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Lifespring

Company type	For-profit, private company
Industry	Self-help
Founded	1974
Founder	John Hanley
Defunct	Mid 1990's
Headquarters	United States
Key people	John Hanley Charles Ingrasci
Website	Lifespring history

Lifespring was a for-profit private company that operated from 1974 until the mid 1990s. It asserted that participants could transform their lives through its trainings. The company promoted itself through books and word of mouth advertising, and also faced criticism from members who claimed they suffered psychological abuse. By 1989, officials state that over 300,000 people had enrolled in the company's seminars. Lifespring has been classified as a New Age/human potential training company and is said to have used LGAT methods in its trainings.

After a series of lawsuits and investigative reports in the 1980s, it ceased operations. As of 2006, there are many new LGATs offering Lifespring trainings or trainings based on their concepts.

The term "LGAT" refers to Large Group Awareness Training. Many academic researchers, psychologists and psychiatrists, have characterized Lifespring as a form of "Large Group Awareness Training", including the study Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training, which had been funded by Werner Erhard and Associates.

Some observers have made comparisons between Lifespring and Werner Erhard's Est training, and this was discussed in Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training.

Foundation

Lifespring was founded in 1974 by John Hanley Sr., after working at an organization called Mind Dynamics with Werner Erhard, the founder of est. Lifespring concentrates on how people experience each other, whereas est concentrates on changing the way people experience themselves. However, there are many similarities between the two, as well as with Scientology.

The former Director for Corporate Affairs of Lifespring, Charles "Raz" Ingrasci, also worked with Werner Erhard, promoting an est mission to the USSR and the Hunger Project. Ingrasci is now President of the Hoffman Institute which offers programs such as the Hoffman Quadrinity Process which some regard as similar to Lifespring.

Though John Hanley denied that Lifespring was a duplicate of Erhard Seminars Training, Melton and Lewis described the similarities between the two as "striking", in their 1992 work, Perspectives on the New Age. Melton and Lewis point out that both Werner Erhard and John Hanley had previously worked at Mind Dynamics. They then went on to cite specific examples of techniques utilized by both Lifespring and EST, stating that both used "authoritarian trainers who enforce numerous rules", both groups require applause after a member's "share" in front of the group, both deemphasized ratiocination, in favor of "feeling and action". The authors also pointed out that graduates of both Lifespring and EST were "fiercely loyal", and recruited heavily for their respective groups, reducing marketing expenses to virtually zero.

Course overview

The Lifespring trainings generally involved a three-level program starting with a "Basic" discovery training, an "Advanced" breakthrough course, and a 3-month "Leadership Program" which taught the students how to implement what they learned from the training in their lives.

Studies commissioned by Lifespring done in the 80s by researchers at Berkeley, Stanford, and UCSF, including Lee Ross, Morton Lieberman, and Irvin Yalom, found that an overwhelming majority of participants in these trainings called them either "extremely valuable" or "valuable" (around 90%). Many participants of these trainings found them to be among the most profound experiences of their lives and claimed they were able to produce substantial results in their lives as a result of their participation. Less than 2% found them to be "of no value". Students were often eager to share their experiences in these trainings with family, friends, and co-workers, although they did not receive any compensation for "enrolling" others into the workshops. More than 400,000 people worldwide participated in these workshops.

Criticism

Some argued that these trainings might be a form of "mass brainwashing". However, Since the late 1980s, though some of the public believe in cult-brainwashing, the academic community-including scholars from psychology, sociology, and religious studies-have shared an almost unanimous consensus that the coercive persuasion/brainwashing thesis in the 1980s is without scientific merit.

There has been discussion among a few former participants of the workshops, that they were too stressful and disruptive. However, with over 300,000 graduates, the vast majorithy found the workshops to be incredibly beneficial. One prominent critic of Lifespring is Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Mrs. Thomas asserted in an interview with The Washington Post that she had to seek counseling after her decision to break away from Lifespring. She ultimately had to hide in another part of the country in order to avoid a constant barrage of phone calls from Lifespring members, urging her to remain in the organization. Thomas has spoken on panels and organized anti-cult workshops for congressional staffers in 1986 and 1988.

Lawsuits

More than 30 lawsuits were filed against Lifespring for charges ranging from involuntary servitude to wrongful death. The suits often claimed that the trainings place participants under extreme psychological stress in order to elicit change. The group had to pay out large amounts of money to participants who required psychiatric hospitalization and to family members of suicides. The first jury decision came in 1984 in which Deborah Bingham testified she'd been in a psych ward for a month after attending two Lifespring courses and was awarded $800,000. Gabriella Martinez testified that she heard her trainer's voice in her head the night she swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills; Lifespring settled out of court.In 1993, Pittsburgh lawyer Peter N. Georgiades won a $750,000 settlement for a Lifespring trainee who was institutionalized for two years following Leadership training.In 1982, the family of David Priddle accepted an undisclosed sum when they sued Lifespring after he jumped off a building; Artie Barnett's family also reached an out of court settlement, when Barnett, who couldn't swim, drowned during a Lifespring training. Gail Renick's family received $450,000 after she died from an asthma attack during a training session. She had been led to believe her medication was unnecessary.

Investigative reports

In 1980, ABC's 20/20 aired an investigative report about Lifespring. They interviewed cult expert Dr. John Gordon Clark of Harvard Medical School, who said the group practiced mind control and brainwashing. In 1990 KARE-TV (Channel 11) ran a segment called "Mind Games?" that Lifespring claimed was deceptive and sensationalized. (The Minnesota News Council rejected the company's claim.)

Classification

According to The International Survivor's Action Committee Lifespring has been classified as a cult and refers to Rick Ross as references for this classification.

Cult awareness groups claimed that there was high pressure placed on participants to "enroll" family, friends, etc., in the workshops and to spend large sums of money on additional training. Many participants however, asserted that they found significant value in their participation and want to share the program with people around them.

In 1993, Rev. Dr. Richard L. Dowhower, conducted a survey of clergy attitudes toward and experience of cults. The 53 respondents were from the Washington, DC area and included 43 Lutheran clergy and seminarians, one Roman Catholic and one Jewish clergyman, and an Evangelical minister. The response chart indicates twenty eight (28) responses to "The cults I am most concerned about are:", with the answer "Scientology, est/Forum, Lifespring". . Dr. Dowhower was an advisor of the American Family Foundation, which published the Cult Observer.

Later developments

While trainings continued until the mid-nineties in certain parts of the country, the lawsuits and the bad press crippled the company. One Lifespring follower, Sue Hawkes, started a similar program, called Vistar, but it was unsuccessful.Lifespring training, once offered under a unified corporate umbrella, now appears in several guises world-wide delivered by differently-named companies. Some of these companies offering the training programs once offered by or based on Lifespring include Momentus; Insight Seminars; Resource Realizations; The Great Life Foundation, Visionworks; The Impact Trainings; Harmony Institute; Spectrum Trainings; Phoenix2000, Vistar/Serendipidity; Summit Education; Personal Dynamics; Choicenter; Millennium 3; Asia Works; Argentina Works; Chile Works; MexWorks; WorldWorks; The Legacy Center; Essential Education; Rising Star Communications; Humanus Institute; and Wings Seminars

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An Iranian version of Lifespring was co-founded in early 1990's by Fereshteh Mirhashemi in Los Angeles, California. These classes are still operating under the name of "Bonyan", recruiting from the Iranian community in Los Angeles

Further reading

• Janice Haaken, Ph.D. and Richard Adams, Ph.D.: "Pathology as 'Personal Growth': A Participant-Observation Study of Lifespring Training" in Psychiatry, Vol 46, August 1983

• John Hanley: Lifespring: Getting Yourself from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be Simon and Schuster 1989 ISBN 0-671-72508-4

References

1. ^ Lifespring, The Religious Movements Homepage Project, The University of Virginia
2. ^ Fisher, Jeffrey D. (1990). Evaluating a Large Group Awareness Training. Springer-Verlag. p. 142. ISBN 0387973206 , ISBN 978-0387973203. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
   Page. vii. -- "The research reported in this volume was awarded the American Psychological Association, Division 13, National Consultants to Management Award, August 13, 1989."
3. DuMerton, M.A., C. (July 2004). "Tragic Optimism and Choices". Trinity Western University. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. Zeig, Jeffrey K. (1997). The Evolution of Psychotherapy: The Third Conference. Psychology Press. pp. Pp. 352, 357. ISBN 0876308132. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
   "Training or T-groups, sensitivity training, and encounter groups spread and were followed by commercially sold large group awareness training programs, such as est, Lifespring and other programs."
5. Burlingame, Gary M. (1994). Handbook of Group Psychotherapy: An Empirical and Clinical Synthesis. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 528, 532, 535, 539, 549, 550, 555, 556, 581, 583. ISBN 0471555924. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
6. Margaret Singer and Janja Lalich. Cults in our Midst (book), 1995, pp. 42-43. ISBN 0-7879-0051-6.
7. Intruding into the Workplace, Dr. Margaret Singer, excerpted from Cults in our Midst (book), 1995.
8. Large Group Awareness Trainings (LGAT), Cultic Studies Journal, International Cultic Studies Association, retrieved 1/17/2006.
9. The Mary Polaski "L" Series, Mary Polaski, written 2000, retrieved 1/10/07.
10. Large Group Awareness Trainings, Michael Langone, Ph.D., Cult Observer, Volume 15, No. 1, 1998
11. Coon, Dennis (2004). Psychology: A Journey. Thomson Wadsworth. pp. 520, 528, 538. ISBN 0534632645. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
    "Large-group awareness training refers to programs that claim to increase self-awareness and facilitate constructive personal change. Lifespring, Actualizations, the Forum, and similar commercial programs are examples. Like the smaller groups that preceded them, large-group trainings combine psychological exercises, confrontation, new view-points, and group dynamics to promote personal change."
12. Tindale, R. Scott (2001). Group Processes: Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology. Blackwell Publishing. p. 630. ISBN 1405106530. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
    "EST, FORUM and LIFESPRING are all examples of LGATs, for members seek to improve their overall level of satisfaction and interpersonal relations by carrying out such experiential exercises as role-playing, group singing and chanting, and guided group interaction."
13. Coon, Dennis (2003). Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior. Thomson Wadsworth. pp. Pp. 648, 649, 655. ISBN 053461227X. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
14. ^ Melton, J. Gordon (1992). Perspectives on the New Age. SUNY Press. pp. 129–132. ISBN 079141213X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
15. A Critical Analysis of The Transformative Model of Mediation, Terri L. Kelly, Department of Conflict Resolution, Portland State University
16. In the Matter of the Complaint of Lifespring, Inc. against KARE-TV, Channel 11, Minnesota News Council, Determination 83
17. Hoffman Institute, Board of Directors, Charles "Raz" Ingrasci, President & CEO
18. Vahle, Neal (2002). The Unity Movement: Its Evolution and Spiritual Teachings. Templeton Foundation Press. pp. 399, 402, 403, 480. ISBN 1890151963. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
19. Waking Up: Est and Lifespring, Chapter Four, One World One God Many Faces
20. ^ Lifespring Scientific Research, Scientific Inquiry: A Report on Independent Studies of the Lifespring Trainings, Page 3
21. ^ "Anne McAndrews, Redbook Magazine, May, 1994". Retrieved 2006-11-06.
22. Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory, J. Gordon Melton, Dec 10, 1999
23. The Newsletter of The North Texas Skeptics, Volume 3 Number 3, May/June 1989
24. The Nominee's Soul Mate, The Washington Post, Laura Blumenfeld, September 10, 1991; Page F01
25. ^ "Minneapolis Citypages,Volume 22; Issue 1092; Cover Story; November 7, 2001". Retrieved 2006-11-06.
26. International Survivors Action Committee, 2006
    "Facilities affiliated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS) require children and parents to complete a series of "seminars" conducted by Resource Realizations/Premier Education. Resource Realizations/Premier Education owner David Gilcrease is a former Lifespring trainer. Lifespring has been classified as a cult."
27. ^ Clergy and Cults: A Survey, The Rev. Richard L. Dowhower, D. D., Cult Observer, Vol. 11, No. 3 (1994).
28. Everybody Goes!, 2006, retrieved 3/21/07.

External links

• Second Lifespring official website
• A website for and about Lifespring graduates
• Lifespring Graduates discussion list
• Lifespring Graduates Webring
• Rick Ross'website about Lifespring
• Newsgroup postings about Lifespring
• Bibliography of articles and books concerning Lifespring
• Redbook article about Lifespring

See also

• New Age
• Personal development
• Large Group Awareness Training