According to the Cult Information Centre:
Therapy Cults:
Communal Living rare.
Members usually stay in society’s workforce.
Average age at the point of recruitment is in the mid 30’s
Registered as ‘non profit making’ groups
Appear to offer association with a group giving courses in some kind of self improvement or self help technique or therapy.
I never knew there was such a thing. I kept thinking, “This is either a pyramid scheme in disguise or a cult.” I’ve done a lot of research and I’ve decided it’s a cult.
You see, my friend “Mary” has been very close to me for over 10 years. We’ve gone through hell and back together. We were always a little bit “off” in our views of the world, but that never got between us. We respected each other’s views and plucked each other’s brains for advice.
That was until “Plein Potentiel”. (Translated, that means Full Potential). From now on, I’ll call it PP. The leader of PP is a woman named Madeleine Houle. I’ve not only Googled it, I’ve “Copernic’d” it. Not too much comes up. It’s basically a group of self-improvement courses, based on the fact that we act daily on 80% of our brains and 20% of our hearts. If we did the reverse, the universe would give us what we need and there would be no wars.
My first “encounter” with PP was when Mary had told me that though she didn’t have the money to come to my wedding in Australia, she was “giving it to the universe”. With this, picture her hands up in the air, palms upward. (What-fucking-ever, but I’m still collecting my Air Miles to give you in case this system doesn’t work). A few weeks later, I learned her sister was into it heavy duty. Mary had said that it saddened her that she could no longer talk to her sister Kiki, as she used to. Kiki had changed and Mary missed the old one.
Well, Mary decided to take a 3-day course. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 9-5. $2000. (Believe me, they were living hand to mouth before this, which is why she signed up for the course). If you think that’s bad, her sister has decided to become a “master facilitator”. Well… that’s $40 000, for which she got a loan at the bank. Wonderful. And now I hear more! The secret is to “give up control” to the universe. Apparently, when Mary is constipated, it’s because she’s “holding onto control”. And when she has diarrhea, it’s because she’s finally let go of it. (Despite the fact that she has siliac disease). Kiki is a nurse at a local hospital. She’s just DYING to tell all of her patients that they are sick because their hearts aren’t happy, and their hearts have made their bodies sick.
Another big thing is Fear. Apparently, when people disagree with you, it’s because their brains are telling them to fear reality, because that’s the way we’ve learned to be. Oh, and don’t let me forget Labels. When we decide, “XYZ is being a prick with me.” XYZ will ALWAYS be a prick with me, because I’ve given XYZ that Label. The best thing to do is not put a label on XYZ, and wait for the change.
Well Mary asked me to go to her graduation last Tuesday. I went. Half of the reason was because her husband refused to go. Half of the reason was because I wanted to know what she was getting into. Not good. They asked me for my phone number while I was signing in. Had Mary and Kiki not been there, I would have told them I don’t give out my number. Because they were, and I didn’t want to cause them embarrassment in front of their peers, I gave my number. I figured, “I’ll just tell them I’m not interested if they call.”
During her graduation, which she later called “witnessing”, Madeleine gave us a few minutes to “talk to the person to our left” and tell them “how this course would change my life.” So I didn’t say a thing. Finally Mary said, “WELL?” I looked at her like: WHAT? She said, “You didn’t hear the question?” I said, “Oh for fucks sakes. Gimme a break.” She said, “You think your life is perfect?” I said, “LOL yeah pretty much!” She said, “Fine!” 
And it’s a good thing it is the best it’s ever been; otherwise she would have brought the bad points up.
Well who called me??? KIKI! She’s been my friend by association for years. When I saw PP on my caller display, I didn’t pick up. The message was, “Hey Cheeky! It was nice to see you. I’m calling to find out if you enjoyed your evening and to tell you how PP has changed my life. I’ll try calling later or tomorrow.”
A few hours later, Mary calls. I said, “Your sister called from PP to talk about the courses. I don’t mind if she calls to shoot the shit, but if she’s calling to recruit, I’m not interested.” Mary responded, “Take it up with her. It’s not my problem.” NOT YOUR PROBLEM??? I missed the Wild Card American Idol episode to go to your shit for brains meeting, and you’re telling me now it’s not your problem? Listen, I could be the usual me and tell people exactly what I think. But I don’t think that’s something you want me to get into here. Your sister just sunk $40 000 into a course that you just sunk $2000 into. Don’t give me any choice but to say it’s full of shit, nice move. I’d just really rather not. Of course, I didn’t say this. I didn’t want to get into it. But that’s what I was thinking. I left it at that.
Kiki called me the next day while I was out. I would have called her at home, but because she’s a nurse, I never know her shifts. And Mary wasn’t available at the time, so I wrote her an email:
Hi Kiki,
(I’d tell you this personally, on the phone, but I haven’t for the simple fact that I don’t want to wake you, because I’m not sure what your shifts are and Mary is at her course.)
I wasn’t surprised to see Plein Potentiel on my Caller Display last night. As a matter of fact, I figured I’d get a call from them when I was asked for my phone number, when signing in. If it weren’t for the fact that you were behind the desk, and Mary was beside me, I wouldn’t have given my number at all. I didn’t want to cause either of you discomfort, in front of your peers.
To tell you the truth, I was home when the phone rang. When I saw who was calling, I chose not to answer. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it was you. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up the phone. It’s been a while since we’ve chatted.
However, I get the feeling that since you were calling from a “Plein Potentiel” number, you weren’t calling to chit chat. I think it would be quite wise for both of us if we didn’t get into the nastiness of me having to refuse a “telemarketer”, who happens to be my friend.
The only reason I went, on Tuesday night, was because Mary explained to me that it was a great wish of yours that your father would attend your night. It was a fear of yours to ask him to. Mary has been my friend through thick and thin. She loves me unconditionally and has done more for me than any friend I’ve ever had. I respect that and appreciate that. I don’t want her to ever have a fear to ask something of me. That’s what friends are for. And that’s why I was there.
I certainly wasn’t there to get any insight as to how to live my life. I’ve gone through deep contemplation in the past few years. I’ve been quite introspective. I’ve learned so much about myself, society, politics, the way we’ve set up communities, and the mistakes corporations make. I’m quite happy in the way my life is working out. It’s not purely accidental. I’m on my own path that G-d has set before me. I’m guided by Torah and the lessons I can retrieve from the Talmud and Midrash. These have proven to be extremely beneficial to me and have led me to a deeper need to serve G-d.
I’m certainly on my way to a wonderful life. Retrospectively, I’ve learned how to tell my body that I’ve had enough with the pain. I’ve learned to let my heart live again. I’ve learned that I have poisoned relationships that I have to let go of. I’ve realized that I’m responsible for my life and I can’t sit in the backseat and bitch about the path I’m on. I’m in a good place. I give most thanks to Judaism. Though I feel that many paths can lead to a wonderful, productive, happy life, I don’t feel that there is only one path to those destinations. Everyone has to walk to the beat of their own drum.
I’ve seen a drastic change in Mary. Some of it I like, most of it I don’t. Quite honestly, I feel for Marty. It’s been an eye-opener to me. It’s made me realize how drastically and quickly the person you marry can change. But I’m here for her, for life. She’s shared with me that sometimes she wants “her old sister back”. I know the longing she has because sometimes I want “the old Mary back”. I realize and accept that my friends will go through changes in their lives and nothing is ever the same. I respect it even more because I now see a lot of collapses in friendships I once had. I have evolved exponentially in the past few years; the change has been drastic in comparison to when I met most of my friends (either at 16 when I graduated high school, or 23 when I started at the casino). I won’t do that to Mary. I’ll accept her evolution.
Metamorphosis is beautiful. Like a butterfly. But please don’t think that every butterfly has the same colour wings. As I don’t push Judaism onto people (and the wonderful fulfilling things it’s brought into my life), I expect the same respect as far as your evolutions are concerned. I wish you the best of luck in your new ventures. I know you can accomplish whatever you set you MIND and heart to. But please, do me one favour.
If you’re calling me to shoot the shit, like back in the day, then please call. 555-1234. But if you’re calling to get me interested in the Plein Potentiel course, realize that I only attended the meeting because of my concern, respect and friendship for your sister. I am not interested.
Sincerely wishing you growth, strength, and insight
Your friend, xoxo Cheeky
I figured I’d get things straight with Mary, when she called me for something else. After all, I wouldn’t want to “label” her. So, just in passing, I told her that I was disappointed in her that she dropped the shit in my lap. It would have been so much easier for everyone if she had called her sister and said, “Kiki, Cheeky’s not interested. Don’t give her the telemarketing spiel.” And that’s it. Change of subject.
But she went OFF. And I mean went OFF. Like I’ve never seen her go off before. She started telling me that I had a FEAR of PP. And it’s dangerous to talk to people like me. I told her she was crazy. She hung up. I called back to tell her that the next time she hangs up on me would be the last time she hears my voice. It just degenerated. “Madeleine said this would happen.” Bla bla bla. I told her she was in a cult. She freaked out. I said, “If it’s not a cult, it’s a pyramid. Your sister is actively recruiting me. Why wouldn’t YOU recruit me? Because your sister needs more people under her than you do.”
Her husband says it’s a cult. I say it’s a cult. She’s enrolled her 11-year-old son into a “Mother and Child” weekend. It’s just degenerating. She refused to accept that Kiki was calling me to recruit. She said, “Maybe it’s because she hasn’t seen you in a while and seeing you gave her the urge to call.” I said, “She hasn’t called me in over a year and NOW she wants to call me? She saw me at my engagement party on January 1st. She didn’t have the urge then.” Mary says, “Well maybe she did want to call you but neglected it and wanted to call you now.” UN FUCKING BELIEVABLE.
Well, sure enough I was right. Kiki responded:
Hello Cheeky,
I wanted to let you know that I called as a follow-up the Centre Plein Potentiel does for each guest to ask how they enjoyed their evening and to answer any questions they may have. Thank you for your response. Centre Plein Potentiel is not about telemarketing; its mission is to give the opportunity to people to transform the parts of them preventing them from having an extraordinary life if that is their interest. It is based on choice and responsibility for one<s own life and Madeleine Houle<s wish is for people to have abundance in all areas of their life in career, love, relationships, health and finance. The invitation to an evening or to a course is that.
I am happy that things are on their way for you and I wish you all the best. You deserve it!
Love, Kiki
Yeah… Doesn’t sound a THING like telemarketing. :rolleyes:
