Pasted below is the transcript of the Abraham-Hicks Boston, MA 06/05/2010 workshop closing remarks. How this doesn't qualify as a cult is beyond me. Parts that reference detachment from reality are bolded.




"We've decided as we focus on you to speak only as we think about you. In other words, we've been building some bridges for a while, we've been accepting you where you are, and we've been offering you processes to milk you along to bring you up the emotional scale and a more close proximity with the Vortex of who you are.

But, as we've been chewing with you for a while, as we watch the magnificent progress that you have made, and as we have seen the expansion of your desire, and as we get a look at what's in your Vortex, we think it's time, for anyone who wants to be the powerful creator that you were born to be, to stop justifying what you want by exploring what-is at all.

We think it's time for you to make the leap into the Vortex and leave what you have known as reality behind. And when you leave what you have known as reality behind, you'll be living real time in this Vortex. We're not asking you to croak today.

We're not asking you to take a complete departure from everything you know. What we're asking you to do is to expect, accept that vibrational nature of your being and let the way you feel be the only thing that matters to you. We are asking you to care about the way you feel, because that's the only way that you will know at all your proximity to your Vortex. We're asking you to no longer ask anyone else to behave any differently in order to effect your emotion. We're asking you to accept that you are in complete control about how you feel, because you have the ability to focus. We're asking you to stop beating up on yourself or others. We're asking you, we're asking you...

We're asking you to turn off your televisions for 30 days. Turn off your televisions for 30 days. We can feel the pains of withdrawal all around the room. [fun] Turn off your televisions for 30 days, cancel your meetings with other people, withdraw from reality in any way you can. Now, you have to decide what you can and cannot do. Withdraw from as much of your reality as you can for 30 days and explore the recesses and the resources of your Vortex.

Fire up the passion of your imagination. Buy a notebook and call it your 'Book of Positive Aspects' and write in it as much as you have time for and tune yourself in these small efforts to the vibration of who you really are. And on about day 3 or 4, inspiration to act in new ways will begin to occur to you and as the inspiration occurs follow thru with it if you can in the moment that you think of it. Make the call, move in the direction of it, it's like Source taking you by the hand and saying, 'Been mentioning this for quite a while and I want to show you where it is. You've been mentioning that for quite a long while and I want to show you where it is.'

And then document in your notebook the evidence of things that you've wanted for a while that are now vivid enough that you are seeing the evidence of them, but even more than seeing it or hearing it or smelling it or tasting it or touching it, feeling the vividness of it. If someone says to you, 'You seem different. What's going on with you?' Tell them, 'I'm withdrawing from reality,' [fun] and before they can muster too much alarm, say to them, 'but don't worry, I'm focusing into my vibrational reality, which really is present tense.' And as they say, 'Well, you do seem happier,' say to them,

'Everything that I want and everything that I am is in this Vortex where I am now focusing. And I've discovered that I'm addicted to this expanded version of me and that I cannot go back. I tried to go back for quite a while. I didn't really know about the existence of this Vortex. I was clinging to reality and it was tearing me apart and so I let go of reality and I began thinking in terms of vibrational reality, and now, there's no stress in my body, now there's no pain in my body, now there's no anger in my heart, now there's no tension in my being, now there's no resistance around me and now I'm floating free in this Vortex of cooperative components where all kinds of remarkable things are presenting themselves to me in just perfect timing. It's like the entire universe has been established just to support me.'

And your friend will walk away scratching his head probably, but when you reach that place where you are ready to announce to anyone that you see, that you have freed yourself from the clinging of 'this morning's eggs' and that you are now floating free in the expectation of all things as you have most wanted them to be; the body weight that i choose, the clarity I seek, the friendships I adore, the relationships with my children and my parents and my siblings that I've long been seeking, a feeling of patriotism about this nation in which I so proudly live, a feeling of exhilaration and appreciation about this planet that spins in its orbit and all that came before I got here in order to add support to that which I am, appreciation for the infrastructure of my world, the economic infrastructure, the engineering infrastructure, the infrastructure that moves the food around, the infrastructure that moves the goods around, the appreciation for those who are trucking things around from place to place and those who are repairing the roads who make it possible that it moves, the people who have the ideas and the people who have the businesses, my appreciation for the big businesses that are at the heart of the commerce that are serving so many of us, my appreciation of the big government that is at the heart of so much of the structure that makes it possible for us to move in the organized way we do, my appreciation for the people who build the houses and who cook the food, my appreciation for all that is just running rampant as I stand inside the Vortex and realize that this reality that I am now observing, in a slighter fashion, has always ever been the bouncing off place for that which I am creating through the power of my imagination.

I realize now that I was always off base when I had imagined myself into a new place and that i expected reality to live up to that which was always going to be that which was to come in terms of manifestation. I've been asking too much from reality and I'm no longer going to do it. Reality is never going to disappoint me again. My government is never going to disappoint me again, because my version of my government in my Vortex is what I am now giving my attention to. I have been wrong to ask my government to be the new and improved version that is only in the Vortex.

I must go to the Vortex where the new and improved version is in order to make claim to this government that I seek. You are following? We have enjoyed this interaction more than words can say. Come to the Vortex, where we are, where all the cooperative components to everything you want IS, and we will all continue to live happily ever after, which we will all continue to do, whether you are living happily ever after in this moment or not. Happily ever after IS the order of this universe. It is our promise to you. Well-being abounds. There is great love for you, and, as always, we remain blissfully, and eternally, in the Vortex."

Abraham-Hicks from the Boston 6/5/10 Vortex of Creation Workshop

Where to begin? Abraham’s 1989 predictions of disaster were way off base. Esther makes anticipation errors. Abraham is awfully impatient for a nonphysical entity. They discourage critical thinking and encourage emotional thinking (a classic mind control technique). They foolishly endorsed John Edward, who is a notoriously bad cold reader who’s show is edited to make him appear to have more psychic hits than he does. I have listed all the reasons why I think Esther and Jerry are frauds on [abrahamhicksfraud.blogspot.com].

It disturbs me how little is known about Jerry and Esther and their pre-Abraham experience, and how their teachings justify this lack of knowledge by saying we shouldn’t focus on our past, lest it become our future. Here is a bit of their poor craftsmanship below.

BAD PREDICTION: The Handbook for Joyous Survival - Any takers?

*Abraham quotes cited between A New Beginning and Special Subjects tape: Joyous Survival.

Anyone remember when Abraham was warning of the great earth changes? Abraham told Jerry in the recording called Joyous Survival (you can find this in the special subject series), that we were “very near this realignment” and that the “realignment is in progress already” and would happen in his lifetime (Special). These conversations were in 1989. It's nearly 2011 now.

Regarding the great earth changes, Abraham said, “These changes will be very abrupt…” (Special) and "…volcanic ash will be experienced in all parts of your world, as the volcanoes around your earth are simultaneously activated. Face masks and goggles will be of great value" (Hicks 79). They give great specifics about earthquakes across the U.S. and enormous water damage on the east coast (Hicks 74). Afterward, they said, “your transportation will be severed, so will your economic lines, so will your government” (Special). And “In any event, when the great realignment is upon you, you will not question it, because it will be far beyond anything you've experienced before” (Special).

In case you were doubting them, they wanted you to remember they are nonphysical. "We are aware that you may have difficulty accepting the reality of this physical event, but we encourage you to acknowledge our broader perspective" (Hicks 79). Not exactly the you-discern-truth-for-yourself campaign they've been on recently.

Some Abraham followers now rationalize this prediction away, saying that we must have changed our consciousness enough to change the earth. But in the Joyous Survival tape, Abraham likened stopping this change as being like trying to gather people together to stop the sun from coming up in the morning. Abraham told a story of Esther realizing that “There are those things that have been set into motion, agreements that have been entered into that are outside of her [Esther’s] creative alteration here through this conscious thinking wanting” (Special). In other words, this wasn’t something she or anyone was going to be able to stop from happening, because we “agreed” upon being here during a time of great disaster.

In 1994, Esther and Jerry revised their prediction. Evidently something happened "in the fall of 1988 and then that Energy dispersed" and "In the early part of 1990 we felt you reach another peak and again no realignment but a releasing of the Energy through a series of earthquake and volcanic activities" (Hicks 81). There was some of that, but let me remind you that Esther and Jerry were well aware of those, as this was 1994 when they were speaking this. And volcanic ash has not been experienced in all parts of my world.

Here is a bit of their revision: "When that is, we don't know." I am surprised, considering there were many who were willing to “acknowledge” their “broader perspective.”

Anyone hear Abe harping on climate changes now? Nope. No need. Guess I have to put away my face mask and goggles.

References
Hicks, Esther and Jerry. 2002. A New Beginning. Texas: Abraham Hicks Publications.

----. Special Subjects Tapes Vol. 1: Joyous Survival. Abraham Hicks Publications, 1998.

Abraham Hicks is a fraud and definitely brainwashes people. (especially vulnerable ones looking for ‘life answers.’) Eckhart Tolle does this as well. I’m not familiar with Katie Byron but I did check out her website and from this forum can tell she’s in the same boat as the rest. I would like to focus on Abraham Hicks in hopes that an “Aber” reading this can open their eyes to the brainwashing taking place. And before I being I’d like to say how grateful I am for this forum.
I was heavily into Abraham Hicks for about 8 months. I attended local meetings, went to one of her work shops, and unfortunately got into the habit of listening to her voice recordings at night before going to bed. Esther Hicks is a grown woman playing out her multiple personality disorder in front of many devout followers and it is VERY disturbing. Her followers view her as an amazing woman who can channel non physical entities called ‘Abraham’. I’m convinced ‘Abraham’ is one of her imagined personalities. The teachings of ‘Abraham Hicks’ strips you of your brains critical thinking ability and trains you to avoid ‘all things negative’ and to be selfish so that you can cut off anything negative from your life. “Abraham” calls this state the vortex but it is really an isolated state of being where you enter a “vegetative” state, not different from that of a flower or insect. Her teachings teach that if something bad happens to someone; i.e. if a girl is raped or molested, she brought that on herself through her own unconscious, negative thinking. What is most scary about Abraham Hicks steers you away from your critical thinking skills, ability to decipher right from wrong, and ability to stand up for anything unjust. It is meant to “dumb” you down so that you can accept just about anything they throw at you as the truth. In discovering that her husband Jerry was involved with Amway is very disturbing considering that Amway has used heavy brainwashing tactics.
How I got out of the whole “Abraham” phase was pretty interesting. One day in listening to Esther as she was then ‘Abraham’ she said ‘I’ instead of ‘we’ and it struck me as odd. I just couldn’t shake it. When she ‘channels’ these beings she always says ‘we’. I knew it was a slip up that that revealed she wasn’t channeling but in fact faking it. Esther has a fluffy explanation on how she channels ‘Abraham’ and avoids a specific answer so she can play off mishaps like that. My critical thinking skills were starting to kick back in. I started to notice too that her voice in the earlier recordings was completely different. When she channeled Abraham in the early years, she’d switch into a higher pitched voice with a slight accent and curl on the words. It’s as if she was trying to convince you she was channeling another entity by having a different voice. I think she gave up on faking the voice because now Esther’s voice no longer differs from ‘Abrahams’. Another thing I noticed about her that threw me off was her impatience in answering questions at her workshops. She gets very impatient and almost upset when someone critically analyzes a teaching.
It disturbed me at her workshop how everyone answered yes to her questions. When Esther became ‘Abraham’ she asked “It is good to come together in the purpose of co-creating do you agree?” Everyone says yes. “It is co-creation at it’s best do you agree?” Everyone says yes. Robotic, lifeless, admitting to Esther’s power over them in convincing them the only time they can ever really ‘co-creat’ is with her and other followers.
In my opinion the most powerful way a person can brainwash and form a cult is through thought control This new age stuff trains you to DOUBT the way you have been thinking your whole life. It trains you to doubt any negative thought. Anyone trying to train you to think differently is very dangerous. I’d be more afraid of that person than anyone else because thought control is powerful. When I was an ‘aber” I also found it so hard to relate to other ‘non abers’. I was stripped of the ability to empathize with anyone because of the belief that people self induce illness, abuse, and ‘bag things’ because of their unconscious negative thinking. Remember ‘empathy’ one of those human emotions that bond us, well guess what? Abraham doesn’t really want you to empathize or connect with others, except of course if it is Abraham. I am convinced Esther Hicks has narcissistic personality disorder, along with multiple personality disorder, and it comes out so nicely when she ‘channels’ Abraham. Remember guys…a cult leader never seems harmful and this is why they grow. Bluntly put, I hope you people really wake up to the bs Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks are shoving in your face.

And still more of their bad craftmanship. This and more can be found at [www.abrahamhicksfraud.blogspot.com]

ESTHER AND JERRY: GET YOUR STORY STRAIGHT!
There are interesting inconsistencies in Jerry and Esther's memories of their first encounters with Abraham. Let's just take a gander at A New Beginning I (published in 1988) and Ask and it is Given (published in 2005)

Excerpted from A New Beginning I (page 5):

JERRY: Esther's head was rolling gently, but erratically, as I looked up in response to her squeal of delight, "They are spelling the alphabet with my nose!" That was November of 1985 and the "they" was a group of Non-physical beings who call themselves Abraham.

Excerpted from Ask and it is Given:

ESTHER: I realized that my head was not randomly moving about, but it was as if my nose was spelling letters in the air. “M-N-O-P” is what I realized it was. “Jerry,” I shouted, “I’m spelling letters with my nose!” [A few lines later.] “Jerry quickly took out his notebook and began writing down the letters, as my nose wrote them in the air: “I AM ABRAHAM. I AM YOUR SPIRITUAL GUIDE.”

Esther tells it the same way in the Introductory CD.

This may seem trite, but tell me, who’s right? Did she say “I’m spelling letters” or “they are spelling letters”, cause Jerry, if she is saying they, that would be very odd, considering she didn’t even know in this first sitting that there was a they to Abraham. She thought it was an I. She states this in every interview she does. It is also emphasized in both A New Beginning and Ask and it is Given.

Here is another example.

From A New Beginning I (page 6):

JERRY: And it was two months later, as we were driving on a Phoenix freeway, that Esther said, "I think they are going to speak through me," and Abraham's first words were, "This freeway is too dangerous...Take the next exit" and we did.

From Ask and it is Given:

ESTHER: And in that very moment, the first words that Abraham spoke through my mouth burst out, “Take the next exit!”

Esther says the ladder quote in the Introductory CD.

Obviously Abraham's first words were not all that memorable. Either "Take the next exit" burst out, or "This freeway is too dangerous" burst out. I find it interesting that nearly 10 years later, the story is revised to exclude Abraham calling the freeway dangerous. You see, when A New Beginning I was published, it was discussing the looming dangers of earth changes, so it made sense that Abraham would warn people of things. 17 years later, in Ask and it is Given, Abraham is just leading us to good things and not warning us of the bad, so the warning is omitted.

In another instance, Esther struggles to remember their early encounters with Sheila, a channeler who allegedly helped lead them to their Abraham experience:

From Ask and it is Given:

ESTHER: Theo said with a tone of finality, “God’s love unto you!” and Sheila opened her eyes and sat up. Our extraordinary conversation with Theo had ended. After Jerry and I left the house, we drove to a lookout point on the side of one of the Phoenix mountains and leaned against the car, staring off into the distance watching the sunset. We had no idea of the transformation that had taken place within us that day. We only knew that we felt wonderful…

From Peter Beamish’s interview The Secret Behind the Secret [after meeting with Sheila]:

ESTHER: So we left that meeting, and we--I don’t ever remember ever feeling better. It was more of a feeling thing that happened to me than an intellectual thing that happened because it all happened so fast. And so, we left, and I remember we went—we went directly home, closed the drapes…

They agree with the second one, from the Peter Beamish interview, in their Introductory CD.

Just browsing through this thread (I used to be a fan of the Abe thing) and I noticed that some people seem to think that this sort of thing is difficult, or impossible, to fake. I've seen comments here and elsewhere to the effect of "she's so quick with answers, how could she be faking this?" and such.

Well, she could very well be. I do improv, and it is simply amazing the things you can come up with on the spur of the moment. I've done half hour shows with a group of people, where the entire thing was literally made up as we went along. Monologues, scenes, you name it. There are plenty of people who can do this, and do it well, and you get better at it the longer you do it. In Abe-Hicks' case, they've been doing this for decades... and there are pat answers that she's got in her pocket ready for almost any question. Answers generally all come around to the same thing anyway. LOA is their premise, and every question they answer is going to come back to the premise eventually... just like in a comedy sketch, you may go all over the place, but you always have the premise in the back of your mind and bring the scene back around to it, find ways of justifying what other players are doing in light of that premise, etc.

Even reading people is fairly easy, once you get the hang of listening and noticing body language, subtext in what people are saying, tone of voice, etc. I used to work as a tarot reader on a psychic hotline (yep!) I honestly believed in what I was doing, as did the vast majority of the people I worked with. We weren't out to scam people, we really thought we were helping them. Anyway, what I have come to understand is that what I was doing was nothing more that what I happen to be good at... reading in to what people say. We all do it without realizing it. I can 'psychic read' someone quite well even now, especially if they are inclined to believe in what I am doing, because even if I screw up, they will justify it for me and fill in the gaps in what I've said.

I've listened to a whopping load of their recordings (used to listen before I went to bed every night), read a couple of books, and been to a live seminar. I wasn't sure about the whole channeling thing, but kept an open mind to what they were speaking about, and I got a lot out of it. However, I came to realize that whatever was going on, it wasn't 'real'. Perhaps I expect too much of a group of otherwordly beings ;) But when they have no conception of or insight into basic physiological processes, I gotta pause.

My 'aha' moment was during one of their special subjects recordings about weight loss. It was the basic stuff... you're overweight because you've attracted overweight into your life, certain foods make you fat because you think they are going to make you fat, etc. As someone who had just lost 30 pounds after finally finding out I was gluten intolerant, and having come to a very good understanding about how certain things (food proteins, glucose, etc) affect certain body systems and weight, I listened with disgust. Their entire schpiel seemed completely absurd to me then... you're telling me, then, that before I was born I decided to attract celiac disease into my life, for what reason? The change in my mental state that occurred after I went gluten-free was a complete 180... no more low-level depression, anxiety, black moods. My sister had the same experience (it's genetic).

In short, it wasn't my thought process that was 'attracting' negative health or overweight into my life... it was a physiological issue that, when discovered and corrected, changed everything. I didn't gain weight because I was thinking improperly, I gained weight because I was eating improperly for my body... I just didn't have that information at the time. No amount of positive thinking would have overcome what gluten was doing to my body. Heck, it was all the gluteny foods that I thought all positive about!

I guess my advice to anyone wondering if the whole Abe-Hicks thing is worthwhile or 'real' would be to start reading books about science (Carl Sagan is a great start, and very easy to digest and fun to read) and to take an improv class or go see a few improv shows (especially long form or 'Harold' shows). Reading about how our minds/brains work is a great thing as well, because although we think our intuitions and such are infallible, they aren't. We are tricked by our minds all the time, and we always need to be aware of that and ask questions of ourselves. We always need to remember that what we think might be so, might just not be... and be willing to find out, even if that means we find out we were wrong, big time.

I love that you are advocating people like Carl Sagan (who I love). But you know, people involved in Abraham Hicks are taught not to use critical thinking to discern right and wrong. They are supposed to use their emotional guidance system.

I'm glad that I've run into another performer, because I would like to get your feedback here. This has been my experience. Haven't you noticed that really sincere good people are the ones who are the worst at conveying that before a large audience? Because they don't have performance skills. They are just good people. Whereas you have seen people who you know are just awful play the sweetest characters in the world brilliantly. Esther's powerful sincerity, which at first glance appears so genuine, can easily be mimicked by a good performer. Whereas if she was really a cute and sincere person, without performance skills, she would have a much harder time presenting that than she does. What is your opinion of that?

Quote
Recovering MLM
In the mid 70's to mid 80's, Jerry Hicks was an Amway distributor; some diamond level, based in Fresno CA. He's from Arkansas. His wife at the time was Trish. A darling chaming southern hospitality type couple. During his presentations of the Amway business plan to groups of people at hotel and restaurant meeitng rooms, Jerry would start off with a sort of metaphysical babble about becoming who you think yourself to be, etc. etc. That you are here now doing this because it is what you always wanted to do, etc. etc. Kind of mind numbing stuff, but everyone was in awe of him - very charasmatic and handsome. Turns out that this is the stuff Esther now 'channels' and they call it "Abraham." I guess that sells better than Mohamed, or Shiva.

One of the couples (Amway was very big on married couples) that Jerry recruited into his organization about 1978, was Esther and her then husband Richard Geer, from Fresno. After a couple of years of working "closely together", Jerry and Esther left their spouses and moved in together, later marrying after the divorce dust settled. About this time their Amway groups had begun declining, but Jerry and Esther had already started switching their revenue sources to selling tapes and seminars to their Amway down-line organization, and new followers. Jerry was doing generic 'Think and Grow Rich' seminars and that kind of thing. Jerry learned from Amway that there is always a large and financially viable number of people that need to feel involved in a warm and fuzzy clique that holds out the hope of an exclusive path to happiness, a path that is always within sight of the goal but not quite there - so you have to buy some more tapes or attend another seminar. You gotta hand to these two, they figured out a pretty nifty way to travel, live a luxury life, and not work too hard - problem is - it's all b.s.

A while ago, Recovering MLM posted a message on this forum, but didn’t bother to cite any of his sources, making his post more of a conspiracy theory than anything else. Having done an extensive amount of research on the Hickses since reading that post, I have returned to verify what I can. The rest, I will leave it up for you to determine the validity of. He left two in a row, I think intending to be more and less specific about certain details. I will walk you through them.

Message 1:
Recovering MLM
Date Added: 10/15/2006

In the mid 70's to mid 80's, Jerry Hicks was an Amway distributor; some diamond level, based in Fresno CA.

*This is true. Neither Jerry nor Esther deny his work with Amway. This can be found in their interview with The Independent here: [www.independent.co.uk]

He's from Arkansas.

*Cannot verify this.

His wife at the time was Trish.

*I can verify this through an Amway listing of their diamond level distributors in this publication: [www.docstoc.com]

Also they are listed on Amwaywiki here: [www.amwaywiki.com]

A darling chaming southern hospitality type couple.

*Opinion, but Jerry is kinda like that now, so it wouldn’t surprise me.

During his presentations of the Amway business plan to groups of people at hotel and restaurant meeting rooms, Jerry would start off with a sort of metaphysical babble about becoming who you think yourself to be, etc. etc. That you are here now doing this because it is what you always wanted to do, etc. etc. Kind of mind numbing stuff, but everyone was in awe of him - very charasmatic and handsome.

*In Abraham Hicks’ introductory CD on their website: [www.abraham-hicks.com]

Jerry discusses how he found the book Think and Grow Rich and goes on to say “It worked so well for me that in a very brief time I was able to build a multinational business, touching meaningfully the lives of many thousands I even began teaching the principles that I was learning from the book.” He neglects to tell us that his multinational business is Amway. I include a Dateline expose in a later part of this where you will see that this motivational teaching is actually a major part of Amway distributors income.

In the Secret Behind the Secret interview with Peter Beamish, Esther says that she met Jerry at one of his ‘business presentations’. She said she had been invited by a friend and went on to say, “Well he’d been studying think and grow rich so he was all full of enthusiasm.”

Turns out that this is the stuff Esther now 'channels' and they call it "Abraham."

*There’s no secret about it. Yes, a lot of their work bares great similarities to Think and Grow Rich, as well as other authors, particularly William Atkinson’s books on The Law of Attraction.

This is how they word their transition from Think and Grow Rich to Abraham on their website under A Message from Jerry & Esther: Oct/Nov/Dec 1997.

“And then Abraham appeared. And as Abraham began to respond so wisely and unconditionally lovingly to my questions, we wanted to immediately teach what we were now learning to our business associates...but questions soon began to flow from outside of that circle of our business partners...which then drew us outside of that relatively small arena to others who in turn told others who taught others who told others...to whoever told you about us.”

So basically, before they were teaching Think and Grow Rich to their business associates/recruits. Then they switched to Abraham. At least, that’s what it sounds like to me.

I guess that sells better than Mohamed, or Shiva.

*His opinion. He has a right to it.

One of the couples (Amway was very big on married couples) that Jerry recruited into his organization about 1978, was Esther and her then husband Richard Geer, from Fresno.

*Amway has always been big on married couples. I have nothing to substantiate that he recruited them into his organization, but Esther says in the interview with The Independent and The Secret Behind the Secret that she met Jerry in 1976 (not 1978). You can verify that she was married to a man named Richard Geer till they divorced August 25th 1980 on Proquest Ancestry Library Edition or even Ancestry.com. She is listed as Esther W Geer. I have included a copy of the divorce index on my blog at [abrahamhicksfraud.blogspot.com]

After a couple of years of working "closely together", Jerry and Esther left their spouses and moved in together, later marrying after the divorce dust settled.

*I don’t know about dust settling. You can look up Esther’s divorce with her then husband Richard, which occurred on August 25th 1980, and look up her marriage to Jerry Spencer Hicks on September 3rd 1980. They were obviously in a relationship before they were married and hitched shortly after. You can verify all this information on Proquest Ancestry Library Edition (at a local library or university) or on ancestry.com (though you have to pay or do a trial membership there).

About this time their Amway groups had begun declining, but Jerry and Esther had already started switching their revenue sources to selling tapes and seminars to their Amway down-line organization, and new followers.

*It’s common knowledge that there is this down-line organization that sells motivational tapes to recruits. Dateline did a wonderful expose on Quixtar, one of the latest incarnations of Amway, revealing that this is where the real money is. It is in two parts. The second one goes into more detail about the motivational side:

Part 1: [www.youtube.com]
Part 2: [www.youtube.com]

Jerry was doing generic 'Think and Grow Rich' seminars and that kind of thing.

*As I said earlier, this is sort of common knowledge that he was going around telling people about it, giving presentations, etc. These are popular motivational presentations that Amway has been doing for a long time. It’s in the Dateline expose as well. And if you think the new version of Amway was bad, can you imagine what it was like before the FTC investigation in 1979? (which is when Jerry was a crown level distributor)

Jerry learned from Amway that there is always a large and financially viable number of people that need to feel involved in a warm and fuzzy clique that holds out the hope of an exclusive path to happiness, a path that is always within sight of the goal but not quite there - so you have to buy some more tapes or attend another seminar. You gotta hand to these two, they figured out a pretty nifty way to travel, live a luxury life, and not work too hard - problem is - it's all b.s.

*Opinion, so you decide.

That was the end of the first message. Then Recovering MLM wrote a second.

Message 2:
Recovering MLM
Date Added: 10/15/2006

In the mid 70's to mid 80's, Jerry Hicks was an Amway distributor; some diamond level, based in Fresno CA. He's from Arkansas…

*See first one. Verified.

…and said he was an "entertainer" - whatever that means.

*Jerry talks about being an acrobat and such in interviews and with Abraham and Esther, so nothing new here. But for skeptical folks, it is included in The Independent interview: [www.independent.co.uk]

His wife at the time was a charming older lady from the South, maybe Texas. They presented themselves as darling chaming southern hospitality type couple. I think she had the money that set up the successful and elegant lifestyle they used to attract new recruits to their Amway organization - always selling the dream of riches. During his presentations of the Amway business plan to groups of people at hotel and restaurant meeitng rooms, Jerry would start off with a sort of metaphysical babble about becoming who you think yourself to be, etc. etc. That you are here now doing this because it is what you always wanted to do, etc. etc. Kind of mind numbing stuff, but everyone was in awe of him - very charasmatic and handsome - so they listened and some people bought into it and the Amway groups took on a new meta-physical dimension.

*Trish was his wife. He is charming, and this is usual for Amway business. It is likely with him giving Think and Grow Rich seminars that this occurred. That is metaphysical babble to some people.

Turns out that this is the beginnings of the stuff that Esther now channels' and they call it "Abraham."

*You can see my quote from Abraham Hicks site about how they began teaching their business associates about Abraham’s principles in the last one. Clearly they ended up doing just what Recovering MLM is saying.

I guess that sells better than Mohamed, or Shiva.

*Opinion, but cute.

One of the couples (Amway was very big on married couples) that Jerry recruited into his organization about 1978, was Esther and her then husband "R", from Fresno. After a couple of years of working "closely together", Jerry and Esther left their spouses and moved in together, later marrying after the divorce dust settled.

*It was nice of him to try and let Esther’s ex off the hook by just referring to him as R, but he spilled the beans, and I’ve already covered it. Again, it’s interesting that he says they waited for the divorce dust to settle. Esther divorced Richard and then married Jerry maybe 10 days later in Vegas (did I mention that in the first one? Yes they were married in Clark County, NV. See their marriage index on Proquest for more info.) That isn’t exactly a lot of time for settling.

About this time their Amway groups had begun declining, but Jerry and Esther had already started switching their revenue sources to selling tapes and seminars to their Amway down-line organization, and new followers. Jerry was doing generic 'Think and Grow Rich' seminars and that kind of thing.

*Again, it is common knowledge that this motivational down line exists within the Amway system. The Dateline expose clearly shows that. But according to Esther and Jerry, there was no switch to the Think and Grow Rich seminars. They had always been doing that.

Jerry learned from Amway that there is always a large and financially viable number of people that need to feel involved in a warm and fuzzy clique, an 'inner circle' of people who know the truth and promote a way of thinking that holds out the hope of prosperity and happiness, but never quite gets there, so you have to buy some more tapes or attend another seminar. You gotta hand to these two, they figured out a pretty nifty way to travel, live a luxury life, and not work too hard - problem is - it's all b.s. IMHO

*This is all his opinion, agree with it or not.

CORRECTION: Pardon me, the correct date for Esther's divorce to Richard Geer was August 21st 1980 (Not August 25th).

Quote
kyra1985
He's from Arkansas.

*Cannot verify this.

Now I can.

From Atlanta, GA workshop 10/25/2008
Jerry: I know, it was weird. So I hid them all in the back of a closet. And I had a lot… I was from, you know, Arkansas and had a lot of big heavy coats and things that you never ever use in San Diego, so it was hidden in the back of this closet.

Also, it is mentioned in The Independent interview: [www.independent.co.uk]

bponeal1982 you make a great point. Abraham Hicks can be considered a cult.

Below is an example of the cult tactics she uses. ..

Anything the group/leader does can be justified no matter how harsh or harmful.

The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

Dependency upon the group/leader for problem solving, solutions, and definitions without meaningful reflective thought. A seeming inability to think independently or analyze situations without group/leader involvement.


Increasing isolation from family and old friends unless they demonstrate an interest in the group/leader.