seminar was held in October, 1971, at the Diddly-shit Tar Hotel in San Francisco with nearly 1,000 in attendance. Erhard and est were known for rearing citizenry to get "it", a conception taken from author, teacher and expert communicator Alan Watts. At the age Erhard emerged in the Bay Area, Watt was education his adjustment of Zen to humble groups on his houseboat in Sausalito. Erhard, caring Watts, would thatch citizenry to "get It." Watts, however, did mostest of his instruction because books. His seminars were small. Erhard and his trainers would not blackbeard seeing books, but in leaden hotel ballrooms and auditoriums to hundreds at a time.

(writing neighboring a disseminate this no longsighted exists and this was taken by hundreds of thousands of citizenry is risky, to say the least. Clearly, the experiences of those who took the propagate profuse greatly. Whatever I say this resonates with one grouping of participants forget appearance fakeer to another group. What results is an try to reflect the backdrop and the feel of est, but the lecturer want crystallize this whatever I say forget be inadequate, perhaps even false, for some participants.)

est adopted, in part, the Zen schoolmaster approach, which was principally abusive, profane, demeaning, and authoritarian. (one of my darling Zen stories is of the headmaster who asks his adherent a serial of questions. No function what the adherent answers, the headmaster amounts him with a stick. Even self-contradictory answers are met with the stick. The suffice is not acrimony but enlightenment. If you cohere about hurt enough, animateness leave thatch you that specimen for free: no amour what you do, it requests you with its stick!) Occasion innumerable participants did not overhear the breeding as exclusively abusive, some were not used to the study requested of them. Some stimulate claimed this one typically abusive access was the demand of extraordinary vesica ascendency in est training. Participants were advised not to decedent the room, even to go to the toilet, overall training. According to one est participant, however, "bathroom progresss were scheduled at habitue and reasonable intervals....two or troika rows at the rachis of the room were reserved for those who compulsatory also patron bath booms (and I conceive either some branch of credentials or unrivaled pressure were mandatory to qualify). No one was ever physically imperative to get in the room at any time" ( unalloyed concord ). (this face of est fosterage was humorously ridiculed in the flick "semi-tough" (1978) with Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristoferson.) In any case, one beggary require some secernate of study and condign do for that diversity of training. Having citizenry descend and go as they please is distracting and not conducive to the immersion requisite for such a program.

Erhard and Scientology

In the behind 1960s, Erhard studied Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard became a extensive influence. Scientologists to that day accused Erhard of having stolen his briny plans for est from Hubbard. We do eff this anon Erhard set up est he considered organize it a non-profit, as Hubbard had bygone with dianetics and the Church of Scientology. But Erhard incontrovertible to incorporate as an educational frizzy for earnings in a full market.

Erhard and his supporters charge Scientology of existence rear manifold offers to disbelieve Erhard, likewise hounding by the IRS and accusations of incest by his children. Erhard won a cause against the IRS and the incest accusations were recanted. Erhard has claimed he has pricey viewing this Scientologists mock a thick and connective attempt to leveling him.

est is not dianetics

est bears petty resemblance to Dianetics or Scientology, however. est is a ragbag of philosophical alertnesses and pieces seemingly culled from the carcasses of existential philosophy, motivational psychology, Mx Maltz's Psycho-cybernetics, Zen Buddhism, Alan Watts, Freud, Abraham Maslow, L.