There is big money in the self-help movement.  Even if your individual contribution seems small, $14.95 for a paperback or similar, it adds up for the author significantly if the audience is wide enough. That can be a great thing for everyone or more contrived for profit on the ‘expert’s’ side.  Just because the author hits the best seller list and the talk show circuit with rave reviews, listen to your own instincts. Particularly if that person uses any variation of the phrase ‘if you don’t understand this, you are not yet enlightened’.  Yeah, maybe, but isn’t that their job to make it clear to you?  So if they fail, maybe they’re not quite as enlightened as they think or maybe they’re just peddling snake oil to people that really, really want to believe in hope.

I started feeling uncomfortable after a professional was raving to me about one person and her technique. I tried it but started feeling worse about myself and the world fairly quickly.  ‘Everyone’ in books and on the web seemed to be a believer except me.  Then I did a little deep digging and discovered I wasn’t so alone in my discomfort and this person has been alleged to use group think techniques similar to a cult.  Oh my.

You may or may not agree with the guru of the hour, but always be cautious of anyone or anything that is that popular  with no apparent detractors. Everyone has people that don’t agree with them, so if their voice is missing you might ask why.  The Rick A. Ross Institute online forum is a great place to start that research.  Think of it as consumer reports for the self-help and spirituality area.

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