This site is a collection of research material, ex-member testimonials, and personal writings of Diane Muir, who was a member of Training In Power (now Training In Power Academy) for 12 years. After Diane published these materials and exposed publicly things that had only been discussed privately (and was unknown to many), the impact was significant. Many people left “The Training” (as it’s sometimes called by members). These published articles and letters were viewed as and presented to members as a coordinated attack, and evidence of the very evil that members of Training In Power had been taught to identify. From the time this was published in 2007, Training In Power developed a effective strategy of not only silencing ex-members, but getting them to silence themselves. This was accomplished in the following ways:
- Members began to be taught that it was perfectly alright to leave at any time, but to speak out against the Training was to violate someone else’s personhood and their right to their own journey. In other words, rather than the Training being generally beneficial, it was messaged as being an extremely subjective experience. It may be abusive for you, sure, but it could be helping someone else significantly, and by convincing someone else to leave, you could be endangering their health, their happiness, and their life.
- It was implied that some people had legitimate reasons for leaving, yet some did not, and to seek them out would be to wrap yourself in whatever personal drama / obsessions drove them.
- The Training (Faye, specifically) began teaching that criticism of Faye was a kind of “gotcha”; that is, it was inherently more “personal”, and indicated that the complaint was more biased, unfair, and lacking integrity. A “real” complaint would critique the teachings of the Training. An “evil” complaint would critique Faye herself. It was a very clever gaslighting technique that dissuaded people from sharing when they had experienced abusive behavior / messaging from Faye first-hand.
- The Training launched an “anti-cult” PR strategy. Messaging was adopted to say that complaints were essentially outdated and a legacy of earlier mistakes. Members were taught how to talk about and respond to these materials in particular.
- Training In Power began to use more sophisticated methods of manipulating Google search results, flooding “pro-Training” content and keeping it current so as to be the first results people would see.
All of this worked very well. Ex-members stopped associating, went about their own lives, and talked less often to current members about their experiences. Support groups for ex-members were disbanded. Eventually the site hosting these materials expired, and Training In Power leadership was gleeful about purchasing the domain. Hosted in its place was pro-Training content, so any legacy links that were posted elsewhere on the Internet for people seeking information about negative experiences would instead find the opposite. (A similar approach to that of Scientology.) Now, when people leave Training In Power, they’re likely to do it alone, and they’re more likely to be reluctant to speak to other ex-members. They keep quiet, and it helps reinforce the idea to current members that all of these stories are issues of the past. (However, there’s now a Reddit community.) There’s plenty of evidence, however, that the issues and problems laid out in these stories continue to occur, even if people are more afraid and feel less supported in sharing those stories. And as the fundamental thought reform techniques and cult behavior employed in Training In Power has not changed, these stories will continue to exist. If you have a story, please share yours. Here is the original introduction to these documents, written by Diane Muir.
Original Introduction
This site contains research material, ex-member testimonials, and personal writings originally sent to the group Training in Power, Seattle, Washington, which I belonged to for over 12 years. This material was first sent to the Boards (US, Canada and Germany) of Training in Power, and later to students with the intent of exposing thought control and abuse. Efforts to deal with abuse within the group did not produce results. The charismatic founder of this structure of empowerment has claimed to be the only one who has the knowledge of true empowerment on this planet. As such, she has arbitrary control over her students, because no one else knows their next step or what they are ready to learn within her structure but her. She uses her power to create exalted states of consciousness, then uses anger, guilt, shame, humiliation, praise or flattery in her coursework and personal contact with students. Ex-members recover from intense programming they didn’t realize they had until they left her influence. The damage done to trauma and abuse survivors over the years has been documented by many counselors, who are beginning to network and recognize the fallout symptoms of Training in Power. How do people get caught in this web? Training in Power diversely appeals to those seeking help to empower themselves or those wanting to contribute meaningfully to healing the Earth. There are students of Training in Power who defend its teacher and teachings, and there are ex-students who say harm is being done. Much like the ongoing Scientology battle explored on this site, the ones who defend Training in Power are right because there is value. The ones who say it is harmful are also right, for there is harm done, and the harm far outweighs the good in the long run. Students caught in the training’s belief system believe any harm done is just part of what needs to be done; the ends justify the means. Some students are even convinced there is no abuse and believe what they are told: that they are there by their own free will. Within Training in Power students are told first, foremost and repeatedly from Level 1 that they are participating by their own free will. When a student does leave however, it is said often in various ways by upper levels or within course classes that those who leave are just not smart enough to get the information, they are under ‘attack’; they are in resistance; they are falling in vibration. Remaining students soon become conditioned to feel that if they leave they are failures. This is one example of how thought control works. The controls are subtle in early levels, embedded in truth with reasonable sounding emotional words such as healing, freedom, truth and coming to know “who you really are”. Early courses prepare and condition students with ‘carrots’ to want to get to upper levels. By the time students do reach upper levels (I believe there are now 16+ levels), they are held as emotionally captive as if they were behind bars; the bars are psychological and emotional. These students are committed and loyal, believing they are doing profound work, but have the robotic suppression and expression so typical of ‘followers’ written about in cult literature. Ex-members of this group, and there are many, look back on financial loss, broken families, emotional trauma, and the need to de-program years of thought control. There are feelings of betrayal, lost years, and shock when the controls are finally seen and conditioning recognized. I say finally recognized, because only with distance from the group does the full realization of the programming surface.
Although the stated purpose of Training in Power, A Spiritual Journey of Service is personal and planetary healing and empowerment, the symptoms and years of fallout of its members tell a different story. The material on this site is offered to those who are willing to examine these issues for themselves. This work is not meant to be the truth to anyone, it is meant to bring up questions in the reader and to be an adjunct to the reader’s own inner and outer research. Respectful Regards and Safe Travels, Diane Muir January 2007 Next: How Do You Know Training In Power Academy Is A Cult?