By John Williams
I took the 16 day intensive and I marveled at its effectiveness. I have been lately analyzing why it was so effective in recruiting people to Keith Raniere’s mission to purportedly save the world.
Part of the answer lies in the materials taught by Keith in that first 16 day intensive.
As I read all of innocent Dani’s testimony, I feel I saw the key to the power of KR to addict and retain his most loyal and effective followers. It is so simple and clever, it is staggering.
The power of the program is to:
Engage students in detailed self examination of their own honesty with themselves about themselves. Many questions are asked which are designed to engage the student in deep introspection about her own character, intentions and hidden dishonesties.
The result of these questions is a feeling of finding oneself or knowing oneself. One’s own flaws – in minute detail – are admitted and owned up to. The appeal of all this is that a person will address her own pure intentions and desire to do good in the world. The program appeals to the very best and basic nature of goodness in one’s self. The student then feels that this technology should be exported for all, and the world would become honest and therefore will be saved.
The Nxivm program appeals to the highest of our potential to bring good to the world. It causes a feeling of hope, a bright outlook and is eagerly shared with others of like mind. Human potential is increased with positive feelings and hope, and consequently people do more and achieve more during the program.
At a certain point, the question is asked: “Can one be partly dishonest?” Strictly speaking the question must be answered that one is or is not honest.
Therein lies the primary mechanism Keith uses to gain control of others. He, first of all, brings people to strive to become the very best version of themselves and to have a goal to be that best possible self.
Then he causes them to ‘discover” that they are not so good.
This cycle of “I am good” “I am not good”, is constantly recycled.
The desire to do good and be capable is admired, fanned, approved, desired and developed, or acknowledged that the person is not as good as they believed and, devastated, one accepts that they need to work and study more [Nxivm tech].
Keith’s program does not appeal to a phony or dishonest front of goodness. It appeals to all that is best in a human being. It encourages a person to be at his best and points out the basic goodness or rightness or great abilities of each human being.
The horror, or distaste, of not being good is then what can be called “issues”.
But herein lies the trick: The attention of the person is always directed upon themselves for correction. Attention on someone else is an escape from one’s own “issue”. Thus Keith keeps all attention from himself and creates self incrimination in others.
The intention is GUILT
The second key to Keith’s power that I saw is that, in the 16 day program, the student is directed to learn how a criminal can get away with crime in broad daylight.
The reason for this, it is taught, is that people are basically “good”. The natural tendency and nature of man is basically good, not bad. Because of that observable fact (observe children to see that basic nature), people who live in their basic nature do not suspect others of being dishonest. They do not expect to be cheated and lied to because they themselves do not behave this way.
In other words, if we are trustworthy, we will trust naturally. If we are not, we will see it coming, as we know how the dishonest think and behave.
These two ideas are:
1 How Keith can always cause someone to focus on their own faults.
2 To not be able to figure out the mind and intention of those who are dishonest.
These two mechanisms are primary keys to Keith’s power. I think they are completely calculated by him. He is the ultimate manipulator. Keith has no actual power of his own.
Sort of like the movie, the Matrix, Keith’s followers are hooked up. The life force of all of them is hooked up by each with their own hands and is drained into Keith and then all admire and ogle at what is pooled collectively and is collectively their own combined power.
That is the illusion. The emperor Raniere, in reality, has no clothes.