Mind Dynamics

Mind Dynamics was a seminar company, founded by Alexander Everett in Texas in 1968.[5][6] The company ceased operating in December 1973 after the death of co-owner William Penn Patrick and the resignation of President Robert White, alongside investigations for fraudulent representations and practicing medicine without a license.[7][8]

Mind Dynamics
TypeFor-profit
IndustrySelf-help, Personal development, Large Group Awareness Training
Founded1968
FounderAlexander Everett
Defunct1973
HeadquartersTexas,
United States
Key people
Alexander Everett
William Penn Patrick[1]
Robert White, President[2]
John Hanley, Field Director[3]
ParentLeadership Dynamics[4]

Techniques, methodology

Mind Dynamics has been compared to Dale Carnegie, and encounter groups.[9] Mind Dynamics trained businessmen in personal development techniques,[10] but relied on unique activities rather than academic theories.[11] The coursework also utilized techniques that focused on visualization, and meditation.[5]

Techniques drawn from the Unity Church included periods of silence, focusing the mind on positive elements, and distinguishing the "intuitive inner voice."[6]

Some of Mind Dynamics' techniques were compared to self-hypnosis, and mind control.[12] Mind Dynamics has been described as part of the consciousness transformation movement, and has been compared to Scientology, est, Psycho-Cybernetics, and Amway.[13]

Influences

Heelas' The New Age Movement states that Mind Dynamics and Alexander Everett were influenced by Edgar Cayce, Theosophy, and Silva Mind Control,[14] and Curtiss' Depression is a Choice also cites Silva Mind Control and self-talk as the basis for Mind Dynamics.[15] Mind Dynamics has also been described by several authors on religious texts as an offshoot of Silva Mind Control.[16][17][18] According to Jose Silva, Alexander Everett was a graduate of Silva Mind Control.[18] Everett also drew on principles from the Unity Church, Egyptology and Rosicrucianism in developing Mind Dynamics.[19]

Leadership Dynamics, Holiday Magic

Other companies which had corporate relationships with Mind Dynamics included Leadership Dynamics and Holiday Magic, both of which were founded by William Penn Patrick, co-owner and Board Member for Mind Dynamics.[4] Holiday Magic later folded, amidst investigations by authorities and accusations of being a multi-level marketing pyramid scheme.[20][21] Every employee in management positions at Holiday Magic was required to participate in the coursework.[4]

Investigated for fraud, practicing medicine without a license

In December 1972,[22] Mind Dynamics was investigated for practicing medicine without a license, and fraudulent representation of the potential benefits of participating in their coursework.[2][7][23][24] The company was also investigated by the state of California for making fraudulent claims.[10] A lawsuit brought forth by the State of California in 1973 requested that Mind Dynamics be barred from what California referred to as its unlawful practice of medicine.[1] William Penn Patrick was named as a party with Mind Dynamics in the lawsuit.[1]

Mind Dynamics ceased operating in 1973, after being investigated and charged with fraud and practicing medicine without a license.[7] According to an article in Forbes, as of 1974, the State of California was still seeking to enjoin the company from making fraudulent claims, and practicing medicine without a license.[8]

Later groups

Neal Vahle's The Unity Movement lists nine personal growth organizations which grew out of Mind Dynamics, including: est and The Forum, Landmark Education, Lifespring, Lifestream, LifeResults, LifeSuccess, Context Training / Context International, PSI Seminars, Personal Dynamics in Switzerland, Life Dynamics in Japan and Hong Kong, Alpha Seminars in Australia, Hoffman Quadrinity Process, Dimensional Mind Approach, Pathwork, and Actualizations.[6] Vahle goes on to describe similar techniques used by these groups which were incorporated from Mind Dynamics' practices.[6] Berger's Agit-Pop also gives examples of EST, Lifespring and Actualizations as groups that grew out of Mind Dynamics and helped form the human potential movement.[25] The organizations cited above were founded by prior instructors from Mind Dynamics who had been trained by Alexander Everett, including Stewart Emery (who founded Actualizations), Randy Revell (who developed Context Training), James Quinn (who organized Lifestream/LifeResults/LifeSuccess), and Thomas Wilhite (who founded PSI Seminars).[6]

Werner Erhard, subsequently associated with est (1971-1984), WE&A (1981-1991) and Landmark Education (founded 1991, known as Landmark Worldwide since 2013) taught in the Mind Dynamics organization,[26][27][28] providing a link between Mind Dynamics and several subsequent Large-group awareness trainings (LGATs).[29]

Former MDI President Robert White founded Lifespring and ARC International[30] which delivered the Life Dynamics seminars in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Sydney.

References
  1. Staff (February 18, 1973). "Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California".
  2. Staff (December 15, 1972). "Charleston Daily Mail".
  3. Staff (July 31, 1984). "800G AWARD FOR CHANGED PERSONALITY". Philadelphia Daily News.
    "Lifespring's founder, John Hanley, was a national field director for Mind Dynamics who was convicted in 1969 on mail-fraud charges.."
  4. Church, Gene; Conrad D. Carnes (1972). The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled. New York: Outerbridge and Lazard.
  5. Manabu, Haga (1995). "Self-development seminars in Japan" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (22): 3–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30.
  6. Vahle, Neal; Connie Fillmore Bazzy (2002). The Unity Movement: Its Evolution and Spiritual Teachings. Templeton Foundation Press. pp. 399, 402, 403, 480. ISBN 1-890151-96-3.
  7. Scherr, Raquel L.; Leonard Michaels; David Reid (1995). West of the West: Imagining California : an Anthology. University of California Press. p. 290. ISBN 0-520-20164-7.
  8. Staff (December 1, 1975). "The Power Of Positive Eyewash". Forbes. pp. Features, Page 22.
  9. Mathison, Dirk (February 1993). "White collar cults, they want your mind ..." Self Magazine.
  10. Wittebols, James H. (2003). Watching M*A*S*H, Watching America: A Social History of the 1972-1983 Television Series. McFarland & Company. p. 95. ISBN 0-7864-1701-3.
  11. Kaslow, Florence Whiteman; Marvin B. Sussman (1982). Cults and the Family. Haworth Press. p. 190. ISBN 0-917724-55-0.
  12. Turner, Dean E. (1991). Escape from God: The Use of Religion and Philosophy to Evade Responsibility. Hope Publishing House. ISBN 0-932727-43-3.
  13. Butterfield, Stephen (1985). Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise. South End Press. pp. 129. ISBN 0-89608-253-9.
  14. Heelas, Paul (1996). The New Age Movement: the celebration of the self and the sacralization of modernity. Blackwell Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 0-631-19332-4.
  15. Curtiss, Arline B. (2001). Depression is a Choice: Winning the Fight Without Drugs. Hyperion. pp. 305. ISBN 0-7868-6629-2.
  16. Clarke, Peter Bernard (2006). New Religions in Global Perspective: a study of religious change in the modern world. Routledge. pp. 33. ISBN 0-415-25747-6.
  17. Stark, Rodney; William Sims Bainbridge (1986). The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Formation. University of California Press. p. 182. ISBN 0-520-05731-7.
  18. Ankerberg, John (1999). Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions (PDF). Silva Mind Control, entry: Harvest House.
  19. Vahle, Neal (May–June 1987). "Alexander Everett and Complete Centering". New Realities Magazine.
  20. Staff (December 20, 1972). "Endless Chain Scheme Suit Hits Cosmetics Co". Star-News, Pasadena, California.
  21. Staff (July 16, 1973). "Battling the Biggest Fraud". Time Magazine. pp. 2 pgs. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007.
    William Penn Patrick, a former mentor of Turner's, was charged last month by the Securities and Exchange Commission with bilking some 80,000 people out of more than $250 million through his Holiday Magic cosmetics and soap empire.
  22. Staff (June 10, 1973). "The Fresno Bee, Fresno, California".
    "The California attorney general filed suit against Mind dynamics In December, charging The company made false claims about benefits of The course."
  23. Staff (December 14, 1972). "The Modesto Bee and News-Herald, Modesto, California".
  24. Staff (December 15, 1972). "Winnipeg Free Press".
  25. Berger, Arthur Asa (1990). Agit-Pop: : Political Culture and Communication Theory. Transaction Publishers. p. 68. ISBN 0-88738-315-7.
  26. Tipton, Steven M. (19 March 2014) [1982]. Getting Saved from the Sixties: Moral Meaning in Conversion and Cultural Change. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers (published 18 February 2014). p. 329. ISBN 9781625646996. Retrieved 10 September 2023. Erhard was an instructor in Mind Dynamics (a now defunct program devised by autodidact Alexander Everett to teach people haw to control their minds more efficiently, reportedly through self-hypnosis and visualization) immediately before starting est, and his delivery of the Mind Dynamics course closely resembled est, according to some clients of both.
  27. Lande, Nathaniel (1976). Mindstyles, Lifestyles: A Comprehensive Overview of Today's Life-changing Philosophies. Price/Stern/Sloan. ISBN 9780843104097. Retrieved 10 September 2023. Mind Dynamics is another major source for the est training. Not only was Werner Erhard trained as a Mind Dynamics instructor, he was selected by the organization's founder, Alexander Everett, to take responsibility [...].
  28. Ankerberg, John; Weldon, John (1996). "Est, The Forum, and Related New Age Seminars". Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers. p. 299. ISBN 9781565071605. Retrieved 10 September 2023. John P. Handley [...], like Erhard, was a teacher in Mind Dynamics [...].
  29. Langone, Michael (1998). "Large Group Awareness Trainings". Cult Observer. International Cultic Studies Association. 15 (1). ISSN 1539-0152. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2023. In the 1960s the encounter group movement was born. Advocating enhanced communication and intensified experience, this movement evolved into something that was part psychotherapy, part spirituality, and part business. In some scholarly articles, these groups were referred to as "large group awareness trainings" or LGATs. Erhard Seminars Training (est) was the most successful of these groups, and it has been widely imitated. Even though it no longer officially exists, in the minds of many est is identified with the entire LGAT movement. It is in a sense the progenitor of a myriad of programs that have been marketed to the public and the business community.
  30. "[... Life Dynamics/ ARC International), a pioneer personal growth firm which was established in Tokyo around 1977 by Robert White."]
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