The Occult Life Coach

 

Recently, I saw Tony Robbins on his Tony Robbins Network (TRN), featuring news shows, live event coverage, and interviews aimed at personal development. Although I had heard of Robbins, it wasn't until a few years ago I realized he was an occultist. Now that he is getting even more popular with his bold AI powered app, I thought this would be a good time to warn Traditionalist about Robbins. 

(N.B. The information in this post has been taken from many sources, both online and in print. I take no credit for the material herein except for condensing it into a terse and readable post, as well as adding some commentary---Introibo). 

For those of you who don't know, Tony Robbins is billed as a motivational speaker, life coach, author, and philanthropist. He has molded a business empire with remarkable marketing savvy, and his clients include former President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Hugh Jackman. According to one source:

Tony Robbins is a prominent entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and life coach, widely recognized for his dynamic seminars designed to inspire personal and professional transformation. Born Anthony J. Mahavorick on February 29, 1960, in Glendora, California, Robbins faced significant challenges during his childhood, including poverty and family turmoil, which fueled his desire for success and helping others. After being influenced by motivational speaker Jim Rohn, Robbins entered the self-help industry, founding Robbins Research International in 1983 and publishing his influential book, Unlimited Power, in 1986. Robbins is known for his high-energy events, including the famous "Date with Destiny," where attendees experience activities like firewalking, which symbolize overcoming personal barriers. (See ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/tony-robbins).

The documentary, I Am Not Your Guru (2016), is the first time that Tony Robbins allowed his 6-day annual seminar, Date with Destiny, to be filmed. Each day ran about 12 hours and cost each person about $5,000 ($6,864 in today's market when adjusted for inflation). 

How Robbins' Seminars Work

The "God" Within.

The people (about 2,500 of them) at the seminar are divided into teams and team leaders get information from them that is relayed to Robbins. In one moving scene in the movie, Robbins asks those who are suicidal to stand up (knowing already from the team leaders that several are suicidal). He talks to one woman who tearfully recounts her life in the "Children of God" cult  and the sexual abuse in it that nearly destroyed her.

Robbins tells her she has survived because she is pure love since she survived the abuse. Sadly, this woman is not being told of Jesus and His Church. Instead, Robbins points her to herself, to her own supposed inner strength. He has her choose three men from the audience who agree to be her so-called "uncles" for the next 10 years and check in on her. Robbins also offers her training in his principles to allegedly make her more powerful. 

Hopefully, you can see the serious problems with this set-up. This woman does not really know who these men are or what they are like. Yet this vulnerable woman is to trust these men for 10 years as though they are "spiritual uncles" who will be there for her. How do we know one of them is not a psychopath, abuser, rapist, or swindler? Ironically, this woman who endured sexual abuse may be setting herself up for more abuse from these unknown men, and she has Robbins to thank for it. 

Having a "Breakthrough"

On the next to last day, Robbins asks those who have not had “breakthroughs” to stand. Several stand, and he has them write down, Stay in your head, and you’re dead. He tells them that it is not over yet. A "breakthrough" is an emotional response that makes you feel as if you "learned something" about yourself. Most often, it's about what you need to do in order to "be whole" (e.g., be more loving, etc.). 

The message that staying in your head (thinking) is a bad thing, is done to provoke emotional or even irrational responses. Teaching that you are thinking too much or in your head too much is a maneuver to undermine logical or clear thinking. This idea of thinking too much or that you should get out of your head is found throughout the teachings of cult leaders, Eastern paganism, the occult, and even in the Star Wars franchise. This is a ploy to downgrade critical thinking, an indispensable tactic for speakers like Robbins, cults, and belief systems that are against God. 

The Occult Visualization.

The audience later gets into groups of four to announce to the others who they are: I, Sarah, am love; I, Roger, am passion, and so forth, naming their "breakthrough." The point is to redesign your life according to whatever breakthrough one may have had. The confrontations in the smaller groups are more passionate and intense. 

The attendees also practice a fast-breathing exercise that involves raising hands up and down. They then stop, close their eyes, and breathe deeply while Robbins leads them in a guided meditation (visualization) about their "heart" as Eastern music plays. Some people put their hands on others’ heads as this is done. 

The identification with an emotion and experience, the breathing exercise, the physical touching, and the visualization are manipulations. The breathing exercise alters the mind to a suggestible state, as does the guided meditation. It causes altered states of consciousness, and thereby will also open one up to diabolic obsession or possession, as is done in pagan religions. 

Firewalking?

More than any other teaching or practice, firewalking is what initially drew the media to Tony Robbins. Does Robbins still promote firewalking? Yes. During his “Unleash the Power Within” conferences, for instance, attendees walk barefoot across a bed of hot coals that is some twelve feet long (taking about five or six steps to complete).

The term firewalking is itself a misnomer in that one does not walk across literal flames, but hot coals. Critics are quick to point out that walking across hot coals without getting burned is not a matter of positive mental thinking or religious mysticism, but merely physics. Just as placing your hand inside a hot oven will not burn you while touching metal in the oven will indeed burn, the solution to safe firewalking has to do with heat conductivity and thermal conduction. There’s also the factor of time. Firewalking over ten or twelve feet is literally over within a matter of just a few seconds or less — hardly enough time for hot coals to burn through the soles of the feet of the average person. 

The Pattern of a Cult Followed:

•  to expect something big
• to create emotional response
• to confront people with hard questions in an emotional context that yield a seeming cathartic breakthrough
• to praise people for rejecting something in their life that supposedly holds them back
• to have others there to affirm the changes (group think/peer pressure)

Tony Robbins: Deceptive and False Teachings

Hedonism

Robbins is quite clear about his belief that success in life is determined by our views of pain and pleasure. Indeed, changing our perspective of pain and pleasure, according to Robbins, is key to succeeding in life. Calling it “the force that shapes your life,” Robbins explains, “There is undoubtedly a single driving force behind all human behavior. This force impacts every facet of our lives, from our relationships to our finances to our bodies and brains. What is this force that is controlling you even now and will continue to do so for the rest of your life? PAIN and PLEASURE! Everything you and I do, we do either out of our need to avoid pain or our desire to gain pleasure."

(See Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within [1991], pgs. 52-53; Emphasis in original)

Within the Christian worldview, Christ is our highest good and our best pursuit, not our own pleasure. Christ told his followers not to focus on themselves, but to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him (St. Matthew 16:24). 

Neuro-associative conditioning (NAC)

A form of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), it is neurological nonsense. According to Robbins, it is not enough merely to understand his perspective on pain and pleasure: “If you and I want to change our behavior, there is only one effective way to do it: we must link unbearable and immediate sensations of pain to our old behavior, and incredible and immediate sensations of pleasure to a new one.”

(See Awaken the Giant Within, pg.123).

The intent is to be able to create nearly instant change in any area of life, thus creating a changed "state,” as Robbins calls it. Consequently, a problem that may normally take much time and effort to address, such as a phobia, can supposedly be cured rapidly by applying Robbins’s NLP-inspired techniques.

However, does NAC have any validity? In a 2019 paper published in International Coaching Psychology Review, a group of experts wrote that: “there are many critics of NLP who view NLP as variably a pseudoscience, pop psychology or even a cult, with no evidence base for its effectiveness.”

(See researchgate.net/publication/330881008_The_Evidence_for_NLP_International_Coaching_

Psychology_Review_Vol_14_No_1_Spring_2019)

Even if, ad arguendo, NAC were true, there are some “states” that we are better off not changing instantly. For instance, God may wish to use pain, guilt, remorse, and other circumstances in order to help us mature as individuals, lead us to Him, and, in the long run, make us better people rather than desiring us immediately to vanquish such feelings.

Cognitive and Religious Relativism

In Awaken the Giant Within, Robbins writes, “The question is: which one of these beliefs is the true belief? The answer is that it doesn’t matter which one is true. What matters is which one is most empowering.” (pg. 79). Therefore, truth is relative. If you find atheism empowering, be an atheist. If you find Christianity empowering, be Christian. If you find pantheism to be empowering, be a pantheist.

Yet, as these beliefs are mutually exclusive (since they involve contradictory assertions), all cannot be true. Robbins is not concerned with the truth, but with reaching broader audiences with his message, allowing him to avoid criticizing or excluding his audience’s beliefs or traditions and getting more followers. 

His idea of empowerment is also a dangerous one. If feeling empowered is all that is necessary for something to be true/good and followed, what of a serial killer who finds murder empowering? Robbins never follows his teaching to its logical and dangerous conclusion. 

Robbins’s primary emphasis, however, comes across as sympathetic to Eastern religious ideas. Specific phrases and ideas are occult, such as when he writes, “Your reality is the reality you create." (See Robbins, Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement, [1986], pg. 67). He often cites other occultists such as Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson. 

Visualization: The Occult Practice Exposed

Robbins ends with visualization/guided meditation, to make attendees "redesign their lives" and realize they can "create their own reality" for they are "god." By using your mind's eye to envision things, visualization claims you can actually make it happen. For example, visualization can supposedly be used to change one’s self-image from negative to positive by holding a positive image of oneself in the mind. Visualization may also serve to uncover a claimed “inner divinity” that can allegedly manipulate reality. By creating the proper mental image and environment and then holding it or projecting it outward, practitioners claim they can exercise mental power over every aspect of their lives. Related practices are also used in magick (i.e., occult) rituals to call on spirits in order to secure such goals.

Since the mind is potentially so powerful, proponents say, proper visualization methods can affect health, finances, educational abilities, relationships, career — and even one’s destiny. In the pagan Hindu and Buddhist religions, for example, the thought or image one holds at death is believed to powerfully influence one’s next life (the heretical doctrine of reincarnation). This is one reason given for adopting mental training exercises such as visualization. The influence of this practice cannot be overstated. 

Visualization is now employed in education at all ages, such as in counseling, creative writing, and problem-solving courses. It is also used to develop altered states of consciousness in students in order to acquire the capacity to reach “inner guides” or allegedly tap the “higher self” and its powers. It is used for enhanced learning potential, self-esteem, and stress reduction. 

Sports, exercise and health are using visualization and there is even a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to it, the Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity. The objective of the journal is stated as follows:

The Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity is the first peer-reviewed journal devoted to research on the role of imagery in sport, physical activity, exercise, and rehabilitation settings. Imagery, also referred to as cognitive enactment or visualization, is one of the most popular performance enhancement and rehabilitation techniques in sports and physical activity. Journal editor Sandra Moritz (University of North Dakota) is a recognized leader in the field, and the journal’s editorial board represents leading institutions in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. The single destination for all imagery-related research in sports and in physical activity, the Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity is an indispensable tool for scholars and practitioners of imagery, sports science, kinesiology, physical education, and psychology. (See degruyter.com/journal/key/jirspa/html?lang=en; Emphasis mine). 

Shamans, spiritists, magicians, and witches routinely use visualization, and it is commonly used in pagan/occult sects such as Rosicrucianism, Tantrism, Hinduism and Buddhism. 

There are three (3) basic reasons people get involved with visualization when they are not a member of a pagan religion or already involved in occult activity:

1. The Quest for Personal Power. Visualization promises people the ability to transform reality to their benefit. It is "God-like" power. You can “think yourself rich” (or healthy, handsome/beautiful, happy, etc.). 

2. The Quest for Spiritual Enlightenment. Visualization claims to be able to evoke "the wisdom that lies deep within us." Suddenly, information you never knew will be revealed to you in your mind's eye, or you will meet your spirit guide who will give you "wisdom."

3. The Quest for Physical Health. Wild claims are made that visualization can make you super-athletic and cure every known malady. 

Sounds just like Robbins' sales pitch. (N.B. There are also Vatican II sect "priests" who employ visualization, but that is outside the scope of this post, and that reason will not be discussed---Introibo).

The Dangers of Robbins Visualization:

People will come to believe heretical and occult teachings; specifically:

• Pantheism : Everything is interconnected by divine energy, the One power, or ultimate cosmic reality

• Humans are divine in their true nature and each person controls his personal destiny; he is an integral part of this divine energy and can realize this experientially through proper technique and instruction

• The mind of each human has “infinite” potential; the “higher self” or unconscious mind provides the connecting link to the infinite and is believed to be the repository of vast wisdom and ability

• Visualization is an important technique that initiates contact with the ultimate cosmic reality.

Other Disturbing Facts Re: Tony Robbins

Robbins has faced his share of controversy. In 2001 his fifteen-year marriage ended in divorce, with Robbins remarrying later that same year. Some critics pointed to his divorce as an example of the failure of his teachings, noting, for instance, that at the time of the divorce Robbins was leading workshops on the subject of healthy relationships.

Another controversy involved accusations by financial “guru” Wade Cook, who claimed that Robbins used material from Cook’s book Wall Street Money Machine, including specific terms and phrases, without permission. Cook filed a lawsuit and, in 1998, was awarded more than $650,000. 

The National Council against Health Fraud, a private health agency, has also questioned some of the health and dietary advice offered by Robbins including dubious breathing techniques, “misinformation” about combining foods, and more, noting, “Robbins reveals his ignorance about physiology as he misinforms readers about how the body rids itself of metabolic wastes. 

(See quackwatch.org/ncahf/articles/o-r/robbins/).

Conclusion

Robbins will say that we all have been programmed to believe certain things that hold us back, and we need to cast those false ideas off and start fresh. We make our own reality because of the "divine within;" that is the clear thrust of such teachings. Manipulative techniques discussed in this post make one suggestible and then condition one’s thinking to conform to the teachings. The teachings are occult and heretical. Visualization can open you to an altered state of consciousness where demons can cause obsession or even possession. 

Find your personal power in Christ, His Immaculate Mother, the sacraments, and the teachings of the One True Church. Reject Tony Robbins as your "life coach," and make Christ your "Eternal Life Coach."