Thank you for all of this, and particularly your reflection:
Werner Erhard's library was more than a library. It was his armory, his collection of high tech mental and verbal weaponry for conquering as many minds and hearts as possible in one lifetime.
Question: Does a record of the contents that library exist?
I found a copy of Oakes' work on-line...thanks!
The personality profile outlined strikes me as textbook 'malignant narcissist'.
Erhard is of interest to me, and beyond his pernicious influence over the coaching field, because he seems to have been more socially facile than many of his guru counterparts. He was able to traverse many worlds, to influence broadly, and in quarters that should have been resistant to his 'charms'.
I continue to believe that not only did he weaponize influence technologies, but he, in turn, was weaponized. I say this owing to the Esalen connection, and CIA involvement with that 'whatever it was/is'.
Please note, this story is quite personal for me. My brother-in-law became involved with Esalen during his MsW training. Our family watched in horror as a middle class schlep was transformed, or transformed himself into a mini guru who began running a cult of personality within a family therapy practice, and within his suburban community.
See a LOT of this in the coaching field where the guru to normal ratio has reached a tipping point...see the whole celebrity coach phenomenon. What scares me it the penetration of this culture into corporate entities. Maybe this coincides, in some way, with charismatic CEO cults??? Dunno...
All for now...
Werner Erhard's library was more than a library. It was his armory, his collection of high tech mental and verbal weaponry for conquering as many minds and hearts as possible in one lifetime.
Question: Does a record of the contents that library exist?
I found a copy of Oakes' work on-line...thanks!
The personality profile outlined strikes me as textbook 'malignant narcissist'.
Erhard is of interest to me, and beyond his pernicious influence over the coaching field, because he seems to have been more socially facile than many of his guru counterparts. He was able to traverse many worlds, to influence broadly, and in quarters that should have been resistant to his 'charms'.
I continue to believe that not only did he weaponize influence technologies, but he, in turn, was weaponized. I say this owing to the Esalen connection, and CIA involvement with that 'whatever it was/is'.
Please note, this story is quite personal for me. My brother-in-law became involved with Esalen during his MsW training. Our family watched in horror as a middle class schlep was transformed, or transformed himself into a mini guru who began running a cult of personality within a family therapy practice, and within his suburban community.
See a LOT of this in the coaching field where the guru to normal ratio has reached a tipping point...see the whole celebrity coach phenomenon. What scares me it the penetration of this culture into corporate entities. Maybe this coincides, in some way, with charismatic CEO cults??? Dunno...
All for now...