Happy Holidays!

We hope you have had a productive and inspiring 2018 and will be enjoying special time with family and friends in the weeks to come. As we look to the close of the year, we are asking for your support.

2019 will be an important year for SEEK:

• The legislation we have been working on in New York has been rewritten as a “Bill of Rights” for consumers of self-help, which is more in line with our original vision. We are seeking sponsorship in both houses this coming year and the bill will hopefully make it to a floor vote in 2019.
• Ginny and Jean have written a book about our journey after losing Kirby. We are hoping it will be published in 2019 to bring more awareness to SEEK’s mission.

Why is this work important?

You may have heard reports on NXIVM, a group in Albany, NY. It calls itself a “self-help/self-development” organization, but it seems to be much more like a cult, with members branded with the initials of the leader and isolated from their families and friends. This group is a clear example of that “slippery slope” from self-help to cult.

We know that people are frequently harmed in professional and personal development programs–emotionally, financially, and sometimes physically. Despite tragedies such as the sweat lodge in Sedona or other extreme examples like NXIVM, this industry continues to operate totally unregulated. Consumers need to be wary. There are good teachers and then there are predatory charlatans who make huge amounts of money while offering little protection for the risks they ask their consumers to take. We are teaching people to be able to tell the difference between the good and the bad as they seek to improve their personal and professional selves.

As we enter this season of giving, people open their hearts and wallets for worthy causes. Our cause is Kirby, James and Liz, and we tell our story day after day to protect others who just want to be their best selves.

Your dollars help us to:

• pay for social media boosts and advertisements
• get interviews and publicity to create national awareness for consumer protection
• find opportunities for speaking engagements
• do the work to advance the legislation in Albany
• connect with others who are doing work to investigate this industry, such as Glenn Doyle of useyourdamnskills.com, Ed Preston in Sedona and Gary King in Florida
• create podcasts, maintain our website, and develop more content to share our story and information with others

Please consider SEEK to be your cause to make a change this year!

DONATE NOW

Eight years ago,  a trooper came to our door to inform us that Kirby had died in a sweat lodge in Sedona, AZ.  I remember thinking, “Died?? All she wanted to do was LIVE.”  She wanted to be more, grow, expand, learn.  And so on this 8th anniversary, I would like to share with you a song that has always exemplified her indomitable spirit.  Written and sung by John Denver, the refrain is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi5Rqsj_KqA

I want to grow, I want to see, I want to know.  I want to share all I can give, I want to be, I want to LIVE!”

Kirby went to the Spiritual Warrior Retreat because she wanted to LIVE, to expand her life and instead her life ended.  We never want that to happen to another seeker. At SEEK we want consumers to be more aware of the RED FLAGS to evaluate a questionable teacher or situation. We want to do what we can to impact this industry to be ethical and safe for consumers.  Join us in pushing regulatory legislation in NYS.  Here’s is how you can help!

Join our mission to have Kirby, James Shore, and Liz Neuman’s deaths inspire us to live fully and motivate us to bring change to an unregulated industry.   We all want to LIVE, share what we can GIVE, we want to LIVE!!!

We have an exciting update on our effort to pass legislation to protect consumers of self-help in New York State. It’s now in the Senate!

We’ve already told you about the bill moving through the Assembly (and we could still use your help contacting your local Assembly reps to encourage their support!), and now Senator John Bonacic of Kirby’s own home district is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill.  Here’s a quick recap of what the bill does:

• This is actually an amendment to the existing business law and executive law
• It requires non-licensed self-help providers to
  • disclose potential risks that their events at the time of signing a contract for services
  • share a comprehensive risk management plan with consumers
  • make licensed professionals such as medical professionals and psychologists available at events to help in the event of an emergency
  • register with the State of NY as a non-licensed self-help professional
• It includes penalties if these requirements are not followed by self-help providers

We now need your help getting this through the Senate. Start contacting your State Senators to encourage them to sign onto and support this bill.

To that end, we’ve created some tools to make this very simple for you:

• Find your NY State Senator
• a letter that you can mail or email to your rep
  • Letter to Senator
• a script for making phone calls to their offices
  • Script for Calling your Senator
• a link where you can read the text, check the status, and voice your support for the bill
  • Bill S6018 status and text

We also ask you to share this widely among your network to get the word out!

If you’re not from New York, don’t despair! We are hoping to introduce this effort to other states as well. This will be easier once this bill is successful in New York. If you’re interested in helping us do this, feel free to contact us so we can use your help when we’re ready!

What else you can do if you are a seeker:

• Start demanding these promises from your self-help providers anyway! So what if it’s not yet a law? Consumer demand is also a powerful route to change. Demand that your self-help provider show you their risk management plan, provide licensed professionals to help in the event of some harm or injury, and encourage them to share their qualifications with you and only do things they’re qualified to do!
• Share your stories with us! Your stories have impact. If you’ve had a questionable experience with a so-called self-help guru or professional, tell us! Your story helps build the case for the need to have legislation like this.

Thanks for the support!

Hello New Yorkers!

We have shared a bit about our legislative effort to pass some legislation in New York state, and we’re happy to report that it is MOVING! So now we need your help!

The bill is in the Assembly, having been drafted by Representative Skoufis from the 99th District. (Here’s a recap of how a bill becomes a law in NY [we’re at Step 4].) We’ve been working with his office for number of months to develop a bill that will create some accountability in the unregulated self-help industry. You can download the bill below, but here’s a quick recap of what it does:

• This is actually an amendment to the existing business law and executive law
• It requires non-licensed self-help providers to
  • disclose potential risks that their events at the time of signing a contract for services
  • share a comprehensive risk management plan with consumers
  • make licensed professionals such as medical professionals and psychologists available at events to help in the event of an emergency
  • register with the State of NY as a non-licensed self-help professional
• It includes penalties if these requirements are not followed by self-help providers

We now need you to start contacting your local representatives in the Assembly to encourage them to sign onto and support this bill.

To that end, we’ve created some tools to make this very simple for you:

• Find your NY State Assembly Member
• a letter that you can mail or email to your rep
  • Letter to Representative
• a script for making phone calls to their offices
  • Script for Calling your Representative
• a PDF copy of the bill as it exists now for you to see
  • NY Assembly Bill A6262

Please note that we already have the support of the following representatives: Vivian Cook (District 32, Queens), Pamela Harris (46, Bklyn), Earlene Hooper (18 Hempstead, Queens), Alicia Hyndman (29, Springfield Gardns), Sandy Galef (95, Ossining, lower Hudson Valley) and Michael Kearns (142 West Seneca). If any of these are your representative, feel free to call them to thank them and encourage them in their support! 

We also ask you to share this widely among your network to get the word out!

If you’re not from New York, don’t despair! We are hoping to introduce this effort to other states as well. This will be easier once this bill is successful in New York. If you’re interested in helping us do this, feel free to contact us so we can use your help when we’re ready!

What else you can do if you are a seeker:

• Start demanding these promises from your self-help providers anyway! So what if it’s not yet a law? Consumer demand is also a powerful route to change. Demand that your self-help provider show you their risk management plan, provide licensed professionals to help in the event of some harm or injury, and encourage them to share their qualifications with you and only do things they’re qualified to do!
• Share your stories with us! Your stories have impact. If you’ve had a questionable experience with a so-called self-help guru or professional, tell us! Your story helps build the case for the need to have legislation like this.

Thanks for the support!

As we have begun to approach legislators with our concerns about consumer safety and ideas for improvement in the self-help industry, we have presented them this 2-page overview of the issue.

SEEK Safely, Inc.

Objective: 

To inform the legislature of the threats to consumer safety and public health posed by the unregulated self-help industry and advocate for action to ensure consumer protection.

The Issue: 

The self-help industry is at least an $11 billion per year industry in America alone that includes everything from books and blogs to seminars to multi-day, physical events for individuals hoping to improve their personal and/or professional lives. Many self-help “gurus” have little to no training and conduct unsafe events, putting their customers at considerable financial, emotional, and physical risk.

There have been numerous incidents at the events of prominent self-help gurus, including the deaths of 3 participants at James Ray’s 2009 Spiritual Warrior retreat. There is a role for government to play in ensuring consumer safety and protecting public health.

Background: 

In 2009, James Ray was at the height of his self-help success, having gained fame with “The Secret” book and movie phenomenon. He had been featured by many media outlets, and was heavily promoted by Oprah.

During the 5-day, $9,500 retreat, participants were challenged physically and emotionally to the point where they were exhausted and weakened leading up to the culminating event, a Native American-style sweat lodge. Mr. Ray, not trained or qualified to conduct a sweat lodge, made the traditionally spiritual, cleansing ritual into a test of physical endurance, heating the tent to deadly temperatures. He challenged and bullied participants to stay in the lodge and belittled or ignored those who called for help. As a result, three participants died. Ray was charged with manslaughter by the state of Arizona and served 18 months in prison for three counts of negligent homicide.

One of these victim’s (Kirby Brown) family founded SEEK Safely, a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to educate the public about the self-help industry, empower seekers with tools and knowledge to be safe, and to promote ethical and safe practices in this unregulated industry. SEEK has primarily been focused on educating consumers through its website and social media outreach. We have also been challenging the self-help industry to practice in a more ethical manner with industry summits and a call to sign the SEEK Safely Promise, a document that outlines a set of standards and practices for self-help professionals.

Considerations:

The tragedy at James Ray’s event exposed many of the dangers within the self-help industry. At the most benign end, consumers are losing money. At the most extreme end, consumers are losing their lives or suffering severe physical and emotional damage. Gurus are seldom trained in the techniques they use at their events. There is often a lack of medical staff on hand to attend to potential injuries. Some gurus also use cult-like, torture-like tactics such as sleep deprivation, limiting food intake, and emotional intimidation to make participants more suggestible.

These types of abuses are common across the industry, which has no set of ethical standards or best practices, nor a system of credentialing. Given the fractured nature of the industry, there is little organic effort from within to self-regulate. Anyone can brand himself a “guru.” Social media and smartphone technology have made it even easier for gurus to reach consumers.

As SEEK has learned more about this industry, we have also learned that participants who have been harmed are frequently reluctant to come forward with their experiences out of embarrassment and shame, sometimes convinced by the company or guru that the incident was their own fault. Some have even been paid off by the self-help gurus.

If James Ray was a product that could be purchased in a store, he would have been recalled for causing the death and injury of people who followed his directions and lost their lives. However, there is no such system of oversight applied to the self-help industry. Given the reality and growing potential for harm to consumers, the government must step in to protect its citizens.

Recommendation: 

The SEEK Board of Directors is now looking for legislative help at both the state and federal levels to bring this issue to light and put pressure on the industry by creating ethical and safety standards of practice to which these practitioners would be held accountable.

SEEK Safely’s Promise (attached) outlines a set of standards for gurus to practice in an ethical and safe manner. SEEK Safely’s RED FLAG Guides (attached) presents a number of points for consumers to consider in order to stay safe when using self-help products or attending events. Both of these documents point to potential areas where government legislation could play a role in protecting consumers.

Click to Download: Legislative Briefing Note 2016

As we have met with legislators, these are some of the ideas for how to regulate the self-help industry that we have been presenting: 

1. Stricter penalties for the self-help provider if a participant is harmed physically in a self-help event regardless of having signed a waiver. There is a realistic expectation of protection if an accident occurs and there is a common sense assumption that the provider will minimize personal risk. If there is NO risk management plan, or no medical support offered when an incident occurs, the provider should be held accountable.
2. When a participant is asked to sign a waiver indemnifying a self-help provider, a RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN must be produced in order for the participant to view how the provider will minimize risk and what safeguards are in place if an accident occurs.
3. If a self-help provider is planning a challenging physical event, there must be MEDICAL SUPPORT available in the event of an accident as well as a clearly specified RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN which will minimize risk and insure protection and support if an accident occurs. When there are physical challenges at an event, there are limitations on numbers of participants.
4. Application of consumer protection laws and truth in advertising laws for self-help experiences. If a consumer has been deceived in the advertising promises or harmed at a self-help event, the existing laws of reasonable protection should be applied. 
5. When a large Group Awareness Training is held that employs tactics of sensory deprivation (over-crowed schedule that challenges the need for healthy hydration, food intake and sleep), combined with strong encouragement for extreme emotional examination, licensed medical/psychological support is available for participants who may become emotionally overwhelmed.  (limitation on numbers of participants?)
6. Seminars and retreats that require physical challenges need to have participants offer their medical background for clearance to participate safely. Commonsense standards for medical safety need to be applied to allow participation.