Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 1988 Page 37
In August of 1987, I was asked to consult in a third court case related to the group. I read further
depositions, and interviewed four graduates of the group's basic training.
My analysis is based upon the preceding sources of information.
The Intuition Exercise
The basic training is a five-day course. It begins on a Wednesday night and ends on Sunday night
A trainer runs the sessions, assisted by volunteer assistants, who are graduates of both basic and
advanced trainings and in the third and final three-month stage of training.
Throughout the training, the trainer talks about a special kind of intuition as the ―highest level of
awareness.‖ On the last night of the basic training, the trainer leads the participants in the
intuition exercise.
The participants are told to form dyads. Partner A thinks of a person who is not known by Partner
B. We will call the imagined person the ―object.‖ Partner A tells Partner B the name, age, sex,
and/or address of the object Then Partner B is supposed to describe the object as well as he can,
simply using his or her intuition. The participants are surprised at how accurate they can be in
describing someone they have never seen.
Factors Contributing to Manipulation in the
Intuition Exercise: Before the Training Begins
Many aspects of the training enhance what I believe to be a specious persuasiveness of the
intuition exercise. The group's recruiters ten prospects that if they know what is going to happen,
the basic training will not be effective. This can create an aura of mystery, a feeling that the
group is engaged in some mission that must be kept secret and that perhaps, ―special‖ powers
will be learned.
Mystery also surrounds the supposed benefits of the auditing. These benefits are described in
vague, ambiguous, and unlimited terms. For example a trainer told one recruit that ―. ..it [the
training] is for people who want to improve themselves, become happier, perhaps meet people,
have a better career, feel more attractive, all kinds of wonderful things ...It is the best thing you
will ever do.‖ This recruit further stated, ―They told me that it was the key to life and the best
thing that you'll ever do, but they don't tell you what it is. I took it because of the persuasive
person and the mystery.‖(2)
This tactic invites recruits to ―fill in the blanks‖ with the benefits that they are seeking. Also, since
the benefits are described in vague and unlimited terms, this tactic can create or reinforce the
feeling that the training might involve special powers.
Pre-training activities and statements can also lower prospects' critical alertness. Because, for
example, many participants have had little or no experience with self-improvement programs or
therapy, they may not question or analyze seemingly ―psychic‖ occurrences in the training in the
same way that that they would if they recognized differences between ― group's methods and
traditional therapy, or if they suspected that they were taking part in entertainment, theater, or
manipulation.
Contributing Factors Within the Training Leading
Up to the Intuition Exercise
In the session I attended, participants were confronted with robot-like behavior, jargon, a
uniform look in the trainers and volunteer assistants, formality, and a crowd control system
similar to herding. All this can contribute to the futuristic aura of a special mission and people
with special powers. For example, no matter what question we asked the volunteer assistants
on the first night of the training, the response was a stiff ―Purses and coats to the side-fill the
front rows first.‖ The assistants stood in strategic positions throughout the room and did not
move as we walked past them to our seats.
In August of 1987, I was asked to consult in a third court case related to the group. I read further
depositions, and interviewed four graduates of the group's basic training.
My analysis is based upon the preceding sources of information.
The Intuition Exercise
The basic training is a five-day course. It begins on a Wednesday night and ends on Sunday night
A trainer runs the sessions, assisted by volunteer assistants, who are graduates of both basic and
advanced trainings and in the third and final three-month stage of training.
Throughout the training, the trainer talks about a special kind of intuition as the ―highest level of
awareness.‖ On the last night of the basic training, the trainer leads the participants in the
intuition exercise.
The participants are told to form dyads. Partner A thinks of a person who is not known by Partner
B. We will call the imagined person the ―object.‖ Partner A tells Partner B the name, age, sex,
and/or address of the object Then Partner B is supposed to describe the object as well as he can,
simply using his or her intuition. The participants are surprised at how accurate they can be in
describing someone they have never seen.
Factors Contributing to Manipulation in the
Intuition Exercise: Before the Training Begins
Many aspects of the training enhance what I believe to be a specious persuasiveness of the
intuition exercise. The group's recruiters ten prospects that if they know what is going to happen,
the basic training will not be effective. This can create an aura of mystery, a feeling that the
group is engaged in some mission that must be kept secret and that perhaps, ―special‖ powers
will be learned.
Mystery also surrounds the supposed benefits of the auditing. These benefits are described in
vague, ambiguous, and unlimited terms. For example a trainer told one recruit that ―. ..it [the
training] is for people who want to improve themselves, become happier, perhaps meet people,
have a better career, feel more attractive, all kinds of wonderful things ...It is the best thing you
will ever do.‖ This recruit further stated, ―They told me that it was the key to life and the best
thing that you'll ever do, but they don't tell you what it is. I took it because of the persuasive
person and the mystery.‖(2)
This tactic invites recruits to ―fill in the blanks‖ with the benefits that they are seeking. Also, since
the benefits are described in vague and unlimited terms, this tactic can create or reinforce the
feeling that the training might involve special powers.
Pre-training activities and statements can also lower prospects' critical alertness. Because, for
example, many participants have had little or no experience with self-improvement programs or
therapy, they may not question or analyze seemingly ―psychic‖ occurrences in the training in the
same way that that they would if they recognized differences between ― group's methods and
traditional therapy, or if they suspected that they were taking part in entertainment, theater, or
manipulation.
Contributing Factors Within the Training Leading
Up to the Intuition Exercise
In the session I attended, participants were confronted with robot-like behavior, jargon, a
uniform look in the trainers and volunteer assistants, formality, and a crowd control system
similar to herding. All this can contribute to the futuristic aura of a special mission and people
with special powers. For example, no matter what question we asked the volunteer assistants
on the first night of the training, the response was a stiff ―Purses and coats to the side-fill the
front rows first.‖ The assistants stood in strategic positions throughout the room and did not
move as we walked past them to our seats.
