Mind Dynamics
Encyclopedia
Mind Dynamics was a seminar company, founded by Alexander Everett
in Texas
in 1968. Mind Dynamics later led to two other companies, est
and Lifespring
.
After investigations for fraudulent representations and practicing medicine without a license, plus the death of co-owner William Penn Patrick and the resignation of President Robert White, the company ceased operating in December 1973.
s. The organization's methods and techniques helped to influence an industry of trainings that would follow it. Mind Dynamics has been compared to Dale Carnegie
, and encounter groups. Mind Dynamics trained businessmen in personal development techniques, but relied on unique activities rather than academic theories. The coursework also utilized techniques that focused on visualization, and meditation. Snider wrote that Mind Dynamics was intended to prod individuals and goad them to improve upon themselves.
Techniques drawn from the Unity Church
included periods of silence, focusing the mind on positive elements, and distinguishing the "intuitive inner voice."
Some of Mind Dynamics' techniques were compared to self-hypnosis
, and mind control
. Mind Dynamics has been described as part of the consciousness transformation movement, and has been compared to Scientology
, est, Psycho-Cybernetics
, and Amway
. Heelas' The New Age Movement states that Mind Dynamics and Alexander Everett were influenced by Edgar Cayce
, Theosophy
, and Silva Mind Control, and Curtiss' Depression is a Choice also cites Silva Mind Control and self-talk as the basis for Mind Dynamics. Mind Dynamics has also been described by several authors on religious texts as an offshoot of Silva Mind Control. According to Jose Silva
, Alex Everett was a graduate of Silva Mind Control. Everett also drew on principles from the Unity Church
, Egyptology
and Rosicrucianism in developing Mind Dynamics.
and Holiday Magic
, both of which were founded by William Penn Patrick
, co-owner and Board Member for Mind Dynamics. Holiday Magic later folded, amidst investigations by authorities and accusations of being a multi-level marketing
pyramid scheme
. Every employee in management positions at Holiday Magic was required to participate in the coursework.
William Penn Patrick, owner of Leadership Dynamics
, invested in Mind Dynamics in 1970. All employees in management at Holiday Magic
were expected to take the Mind Dynamics coursework.
was named as a party with Mind Dynamics in the lawsuit.
Mind Dynamics ceased operating in 1973, after being investigated and charged with fraud and practicing medicine without a license. 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
.
and The Forum
, Landmark Education
, Lifespring
, Lifestream, 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. Vahle goes on to describe similar techniques used by these groups which were incorporated from Mind Dynamics' practices. 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
. The organizations cited above were founded by prior instructors from Mind Dynamics that had been trained by Alexander Everett, including Stewart Emery who founded Actualizations, Randy Revell, who developed Context Training, James Quinn
, who organized Lifestream, and Thomas Wilhite, who founded PSI Seminars.
Former MDI President Robert White founded Lifespring and ARC International which delivered the Life Dynamics seminars in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Sydney.
Werner Erhard
was influenced by his experiences at Mind Dynamics, methods of which he later incorporated into est, and this formed the basis for Erhard Seminars Training
. Mind Dynamics has also been cited as forming the initial basis for Neuro-Linguistic Programming
. Manabu wrote in the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies that both Lifespring and Erhard Seminars Training/est had traceable origins in Mind Dynamics, and its developer Alexander Everett.
Alexander Everett
Alexander Everett was a British self-improvement and personal development consultant. He was the founder of the company Mind Dynamics, and author of the motivational books The Genius Within You and Inward Bound...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in 1968. Mind Dynamics later led to two other companies, est
Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered a two-weekend course known officially as "The est Standard Training"...
and Lifespring
Lifespring
Lifespring was a for-profit private company, founded in 1974. The company promoted itself through books and word of mouth advertising. By 1989, officials stated that over 300,000 people had enrolled in the company's seminars...
.
After investigations for fraudulent representations and practicing medicine without a license, plus the death of co-owner William Penn Patrick and the resignation of President Robert White, the company ceased operating in December 1973.
Techniques, methodology
Mind Dynamics has been called a major forerunner of large group awareness trainingLarge Group Awareness Training
Large-group awareness training refers to activities usually offered by groups linked with the human potential movement which claim to increase self-awareness and bring about desirable transformations in individuals' personal lives...
s. The organization's methods and techniques helped to influence an industry of trainings that would follow it. Mind Dynamics has been compared to Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie
Dale Breckenridge Carnegie was an American writer, lecturer, and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills...
, and encounter groups. Mind Dynamics trained businessmen in personal development techniques, but relied on unique activities rather than academic theories. The coursework also utilized techniques that focused on visualization, and meditation. Snider wrote that Mind Dynamics was intended to prod individuals and goad them to improve upon themselves.
Techniques drawn from the Unity Church
Unity Church
Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement and is best known to many through its Daily Word devotional publication...
included periods of silence, focusing the mind on positive elements, and distinguishing the "intuitive inner voice."
Some of Mind Dynamics' techniques were compared to self-hypnosis
Self-hypnosis
Self-hypnosis is a form of hypnosis which is self-induced, and normally makes use of self-suggestion . Listening to pre-recorded audio or other media is often mistaken for self-hypnosis, but is just another form of hypnosis....
, and mind control
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
. Mind Dynamics has been described as part of the consciousness transformation movement, and has been compared to Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
, est, Psycho-Cybernetics
Psycho-Cybernetics
Psycho-Cybernetics is a classic self-help book, written by Maxwell Maltz in 1960 and published by the non-profit Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation. Motivational and self-help experts in personal development, including Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy have based their techniques on Maxwell Maltz...
, and Amway
Amway
Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...
Influences
Snider wrote that Mind Dynamics was part of the Human Potential MovementHuman Potential Movement
The Human Potential Movement arose out of the social and intellectual milieu of the 1960s and formed around the concept of cultivating extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people...
. Heelas' The New Age Movement states that Mind Dynamics and Alexander Everett were influenced by Edgar Cayce
Edgar Cayce
Edgar Cayce was an American psychic who allegedly had the ability to give answers to questions on subjects such as healing or Atlantis while in a hypnotic trance...
, Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
, and Silva Mind Control, and Curtiss' Depression is a Choice also cites Silva Mind Control and self-talk as the basis for Mind Dynamics. Mind Dynamics has also been described by several authors on religious texts as an offshoot of Silva Mind Control. According to Jose Silva
José Silva (parapsychologist)
José Silva was an American self-taught parapsychologist and author of the "Silva Method" and the "Silva UltraMind ESP System", intended to help people increase their IQ, develop psychic skills, and to develop the ability to heal both themselves and others remotely, using forces unknown to...
, Alex Everett was a graduate of Silva Mind Control. Everett also drew on principles from the Unity Church
Unity Church
Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement and is best known to many through its Daily Word devotional publication...
, Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
and Rosicrucianism in developing Mind Dynamics.
Leadership Dynamics, Holiday Magic
Other companies which had corporate relationships with Mind Dynamics included Leadership DynamicsLeadership Dynamics
Leadership Dynamics, also known as Leadership Dynamics Institute , was a private, for-profit company, owned by William Penn Patrick. The company focused on executive training, personal development and self-improvement...
and Holiday Magic
Holiday Magic
Holiday Magic was a multi-level marketing organization, founded in 1964, by William Penn Patrick in the United States. Originally the organization distributed goods such as home-care products and cosmetics....
, both of which were founded by William Penn Patrick
William Penn Patrick
William Penn Patrick was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the owner of Holiday Magic, Leadership Dynamics, and Mind Dynamics. Patrick was a proponent of the sour grapes philosophy, and has been widely quoted as stating: "Those who condemn wealth are those who have none and see no...
, co-owner and Board Member for Mind Dynamics. Holiday Magic later folded, amidst investigations by authorities and accusations of being a multi-level marketing
Multi-level marketing
Multi-level marketing is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation...
pyramid scheme
Pyramid scheme
A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public...
. Every employee in management positions at Holiday Magic was required to participate in the coursework.
William Penn Patrick, owner of Leadership Dynamics
Leadership Dynamics
Leadership Dynamics, also known as Leadership Dynamics Institute , was a private, for-profit company, owned by William Penn Patrick. The company focused on executive training, personal development and self-improvement...
, invested in Mind Dynamics in 1970. All employees in management at Holiday Magic
Holiday Magic
Holiday Magic was a multi-level marketing organization, founded in 1964, by William Penn Patrick in the United States. Originally the organization distributed goods such as home-care products and cosmetics....
were expected to take the Mind Dynamics coursework.
Investigated for fraud, practicing medicine without a license
In December 1972, Mind Dynamics was investigated for practicing medicine without a license, and fraudulent representation of the potential benefits of participating in their coursework. The company was also investigated by the state of California for making fraudulent claims. 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. William Penn PatrickWilliam Penn Patrick
William Penn Patrick was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the owner of Holiday Magic, Leadership Dynamics, and Mind Dynamics. Patrick was a proponent of the sour grapes philosophy, and has been widely quoted as stating: "Those who condemn wealth are those who have none and see no...
was named as a party with Mind Dynamics in the lawsuit.
Mind Dynamics ceased operating in 1973, after being investigated and charged with fraud and practicing medicine without a license. 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
Medical license
In most countries, only persons with a medical license bestowed either by a specified government-approved professional association or a government agency are authorized to practice medicine. Licenses are not granted automatically to all people with medical degrees...
.
Later groups
Vahle's The Unity Movement lists nine personal growth organizations which grew out of Mind Dynamics, including: Erhard Seminars TrainingErhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered a two-weekend course known officially as "The est Standard Training"...
and The Forum
Werner Erhard and Associates
Werner Erhard and Associates, also known as WE&A or as WEA, operated as a commercial entity from February 1981 until early 1991. It replaced Erhard Seminars Training, Inc. as the vehicle for marketing, selling and imparting the content of the est training, and offered what some people refer to as...
, Landmark Education
Landmark Education
Landmark Education LLC is a personal training and development company which offers educational programs in approximately 115 locations in more than 20 countries worldwide....
, Lifespring
Lifespring
Lifespring was a for-profit private company, founded in 1974. The company promoted itself through books and word of mouth advertising. By 1989, officials stated that over 300,000 people had enrolled in the company's seminars...
, Lifestream, Context Training / Context International, PSI Seminars
PSI Seminars
PSI Seminars is a for-profit private company which offers Large Group Awareness Training courses. PSI was founded in 1973 by Thomas Willhite and Jane Willhite and the company is presently based out of Clearlake Oaks, California-Courses:...
, Personal Dynamics in Switzerland, Life Dynamics in Japan and Hong Kong, Alpha Seminars in Australia, Hoffman Quadrinity Process, Dimensional Mind Approach, Pathwork, and Actualizations. Vahle goes on to describe similar techniques used by these groups which were incorporated from Mind Dynamics' practices. 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
Human Potential Movement
The Human Potential Movement arose out of the social and intellectual milieu of the 1960s and formed around the concept of cultivating extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people...
. The organizations cited above were founded by prior instructors from Mind Dynamics that had been trained by Alexander Everett, including Stewart Emery who founded Actualizations, Randy Revell, who developed Context Training, James Quinn
James Quinn
James Quinn may refer to:*Bob Quinn , born James Aloysius Robert Quinn, American executive in Major League Baseball*J. D. Quinn, James "J. D." Quinn, American football offensive guard*James J. Quinn, general in Irish Army and United Nations...
, who organized Lifestream, and Thomas Wilhite, who founded PSI Seminars.
Former MDI President Robert White founded Lifespring and ARC International which delivered the Life Dynamics seminars in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Sydney.
Werner Erhard
Werner Erhard
Werner Hans Erhard is an author of transformational models and applications for individuals, groups, and organizations...
was influenced by his experiences at Mind Dynamics, methods of which he later incorporated into est, and this formed the basis for Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered a two-weekend course known officially as "The est Standard Training"...
. Mind Dynamics has also been cited as forming the initial basis for Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Neuro-linguistic programming
Neuro-linguistic programming is an approach to psychotherapy, self-help and organizational change. Founders Richard Bandler and John Grinder say that NLP is a model of interpersonal communication and a system of alternative therapy which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective...
. Manabu wrote in the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies that both Lifespring and Erhard Seminars Training/est had traceable origins in Mind Dynamics, and its developer Alexander Everett.