The differences between NLP and a cult
A cult is a social system that consists of a group of people. NLP is instead a collection of techniques and methods: a system that consists of content. NLP is fundamentally value-neutral: NLP is a tool; how it is used depends on the user. The existence of a cult, on the other hand, is tied to a specific purpose – usually to keep its followers under control.
NLP encourages a self-responsible, self-determined life: NLP supports the user in relying on their own potentials and abilities to follow their own path. A cult, on the other hand, regulates the behavior of its followers and keeps them dependent on the community.
NLP does not promise success for free: training is only the first step on the way to a better life, the actual performance comes afterward. NLP shows you the door (and reminds you how to walk properly), but you have to go through it yourself. For a cult, the promise of success is exclusively tied to this community and its instructions: "Do as we tell you, and you will be happy." NLP teaches you to take on responsibility, while the cult teaches you to relinquish responsibility and hand over personal autonomy to the cult.
The possibilities that NLP offers do not stem from dependence on a society. However, the promise of salvation of a cult is closely linked to the community; a cult member is nothing outside of it.
A cult discriminates against outsiders, dissenters, and apostates, excluding them from the state they refer to as "enlightenment" or "salvation." NLP does not claim to be the only way to happiness and does not deny any rights to non-users. An NLP user is not motivated to belittle those who are not convinced by NLP, to "convert" them, or to cut off contact with them – on the contrary, NLP helps to live in harmony with one's environment and family. Cults, on the other hand, separate their followers from outsiders, even if it should be their own family.
One goal of NLP is to resolve old traumas and help people come to terms with their environment and themselves by positively reinterpreting their past. Some cults, on the other hand, lead their followers to paint their past in the darkest colors until they are convinced of how miserable their life was before joining the cult: In this way, they also lead them to sever their connections to their old environment.
A cult is hierarchically structured, with ordinary followers at the lowest level, particularly enlightened ones at the levels above, and the cult leader as the undisputed head. The guru is an infallible spiritual leader who possesses absolute truth and must not be questioned. In NLP, there are levels of practice that make no further statement than familiarity with the subject. A trainer or master may know more about NLP than a NLP beginner or practitioner, but has no authority over them derived from their level of training. Even among those who have been and are constitutive for NLP and the NLP scene, there is no comparable figure. For most NLP users, they have little significance.
A cult offers a holistic, metaphysical explanation for the nature of the world, providing its followers with an absolute truth that they must believe in. NLP denies the existence of such a universally valid truth; understanding differing perceptions of the world is one of the fundamental ideas of NLP. Accordingly, NLP is also available to all people regardless of their religion or worldview. In contrast to a cult, NLP does not provide answers to questions that lie beyond human discretion: one learns nothing about the soul, life after death, or higher entities. NLP also does not use any "replacement concepts" such as the thetans of Scientology.
Accusations of the abuse of NLP often arise. What is on the other side of the coin and how do we deal with it?
NLP and Scientology
