Complaint Review: Alivening Project - Land O Lakes Florida

I have known the Smylys for over 30 years and participated in many of their Weekends, seminars, and rebirthing sessions.  They have studied under some of the top people in this field and are very good at what they do.  The crux of Alivening is to empower you and have you stop playing the victim, something truth na apparently did not get.  They have shown me and my family over the years how live a healthier lifestyle, how to be accountable for ourselves and our actions and how to be honest

in our dealings with others.

 

They spend hours on the phone with people from all over the world who call them for advice and opinions.  The seminars I have taken have a wide variety of people from every walk of life.  I know that they have had paying clients and clients that could not afford the fee.  All were admitted to these courses. I also know about Harmony Hills.  Yes everyone but the Smylys went bankrupt on the developer, the Smylys paid off what they could because of integrity...this is the core of their

beliefs- integrity, and as a result, they lost their home and many of their posessions. 

the smylys lost everything but their integrity,but reather than playing victim,  they rebuilt their business and continued with their lives because they live what they teach...integrity.  they are not perfect, but they are not cultists either.  I suggest truth na stop playing victim and get on with their life.  If they feel that they got nothing, then they got nothing.  Many of us did and continue to thrive.

a continuing client

naples fl.

I know for a fact that most people involved in the Harmony Hills Project also lost their homes and business and in some cases their marriages. If they filed bankrupcy it was after all was lost. The Smyly's were not the only people who lost everything. So tell the truth. I am not sure what this mansion is all about, perhaps after I left, but that was after Harmony Hills had folded. So if they had a mansion they bought it after Harmony Hills disaster. There were some perks done on the property and a few other things but I am not clear on the word contractors and there was no building done, in Harmony Hills". Perhaps the Smyly's felt they needed to pay back some of the investors and liquidated their "mansion" to do so. I can truthfully say I do not know the final tally of everything in the end and there could have been some things the Smyly's did pay in lue of all. We lost everything!!!

I worked for "The Alivening Project" for 10 years. I was laid off in March of 1993. The owners of this company lived their lives to help other people. I took phone calls from the moment I got to work until late in the evening from people seeking comfort and advise. Mr & Mrs Smyly took every call and talked to people for hours if needed. They did not charge a dime for this. One client was terrified because she had been in labor too long and asked Mrs. S if she would be in the operating room with her during delivery of the baby. Not a dime! People called in the middle of the night at their home, not a dime! In the course "The Alivening Weekend", the topic of tithing was brought up. No one said tithe to the Smyly's or The Alivening Project. The topic was about tithing ten percent of your gross earnings to a place that supports your mental, physical and spiritual well being. Some people tithed to The Alivening Project. Many did not. It was my job to invite people to come to the follow up programs. After one completed The Alivening Weekend, we called to make sure they were doing well and inform them of upcoming events. There was no aggressive behavior. If a client said, I don't know will you call me and remind me, then we called back. If some one said No. We did not contact them further. We only contacted people who wanted to continue to receive support. Most people wanted to continue. The group of people this woman is writing about is "The Harmony Hills" project. This was a group of people who knew each other from Alivening and decided to build a bunch of homes. The deal did not go through, but almost 5 million was spent in trying to get it started. EVERYONE OF THOSE PEOPLE FILED BANKRUPTCY TO AVOID PAYING THE CONTRACTORS - EXCEPT THE SMYLYS. They lost everything but they paid off those debts (at a reduced rate). I in turn lost my job because of it. The Smylys had to auction off their belongings and sell their mansion. They refused to file bankruptcy because they said these contractors did work and deserved to be paid for it. The other people of the group couldn't file bankruptcy fast enough. Then they tried to blame it all on the Smyly's. Well the other people in the group were building contractors, realtors, lawyers, they should have known that the real estate market is fickle. I still speak to the Smylys from time to time. I did a seminar last year called the Success Seminar. I was in the middle of an ugly divorce, was on serious pain medication and knew I needed support and understanding. I went to the right place. I attend the one day seminars a couple times a year. It is a wonderful place to go for people who are responsible for themselves, who are looking for sage advise in a caring atmosphere. I wish you all well.

I have had a lot of experience with the Alivening Project. I first participated in the Alivening Weekend over twenty years ago, when I was 18 years old. My life changed dramatically when I started using the life skills I learned in that course. I stopped using drugs because I no longer felt the need to be numb. I learned how to communicate effectively, how to value my personal integrity, how to serve others without sacrificing my own well-being, and how to consistently make choices that lead me toward my goals. Over the years these skills have helped me succeed as a parent and as a business owner. It has been several years since I participated in an Alivening seminar, but I still use the tools I learned ever day. It bothers me that someone would refer to the Alivening Project as a cult. They don't have followers, they have satisfied clients. There is no way to join because it is not a membership organization. There are no dues to pay and no residential programs. They have classes for groups and they offer individual consultations. There are set fees for the courses and consultations which are all 100% voluntary. Over the last 20 years I have referred many friends and clients to the Alivening Project. I have seen people thrive in their once-failing marriages, recover from personal tragedy, get better-paying and more satisfying jobs, grow strong businesses, and raise well-balanced children using the tools they learned in the Alivening Weekend and other Alivening courses. I've met lots of people who have participated in Alivening programs, and they always report a positive experience. The Smyly's are caring and compassionate individuals. They are business owners, authors, speakers, and teachers. They are parents and grandparents. They contribute to their community. Their clients are contributing in their communities. And because of the skills I learned in their courses, I am able to contribute to my community.

My experience with this company - on and off over a 25 year period - has been quite different than described here. We give the owners of Alivening credit for having at various times: saved our marriage during a time of crises, supported us in changing jobs, helping our son (now a college freshman at an Ivy League school) successfully navigate through the minefield of his teenage years and now (currently) supporting our daughter who is now entering high school. At no time did we feel we were entering anything like a cult- all contact has been initiated by us, unless they were returning our phone calls to them. In reading this letter I am puzzled and wonder if the person perhaps needed professional counseling rather than the "careapy" which Alivening provides. They clearly differentiate their approach from psychologists and the like. Since one has the ability to simply not pick up the phone call the Alivening folks - it makes me wonder why this person felt compelled to continue his/her relationship with them. Just don't call - it's that simple. We tell people they are our life coaches. We may not call them for a year or 2 or even 3 or 5 but when we need them, they are there for us in the way that we want them to be. We have always defined how that is - 1 hour phone consultation, a weekend Alivening retreat, at times a group seminar, or speaking to our children 1-1. Our lengthy experience with this group who have been in and out of our lives at various times speaks for itself I think. The entire tone of this letter is puzzling to me and couldn't be more opposite the experience we have found. We highly recommend them. The supportive techniques that they have used for years are now being embraced by many professional counselors under the name of "cognitive behaviorial therapy." But Alivening has never represented themselves as offering anything more than "careapy" - or what we would call life coaching.