I know there are a lot of self-help books out there whose authors are suspicious for some reason or another, if only because their main aim seems to be making money. In that latter category probably goes most of them.

But the one that stood out to me as the worst I've read in my many years as a self-help reader is "Radical Honesty" by Brad Blanton.

For a few days I was enthralled by the simplicity of the idea of telling the truth and expressing feelings to get closer to people. I thought it sounded weird, even a bit like the cult practice of sharing your innermost fears during a seminar but taken out of the cult context...but it seemed bold and refreshing and resonated with an ideal I had of not having to deal with white lies and personal insecurities.

But you'd need to be in a cult or a utopia for the ideas to "work." I tried them with a few friends I've been corresponding with on the Internet for a long time, in a filtered space, and almost permanently alienated them.

This guy also shilled for known cults like Landmark and TM, as well as his own seminars.

With most self-help authors, my advice would be "Buy the book if you're curious or want a booster, but avoid seminars." With this guy, I recommend that people don't even buy the book! It's not worth the $13. And it's not worth risking the loss of friends to try to get closer to them. Alienating all one's friends could make one desperate enough to join a cult...

Speaking of which, the experience made me realize the truth of the notion that normal people join cults. It doesn't take much - only some pretty everyday stressors - to be enthralled by an exciting doctrine and try something wild.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2008 04:25AM by space.

Have a look at this article from Esquire 'I Think You're Fat' by A.J. Jacobs

(AJ wrote a book, 'The Year of Living Biblically'--funny and very informative. As part of it, he sought to avoid lying.)

[www.esquire.com]

(tiny excerpt from a 5 page online article)

Quote

." If you mixed DNA from Lyndon Johnson, Ken Kesey, and threw in the nonannoying parts of Dr. Phil, you might get Blanton.

He ran for Congress twice, with the novel promise that he'd be an honest politician. In 2004, he got a surprising 25 percent of the vote in his Virginia district as an independent. In 2006, the Democrats considered endorsing him but got skittish about his weeklong workshops, which involve a day of total nudity. They also weren't crazy that he's been married five times (currently to a Swedish flight attendant twenty-six years his junior). He ran again but withdrew when it became clear he was going to be crushed.

(Married five times? How in mercy's name does one afford the legal fees and alimony?)

and

[forum.culteducation.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2008 05:16AM by corboy.