Cedu Documentary Clip 7 - Propheets
October 10th, 2008 — -The Propheets - the pillars of the Cedu ‘emotional growth curriculum’; Seven overnight, all-night intensive, interpersonal, no-boundary, no-warning, no-escape adventures in 60s and 70s home-grown self-help psychodrama, distributed over a two-year period for students at the Cedu Schools.
Although Cedu California closed in 2005, the Propheets, along with much of the Cedu curriculum, have been exported to the daughter and clone schools, now in operation.
You are invited to the Propheet:
Learn more about it in the Cedu Documentary section.
October 11th, 2008 at 6:15 am
“Tell it all brother”… eek… Brings back memories.
October 11th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Wow… yeah that brings back memories. I remember in the propheets before the IWTL I had already come out with my hardest disclosures and there was intense pressure to have more. I racked my brain to think of more but anything I came up with was not good enough because “those aren’t hard enough to say”, so I had to keep telling the hard ones over again but in more detail. And the part where you had to stand up with your palms out (indicating that you’re open) while your peer group batters you with your issues. I’d forgotten about standing in line between life and death, 1 buried memory dug up… ? more to go.
But the staff disclosures! That stuff really messed with me. (shudder). Well it’s probably a good thing you’re showing these clips to prepare us for what’s coming. If I saw it all at once I might just sit in the corner, piss my pants and forget my name. Nice going!
October 13th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Well done! Brings back memories. Wow.
October 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I found this by trying to find info about the 80’s cult “Summit Workshops”
are Propheets something developed by Summit? I think this documentary is important.
Yeesh. Power corrupts, but what are we being shown by this– about angry and controlling minds getting away with calling this education?
Thanks
October 31st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Saved my comment for the last clip. I was at RMA from 84-86, went down to Cedu for 6 months (my sister graduated from there), I even spent a little time at Hilltop. I can relate to a lot of what’s being shared here, although it is being portrayed in a very singular context. Many of these recollections seem to miss the real point of the experiences they are recounting, what staff and the program were trying to accomplish, or the mere fact that staff were genuine, caring people. Yes, they definitely employed some radical therapeutic tactics, but a lot of this was based on trust in a safe environment. Oh, I got my shit tore up on a regular basis, but those same people, whether staff or peers, were always there for me afterwards.
I was never ‘made’ to feel like a piece of shit, although I did get jolted into experiencing and dealing with some really negative feelings and behaviors that I had done everything I could to avoid dealing with. Again, this was ‘radical’ therapy, and I can relate to everything these folks are talking about. I guess I just decided to trust the process from a (almost) the get go, and i feel like I’m a happier person because of it. Yep, afterwards I went back to some of the habits, over the years I scuffed up the ol’ chrome ball, and thank god I have my own kid now to remind me during those times I may not be remembering my little kid, but i can honestly say that I still use lessons learned from my experiences there
Couple of final thoughts: Cedu was definitely a different vibe than RMA. Maybe because, at that time, RMA was still kind of new, or had different staff, but although we both ran the same program, RMA just seemed a little more ‘relaxed’. Having spent time at both, I can honestly say, ” Yeah, Cedu kind of sucked”. Finally, I have to call a spade a spade– Rudy Benz was, and still most likely is, just a total douche plain and simple.
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Danny,
What I think you come to at the end of your post is that there was indeed a Cedu/RMA split. That said, RMA had its very dark days too, as evidenced by some of the RMA interviewees who gave us accounts of the waxing and waning of abuse on that campus.
The Cedu CA program too, unregulated and run by many former addicts and some confessed criminals as it was, degenerated severely over time, and then would reconstitute itself a bit, as some especially gangrenous staff would leave.. and some would show up and move through the hierarchy, and then the circle would continue.
Hence the need for transparency, for oversight of this loose-cannon industry.
Glad you’re doing well!
Liam
November 19th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I was a student at Cedu for 2005-2006 and was there when the facility was closed. During my stay at Cedu I was given a book by my parents titled “The Prophet” by the Lebanese American poet Khalil Gibran. The books essays seemed to coordinate with the beliefs and ideas presented within the Propheets and philosophy within the program. Is there evidence the Mel Wasserman drew any inspiration from the book?
November 24th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Yes. ” the prophet” and emmerson were reading material and refered to in conversation and “CEDUs” (what the groups were called in the 67, 68,….also the meaning of CEDU originally was See yourself and if you dont like it do something about it…….nothing to do with the synanon guy…………..from the reading I have been doing ….It is a sad thing that happened in the latter years….doesnt seem to have anything to do with the original days…….I still remember driving up to the Walter Huston Mansion…..for sale……and we raised the money to buy it ……..Im sorry for such a great idea turning bad for so many……