Erhard Seminars Training

Infobox Company
company_name = Erhard Seminars Training, Inc.
company_
company_type = Private Corporation (defunct)
foundation = October 1971 (dissolved 1981)
location = San Francisco, California, USA
key_people = Werner Erhard, FounderBartley, William Warren, Werner Erhard: the Transformation of a Man: the Founding of est. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. 1978. ISBN 0-517-53502-5, p.164.]

Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered to the general public (as well as other entities) an intense and rigorous 2-weekend (60-hours) course known officially as 'The "est" Standard Training'. The purpose of 'the Training' was to allow participants to achieve a sense of personal transformation and enhanced power in their lives, concepts that resonated with many during the socially turbulent and war-weary 1970s. The "est" Training was delivered, mostly unchanged save for minor modifications to the program, for over 13 years, from late 1971 to late 1984.

The est Standard Training

The first "est" Training took place at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco, California in October 1971. From this first course, as word of mouth began to circulate, more and more people wanted to sign up, and "est" began to grow rapidly. Within a year, trainings were being held in New York City, and other major cities in the US followed soon after. By 1979 "est" had expanded to Great Britain, Europe, and other parts of the world. The popularity of "est" peaked in 1981, as enrollment for the various courses began to shrink. The last "est" Training was held in December 1984 in San Francisco, CA., and the program was officially retired. In its place came a newly-developed course called 'The Forum', which was first held in January 1985. The est Training presented several concepts to the American public, most notably the concept of transformation and taking responsibility for one's life. The actual teaching is called "the technology of transformation", and stresses the value of integrity. [ The Herald Sun, March1, 2008 | http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23298425-664,00.html ] 'est, Inc.' evolved into 'est, an Educational Corporation', and eventually into 'Werner Erhard & Associates'. WE&A purchased the assets of est in 1981.fact|date=August 2008

Early Influences

In William Bartley's biography, "Werner Erhard: The Transformation of a Man, the Founding of est" (1978), Erhard describes his explorations of Zen Buddhism. Bartley quotes Erhard as acknowledging Zen as the essential contribution that "created the space [for est] ."Bartley, William Warren, Werner Erhard: the Transformation of a Man: the Founding of est. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. 1978. ISBN 0-517-53502-5, p. 121, 146-7.] Bartley details Erhard's connections with Zen beginning with his extensive studies with Alan Watts in the mid 1960s. [Bartley, William Warren, Werner Erhard: the transformation of a man: the founding of est. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. 1978. ISBN 0-517-53502-5, p. 118] Bartley quotes Erhard as acknowledging:

Of all the disciplines that I studied, practiced, learned, Zen was the essential one. It was not so much an influence on me, rather it created space. It allowed those things that were there to be there. It gave some form to my experience. And it built up in me the critical mass from which was kindled the experience that produced est. [Bartley, William Warren, Werner Erhard: the transformation of a man: the founding of est. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. 1978. ISBN 0-517-53502-5, p. 121]

Timeline

* 1971 - Erhard Seminars Training Inc, first est Training held in San Francisco, California
* 1973 - The Foundation for the Realization of Man - incorporated as a non-profit foundation in California (subsequently the name of the foundation was changed to the est Foundation in 1976, and in 1981 to the Werner Erhard Foundation)
* 1975 - est, an educational corporation.
* 1981 - Sold assets to Werner Erhard and Associates and est ceased operations [ [http://www.wernererhard.info/career.html Werner Erhard ] ]

Notable Staff, participants, and other individuals

* Valerie Harper [cite news |first=Steve |last=Jackson |title=It Happens |url=http://www.westword.com/1996-04-18/news/it-happens/full |work=Westword |date=1996-04-18 |accessdate=2007-04-27]
* Mike Oldfield ["1978 saw a dramatic change in Mikes public persona. He surprised the music press by changing his image and starting to talk with the media. The change was due to Mike's participation in the radical and controversial "Exegesis" or EST programme. As a result of the EST, Mike organised his first tour in 1979, together with an entourage of almost 100! In spite of all the concerts selling out, the tour ended with heavy debt." -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/hub/A616835 -- Retrieved 2007-02-19]
* Yoko Ono
* Diana Ross
* John Denver
* Roy Scheider
* Harvey Korman
* Cloris Leachman
* Paul Arden
* Tim Mellers
*John Ritter

Related organizations

* The Hunger Project 1977 - Present
* Landmark Education

See also the [http://www.wernererhard.com/charitable.html list] of associated organizations.

ee also

*Large Group Awareness Training
*Human potential movement

Related publications

Books

* William Warren Bartley (1978). Werner Erhard The Transformation of a Man: The Founding of est. New York, New York, USA: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. [http://www.amazon.com/s?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=iii%2C+w.+w.+bartley+transformation ISBN 0-517-53502-5]
*cite book
last = Pressman | first = Steven | authorlink = Steven Pressman | coauthors = | title =
publisher = St. Martin's Press | date = 1993 | location = New York | pages = 289 | url =
doi = | id = | isbn = 0-312-09296-2
* Adelaide Bry "est (Erhard Seminars Training): 60 Hours That Transform Your Life". Harpercollins, 1976
* Sheridan Fenwick "Getting it: the psychology of est". Penguin, 1977. ISBN 0-14-004467-1
* Carl Frederick "est: Playing the Game the New Way". Delacorte, 1974.
* Robert Hargrave "est: Making Life Work". Delacorte, 1976.
* Ray E Hosford, C Scott Moss, Helene Cavior and Burton Kerish "Research on Erhard Seminar Training in a Correctional Institution"
* Rhinehart, Luke, "The Book of Est"
* Samways, Louise "Dangerous Persuaders: An expose of gurus, personal development courses and cults, and how they operate", Penguin, 1994

Articles in periodicals

* Mark Brewerk. "We're Gonna Tear You Down and Put You Back Together", "Psychology Today", August 1975
* L. L. Glass, M. A. Kirsch and F. N. Parris. "Psychiatric disturbances associated with Erhard Seminars Training", "American Journal of Psychiatry". 1977; 134(3): 245-7.
* Peter Marin. "The New Narcissism", "Harper's", October 1975, 251:45-56.
* Perry Pascarella. "Create Breakthroughs in Performance by Changing the Conversation,” by Perry Pascarella. Industry Week, Vol. 233, No. 6 (June 15), 1987.
* Eliezer Sobel. “This Is It: est, Twenty Years Later” ("QUEST Magazine", Summer 1998) [http://www.wildheartjournal.com/est.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.wernererhard.com An account of the life, influences and controversies surrounding Erhard]
* [http://search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/search?search=est&all=no&cat=Health/Mental_Health/Self-Help/Courses/Landmark_Education&utf8=1&locale=en_us Erhard Seminars Training] , at the Open Directory Project
* [http://www.skepdic.com/est.html est and Werner Erhard] , "The Skeptic's Dictionary"