Cult News

Whatever happened to that old feel good extended weekend seminar known as “est,” which developed a “cult following” that included celebrities like Valerie Harper and John Denver?

Well it got bigger and better, at least from a business perspective.

Est is now called “Landmark Education,” and according to a press release on Yahoo, the private for-profit company now has “60 major offices in 21 countries,” affecting “100 cities” with ” 750 professionally trained course leaders worldwide.”

The PR spin gushes about Landmark’s recent deal with Sprint “to improve its communications infrastructure.”

The company’s “flagship” program is called the Forum, which can be seen as mass marathon training.

Landmark has a rocky history that includes serious complaints about abuses, subsequent lawsuits and more than a little bad press.

Its founder Werner Erhard (a.k.a. Jack Rosenberg) also went through some rough times. His bad patch included allegations of incest, spousal abuse and income tax problems.

Erhard eventually sold the company and licensed its “technology.” The specific details of that sale were never disclosed

But never mind all is well now.

Landmark is clearly pulling in more money than ever.

And Erhard? He resolved his personal problems and ended up a rich man relaxing on the beaches of the Cayman Islands. He lives in Georgetown with his girlfriend Hanukkah.

Landmark still generates lawsuits, complaints and bad press, but they seem to settle such matters quietly and weather whatever controversy arises comfortably.

In his new book Nothing Is Impossible, Christopher Reeve offers inspiration and hope, but the Hollywood icon also demonstrates his enduring sense of humor.

In a chapter titled Religion, Reeve tells the story of his involvement with Scientology during 1975.

The saga begins outside a supermarket where the actor runs into a Scientologist promoting a “free personality test.” Reeve obliges him and takes the test, curious to find out its results.

The next day in the “plush…inner sanctum of…[Scientology’s] headquarters…suitable for the president or CEO of a major corporation” he is told the bad news. Scientologists warn Reeve that he is carrying “heavy ‘baggage'” and suffers from a litany of personal problems.

But of course they can provide the needed “‘training'” to help him, which they say he should begin immediately.

So the future Superman takes Scientology courses hoping one day he will “go Clear,” which is Scientology jargon for reaching a supposed advanced state of consciousness made possible through their training.

Reeve writes about an exercise called “‘TRO’ (Training Routine Zero)” and explains, “The objective was to empty our minds of extraneous thoughts (‘clutter’)” And “whenever our own clutter tried to come back in, we were…to acknowledge its return and then command it to go away.”

Doesn’t this sound like “brainwashing“?

The actor tells readers that TRO only cost him “a few hundred dollars.” But after that came “auditing,” which he describes as “outrageously expensive.” And Reeve says Scientology wanted “$3,000 in advance” for that service, which was billed at a “$100 an hour in 1975.”

He explains that the “auditor” used an “E-Meter,” which is “a simple box with a window that contained a fluctuating needle and a card with numbers from one to ten. Two wires running out of the box…were attached to tin cans,” which he was asked to hold.

Apparently it didn’t take x-ray vision for Reeve to conclude that the “E-meter was basically a crude lie detector.”

What Reeve subsequently details sounds like an interrogation. The actor was asked to “recall the use of…illegal substances…painkillers…anything stronger than aspirin.” He says, “My drug rundown used up for or five sessions.”

But Reeve had “growing skepticism about Scientology.” So he decided to run his own test.

He told the auditor a long story supposedly about a past life, but he made it all up, based upon a Greek myth.

However, the auditor didn’t detect anything, even with the help of the trusty “E-Meter.”

It was then that the “Man of Steel” decided he was done with Scientology. Reeve writes, “The fact that I got away with a blatant fabrication completely devalued my belief in the process.”

Summing up a religious critique the actor says, “My problem has always been with religious dogma intended to manipulate behavior.”

Elsewhere in the book Reeve recounts exposure to Transcendental Meditation, a run-in with a devotee of Baba Muktanananda, an awareness weekend seminar, Deepak Chopra, “Harmonic Convergence” and “rebirthing.”

But Christopher Reeve never became another movie star devoted to some guru or “cult.” And it’s refreshing to find a celebrity that isn’t another annoying Hollywood cliché, constantly promoting some leader, special mentor or weird group.

Even after life dealt Reeve a tough hand in 1995 through a freak accident that paralyzed his body, he still didn’t grasp for some self-serving, comforting or convenient belief system.

Instead, the actor says God wants us to “do our best” and simply “discern the truth.” And Reeve cites a guiding principle espoused by the pragmatic Abraham Lincoln, “When I do good I feel good. When I do bad I feel bad. And that’s my religion.”

It seems Scientology has more to learn from Superman than he ever could have taken in from its endless courses and “auditing.”

Maybe this movie star should teach some Hollywood Scientologists like Tom Cruise and John Travolta?

Given his current circumstances many might think Christopher Reeve is bitter. But the actor centers much of his life and faith upon the value of hope.

He concludes at the end of his book, “When we have hope, we discover powers, within ourselves we may have never known—the power to make sacrifices, to endure, to heal, and to love. Once we choose hope, everything is possible.”

“I will kill you like an American Imperialist,” is a popular curse in North Korea. The people there are subjected to a barrage of constant anti-US propaganda in an effort to unify the country, often through hate of the outside world, reports Associated Press.

A South Korean fisherman who was kidnapped and spent 20 years in North Korea said, “It’s a daily fodder in North Korea. The first thing you hear when you wake up for the day is some form of diatribe against the Americans.”

A North Korean who defected in 1994 says, “If you rule a destitute country with a personality cult, you must present the people with something to hate. It’s brainwashing.”

Not unlike totalitarian dictators of the past who promoted cults of personality North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il, known as “Dear One,” reinforces his control through fear and hate.

Like Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini, the original “Axis of Evil,” Kim Jung Il uses the requisite scapegoats, mythology, alleged conspiracies, grandiose pretension and xenophobia, to reinforce his rule.

North Korea, frequently described as a “Stalinist state,” follows that sorry chapter in Russian history closely too. Stalin was responsible for the deaths of millions of his countrymen and created an aura of almost supernatural power and mystique about him.

“Stalinism” was by definition personality-driven.

And just like Stalin the “Dear One” largely possesses the minds of his people by controlling all information within his country and virtually any contact with the outside world. Kim Jong Il has carefully crafted a worldview for North Koreans, which effectively excludes any objective accounts of history.

Hopefully, one day North Korea will follow Russian history one more step and eventually pull down the statues of the Stalinist demigods, who have brought that nation decades of needless misery.

But the pressing question now is what has the rest of the world learned from history about dealing with such tyrants?

Psychologists that specialize in group dynamics said that “a charismatic leader” is the key to understanding the mindset of many terrorist groups, reports Channel News Asia.

Asian experts cited the ability of such leaders “to manipulate a group, and change their attitudes and beliefs.”

And instead of the purported profile of suicide bombers as poor, ignorant and disenfranchised, psychologists were not surprised to learn that many were sophisticated, educated and quite intelligent.

Experts paralleled identified Indonesian terrorists to cult members within Aum, the group that gassed Tokyo subways and also to the followers of Osama bin-Laden.

Elizabeth Nair, Psychologist, National University of Singapore said, “The charismatic leader is effectively able to say, ‘We who are in this group are right and moral, anyone who’s not in this group is not a good person'”

This is what Robert Jay Lifton identified in his breakthrough book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (first published in 1961) as “The Dispensing of Existence.”

That is, members of the group and its leader are always moral, right and those who disagree are immoral, evil and therefore subseqently dispensable.

Nair added, “A skilful gifted charismatic leader with an agenda of aggression and hostility can successfully lead members to all sorts of action, suicide, homicide and unsociable behavior.”

Again, this was reminiscent of Shoko Asahara of Aum and Charles Manson.

And oaths and pledges are used to bind terrorist groups together, not unlike recognized destructive cult groups.

Once invested in the group and its ideology members seemed to possess a sense of equity and felt they were already in “too deep,” to refuse their leaders when asked to commit crimes of violence.

American psychologist Robert Cialdini has described this sense of investment in some detail in his seminal book Influence.

Cialdini defines what he calls “Commitment and Consistency.” He writes this is “a desire to look consistent through…words, beliefs, attitudes and deeds.” And that “…after making a commitment…people are more willing to agree to requests that are consistent with their prior commitment.”

As we confront the worldwide threat of growing terrorism common sense dictates drawing upon the existing and well-established body of knowledge regarding destructive cults and their patterns of indoctrination and influence.

By understanding destructive cult thought reform programswe can better understand the behavior of many existing terrorist organizations.

A multi-state sex ring based within Chicago has been busted and the leader allegedly ran his outfit like a “cult,” reports The Detroit News.

Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan said, “It appears to have operated much like a cult.”

Minors were abducted and coerced to become prostitutes for their 32-year-old leader Henry “Chicago” Davis.

The coercive persuasion used was often physically brutal, but a subtler means of obtaining control through influence was also used. Evidence of this was the relative freedom of movement women in the group at times experienced, which might enable them to escape.

Davis, apparently a master manipulator said after his arrest, “Nothing is being discussed about the good I did for these women.”

So-called “cultic relationships” can include as few as only two people, when one dominates and controls another. This type of relationship has often been compared to the “battered woman syndrome.”

Many news analysts have recently observed that North Korea is not so much a “Communist state” as it is a personality-driven “cult.”

A dictatorial dynasty rules the country, which was first established by the current leader’s father

Noted psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, once studied the methodology of “education” used by North Korea within prisoner of war camps in the fifties. His conclusions were published within his seminal book, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism.

What can easily be seen from Lifton’s writings is that North Korea has a long-standing and well-established expertise in what is commonly called “brainwashing.”

Its absolute authoritarian leader, Kim Jong Il, known now as “Great Leader,” controls all the media, military and environment. Lifton calls this “milieu control,” which is the foundation for a thought reform program.

Something called “Juche,” is the detailed dogma or ideology used to control the North Korean population, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

Lifton calls such an ideology the “Sacred Science” of Totalism.

Like many cult leaders Kim has exploited his followers, it is estimated that he holds $2 to $4 billion dollars in European banks. He also lives lavishly, while most of his people go hungry. During the 1990s mass starvation took the lives of 2 million in North Korea.

But North Koreans are still officially called “Kim Il Sung’s people.”

Sounds a bit like “Sci-fi cult” leader “Rael” calling his followers the “Raelians” or David Koresh and his “Davidians” doesn’t it?

This is what Lifton calls “Doctrine over Person.” That is, when the group uses its dogma to supercede and blur individual identity.

Kim’s regime is certainly a closed system not easily permeated by outside ideas; the country can be seen as little more than a giant cult compound.

One expert says that North Korea has “carefully constructed illusions.” And such cultic “illusions” often whither when subjected to an outside frame of reference and the free exchange of ideas.

According to recent reports there is now some critical “whispering” about the “Great Leader” within his nation compound. Perhaps “Kim Il Sung’s people” are beginning to consider the possibility of a future without a cult leader.

Lifton has written extensively about cults and “cult formation.” He lists three primary hallmarks that define a destructive cult.

1. A charismatic leader who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose their power;

2. a process I call coercive persuasion or thought reform;

3. economic, sexual, and other exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie.

Sounds just like North Korea.

Many people lose money on schemes that involve multi-level participation. Such programs have often been described as “pyramid schemes,” due to the disproportionate amount of people who lose at the bottom as opposed to the elite few who reap benefits at the top.

Laws in the United States are often ambiguous, riddled with loopholes or weak regarding multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes. The Federal Trade Commission has on occasion shut down such businesses like Equinox and Trek Alliance, an Equinox spin-off that was recently shut down by court order.

Sadly, most often by the time such companies are closed by the authorities; many people have already lost money.

Some of those caught up in MLMs say there is a kind of “cult like” process of coercive persuasion, which takes place through the recruitment, seminar and conference formats used by such businesses. Spouses and friends have at times described distributors as “brainwashed,” when explaining their seemingly irrational commitment and conduct.

A recent article appeared in the Portsmouth Herald, which spelled out how and why these schemes are simply “mathematically improbable” and therefore fail.

Assistant Attorney General Connie Stratton, of the New Hampshire Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau explained this succinctly. She said, “The reason they don’t work is because they have so many levels of distributors. If you work out the math, what happens is that a very few people make money and the majority do not. All the money goes to the top, so you’d have to recruit your way to the top. The problem is that so many people are needed to get there that the market gets saturated and the scheme falls apart.”

One expert stated that the loser rate typically exceeds 93% and in some schemes 99%. And that product-based programs are the most damaging.

Here are a few comments from people who were damaged by MLMs.

“I lost all I had, great job, my financial future, my wife, children, and soul.”

‘I lost $5,000.00 and some of my dignity.”

“I became a Director with the firm several years ago–eventually my sales force did over $100,000 per month in product sales. Despite this I lost over $75,000 as a result of the lies and deceptions of this company. I could tell so many stories of people going broke and the reality of the cult like brainwashing.”

“When we started this business we were only $7,000 in debt, now we are $32,000 in debt, due to this crap. Since the day we left the organization, we have been working nonstop to pay off credit card bills, and loans totaling $25,000.00. We fell for their lies, deception and faulty ad and practices. I hope the Feds make them feel, pay and suffer like we now are.”

What can be done?

It seems that federal regulations regarding the MLM industry are needed to protect people. Essentially, there is no such effective regulation now.

Anyone considering participation within an MLM should do his or her homework and research in-depth before becoming involved or paying a penny.

Sadly, most participants don’t do this and instead are taken in by the pitch. However, today through the Internet investigating such companies is actually becoming an increasingly easy process.

“Mormon missionaries’ lifestyle is filled with structure and sacrifice,” reports Michigan’s Midland Daily News.

Mormon men are expected to serve two years as missionaries, while for women such service is optional and only lasts 18 months.

The lifestyle and rules of Mormon missionaries is demanding and rigid. They are specifically trained to present six precise and pre-set one-hour lessons in exact succession to potential converts.

Every day missionaries get up at 6:30 a.m., study the scriptures for three hours and then begin working their assigned area. They have one hour for lunch, then work until supper and continue working in the evening until near Bedtime, which is at 10:30 p.m.

Their required dress includes white shirts, black ties and slacks. Men must be clean-shaven, have short hair and avoid face piercings. Women must wear blouses, sweaters and skirts and also appear very conservative. They must address each other as “Sister so-and-so” or “Elder such-and-such.” They don’t use first names.

All this can be seen as a way of breaking down individual identity. Missionaries may cease to see themselves as unique and instead form a group sense of identification and related mindset.

Mormon missionaries are only allowed to phone their families twice a year, on Christmas and Mother’s Day.

Cut off from even their families, the missionaries have no meaningful outside frame of reference, but are largely locked into an environment completely controlled by their church. And this is reinforced by the rule that they must never be alone, are required to work in pairs and always be within speaking distance of each other at all times.

This can be seen as a means of monitoring every missionary, closely and constantly.

All media is prohibited. This includes television, radio, newspapers and magazines. Access to information is thus controlled.

One missionary told the Midland Daily News, “It’s about focus. For me, after I talk with my parents, I mean it’s really nice to talk to them, but it is so hard to get back on track.”

And a Mormon missionary can expect to be moved on short notice, if reassigned to another area they must pack up to leave and be gone within 24 hours.

One missionary said, “We are strained, stretched and stressed.”

It is interesting to note the parallels that can be seen between the rigidly structured life of a Mormon missionary and the established criteria of coercive persuasion.

Of course Mormon missionaries freely volunteer for service and such parallels might also be drawn regarding other religious orders and/or the Marine Corp.

But is being a Mormon missionary the equivalent of becoming a soldier? And are city neighborhoods somehow a beachhead?

Start up your own cult?” Instead of Jim Jones, think Dow Jones,” reports Entreprenuer.com.

Yes, for those who say, “How could anyone be stupid enough to join a cult”? Maybe you should look into the mirror. How many products do you consume with cult-like devotion?

Do you prefer familiar brands that have developed a “cult following,” such as Nike, Starbucks, Jello, McDonalds, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, or Krispy Kreme donuts? Maybe you are part of the phenomenon of cooperate cult branding?

This is the focus of Geoff Williams analysis in his article “Develop your own cult following.”

What Williams offers is not only a “how to,” but a “how come?” inside look at the brand-driven consumer market, which is fueled by clever techniques of persuasion and influence through advertising.

What’s the difference between being “brainwashed” by Corporate America as opposed to “cults”? Well, there are some obvious distinctions. But clearly virtually everyone is vulnerable to persuasion, or companies wouldn’t waste their money promoting “cult followings” for their products.

And what about those destructive cult leaders?

According to leading cult expert and clinical psychologist Margaret Singer, “They’re all basically, really, the same, con men.”

Singer warns, “These sharpsters, when they’re very good at what they do, can get people to believe anything, You might think you’d never get taken in, but don’t bet on it.”

So the next time you are laughing at the Raelians or some other seemingly preposterous “cult” that accepts the bizarre claims of an apparent “con man,” think about the “sharpsters” who have taken you in. Starbucks anyone?

A multi level marketing scheme called “Pre Paid Legal” suffered a setback. Its stock crashed Monday losing 23% of its value, reports The Street.com.

One short-seller said, “It’s only a matter of time before a pyramid based on misleading people begins to collapse.”

Pre Paid Legal reportedly used an “Amway strategy” of multi level marketing to fuel its growth.

However, according to the Detroit Free Press “Multilevel marketing — practiced by such well-established companies as Alticor’s Amway unit — is a legitimate form of business.”

In Michigan Amway is a major employer and perhaps the Detroit Free Press is reluctant to discuss Amway’s own troubled history within a recent article about “get-rich-quick” schemes.

Multi level marketing (MLM) companies such as Amway and Pre Paid Legal seem to frequently focus more on the pitch than their products. That is, slick sales hype and high-pressure meetings where potential distributors or sellers are persuaded to become involved.

Many former MLM distributors have likened such high-pressure approaches to coercive persuasion. And the mindset produced by some MLM companies has been called “cult-like.”

This MLM mindset is often evident by the participant’s willingness to accept whatever the company and/or his “upline” says, rather than objectively examine such claims through an independent and careful process of critical analysis and/or due diligence.

A kind of false euphoria, or “dream” of success often replaces the common sense of many MLM distributors. And anyone who offers criticism of the MLM plan, is apt to be labeled as a “dream killer.”

What is the MLM industry based upon? Is it about offering viable and competitive products, or selling dreams, which are unlikely to be fulfilled? Is the profit for MLM founders through primarily achieved by product sales, or feeding off layers of distributors, who have become “true believers.”

Pre Paid Legal’s current problems seem to indicate the inherent fragility of many MLMs.

Historically, the collapse of Equinox, a recent court ordered shut down of Trek Alliance and a pending class action lawsuit against “New Way to Wealth” seem to indicate the more sinister side of some MLMs.

Many people are losing money in MLMs and they remain essentially an unregulated industry.