LGAT programs provide personal development training for groups of over two hundred people at a time, and share some of the characteristics of both spiritual revivals and encounter groups training. However, it would be fairest in some ways to say that these programs draw as much from the tenets of humanistic psychology as from anywhere else.

One well known LGAT program was developed by Werner Erhardt who founded EST training (Erhardt Seminar Training, also Latin for “to be"). After modifying the EST program format some Erhardt changed the name of the program to The Forum. Ownership of the program was later changed to the Landmark Education group and it is still presented by them on a worldwide basis.

Another well know trainer using some of the practices associated with LGAT is Anthony Tony Robbins, who became famous leading firewalks. He integrated the basic technology of NLP with highly charged motivational platform skills in a LGAT format sometimes running programs with thousands of participants.

It is also possible to use some of the techniques of LGAT in professional development applications as well. For example some professional motivation speakers and specialists use the large group format when presenting programs for entire organizations or when presenting programs to associations with large numbers of members, such as when they are kicking off a major new product or project deployment.

Welcome to Joseph Riggio’s “WikiNostra” ... a gathering place for BIG IDEAS!

One thing I constantly get challenged about is my use of what some people call BIG WORDS ... but I prefer to think that what they’re really reacting to are BIG IDEAS.

For many people being challenged with really big ideas is unfamiliar. In fact I’d say from my experience most people do everything they can to keep all their ideas familiar, and any new idea that comes along better fit into one of the categories of ideas they’ve already got filed away! But since I intend to continue challenging folks with what I hope are some really big ideas, some that will contain some really big words as well ... many of which may well be unfamiliar ... I’m adding this wiki to the site to begin providing a place to gather up all these big ideas and some of the big words that make them up so that all the folks who visit here will walk out the other side of having come bigger themselves for the experience ...

There are a couple of rules I’ll be applying to this wiki:

1. The wiki will remain open to anyone who is a fully registered member of the site to use, including creating, adding to and editing entries, so I ask everyone to respect the open format and only use this wiki to provide information of the highest value that will be useful to everyone who visits

2. This wiki is not intended to be a replacement for Wikipedia.com as a general knowledge wiki, but instead it is intended as a specialized wiki to present information about the topics you’ll find on JosephRiggio.com, the material I present in the Private Access subscription membership groups, the things I talk about on my radio programs and podcasts, the topics I present in my work ... with individuals, with groups, in workshops and seminars, ... and especially to expand on the ideas I present in “BlogNostra” ... so while you can’t expect to find everything here, you can expect to find some really interesting entries that will take what you’ve might of heard me going on about or read in something I’ve written ... and I’m hoping that some of you will be providing some of the most interesting and useful entries of all

I welcome all who visit to use this wiki to gather up some ideas of their own ... to share some of your ideas with the folks here ... and of course to keep us all honest by making sure what you find here is up to date.

Let’s get started, just go to WikiNostra to kick things off ...

Best regards,

Dr. Joseph Riggio
Architect and Designer of the MythoSelf Process

Pre-Disclaimer Notice:
Regarding this wiki of ours, WikiNostra, most of you who know me know that I live in the United States of America, land of the free and home of the brave as they say ... and also land of the most litigious. Despite the fact that I’m giving away all these great opinions for free and without expecting much in return, I am also aware of the aphorism that “no good deed goes unpunished.” So the following disclaimer is required reading for anyone on this site accessing WikiNostra. While I don’t like it it’s required reading if I want to share any of my opinions with you without ignorantly putting my tail in a sling ... so please read the disclaimer below and enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: The wiki, WikiNostra, is a free resource and no agreement or contract of any kind is intended or implied by its availability and/or use. This wiki and all the contents within are intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. The information appearing in this wiki is based solely upon the opinion of the individual author and as such only reflects personal opinion and not professional or expert opinion of any kind, nor are the contents of this wiki subject to peer review of any kind. Some of the opinions contained on this wiki may be inaccurate and/or incorrect. Some material may reference commercial ventures and no relationship, association, endorsement or recommendation of any kind is suggested by such reference. No claims are made for the accuracy of this information, especially with regard to providing professional advice of any kind, including by not limited to medical, psychological, legal, financial or otherwise. Before acting on any of the material contained in this wiki seek the input and advice of a competent and qualified professional. The authors of the content in this wiki make no claim of competence to offer advice of any kind, nor do they claim any qualification to prevent risk that may be associated with the content contained in this wiki.  Any and all use of the information contained within this wiki, including reading any or all of the articles within, is at your own discretion and under your own advisement, no claims or warranties whatsoever are made by any of the authors or the wiki owner. Additional disclaimer statements may apply as well.

DO NOT RELY UPON NOR APPLY ANY INFORMATION FOUND IN THIS WIKI WITHOUT FIRST SEEKING INDEPENDENT QUALIFIED VERIFICATION FROM A RELIABLE, PROFESSIONAL SOURCE.

©2008 All rights reserved.

Personal development comes in many forms; self-help books, individual therapy, group therapy, seminars, workshops, Large Group Awareness Training are all among the various approaches one can take to pursue a programs of personal development. Virtually anything that someone does to improve themselves in any way can be considered a form of personal development. Though of in this way things like attending school, undertaking a program of physical fitness or seeking medical advice for becoming or remaining healthy could all be considered as personal development in the widest possible framing. Most people when referring to personal development however are considering those things specifically undertaken to improve some aspect of the individual so as to improve the quality of life they experience.

The quality of personal development programs varies widely from extraordinary to dismal, or even dangerous in some cases. However when the consumer of these programs operates with sufficient discretion there may be great opportunity in availing ones self to the material they present. Many people have claimed to experience positive life changing transformations as a result of attending one or another personal development programs. However it should also be noted that many others, including some so-called experts, suggest that many others have experienced less positive results after attending a personal development program, up to and including being traumatized by their experience.

BlogNostra is Joseph Riggio’s personal blog on JosephRiggio.com. BlogNostra was named using a tongue in cheek reference to the insider’s name for the Sicilian Mafia that originated on the East Coast of the U.S., Cosa Nostra, “our thing” or sometimes referred to as “this thing of ours” as translated from the Italian.

Joseph intended to establish his blog for folks who shared an interest with him in some common ideas, for folks interested in his work and especially for the community of folks who have studied with him in one or another of his personal development or professional development programs.

Rather than building a traditional blog with daily or even more frequent entries about whatever might be going on for him Joseph decided to post longer entries that are more like full articles about topics of interest as they showed up for him on his screen of attention.

You can visit BlogNostra on http://www.josephriggio.com, BlogNostra

This is a name that sometimes refers to the Sicilian Mafia that originated on the East Coast of the U.S. during the late 19th and early 20th century during the Italian diaspora as waves of poor immigrants landed on the shores of the East Coast of the United States of America. Some people say that this is the secret name of the original mafia in Sicily and that the Cosa Nostra in the U.S. is an off-shoot of that organization.

The Mafia in the United States of America is associated almost exclusively with organized crime, and many of the individuals who associate themselves with the Mafia are in fact criminals. However, the origins of the Mafia in Sicily arose from the need of the common people to create a system to protect themselves from powerful oppressors. Some of these oppressor were the official, but disreputable, rulers of the territories where these common people lived who often came to power themselves by conquest and violence visited on the locals.

In the United States the neighborhoods filled with poor immigrant Italian families were the perfect breeding ground for the same ideas to flourish. Many of these neighborhood were sites where the previous immigrants to the United States began to take advantage of these newly arrived Italian immigrants, preying upon them and taking advantage of their poverty. These predators often included police, lawyers and judges who denied these people either justice or opportunity. So the natural reaction seemed to be for these people to take the law into their own hands.

In these terms the Mafia is often seen by the locals as the alternate law in the land. The Mafia from this perspective referred to outlaws who had taken back the local territory from the occupiers and oppressors, and were in fact the protectors and benefactors to the locals.

The basic form of organization in the Mafia is a system of “families” who control a certain territory. The members of this family include both members who are such by virtue of blood ties as well as those who join regardless of the lack of these direct blood ties. All members who are accepted into the “family” must swear an oath called “Omerta.”

Omerta is basically a blood oath of silence and loyalty to the death. Omerta preexists the Mafia and was kind of code of honor among local families who would keep their secrets whatever they might be from the outsiders who occupied the land, including anyone representing the laws these outsiders imposed upon the locals.

An interesting thing that carried over to the original Mafia that arose to take back what the locals considered to be theirs in the first place was the unique concept of honor as it is prescribed in the law of Omerta. Even if someone was accused of a crime they did not commit they were not to speak a word in their own defense. They would instead accept the consequences and then seek their vengeance on their own or be avenged by their own for accepting the consequences of keeping the oath of silence. Of course this made it extremely difficult for outsiders to control or impose their rule of law with the locals. This idea strengthened the original Mafia and the more it strayed to criminal activity the more this historical pattern served them and made it difficult to investigate their activities and convict them of crimes they might commit.

There is surely little honor in being a criminal, yet it is still interesting to note that the source of the ideas that became distorted in what is currently referred to as the Mafia sprang from deeply honorable ideas and sources. Ultimately those who are in power at any given point in time get to say what is just or unjust, and history then views them from the perspective held by the historians. While it would be difficult to agree with any criminal behavior as being just it is clear that what is considered just behavior at one point in space and/or time can be viewed as criminal from another space and/or time, e.g.: slavery, regardless of the fact that every agricultural civilization in history had some form of it, or profiteering such as seen in what are now considered to be the scandals associated with significant, legitimate businesses such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco or the activities of the mega oil companies reaping outrageous profits during gas shortages and the inflation of oil prices worldwide.

Some folks have asked me about my use of the the suffix -Nostra as in BlogNostra and now for this wiki “WikiNostra” and the simple answer is that it’s a tongue in cheek reference to the name given to the Sicilian Mafia that originated on the East Coast of the U.S. the Cosa Nostra (i.e.: our thing).

There’s just something I love about the idea of creating a “thing of ours” as well ... first a blog (BlogNosta) where folks who share a common interest in the same ideas and now a wiki to expand upon these ideas that spring from this common interest.

For example I expect to see a few themes growing in this wiki:

Aesthetics - sensory-based perception sensual experience of pattern

Consciousness - awareness of self sensory phenomena

Hypnosis - trancework altered states language of suggestion

NLP - neurolinguistic programming the study of subjective experience

Performance - making things happen creating intended outcomes linking behaviors and results

Creating New Pages in WikiNostra:

Now while these are only examples what’s important is that anytime we need or want to add an entry it’s as easy as pie to do. Just put your intended entry title in double plain brackets , whatever word, phrase, title or name you place in the double plain brackets on an existing page will automatically create a new page with what’s in the double plain brackets as the title of that page.

E.g.: [ [ NAME ] ]

(NOTE: You’ll notice I placed spaces between the plain brackets and also before and after the placeholder “NAME” because for this example I didn’t want to create an automatic page. If I had not put these spaces in a new page with the title NAME would have been created automatically. So when you are creating new entries remove the spaces between the brackets and the page title that you intend to create and your new entry will automatically be created with the title you place between the double plain brackets.)

One thing I constantly get challenged about is my use of what some people call BIG WORDS ... but I prefer to think that what they’re really reacting to are BIG IDEAS.

For many people being challenged with really big ideas is unfamiliar. In fact I’d say from my experience most people do everything they can to keep all their ideas familiar, and any new idea that comes along better fit into one of the categories of ideas they’ve already got filed away! But since I intend to continue challenging folks with what I hope are some really big ideas, some that will contain some really big words as well ... many of which may well be unfamiliar ... I’m adding this wiki to the site to begin providing a place to gather up all these big ideas and some of the big words that make them up so that all the folks who visit here will walk out the other side of having come bigger themselves for the experience ...

There are a couple of rules I’ll be applying to this wiki:

1. The wiki will remain open to anyone who is a fully registered member of the site to use, including creating, adding to and editing entries, so I ask everyone to respect the open format and only use this wiki to provide information of the highest value that will be useful to everyone who visits

2. This wiki is not intended to be a replacement for Wikipedia.com as a general knowledge wiki, but instead it is intended as a specialized wiki to present information about the topics you’ll find on JosephRiggio.com, the material I present in the Private Access subscription membership groups, the things I talk about on my radio programs and podcasts, the topics I present in my work ... with individuals, with groups, in workshops and seminars, ... and especially to expand on the ideas I present in “BlogNostra” ... so while you can’t expect to find everything here, you can expect to find some really interesting entries that will take what you’ve might of heard me going on about or read in something I’ve written ... and I’m hoping that some of you will be providing some of the most interesting and useful entries of all

I welcome all who visit to use this wiki to gather up some ideas of their own ... to share some of their ideas with the folks here ... and of course to keep us all honest by making sure what you find here is up to date.

Best regards,

Dr. Joseph Riggio
Architect and Designer of the MythoSelf Process