In 2016 I spent a week in Amsterdam just to attend a course. Of course, for me it wasn't just any kind of course and somehow it was worth it to pay more for the trip than the event itself :).

The event was a Landmark Forum, considered to be the foundation course of a longer series.

3 days of “working” and rethinking the way we saw the world. The goal was also to see life as something other than a series of events that affect us and “force” us to do certain things, without any power. Landmark, or ontological education, turns the “cause-and-effect” world upside down and in favor of the practitioner. Urban Princess and Connie Larkin have a series of superb interviews on YouTube about this. 

On each of the first 2 days the facilitator kept telling us that on the 3rd day he was going to reveal the biggest lie in the world. We couldn't wait! And day 3 is here! 

- Take your seats. Find a comfortable position and close your eyes.

Complete silence. Everyone (+100 people) follows instructions.

- Now, with inky eyes, imagine that you are surrounded and threatened by the ugliest and most vile and fierce beings. They are getting closer and closer and they see nothing good, useful or beautiful in you. 

I was really terrified in my imagination. So were all the other 100. I could hear my neighbors sighing and letting the fear take over. 

- Now just open one eye and analyze the room, the facilitator continues. 

In the next moment, when we all realized that there was no one left to threaten us because we were all busy with our own imagined fears, we burst into laughter. Liberating laughter. We were free of judgment and criticism forever. You know that saying, “nobody cares about you anyway!”? Something like that 🙂 but without the negative connotations. 

The lesson? Be what you want and do what you want! Fear is not justified. NOT!