A rose is a rose by any other name… semantics.. “empower”…
I like your take on the word. I have used the word empower for a long time, meaning to support others as they claim their own inner-authority and self responsibility. After reading your comments, I am changing my use of the word “empower” NOW. Just goes to show; we have something new to learn in every moment

I agree, Waivers should spell out all potential activities and their respective possible dangers. Being over heated and quite possibly cooked in a tarp covered “sweat lodge” counts as a BIG disclosure item.

Thank you for your hard work on your postings. And thank you to your respondants. This is turning out to be one of the best sites to learn about what’s really going in my own field!!

FYI: I signed up for an email thing on someone’s site who turned out to be connected to all the various networking people of The Secret. Suddenly I was on a number of their email lists (must have abeen a TINY little disclosure at the very botttom of some email that I first responded to. In short, it took a long time to get off all the email lists. Some still get through. They use the very same format of videos and newsletters. For a fee, you can do the same and be ‘empowered’ by their network of e-lists.

Terry you spoke of the monetary value of JRI’s email list. Well, that same list is shared in part by Bob Proctor, et all of The Secret fame. Multi-level marketing and networking disguised as “ancient truth bearers”. I really got suckered in, but thankfully got out before signing up for a human
cook-out in the desert.

Keep on writing!

I agree with Duff that he uses aggressive and manipulative tactics, and would add that through his fame he has been in the position of being able to more ruthlessly sift through thousands of people and lead the willing (and able to pay) step by step into accepting his terms.

The whole culture of the self help industry is set up to allow such blatant exploitation, to squash criticism, to encourage cross-promotion. The only standard for quality is financial success, and the only standard for ethics is what you can get away with. Anyone who doesn’t sink to those depths does so of their own accord, and at their own expense.

(Those who walked out of JRI recently – not mentioning any names! – actually did the company a great service, showing the public that the company was staffed by some people with integrity who sincerely believed in what they were doing.)

A few simple laws would fix things:
- any waivers or agreements must be signed before the refund date passes
- use of physically and psychologically dangerous activities must be acknowledged before the refund date
- adequate numbers of trained staff must be on hand at all times and for a week after
- deaths during a seminar should be reported and explained to police and immediate family, and maybe something about not cooking or suffocating people should be in there too.

The self-industry could police itself a bit better by encouraging people who have real qualifications to add “really!” after listing their PhD, and refering to their less well endowed colleagues with a “not really”. Or something. Stick it to ‘em, guys – people like Joe Vitale PhD, or Bob Procter, Scientist, or James Ray, Philosopher, are just making those with real quals look silly.

Consumers could protect themselves with a few simple rules: ignore testimonials completely, google the person or product + scandal, be aware of the way the inevitable hierarchy and power structures work, including the teacher’s conflicts of interest, and avoid anyone who so much as mentions quantum physics.

But it’s not simply a case of charge $9695 or nothing. The middle path most professionals in private practice take is to charge a reasonable fee and/or take insurance to help cover that fee. Similarly, seminars that charge more reasonable fees tend to be less aggressive in their sales pitches and psychological techniques.