mm-k...Psyk-K

Left-brain right-brain stuff went out a couple decades ago!

lets think about this...K...what is that?
Kinesiology?
yep, Psychological Kinesiology

applied kinesiology
[skepdic.com]

That is just a version of the old the "muscle testing" scam.
What happened is that AK caught on, and became popular. So a zillion people came up with variants of the same thing, Tapping, TFT [skepdic.com]
EFT Emotional Freedom Techniques [skepdic.com]
and dozens of others.
There literally is no end to it.
Once they "create" their own "therapy" they can license it, and train others, and make a bundle.

Sorta like The Work by Byron Katie, in terms of business structure.

The "programming' he got from the idea of NLP...Neuro-linguistic Programming
They are selling Psych-K hard, workshops, trainings, etc.

But it doesn't look like Psych-K been discussed yet much on the internet as a Psych-K scam, Psych-K rip-off, con, Psych-K pseudoscience, Psych-K skeptic, sceptic, Psych-K money-machine. (hello Google!)

But there are some critical Amazon.com reviews.
Customer Reviews
The Biology Of Belief: Unleashing The Power Of Consciousness, Matter And Miracles
[www.amazon.com]

These guys just pulled Psych-K out of their ass, to create a money-machine in your brain, for them!
Its another Miracle Cure! Wow, the world needs more expensive miracle cures MLM franchises, that is for sure.
Yay, good ole Cosmic Connie appears to be giving them a smack!

COSMIC CONNIE, THE QUEEN OF THE COSMOS ________________________________________________________
[cosmicconnie.blogspot.com]
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Up-celling: the biology of commerce

"my quarrel with Lipton is not so much with his ideas as it is with his followers who are turning him into yet another cult hero"
"Dr. Lipton is selling more than his book. He is also making a pretty penny traveling around performing lectures and workshops that promote his ideas, and he seems to have a finger or two in the PSYCH-K pie as well.
One disillusioned reader on Amazon.com wrote, "I agree with the 1 star reviews of this book. This book said nothing new and then at the end the author is pushing another new age process that cost in excess of $350 to do. Save your money and time and skip this book."
_______________________

Bruce Lipton, Ph.D
The Biology Of Belief: Unleashing the Power Of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles.
Product Details
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Mountain of Love (March 18, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0975991477
ISBN-13: 978-0975991473

check it out, Bruce H. Lipton, went to teach offshore, and then used this book simply as gobblygook pseudoscience confusion, to then refer people to Psych-K.
Lipton appears to have dropped out of science 13 years ago, and clearly is mis-representing the current state of science, as many of these guys do, and smearing real scientists, to promote their own pseudoscience.



[www.amazon.com]
CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
____________________________________
The Emperor's New Clothes are Hype, August 14, 2005

Unless you're an avid reader of scientific jargon and theory, save your money. At best, this book is misleading; at worst, it borders on scam.

Most readers, like me, are searching for answers: what is the meaning of Dr. Lipton's miraculous discovery? How can I apply it to my life? How can it help me change my beliefs - for that is what the complete title implies: "The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles."

Readers should be aware that Lipton's breakthrough "discovery" occurred as the result of emotional upheavals in his life that drove him to teach biology at an offshore university that specializes in accepting medical students who can't qualify for American medical universities. A misfit teaching misfits.
...

Halfway through the book, he was still spouting scientific jargon, explaining and re-explaining. About that time I confess I started to skim, as the suspicion grew that he had no intention of answering my pressing question. Okay, Dr. Lipton, this scientific stuff is all well and good - but what's your point?

He doesn't state his point until after the end of the book - in the Addendum: "I use PSYCH-K™ in my own life. . . I believe PSYCH-K™ represents an important step toward the New Psychology for the 21st century, and beyond. You can find more information about PSYCH-K™ at Rob's web site: [...]."

That, my friends, is his answer to changing your beliefs: Rob Williams' PSYCH-K™. Ah, but visit the website and you'll find no hint as to how to apply these wondrous techniques! No, you have to take a class that costs around $350.

Neat, huh?

P. T. Barnum said there's a fool born every minute. I was the fool for falling for the hype and ordering the book. Don't make the same mistake.
____________________________________________

Yet another new-age nonsense book attacking real science, May 15, 2005
By A researcher from Columbia University - See all my reviews

As a scientist engaged in biophysical research, I feel the strong need to redress the many dangerous, erroneous, sophistic claims and attacks on science that Dr. Lipton is pandering to the public. It would seem that Dr. Lipton is a well-meaning man, but I am afraid his departure from objective rationality is the equivalent of a man that has found religion and given his reasonings over to mere faith. He states that environment has a profound influence over gene expression and that genes in and of themselves do not dictate biology. He uses the word "epigenetic," meaning above or beyond the genetic level. Neither this term nor the idea that environment plays a role in biology however is new--and moreover there is nothing mystical about it.
...

Despite having learned enormously from the Human Genome Project, Dr. Lipton attacks it as a "failure" for having mistakenly predicted that the number of genes in H. Homo Sapiens would be over 100,000 and asserts that researchers claimed the project would demonstrate the belief of "genetic determinism." Although it is true that the prediction of human genes was wrong, the Human Genome Project is far from a failure. Quite the contrary! It is one of the most incredible feats of human accomplishments-right up there with sending a man to the moon. In fact, I would submit even more significant in accomplishment for the doors of continuous opportunities in research that is has now opened. The project revealed two amazing things: 1) there are only around 23,000 genes in humans, and 2) so-called "junk DNA," which comprises the majority of DNA and is non-coding (meaning it does not contain genes) is extremely important in regulating how the coding sections get expressed. Moreover, the project showed the remarkably adaptive economy of human DNA. The apparent dearth of genes is something of an illusion. Although there are only 23,000 genes, these genes get alternatively spliced together, giving rise to much higher combinations of protein output that could not otherwise be achieved. Lastly, no serious researcher involved in the Human Genome Project saw the project as the end-all of biology or seriously pushed for the notion of genetic determinism. It was understood before the project finished that genes alone were not an end-all answer of biological functioning.

Furthermore, Dr. Lipton claims that illness can be cured by mere belief. This isn't only nonsense; it is incredibly unprofessional and irresponsible. This is the equivalent of a TV Evangelist banging his palm against the foreheads of cancer patients, pushing them back down in their seats and proclaiming them cured, only to then say later to an investigating reporter who mentions that the patients later died that the Lord's magic stopped working because doubt entered into the hearts of the disbelieving patients. What an incredibly cruel sentiment. Yet this is in essence what Dr. Lipton is pandering to the public. If conscious belief worked this way, bringing about the realities we wanted, then we'd all be six-feet tall, rich, and have the looks of professional models and possess super human strength and ability. But where's the reproducible proof? Alas, reality does not work this way.

Lastly, I cannot commend Dr. Lipton for trying to merge science and spirituality together, for his attempt is based not on science-but anecdotal evidence and highly questionable research with no direct evidence or scientific proof. What Dr. Lipton offers, then, is not a new science-but another new-age religion. What is more, Dr. Lipton espouses quite frankly a ludicrous ideology. The title of his book is "The Biology of Belief." Biology is a science, and as such it is built on a system of facts-not beliefs. The Road Runner might levitate above a cliff and Luke Skywalker might levitate objects with his Jedi mind, but each respectively has Warner Brothers physics and Industrial Lights and Magic on their side. For the rest of us, trying to walk on air by stepping off the balcony will prove a comical, if not outright fatal, flaw in reasoning. I'm afraid gravity is not interested in what you believe of its consequential effects. And all the deep, faithful believing of otherwise will not change the outcome.

Lipton however mocks science and the many dedicated men and women devoted in making true scientific progress and expanding our understanding of disease and the laws of nature. To them, a debt of thanks is owed, for real scientific progress is made by them--and the only place belief has a place in that progress is the belief in the ability that we as a species can accomplish such marvelous, triumphant understandings of the world around us.
______________________________________

Psych-K also has "experiential workshops".
Here we go again, another LGAT.
They make books that are VAGUE and are used to upsell people to attend expensive seminars, which then upsell to more seminars, coaching, and even franchising like a MLM.
Original.

check out the reviews for this book about Psych-K. He can't even get his friends to write some good reviews, they are almost all awful. That book failure must have driven him to approach Bruce Lipton, to write something more complex-sounding to bamboozle people with gobblygook.
Its just old fashioned business cross-marketing.


PSYCH-K...The Missing Peace In Your Life! (Paperback)
by Robert M. Williams (Author)
[www.amazon.com]
Paperback: 157 pages
Publisher: Myrddin Publications (July 22, 2004)
ISBN-10: 0975935402
ISBN-13: 978-0975935408

even worse, the Bruce H Lipton book,
The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter, & Miracles

is has been re-issued by Hay House! Yes, the same publisher promoting The Secret, and everything else. So they are marketing the crap out of this.

What this really needs, is for some anonymous person who has taken some Psych-K workshops, to write up the PRECISE CONTENT of what happens in those Psych-K workshops, so people can know what is going to be "taught" in there.

Also, one has to assume there are going to be LGAT type sales techniques being use as well, above and beyond the "content".

Anticult, thanks as always for your wonderful ability to see through these things and explain it very precisely. I'm glad I didn't go very far with Psych-K, and hopefully I am finally learning to see through these pseudo cures earlier in the game. Unfortunately all it takes is going through a period of extreme vulnerability to spur me into seeking out help via "alternative" means. I need to be on guard for that.

well, Kinesiology has been well debunked already, for example at SkepDic [skepdic.com]
so that makes it easier to investigate.

These types of salespitches fall into almost identical patterns. And they can make serious money, with aggressive salesmanship, and Psych-K is very aggressive in their sales.

So each of this things can be seperately investigated, especially now thanks to the internet, in minutes.

The bottom line, is when someone is making a Big Claim, they have to provide the hard evidence, not stories and anecdotes. Independant facts, from independent studies.

Its like Carl Sagan said, its the same mentality as buying a used car, without a warranty, cash-only, no refunds. In that type of case, we better be very skeptical of the claims being made by the car salesman, and get an expert mechanic to check out the car, or we are going to get a lemon, and get burned.
It seems to me to be the exact same mental process as buying a used car from a used car salesman.
Its a tricky business, as once you sign on the line, tough nuts for you, if you got burned! No refunds! No warranty! No nothing!

QUOTE from The Anticult:

"Its like Carl Sagan said, its the same mentality as buying a used car, without a warranty, cash-only, no refunds. In that type of case, we better be very skeptical of the claims being made by the car salesman, and get an expert mechanic to check out the car, or we are going to get a lemon, and get burned.
It seems to me to be the exact same mental process as buying a used car from a used car salesman.
Its a tricky business, as once you sign on the line, tough nuts for you, if you got burned! No refunds! No warranty! No nothing!"

Right! Get a copy of The Late Carl Sagan's "Demon Haunted World". It is invaluable to all here...

If more people would read this tome, AND APPLY IT, there would be far less cults on this earth.

My two cents anyway....

I don't know anything about PSYCH-K besides that they do muscle-testing aka applied kinesiology. Sounds like yet another form of ideodynamic movement as they call it in hypnotherapy. Ideodynamic just means "automatic," as in unconscious or involuntary movement, and applies to movements that cannot be controlled consciously as well as to movements that don't seem to be conscious--yet can be easily influenced by others, including the hypnotherapist. Eliciting ideodynamic movement puts you into a kind of trance state which can feel nice, and lead to increased creativity--or can be a method of coercion or control by the facilitator or group (as is true of all trance states).

In my opinion, using ideodynamic movement can be a useful way of tapping into one's own intuition, keeping in mind that one's intuition is only as intelligent as the information given to it. A successful businessperson, having worked in certain corporate environments for 30+ years, will likely have far better "business intuition" than the average PSYCH-K facilitator. And that businessperson will probably have some ritual for accessing this intuition that puts him/her into a light trance.

The potential for becoming overly enamored with the "answers" given by ideodynamic movement, automatic writing, a vision, a prophetic dream, a particularly insightful idea, a great yoga session, or a synchronistic moment is very high. People who habitually believe everything that comes out of their intuition are what we call "flakes" and/or narcissists, ever fascinated with what seems to be the Universe telling them the Ultimate Secrets. They do lots of muscle testing, but not nearly enough reality testing. Totally in touch with "alternative ways of knowing" they lose touch with rational and logical ways of knowing. Hence forums like this and websites like Skeptic's Dictionary.

Anticult is right to look at the structure--"follow the money" should be the mantra of the new age consumer. That said, $325-$400 for a weekend is on the low end for workshops of this nature. James Ray's intro workshop is around $1400 by comparison. PSYCH-K may be a scam or ripoff--I don't know--but it's not as expensive as some. The "biology" behind PSYCH-K is clearly non-science, if not nonsense.

Keep in mind that the placebo effect is itself a kind of hypnosis--placebo comes from expectation of change, thinking that you are getting medicine when you are getting a sugar pill, etc. I'm not exactly in favor of charging hundreds of dollars for sugar pills mind you, but placebo is usually much more effective than NOT taking a sugar pill.

Personally, I'm convinced that most of the benefit of legit, empirically based therapy is placebo--the ritual alone of going to an office, paying some money (or going through the hassles of insurance), having an authoritative professional talk and listen to you, etc. probably conveys 90% of the benefit of all therapies in my opinion. For instance, there have been a number of raging debates as to the efficacy of SSRI's for depression and anxiety and whether these very expensive drugs (often taken with no plan for ever coming off the drug) are any more effective than placebo (the strongest proponents for SSRI's conclude that they are only slightly more effective). See [neuroskeptic.blogspot.com]

Of course pharmaceutical companies don't also use coercive persuasion and hold LGAT-style seminars to convince you that taking their SSRI's are the way to go--an important difference. And their commercials are required by law to state all the potential side-effects--another important difference.

People often have similar experiences as "helpme2times" with well-tested forms of therapy, psychiatry, and medicine. It certainly is disappointing when an issue goes away and came back, but I'm not sure that this is any different than conventional therapy and medicine. The difference to me is that the claims are too big for alternative approaches. No healing technique--whether alternative or conventional--works permanently 100% of the time, and that's the scam...that and the coercive persuasion and high-pressure sales techniques often used in LGATs selling such "miracle cures."

EDIT: The Skeptic's Dictionary entry on Applied Kinesiology that Anticult linked to is very good. [skepdic.com] AK is particularly problematic because the tester of course subconsciously influences the testee by subconsciously pushing on their arm harder. Duh! When this contaminating hypnotic influence is removed by making the test double-blind, AK doesn't work in terms of "the body knowing what is good for it." That's because ideomotor effects, i.e. intuition, is not omnipotent. This should be utterly obvious stuff here.

Quote
helpme2times
It just occurred to me to check and see if anyone had posted anything in RR's forum on Psych-K, as I had read Bruce Lipton's "The Biology of Belief" a while back and then did some Psych-K sessions.

It's all bullshit!

Yes, I did experience what appeared to be "permanent" healing of a couple of personal issues. But that was only for maybe a month or so. The issues came back after that, as strong as they'd been before.

Most likely the "healing" was due to the placebo effect.

Fortunately I woke up at that point and stopped doing the sessions. I imagine there are people who would just keep doing sessions and get themselves on a self-improvement hamster wheel. Thankfully that did not happen for me. At least not when it came to Psych-K.

Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2010 04:00PM by buffman.

Williams was a Brain Gym and NLP instructor when he decided to create something of his own which he could then franchise out. He used Lipton's ideas on the biology of belief to justify his claims that he could change beliefs and transform your life with Psych-K. That is mostly hperbole as I was in the original workshops when Psych-K was developed and took all the same training he did.

These were fun and interesting and energizing courses, and an antidote to certain kinds of stress. Some people found that their learning, sports and performance generally would often improve after doing these activities. An example: stare at a computer sceen too long and your brain becomes over focused and your eyes hurt. Do a few brain gym exercises and your eyes, brain and body relax and generally you feel better and able to function better. Nothing mysterious there. If you can leverage that to other areas of your life and function a variety of positive effects can be experienced.

But the claims being made by Psych-k teachers, and Williams himself, are the usual over the top promises that simply do not hold water. It is also my opinion that he ripped off several people in the process of creating his psych k program and should have given them credit. They are probably happy now that he didn't since the claims of the psych k 'wonder drug' have become absurd.

In case you haven't guessed, I was one of those people.