Erhard Seminars Training, Inc. (marketed as est, though often encountered as EST or Est) was an organization founded by Werner Erhard in 1971 that offered a two-weekend (6-day, 60-hour) course known officially as "The est Standard Training". In the mid-1980s, he renamed EST "the Forum," and in the early 1990s he left the country during a period when the IRS was investigating his taxes.
In 1980, a Monmouth County, N.J., couple filed a $1-million suit against the Erhard Seminars Training claiming that its practices resulted in "severe and permanent emotional, psychological and. Original est staff members included Werner Erhard, Gonneke Spits, Laurel Scheaf, Jack Rafferty and Elaine Cronin While only about 600 people participated in est Training by the end of 1971, it was the beginning of something new. The est process is designed to assist the participant to discover through experience, rather than analysis, aspects of his mental functioning and behavior.
The participant "looks at" (without explanation or rationalization) his behavior, feelings, thoughts, history, justifications and the concomitant payoffs. What was est in the 1980s? EST was not officially a religion but a training program meant "to transform your ability to experience living so that the situations you have been trying to change or have been putting up with clear up just in the process of life itself," as Erhard put it. Werner Erhard's prominence was linked to a self-improvement training program he devised in the early 1970s called est (lower case).
Erhard personally conducted est in the beginning and less frequently later on. It is commonly assumed that est stood for Erhard Seminars Training, but then again est is Latin for "it is" and it is a suffix for the most--highest, happiest. As far as I know, Erhard.
The original course, known as est, was delivered by the company Erhard Seminars Training (est). Under the name The Forum, they were delivered by Werner Erhard and Associates. Also, the Landmark Forum, a program created by Erhard's former employees after purchasing his intellectual property, has had an influence on popular culture.
Q. What is Est? A. Est (Erhard Seminars Training) was started by Werner Erhard and was one of the most popular and influential self-improvement movements of the 1970's.
Q. Is Est still around? A. Est is no longer taught in its original form, but a number of groups have evolved from Est and their current teachings borrow heavily from the.
The est documentary "Transformation: The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard" offers a rare glimpse into the controversial figure who founded the popular personal growth program in the 1970s. Directed by Robyn Symon, this film breaks Erhard's decade-long silence and explores the impact of est on American culture. "Transformation" provides an intimate look at Werner Erhard and the movement he.