Watch Out! Leah Messer Recruiting Fans To Self-Help Group Accused Of Being A Cult

“I joined back in August,” she explained. “It feels like I’ve known everyone since forever. We wanted to hop on here to talk about our journey and experience throughout this training. I wanted Victor to join us and talk about his experience and journey.”

Messer then handed the live over to Victor, who explained how the Los Angeles training center offers courses in “emotional intelligence and leadership.”

“I’m currently a volunteer,” he began. “We want to be able to share it with you guys. The world would be a much better place if everyone had these tools. I’m fighting for a world where everyone knows they matter. The basic training you’re going to be in a big room of around 100 plus people. It’s a combination of lecture and exercises.”

When someone compared the group to Scientology, which has been accused of being the cult, Victor became defensive.

On October 22, Messer wrote on Twitter, “We the powerful, authentic, revolutionary leaders of LP16HEAVEN are committed to creating a world of LOVE, FREEDOM, and UNITY!” She used the hashtag “lp16Heaven” and tagged Rihanna, Beyonce, Madonna and Ricky Martin, who are not affiliated with the organization.

The organization offers a series of three training sessions. The first one is “The Basic Training.” The 5-day workshop is $495. The second is “The Advanced Course,” which goes for $1,195. Then there is the final stage, “The Legacy Program,” for $1,595. According to Messer’s “LP” hashtag, she appears to have completed the final stage of training, which encourages members to get recruits. This could be why she has been trying to recruit members.

According to the website, the group’s purpose reads, “These dynamic workshops are a caring, inspirational, and educational environment for generating breakthroughs in the most crucial aspects of your life. You will realize new ways to be more effective, giving and fulfilled in both your personal relationships and your career while experiencing new levels of self-confidence, vitality, joy, and satisfaction. You will see the degree to which your current thinking and behavior is or is not consistent with your highest aspirations and your vision for life. You will discover new possibilities for yourself that are not determined by your past, but generated by your commitment to the future. You will leave this life-altering experience with the tools for immediately creating more of what truly matters to you.”

In 2018, GQ published an article written by a former member entitled, “My Life Cleanse: One Month Inside L.A.’s Cult of Betterness.” The article explained how Margo Majdi, who is founder of the group today, purchased the rights to the Lifespring trainings from founder John Hanley. Lifespring was a New Age transformation program in the ‘70s and ‘80s. The article claims 35 trainees sued Lifespring. Six people died during group exercises.

"Such non-consensual imposition of brainwashing techniques generated massive psychiatric stress, which caused Plaintiff to suffer a psychiatrically diagnosed psychotic break,” the court filing read. “Such psychiatrically diagnosed psychiatric break rendered Plaintiff to suffer severance from reality which included cycling among extreme confabulations, violent acting out and a catatonic state requiring four-point restraint and psychiatric hospitalization.”

According to the complaint, she claimed recruits were broken into small groups during training sessions. Topics of family, divorce, cheating, sexual abuse and more were discussed so recruits could have a “complete transformation.”

During training, she was allegedly criticized by members for “not being emotional enough” and her “inability to be vulnerable.”

Sabre then paid for and took the Advanced Course. She explained how she was concerned about the course because of her “medical condition.” But her coach responded that he was “going to be there and it would be special to see her go through this.”

When Dana ran into her sister who was a member at the time, she said that she didn’t seem right. “Dana explained that she was ‘supposed to give a lap dance,’” the court papers read. “When Kristy asked Dana ‘Why,' Dana responded, “because they told me to.’” She also told her sister that she did not “want to get naked” and that some man had shown her his penis.

“Performing a striptease, which included giving a woman a lap dance, Dana did her ‘stretch.’ When Dana came out of the Stretch Room her bra had been removed,” the court papers read. “Defendants are responsible for the sexual violation of Dana and furthermore did not allow her to leave the Advanced until the very end of the night.”

On another day, Dana stole her sister’s car and started to cycle among “extreme confabulations, violent acting out and catatonic state requiring paramedic response, four-point restraint and psychiatric hospitalization,” the court papers alleged. She was diagnosed with having a psychotic break caused by sleep deprivation and stress. Sabre requested the case be dismissed with prejudice.