5/13/2025 20:28

I went to an EST seminar once. It was in LA. I’d heard a lot about EST and how it would change your life and make everything better. It was a big deal. I didn’t see how it could be true, but the “seminar” was free, so I checked it out.

They told me that they would teach me that I didn’t need to explain myself to anyone. That my decisions were my own decisions and why I made the decision that I made was nobody’s business but mine. I was completely free to decide what I would or wouldn’t be willing to do. And I was completely free not to disclose my reasons. They even shared a trade secret, the response they use if someone has the temerity to ask them why they chose not to do something: “because I choose not to.”

Thing is, I already knew that anything I did or didn’t do was my own choice and responsibility. I mean, damn, my favorite novel at the time was La Nausée. It had never occurred to me that someone else might be responsible for what I did or didn’t do. “Look what you made me do,” wasn’t part of my vocabulary or viewpoint. But I was impressed at the aplomb I encountered toward the end of our discussion.

Which is to say that at the end of the “seminar” two of the very young sales people… er… I mean… facilitators walked over to me (my badge probably said, “double team necessary”) and asked if I was going to sign up for one of their seminars. I don’t remember the price, but I felt that I would rather buy the Brooklyn Bridge.

I said, “no.”

The girl said, “why?”

I said, “because I choose not to.”

The boy said, “are you kidding me?”

I said, “I think I already have your training.”

He said, “oh, you took a course?”

I said, “no.”

She said, “where are you from?”

I Said, “I’ve been living in NYC.”

She said, “oh, well, that explains it. People from New York take our seminars like vacations.”