We Are All Fragile Beings:
[forum.culteducation.com]
Has anyone here heard of the Wright Institute? I have been trying to find good material about this group, which we both believe to be a cult, but ...

I spent two days in a room of mind controllers and left intact. I guess they didn't have much to work with in my case. Let me explain...

I discussed with my doctor how getting my blood pressure under control, I've been reading quite a few books on dealing with stress, psychology, changing damaging thought patterns through emotional intelligence and meditation. He recommended I check out the Wright Institute in Chicago. (He will not be my doctor tomorrow.)

Bob and Judith Wright run a cult. It was very apparent to me. They use techniques to discover peoples' soft spots, twist their emotions into pain, then capitalize by hard selling their program to the marks. I found it interesting that the Curriculum Director, Dr Mike, introduced as from Yale University never took the microphone, had nothing to say but lurked in the back of the room seated and watching everything. (He wasn't the only spooky vibe I got.)

When Bob tells you he is full of shit, believe him. When he tells you you are full of shit, have some self respect and defend yourself. Judith is simply the Center of the Universe and her favorite time was telling the "Judith Wright Life Story". They never stayed on stage together for long because the room could only hold one over-inflated ego at a time.

People are searching for comfort. There were many sincere, nice men and women there on their life's journey of seeking a better life and expanding their human potential and I wish them well. But this place isn't going to help them on that endeavour. It could hurt their souls tremendously. I can honestly say, I left without feeling I wanted to see any of the participants again except to hear their thoughts about what a frightening scenario the whole thing is.

Never write down your innermost thoughts and vulnerabilities on a piece of paper and hand it to strangers for them to plan through the night how to manipulate you. You don't need to win the raffle. Cherish your private self and share it with people you trust.

Don't ever work for free like all the "students" of the "school". They were sad pathetic people, there by personal choice, so I have no pity. Like many soulless and totally focused bright intellects, no one ever mentioned what a beautiful day it was outside. These people never smelled a rose.

I would suggest we all take Bob's advice and "invest in yourself" but I will not recommend the Year of MORE as the vehicle. Saunter down to you local library, get a library card and take out a stack of books addressing the personal issue you feel exists in you and read them to understand and help yourself. Not a finer investment in yourself than a library card. And free.

Judith talked several hours on Emotional Intelligence, but never a mention of the work of Daniel Goleman, former Science writer of the New York Times and leading developer of this type of study. I found that very strange. Her presentation was shallow, at times wrong by what I have learned. I think EmoIntell is an important concept deserves better than to shill her books of pop mindpulp.

Clearly, Bob Wright is an ass, but he's awfully proud of that fact. He is a mind controller of huge proportions, a bully and cold. He has those poor sap "students" in fear of his presence and it shows. Thinking that help is at the Wright Institute is a lose/lose situation (your mind and your bank account). It's a "double flip" (in WI speak) or some other such hooey they promote.

Sitting in a crowded, uncomfortable, and oppressive atmosphere for too long for little reason except to see and hear sick people getting sicker, my thoughts and desires kept drifting back to wishing I was on my yoga mat and how the people I meet at the studio, by and large, are personable, together, relaxed and pleasant to work together with on mental health issues. Deep breathing and a smattering of Buddhist concepts will work for me for now. One of my very first classes, the teacher ended with a short soliloquy on the importance of having compassion for yourself. It touched me deeply then and applies so well to all the misguided souls that end up in front of Bob and Judith to exploit.

I'll be back on my mat in the morning. It's a soft addiction doing me good.

Wesley
Thanks for your post and for continuing to reveal more about this group. I have a family member who is/was involved and that relationship has changed, for the worse, probably forever. I hope more people continue to share and shine the light on places like these who count on people not talking because of low self-esteem and/or shame. Sounds like an abuser to me.

Wesley,
I agree wholeheartedly with your post. I am so glad you have a strong enough sense of self that you were not taken in by all the mind control and manipulation. Thank you so much for taking time to share your experience. A year ago, I was one of those "sad, pathetic souls" working for free and duped into believing it was what I needed to do to "recover", "heal my wounds", and make the world a better place. Gratefully, I finally woke up to how I was being exploited. I learned a lot about the Wright community from how they responded to my decision to leave. People that I thought cared about me got angry, turned on me. They became very "tribal" - so much for higher consciousness. My "friends" were told not to have any contact with me for a year. I did not realize that I was in a cult until after I was out and could look back at my experiences. After participating in several years of "transformation" assignments and experiences (actually training in submission to authority and group think), I needed some therapeutic intervention and debriefing to sort it out and find myself again. I feel sad about the people that I care about that are still involved and angry about how Bob and Judith use them to build their egos and bank accounts. Keep warning people to steer clear of these con artists/cult leaders.

Wesley, a few more thoughts....
Did you express any of your reactions on the weekend and what was the response?
As a former "student", one of my friends attended the weekend and had a similar reaction to it. Bob took me aside and told me that my friend "had authority issues". His reaction was put in a context that made it less likely that I would be influenced by him. I experienced B & J "refine" their speeches and increase their sales pressure over the past few years. The last weekend that I assisted on was early 09. Several of the student leaders were upset about the length and intensity of the sales pitches - like participants were being held hostage. One of the WI leadership lies is that "participants can leave at any time'. True and not true. People are trained and positioned to stop participants who leave, try to talk them into staying, and of course use their vulnerabilities to do this.

I'll admit to "authority issues" and have had them my whole life. I sure don't intend on changing. The problem with this country is we let the bullies, like Bob, fill our management positions and people cower in fear. That's called "getting along". I don't do that well, try to think for myself even when that leads to personal problems. Challenging authority? Sure, I will.

B & J really love money. It shows when they mention it. They are grubbers of the highest order. I sensed a great deal of desperation on their part, maybe their operation didn't have enough fish because some were speaking out and questioning the holes in their presentation. Especially Bob, had a smug distaste for the struggling common person. I find him particularily diststeful.

My cards started Green, Yellow on Saturday and Red early Sunday. I wasn't buying after a while and I believe the word was to keep an eye on me (like following me to the bathroom). Whenever we paired up in one of those sick exercises I seemed to draw a "student" and I was getting the real programmed, dangerouos ones like McCann. In one about feelings, Sue stated to me she doesn't feel any of her feelings, I said." that is so sad, my problem is I have too many feelings and I'm here to learn how to not let them overwhwehem me." I could see recogniton in her eyes of a very human kind that told me I wasn't going to be one of Them.

Didn't anyone else in that room see the two-room setup with the mic/headset and teleprompter just a bit creepy. Didn't others see how we were all analyzed and picked for plucking? I wasn't playing along with the result I never was called on when I raised my hand. They didn't want my kind speaking.

What is this use of the word "playmate". The connotations are insulting on so many levels to me.

Hi Wesley,

Reading your experiences stirs me up. I see more of the cult aspects that I was blind to at the time. Regarding the two-room setup with the mic/headset and teleprompter, I had the belief that this is just good practice to improve presentation skills. Now I think it goes beyond this. B and J also have all their presentations video recorded. In addition, they have transcribers that record everything in real time including participants questions and responses. All of this is reviewed afterward. Here are my reactions/connections to their use of the word "playmate". At the time I was part of the group, I accepted this as "normal". B and J often refer to their students as their children. Students express gratitude to B and J for making a playground for us to play and invite others to become playmates and play with us. Now I realize that treating adults as children is one of the attributes of cults. This was very evident on one of the week long "trainings" (actually a work camp for which I paid almost $2000). We worked very late into the night and were up very early in order to "make the impossible possible" mostly doing things to serve B and J, their enterprise, feed and clean up after the participants. After 4 nights of 3 and 4 hours sleep, J said to stop our work because she had a surprise for us outside. Blankets were spread out on the lawn. J spoke to us very parentally, sweetly, as she gave us the gift of a 20 minute nap. At the time, I was so grateful. In retrospect, I resent being treated like a little child. Another connection to the word "playmate" and the two room set up. This was chilling for me to realize. B and J are coached at all their "performances" by the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Playboy Digital. He sits in the green room. Sometimes he speaks and tells his story of how much B and J have helped him. He is always introduced as working for a media company. Playboy is never mentioned. He seems like a sincere, genuine person, but I do not agree with the companies' values and objectification of women as "playmates". I wonder how many people would walk out if they knew where he worked. That is all for now.

WHAT??!!?? You have GOT to be kidding!! So much for all Judith's crap about the"sacredness of the feminine." I wonder how the participants in the Women's Essential would react to this news. I will bet that this guy is like a feather in B & J's cap--someone associated with the WI who is making tons of money and credits B & J as having helped him get there. No matter that he is doing something so diametrically opposed to all that they preach. How does Judith reconcile this with her deeply spiritual pilgrimages? I will bet that this Playboy guy may even have gone on a few. The bottom line is that it's the money that matters--always has been and always will be. They should be so ashamed of themselves but I'm sure that they're not.

No, I am not kidding. If you would like his name to check it out, write me privately. The Institute leaders are very skilled at manipulating facts and putting a spin on them to make them not only acceptable but admirable to their students. The name of his "media company" was never mentioned publicly, but it is generally known to students. Sadly, it never bothered me at the time. I, too, was enamored by hanging out with the "rich and famous". As far as it contradicting "the sacred feminine", if you were to ask any of the leaders about this, the conversation would become all about you and why you were asking the question. I imagine they would say that you were projecting your attitudes and beliefs about sexuality and the feminine onto Playboy. I was told that my attitudes about sexuality were prudish and uptight. His wife is a leader and coach and has a lot of influence at the institute.

Its nice to see the people are still question WI. If only someone could bring this to a major media outlet. The "inner circle" would amaze people, as would the monetary donations "students" have made. If oyu know anyone who is thinking about becoming involved, do anything you can to warn them. WI is not a healthy place for anyone.

Again, back to the Playboy guy. I distinctly remember speaking to one of the guys in the Men's Guild about Playboy once upon a time. He was doing his "beliefs about women" assignment. He spoke very passionately against Playboy and all the other girlie magazines. He went on and on about how media like that had brainwashed so many men in this culture to believe that these perfect sexual playmates were what women were supposed to be. He talked of being sad and disgusted by the whole business.

This man was very angry that he had bought into all that garbage and had such high expectations of how his wife and every other woman ought to look and act. This guy is now a big leader type at the WI and there is no doubt in my mind that he knows of this guy's association with Playboy. What is wrong with this picture???

It is nauseasting to me that B&J who so earnestly profess to "honor the feminine" actually let this guy not only belong to thier organization, but be set upon some pedestal to be admired for his expertise. B&J are two of the worst hypocrites I have ever known. This Playboy guy must be making some big bucks and donating plenty of it back to the WI in order for B&J to be kissing his ass. How low can you go?