About
This site has been created by people who have a first hand experience of both Werner Erhard and the Est Training. Between 1971 and 1984 the Est Training was enormously popular and made a very powerful impact on nearly 1 million people. This site seeks to tell the story of the lasting impact of the Est Training, Werner Erhard and the nearly 1 million graduates of est on organizations, society, and the world.
For more information on Werner Erhard and the influence of the Est Training visit www.wernererhard.com.
Werner Erhard and Est 
Thought you’d might like to know about two articles about Werner and est that I published in Quest Magazine:
1) “This is it: est, 20 years later”:
http://www.eliezersobel.com/est.html
2) “This is Still it: est, 30 years later”
http://theosophical.org/publications/questmagazine/mayjun06/Sobel/index.php
Also, there is an extensive chapter about Werner and the est training in my new book, The 99th Monkey: A Spiritual Journalist’s Misadventures with Gurus, Messiahs, Sex, Psychedelics and Other Consciousness-Raising Adventures
http://www.the99thmonkey.com
Thanks–
Eliezer Sobel
I have been thinking about “Where is Werner and what’s he doing now?” for some time. My life is a statement as to the power of “the training” even though I have not been engaged actively in any structured program or seminars for one very long time.
My comment is that I am so pleased that suddently there seems to be some information that is atleast semi-positive about who he was/is and what he did. This is a story of the “implementor” Werner and the “implementees” all of us whose lives were touched in some way by what he did.
I hope where ever he is and whatever he is doing now that he has great satisfaction. From this person’s point of view, he more than deserves it.
I did the teen training in 1975 in Aptos, California. I got it. I still get it. Grass is green and it doesn’t care that you know it.
It’s good to find this site and others seeking to promote the positives of est and Werner’s work. I took the training in 1976, all the seminars, including the 6-day, and lastly Mastery of Empowerment in 1989. I continue to use what I learned from all this (and lots of assisting too!) in my personal & professional life. Re the latter, I promote taking responsibility in my psychotherapy practice as well as in the anger management & domestic violence groups I run in Marin County, California. Thank you for giving voice to parts of my experience I haven’t heard referenced directly in a long time!
Hi, I am a participant at Landmark Education. Since seeing the Transformation movie, I have been curious about the guru briefly shown in a photo in the movie. A Forum Leader was finally able to answer my question. She is pretty sure it is Bhuktananda, who was her family’s guru’s guru in India. Today, I am searching online for Bhuktananda to no avail. Does anyone have any info whatsoever about him & how he is linked to Werner, est, Landmark etc? Thank you.
Dear Dorothy,
The Swamiji shown is Mukthananda of Ganeshpuri. You can bing search the following link for further details:
http://www.bing.com/search?q=Mukthananda+of+Ganeshpuri&form=OPRTSD&pc=OPER
I remember the photo of his from the book Transformation of man by William Bartley III.
Interestingly, the disciple accompanying Mukthananda was Jinendra Jain, with shaven head, who later become a trainer and the faculty chief of Landmark Education. I was privileged to be trained by Jinendra.
Love
Rom, Bangalore (now Bengaluru)
Hey,
Any other Forum Graduate who did the training with me, please get in touch with me. I have requested the records section to verify and enroll me into the Graduates body.
I have undergone Communication Workshop, Landmark Forum, revised it more than once, Advanced course, SELP, ILP and had assisted several years.
I did not know about this blog earlier.
Luv
Rom
Bagalur village
From 1981, when I did the est Training in San Diego, thru 1990, I wrote a number of powerful, moving songs, colored and shaped by my always-delighted-and-awakened experience in Werner’s programs – including being on WE&A staff in Newport Beach for two-and-a-half years. Last month I recorded and collected them in an online album entitled, “Yes we will!” (That is, “We will end hunger, yes we will!”)
I invite all of you Graduates to sample these songs at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ericschneider9
Warning: The first two – about the Training and the 6Day Course – contain some language such as we used to hear in those programs.and not in Landmark’s.
i did the programme renamed as Landmark Education in 2002 and it is the best self development programme I have ever done. Mr. Erhad is a humanist
In 1978 I did the 6 day course .As founder of Interlock i was interested in stopping Hunger. and building a World that works for everyone .We have built Shantvan in India a place where people can come to make a difference in helping the World to Work.Come and participate.Happiness as an alternative developemnet stratadgy.
Terrence
I did the est training FEB 4-5, 11-12, 1981 in Bombay India,. My training leader was Hal Isen. What a great experience that was? Guys, do you remember the “danger process” that we do/did in the est training?. I also met David Fisher, John McNamara, Laurel Sheaf,Werner Erhard, Jinendra Jain and Angelo De Ameilo when they came to India. and my life has been transformed for ever. I am just ‘me’ now. This is one training I remember vividly. I wish hey would recreate the est training. I now live in the Boston area. Does anyone know if they are having a est reunion somewhere? I know they had one inn Hawaii couple of years ago. Please feel free to contact me – My email address is bombaywallah56@hotmail.com. My phone numbers are 781 279 9148 and 339 227 2213(mobile).
Thank you all. I hope you are all having a great life as defined by you.