure that's perfect, it's when I normally take holidays. I have time to do it.'

    UM: What solution were you looking for?

    KO'M: I really didn't know. I was looking for an answer to why I was feeling as bad as I did eight months after the election. Also, because I was in the Senate. I was thinking 'Kathleen, you're in the Senate - what are you worried about? You're not a failure.' But I couldn't shake it off. So that's what I was looking for. I was looking for an answer to the question 'Why do I feel this bad? Where is my confidence? Where is my vitality? Where is my happiness in life? Where is my energy?' I have huge energy and my energy was just not there for me. I felt burnt out. It was like I was pushing a rock up a mountain and it coming right back down on me again.

    UM: But you were still successful?

    KO'M: Well, from the outside, I could manage to look very successful. It took everything I had.

    UM: You were hiding it?

    KO'M: Totally. Absolutely. Completely. Very few people knew how unhappy I was. A lot of times I didn't admit it to myself.

    UM: Would you call that depression?

    KO'M: I felt depressed. It was certainly something that was really getting to me. And it just wouldn't go away. Now, at the same time, it's important to stress that the people who are going to the Landmark Forum, it's not like you have to have a big problem. But for me, I did have something I wanted to resolve. So I went and I did the Landmark Forum and I did resolve it. And I resolved other stuff as well, that I didn't even know was there.

    UM: What other stuff?

    KO'M: In my personal relationships. My son is 21; then he was 19. With the Landmark Forum, I got to see what was getting in the way of the great relationship I wanted with my son which I didn't have but that now I do have.

    UM: How did that happen?

    KO'M: There's a number of things. You've seen the syllabus and the things that are covered. In the Landmark Forum, people get up and share. I got up and shared myself. And you get to see the world in a different way. This is one of the powerful things about Landmark.

    We are brought up in a culture in the west that views the world in a particular way. The Landmark Education makes you look at who you're being in any situation, rather than what you're doing - it has a lot in common with eastern-style philosophies. You also get to look at how the past is influencing who you are being in the present. How you've brought the past with you and plonked it right into the present. I started to see that in the Landmark Forum.

First of all I got to see what the election was all about. I got to see that I was interpreting myself as a failure. Who I was being. Walking around on two legs after the election wasn't Kathleen, it was Failure. The reason for that is very simple. I grew up in an environment where you worked hard and you succeeded. And I always was a very hard worker and I succeeded. So when I was in school, I was always top of the class. Did my Inter Cert - great Inter Cert. Leaving Cert - great Leaving Cert. Went to college - great degree. My upbringing is not unusual for my generation and for my background. My mother is a teacher, my father is a farmer, and we grew up in an Ireland where a high premium was attached to education and to succeeding. I made a decision about myself at a very young age that I was somebody who would succeed. And you know what? I did. I succeeded in my life.

So to be confronted with a failure of a very public nature like the last election really was very confronting for me. It just couldn't fit in with my sense of myself. And I really had no tools to deal with it. Somehow I got to a stage in my life where it really stopped me. I got to see that in the Landmark Forum.

I had basically created a story of myself that because I had, quote, unquote, failed - I didn't fail in the election, I just didn't get enough votes. But I created it as a failure. The minute I created it as a failure, I turned into a failure. I was really very angry at myself for not succeeding. And I think that was the core thing - the anger. The big thing I left behind at the Landmark Forum was anger.

    UM: Johnny Tenn (forum leader at the Smithfield meeting) was saying that people experience these "breakthroughs". Was there one point during the forum where something just clicked?

    KO'M: It was a Friday night/Saturday morning. I started to see how much anger played a part in my life.

    UM: That was your breakthrough?

    KO'M: Yeah. I think that was a big breakthrough. Here I was standing in a very destructive anger. Which was anger at myself. The same endless circle over and over and over. You beat yourself up.

    UM: Had you realised that? KO'M: No. I couldn't see it myself. People would say to me, my husband and my friends, 'You're so hard on yourself.' But I couldn't see it, I was stuck.

    UM: That for you was the biggest realisation?

    KO'M: Yes. I remember laughing at how ridiculously funny it was to think the decision that I had made about myself was that I was a failure, because I am not a failure. I actually 100% believed I was.

    UM: How did you feel after the weekend?

    KO'M: Like I'd lost about 10 stone - the burden that I had shifted off my shoulders. I was happy for the first time in well over a year. Really happy.

    UM: Do you completely attribute that to (Landmark)?

    KO'M: I actually do. I actually do.

    UM: What improvements were visible to you in your life?

    KO'M: My wellbeing. My energy I would say is the big thing. In the work I do, it makes a big difference to people I meet whether I'm energetic or not. The committees I'm on have expanded; the work that they do has expanded hugely. I really don't care much about the outcome anymore. I do it because I want to do it. I do it because I choose to do it. I actually don't do it to get elected. I do it because I believe in it. I think that's one of the biggest things I learnt from the Landmark Forum. If you do something because you believe in it, it's a much more powerful space to be in. It's a much easier space to be in.

    UM: Some things, though, aren't positive by nature ...?

    KO'M: Such as?

    UM: Well, do you look at everything now in that light?

    KO'M: "No. It's not about positive thinking. It is about your perspective on the world. But death isn't a happy place. I wouldn't say I'd be happy around death. But I think what the Landmark Forum gives you is tools to deal with the stuff that comes along in your life. I was speaking to somebody there recently, somebody I don't know, who I met at an introduction, for whom fear is lack of confidence. And I would say she probably had a very unhappy experience with a teacher or some authority figure. She's very afraid. And she's going to do the Landmark Forum and I really feel she'll see what it is that's causing that. That's going to make a big difference in her life.

 I didn't have that. You could say what I had could've been managed other ways. But I've seen people in the Landmark Forum deal with very big things, much bigger than anything I ever had to look at; abuse and death, marriage break-up, serious family problems, debt, illness, the things that come across people's lives on occasion.

    UM: The hours seem quite long ...?

    KO'M: Yeah, they do. But look at the syllabus and look at what's covered.

    UM: Do you get breaks?

    KO'M: Oh yeah. There is a half-hour break after every three hours, and then there's an hour and a half at tea time. After the first session, you don't even notice the time passing. There's a lot of sharing going on in the Landmark Forum, so it's not like you're at a lecture.

    UM: The last meeting in Dublin. Were you invited to go and speak?

    KO'M: I just went along. I was helping out actually. I had been there since early on helping out to set up the room and stuff.

    UM: Have you encouraged other people to go?

    KO'M: Oh yeah. I have told a lot of people about the Landmark Forum. I don't feel I have to do it. I talk to people about the Landmark Forum all the time because I got so much out of it. It's like you'd want people to know about it because you'd want them to know it's available. Really, how you best represent the Landmark Forum is tell them what you got out of it yourself.

    UM: Have you taken any of the other courses?

    KO'M: Oh, I have, yeah.

    UM: Which ones have you taken?

    KO'M: "I've done the Advanced Course and I've done the 10-session seminar series and I've done a programme called Self-expression and Leadership.

    UM: What does that entail?

    KO'M: That's a very practical course where you do a project. The project is around community, where the Landmark Forum is very much about yourself in the world. In that course, you work in the community. You could say that I'm doing that already. To me, that was a very easy course to do.

    UM:Is there a specific project?

    KO'M: You take on a project that would basically inspire you.

    UM: What did you take on?

    KO'M: I took on the non-EU community being involved in the St Patrick's Day parade in Nenagh.

    UM: Was that successful?

    KO'M: It was.

    UM: So, the Advanced Course, the seminars and the Selfexpression Leadership programme ...?

    KO'M: Yes, and I've also done a programme called the Inroduction Leader Programme.

    UM: What's that?

    KO'M: That entails training in leading an introduction to the Landmark Forum. Not at the level Johnny Tenn is at, but leading a small introduction.

    UM: Have you led any introductions?

    KO'M: I have.

    UM: In Dublin or ...?

    KO'M: All over the place. A few in Dublin, one down in Cork, one in Limerick there last week.

    UM: So you're kept busy?

    KO'M: Not really, sure. For God's sake, I have a busy life. I mean, these introductions are in the evening time. I really enjoy doing them. For me, it's like training all the time. It's like training in leadership. That's one of the things I really like about the Landmark Education. I don't know where one would go as a politician for instance to get training in leadership, so what this has made available to me is an ongoing training in leadership.

    UM: Are you going to take more programmes?

    KO'M: No. I think the level I'm at now and leading introductions is just perfect.

    UM: Is that on a voluntary basis?

    KO'M: Absolutely on a voluntary basis. See, one of the great things that I've got from doing the Landmark Forum was 'the benefits'; effectiveness. My work has become far more effective. I now do more in less time.

    UM: In your political work?

    KO'M:Yes. Politicians are very busy people. A lot of stuff comes our way and in the past I would have occasionaly experienced being swamped. The amount I do has expanded. My effectiveness has gone right up. In the past I would've thought there's no way I can lead introductions and be a politician, but now I find I can do really as much as I choose to do.

    UM: The courses for teens and children, would you recommend those?

    KO'M: Oh yeah, I think so. My son and my daughter have done courses with Landmark Education. My son has done the Forum.

    UM: Has he benefited from that?

    KO'M: I believe he has. He's 21 so he can speak for himself.

    UM: And your daughter, did she do the Forum itself?

    KO'M: No; the young people's.

    UM: Is that the one for teens?

    KO'M: No, the younger one again. I think it's called 'For Young People'.

    UM: Did she enjoy that?

    KO'M: She enjoyed it greatly.

    UM: What's the format of that?

    KO'M: My understanding is, from what we were told, is that it is the Landmark Forum, but the hours are not as long.

    UM: A lot of parents would have reservations ...?

    KO'M: Well, you're there yourself a lot, they do tell you exactly what is going on.

    UM: What did you want your daughter to gain from that?

    KO'M: I suppose one of the things you see yourself when you do the Landmark Forum is the extent to which the past and decisions you make about yourself when you're growing up impact your life. It's like saying 'If I knew then what I know now.' We all want our children to be happy. And here's a powerful tool to access happiness in your life.

    UM: Do you think it's appropriate that when other graduates finish the Forum, they act as volunteers for recruiting other people?

    KO'M: You've used the phrase 'joining', and you've used the phrase 'recruiting' and I don't think they're accurate or appropriate to describe it. If you get something which has really been wonderful for yourself, you would really want other people to know about it. People you have regard for or people whom you love. People in your life who are suffering in anyway. Like if you have somebody who was suffering pain and you had a painkiller, you'd give them a painkiller.

    UM: What do you think about the cost, do you think it's fair? KO'M: Absolutely. For what you get out of it and for what's covered, I would say it's very cheap.

    UM: There is some negative press ...?

    KO'M: "I've seen a fair bit, yeah.

    UM: Were you aware that in France, Landmark Education is listed as a possible cult?

    KO'M: I heard that it doesn't operate in France, but I didn't know it was actually termed a cult.

    UM: By the government?

    KO'M: By the government? Jeepers.

    UM: What do you think of that?

    KO'M: Well, I really have no comment to make on that.

    UM: As an outsider, I have a greater understanding since I attended the introduction, but ...?

    KO'M: Actually, you know, Una, I'd really encourage you to do the Landmark Forum. Then you'd have the best understanding of all. Go over to London and do it.

    UM: I don't think I'd be comfortable ...?

    KO'M: What would you not be comfortable about?

    UM: It makes a lot of sense to me, but it's things I could work out myself, not that I'd need someone to point out to me?

    KO'M: You don't needto do the Landmark Forum. Nobody needs to do it. But you just choose to do it. You could choose to do it. You could choose to do it because it would enhance your life.

    UM: There have been some lawsuits taken against Landmark. Are you familiar with any of them?

    KO'M: I'm not. That would be something you would need to talk to the media people about.

    UM: For you personally to have gained so much from this, can you see how people have breakdowns?

    KO'M: It's very clear when people register for the Landmark Forum that it's for people who are healthy. It's not for people who have a mental illness or a mental disability.

    UM: So if you were unstable or in a bad place you should not actually engage in it?

    KO'M: No, not if you're in a very bad place. Obviously not. They are questions I'm not qualified to answer. Clearly, people who have any history at all, you have to be responsible. In the Landmark Forum this is made very clear on the morning of the Landmark Forum. I actually think the organisation is very responsible around that. People do get emotional at the Landmark Forum.

    UM: The work you do now as introduction leader, are you comfortable that that is voluntary, given that it's a profitmaking business?

    KO'M: Look it, I know. It's a profit-making company, fine. I choose, absolutely.

    UM: Is there a good bit of pressure put on people to recommend it to other people, is that the case?

    KO'M: That is not my experience, I can only talk about my experience.

    UM: Were you asked ...?

    KO'M: Oh yeah, you are encouraged to have guests come and so on.

    UM: Why do you think that is?

    KO'M: So other people get to hear about it. Are you thinking it's so the company can make more money?

    UM: Well, they do?

    KO'M: They do, but if you talk to the media part of it, my understanding is the profits are ploughed right back into developing and subsidising the courses in poorer countries. The cost is set at the economic status of the country. Landmark is committed to being available all around the world.

    UM: Do you think if people are opening up, and their thinking is changed in some way, can you see how people would have reservations about that?

    KO'M: About opening up?

    UM: No, that people position themselves to opening up, to changing how they act - some people might have reservations about the controlling aspect of that?

    KO'M: I don't see where the control comes in. There is no control. It's about choice. I live my life the way I choose to live my life. Nobody's making me do anything. Nobody's making you go to an introduction.

    UM: Do you think someone who hasn't gone might find that aspect unusual?

    KO'M: Possibly, but that's why we have introductions, so people know what the Landmark Forum is about. And people getting up sharing who have done it give other people an idea of what it's about.

    UM: You're completely comfortable with the aspect of negative press?

    KO'M: I think it's a pity. It gets in the way.

    UM: But they are people's experiences?

    KO'M: Absolutely.

    UM: Do you disregard the negative aspect?

    KO'M: I've read it, and it's not my experience. I'll judge for myself.

    UM: With your political position, are you comfortable with your association with this?

    KO'M: Yes, I am.

GENESIS TO REVELATION

The roots of Landmark Education begin in the 1960s, when a used car salesman and door-to-door bookseller John 'Jack' Rosenberg changed his name to Werner Erhard and established Erhard Seminars Training (EST). This became part of the controversial and influential Human Potential Movement, giving life transformation seminars across America. Erhard left America in the early '90s following a TV expose in which his daughter accused him of incest. He was also dogged by allegations of tax fraud. He was cleared of all charges. Erhard attributed these allegations to a smear campaign conducted by Scientologists. Scientologists have accused Erhard of stealing their 'technology' for teaching. In 1991, Erhard's teachings were repackaged as the Landmark Education Corporation. Over 800,000 people in over 20 countries have taken the Landmark Forum, the most popular programme from the employee-owned corporation.  Attendees of the forum are taught to rid themselves of "rackets" and "reflexes". These can be loosely translated as 'the voice in your head'. Forum leaders say this voice is "the past" that causes a person to repeat their mistakes. In order to be happy, a person must rid themselves of this legacy of the past, and learn to live from moment to moment. The Landmark Forum is a mix of various philosophies; Zen, existentialism, Scientology, metaphysics and motivational philosophy.

 The Landmark Forum takes place over three days and one evening. The hours are 9am to midnight in one room headed by a 'leader' who conducts the seminar. Attendees are urged to "share" their issues, and most experience psychological "breakthroughs", altering the way they subsequently think about life. The Landmark Education Corporation claims 94% of attendees say the forum made a "profound and lasting difference in the way they live their lives". The teaching practices of the Landmark Forum, or its 'technology', are based on Erhard's research and study, yet Landmark Education maintains that Erhard has no governance, ownership or control over the corporation.

News - Landmark and the 'reptile' within;

 by Una Mullally

The Landmark Education Corporation does not just offer the Landmark Forum. Other forums are available for teens and eight- to 12-year-old children.  After 'graduating' from the Landmark Forum, a 'graduate' can attend eight other courses: the Advanced Course, the Wisdom Course and other leadership courses. There are also family coaching sessions, and the Landmark Education Business Development course, which promises "sustainable change and unprecedented business results". Landmark has worked with the US State Department and multinational corporations such as Reebok, Lockheed Martin and Exxon.  The price of the course is "quite inexpensive", according to Landmark. The forum in Dublin costs EUR435. Around 150 people will attend the forum in Dublin in September, which will net Landmark Education over EUR65,000.  Dr Nancy Zapolski, the Chairperson of Landmark Education's International Leader Body, said the Landmark Forum has expanded to Ireland because of demand. It operates in 21 countries and 94% of participants surveyed said the Landmark Forum had made a profound and lasting difference to their lives.

"Everytime the Landmark Forum takes place in a particular country or location, it's because graduates have taken the Landmark Forum in other countries," she told the Sunday Tribune. "So, for example, in Ireland a lot of people did the forum in London and then they request that Landmark form in their country or city, and that's actually how we expand every place that we go, by the request of graduates." Zapolski said she was unaware of any plans to set up a permanent office in Ireland. Zapolski said she had not come across anybody who had a negative experience with the Landmark Forum, despite the fact that these personal testimonies are widely available. "I think the point is that we operate with integrity and professionalism and that we really are committed. They attendees overwhelmingly report that Landmark produces value that expands and unfolds every time. If anyone comes with a complaint, we always deal with it professionaly." She also disagreed that the forum appeals to emotionally vulnerable people, stating instead that it appeals to people who "see life as an opportunity for learning and are already effective, productive and well rounded. "I think people go in for different reasons. They want the quality of their relationship to expand, become more productive." Landmark has consistently denied it is a 'cult' in any way. "Psychologists, psychiatrists, top medical professionals have observed the forum and have given their opinion that it simply isn't harmful to people," says Zapolski. Landmark Education says that it has "no association with Scientology whatsoever". Zapolski said she has "no time" for the Church of Scientology, and says she sees the ultimate goal of the Landmark Forum as very simple. "It's to enable, and allow people concrete results in their lives that impact areas that are important to them; whether it be their career, their relationships or their productivity. "Landmark is a unique company that offers an education in living. Our real ultimate is to empower people to produce results."  At the introductory meeting in Smithfield, Introductory Forum leader Johnny Tenn, a former Olympic trampolining coach, used intense eye-contact and emotional anecdotes from his own life, and invited 'graduates' to share their experiences, in the hope of encouraging others to join.  "The voice in your head is a stupid virus left over from when you were a reptile," he said, referring to the detrimental nature this 'past' voice can have on one's wellbeing. At one point, he attributed negative thoughts to cancer, and said that some people who had cancer and attended the Landmark Forum were well again within weeks.  "Where does it go? I don't know." About 60 people attended the introductory meeting in Smithfield. Almost half had previously taken the Landmark Forum, and the rest had come on the recommendation of friends and family.  The majority of those who attended for the first time signed up to the forum following the four-hour introduction.

    The Landmark Forum will take place again on 16 September at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin.
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