It was remarkable enough that ordinary folks now had enough money to take it and run off and alter the circumstances of their lives and create new roles for themselves. . .
-But, simultaneously still others decided to go. . . all the way. They plunged straight toward what has become the alchemical dream of the Me Decade.
-“The “Me” decade and The Third Great Awakening” Tom Wolfe, 1976
In the 1960’s, many Americans, particularly the younger generation, were exposed to new ways of thinking. One of the most influential and longest-lasting influences was that of religion and philosophy from the Far East. Fed up with the status quo and decidedly oppressive conformity of the 1950’s Americans became more open-minded and there was a new wave of interest in Oriental spiritual practices such as meditation. In this era of philosophical exploration, one school of thought that would remain an integral part of the new spiritual culture was Zen Buddhism. It was from Zen Buddhism that Werner Erhard borrowed much of his philosophy and practice for his Erhard Seminars Training.
Erhard Seminars Training (EST) was a systematic, widespread, for-profit training course that used intentionally-created stressful environments and confrontation to cause participants to break down and “pop” into a new level of awareness. Though the seminars were held in large groups, the focus was on each participant’s own experience and not that of the group as a whole. The creation and great popularity of EST epitomized the 1970’s in America as the Me Decade as it emphasized the importance of individual responsibility and self-awareness rather than group cooperation and collective consciousness.
In contrast to the blaming and mistrust of “the establishment” so widespread in the 1960’s, EST stood for individuals taking responsibility for their own lives. Rather than the flattery and coddling that was used to charm and stroke the egos of many participants in self-help and support groups, introductory EST training often started with the trainers solemnly informing the trainees that they were “assholes” for feeling entitled to gain something and that it was up to the trainees to get what they wanted out of the training. Anyone who attended the training(s) and claimed that their present life circumstances were a result of anything outside their own control were pejoratively labeled “professional victims” by the trainers, according to EST, they were in charge of their own lives. EST trainees were taught that no matter what had happened in the past that they still had a choice as to how to respond to their present life situation.
The urging to “be the cause, not the effect of your life” seems to work well with EST trainees who are blamers or professional victims. In EST it is very important to change the world or very important to give up the illusion that you can, take your choice.
– John Leo, “There is Nothing to Get,” Time June 7, 1976
In the 1960’s many in the American counter-culture saw themselves as victimized by society by means of laws, Christianity, and broad cultural norms such as marriage and the nuclear family. EST philosophy flew in the face of any such victim mentality. Some of those who felt empowered by its message of personal responsibility had undoubtedly subscribed to the kind of victim mentality that had been so popular in the previous decade.
EST was part of the greater “new age” movement of the 1970’s that encouraged the improvement of the self rather than the improvement of society as a whole. A common cultural message of the 1970’s was to “get in touch with yourself” and that people would be happier and more fulfilled if they did so. The 1970’s saw the coining of the phrase “pop-psychology” describe such platitudes. Rather than changing the world by means of political revolution, many alternative-thinking Americans of the 1970’s sought to change their personal lives by means of adopting a new way of thinking.
The first EST training was held in 1971 at the Opal Hotel in San Francisco, California where Werner Erhard charged $250 (approximately $1,500 today adjusted for inflation) per person for four days over the course of two weekends. Erhard was one of many people, albeit one of the most successful, who sought to cash in on the new “self-help” market. Erhard was the star speaker at a convention in Manhattan (dubbed “The Event” by its creator) that also featured Wayne Dyer, Mr. Masters & Ms. Johnson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
On entering, the pilgrims quickly learn that what they may not receive from the voices on stage, they can probably buy from the vendors whose stand and tables jam the lobby and adjacent corridors. They are hustling a cornucopia of aids to self-discovery, self-actualization, self-service, self-enhancement, self-assertion, and self-treatment. Equipment to facilitate what used to be called self-abuse, and literature encouraging its practice is also offered.
-Frank Trippett “Much Ado About IT,” Time December 4, 1978
A prevalent theme in EST and in the self-help movement, in general, was for everyone to find and have his/her own unique experience in life rather than just accepting the viewpoint of others. In the previous decade, it had been popular to experience changes in consciousness as a group (“acid test” parties being a prime example) but in the 1970’s, many Americans were turned to the individual self, rather than the collective for transformation.
EST had a message of empowerment for those who accepted it but only at the individual level. At the end of each seminar, the trainers would ask each trainee if she/he “got it.” If trainees weren’t sure or thought that they didn’t “get it” the trainer would talk to them, ask them questions, and usually tell them that they had “got it.” Anyone who asked critical questions or made critical observations would be verbally assaulted by the trainer and usually told they hadn’t gotten “it” yet. If a participant “broke down” as a result of a verbal assault by the trainer (or simply from the stress of the training) and other trainees tried to comfort them, those trainees who were trying to give comfort would be told to stop on the grounds that helping people keeps them infantile and teaches them to play for sympathy. Each trainee was on his/her own.
Unlike other leaders calling for people to unite and come together to improve society and ultimately the world, Erhard advocated for people to make positive changes in their own lives. The best way for them to do that was by taking part in EST. The 1970’s saw the shift in counter-cultural interest from societal revolution to personal transformation and EST was a part of that shift. Compared to the revolutionary politics and utopian idealism of the 1960’s, new age practices like EST were much easier to market and more likely to be profitable. Werner Erhard had worked both as a used car salesman and later as a trainer of encyclopedia salesmen and used his sales skills to market his message of personal transformation. Unlike the protests, “be-ins,” communes, and other group activities of the hippie movement, EST (as well as many self-help seminars that would follow it) required very little group cohesion on the part of its participants.
Another aspect that helped the popularity of 1970’s self-help trends like EST was that they were usually not illegal or even overtly political in nature. Whereas many of the aforementioned group activities of the 1960’s were often seen by authorities as potentially threatening and thus subject to government surveillance or even arrest of all people involved, EST trainings were private affairs that were often seen as harmless. As Americans became disillusioned with all forms of leadership and authority, it was not difficult to convince them to turn inward and seek to improve and trust themselves.
The “Me Decade” was shaped by persuasive personalities such as Erhard. He was able to harness the national wave of restlessness that had overtaken much of America and turn it into a motive for self-improvement with the help of the new thinking that had been so widely proliferated in the 1960’s. Erhard was a pioneer, and the “self-help” seminar would become so common that it would become a cliché in America and later the whole Anglosphere. People who appreciated and believed themselves to have benefitted from EST felt that they had their old beliefs challenged and had arrived at a new level of awareness. Despite allegations of having started a cult or a new religion, Erhard kept EST a strictly commercial enterprise and made a fortune off Americans’ desire for personal growth. Though his techniques were confrontational and caused stress, he ultimately gave people a message that was easy to receive; that they mattered as individuals.
