Young Living: Cult Book Breakdown
Things have been getting a little dicey in the Young Living world. In my last post on the company, Young Living: In The Red, I reported that CEO, Mary Young, admitted the company is currently operating at a loss. Since then we’ve had some great progress on the reporting front. I found a Young Living covid protocol, similar to the one found on the DoTerra zoom. Thanks to the help of fellow activists MLM_Exit and Savannah Marie (and her audience) we were able to get TINA’s attention and they proceeded to post an article, titled “Young Living Distributor Violates Law with COVID Claims,” reporting on it.
Recently, an ex-Young Living rep, Melissa Truitt, released a set of stories on Instagram and placed it under a highlight titled “Leaving a cult.” It has now been renamed “When to run.” In the stories, she explains she had been a top leader of the company, and recently received a book that was meant for top leaders. She further explains that as a Christian she found the book to be “demonic.” Here are some images from her story:
To watch her full highlight click here:
This book, titled “My Word Made Flesh” appears to be a blend of Christianity, New Age practices, Scientology, and thinly veiled racism with Young Living essential oil application descriptions peppered in. Although the book did not come directly from the company, it was sent by the authors, one who is close friends of the CEO, both of who are top distributors themselves. It was sent to top leaders specifically, with the intent of it being taught top-down. The Foreward of the book is written by none other than Young Living CEO Mary Young herself. Cumulatively, it looks to be endorsed by the company, pushed from a third party to avoid blame. I have to agree with Melissa with her interpretation here:
I was given access to a copy of the book. Descriptors such as cringe, culty, disturbing, concerning… are understatements. The contents of the book range from mantras and daily affirmations, to diet plans, to victim-blaming law of attraction concepts. There are charts and diagrams of adapted concepts of reflexology, iridology, acupuncture, and similar occult and eastern philosophy practices with a special Young Living cult twist. An interesting choice to send to a predominantly conservative Christian distributor base.
The book is co-authored by Young Living distributor Robert Tennyson Stevens, who is listed as CEO of Mastery Systems Inc on his LinkedIn and has authored such books as “Sacred Body Translations (understanding your body’s unspoken language)” and “Conscious Language: The Logos Of Now.” He also sells multiple audiobook series on DVD with titles like “Conscious Prosperity” and “Bio-Optic Holography 201 & 301” all with similar New Age Law of Attraction subject matter. He has conducted classes around these books for years.
It is also co-authored by Royal Crown Diamond (the highest rank in YL) distributor Marcella Von Harting, a friend of CEO Mary Young. Marcella’s website states “Marcella Vonn Harting, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized author, speaker, facilitator, and entrepreneur. Involved with Network MultiLevel Marketing since the 1980s, Marcella Vonn has built two highly successful businesses with more than 1,000,000 representatives worldwide.” And states “With certifications in Nutrition, Iridology, Reiki, International Aromatherapy through PIA, Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Master Practitioner of Hypnotherapy, Ph.D. in Psychoneurology & Integrated Medicine…”
Looking further into Marcella’s credentials, particularly her Ph.D. in Psychoneurology, I found she received her “degree” from Beurin University. BU appears to be an unaccredited spiritual organization rather than an accredited university. BU was created under Beurin Humanitarian Services, a religious non-profit, by the Founder and Dean “Dr.” Colbey Buerin Forman DPn (Doctor of Psychoneurology).
Forman also founded the “discipline” of Psychoneurology, which he claims is “a board-certified, drug-free solution for those diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, and anxiety disorders” on his personal website. Upon searching for the board that certified Psychoneurology I found The American and International Boards of Psychoneurology website. As it currently stands the website is mostly blank except for a testimonial for, none other than, Colbey Buerin Forman. Who just happens to be the Chief Psychoneurolgist for the board.
Basically, it appears Forman made up Psychoneurology and an accrediting board for it. He gave himself a doctorate in the subject and now teaches others, like Marcella, to whom he also gives a Ph.D. through his diploma mill Beurin University and they all pretend to be legitimate doctors of psychology treating vulnerable neurodivergent children and adults sans allopathic medicine and therapy. Sounds pretty similar to YL Founder Gary Young himself, who ended up with multiple instances of practicing medicine without a license.
The book begins with a dedication written by Stevens:
It immediately presents itself as a way to enlightenment through loaded language, New Age practices, and mindset shifting. Stevens seems to have cherry-picked and mish-mashed ideas from eastern spirituality, the law of attraction, and self-help guru jargon into an idea that body and spoken language changes are a cure for all that ails you physically, mentally, and of course financially. You only have to buy his book, buy his classes, and sign up to sell Young Living essential oils.
This section is closely followed by the forward by Mary Young:
Mary blatantly suggests this is a time for transformation for those who love Young Living and that this book is a path to achieve that transformation. If that’s not endorsing this book, I don’t know what is. She then reminisces about her late husband, and founder of Young Living, Gary Young. She reiterates his sob story of a life-threatening accident that left him potentially wheelchair-bound, but he didn’t accept it, and only through pseudoscience, snake oil, and the ignoring of modern medicine did he walk again. Of course, good old Gary bottled up that miracle cure just for you, all out of the goodness of his heart 🙄
She continues with a talk of beliefs and God, and a pull at the heartstrings with Gary’s tale of childhood poverty and dependence on nature. No good MLM pitch is complete without a rags-to-riches allegory. Then she finishes with the assertion that this book’s affirmations and positivity used with Young Living essential oils can help you achieve your heart’s desires. Totally not endorsing it to your distributor network at all though, huh, Mary?
The book continues with more fanciful anecdotal accounts by the authors. I particularly enjoyed Stevens’ memory of being unable to open a pickle jar for his grandma, and because he didn’t want his, self-admitted, fragile male ego bruised he continued to try and open the container. When he tried again, by golly he did it! This anecdote he credits as a mindset shift from “I can’t” to “I will.” Just imagine if young Robby had just given up we may have never had this atrocity of literary detritus.
We are given a handy dandy emoji key, one that is reiterated no less than six times throughout the book:
These symbolistic images represent a repetitive series of steps the reader is meant to partake in. The authors are also quite fond of the word “upgrade.” I gave up counting at 500 times while not even a third of the way through the book. To me, this is reminiscent of an authoritarian cult technique where the repeating of a key phrase or mantra is used to create a belief.
But what are upgrades? Upgrades appear to be an induced shift in one’s thoughts, words, and feelings, through a series of affirmations and the use of essential oils. It’s brainwashing, Young Living cult-style. Evident by number four, the lack of these upgrades equates to a curse, and the use of them will “reverse the curse.”
When any “negative” happens in your life the authors want you to repeat these seven steps. These steps are further outlined in the first chapter and explain a method to “shift and upgrade your health and wealth.” How to upgrade with these steps is conveniently outlined in this glorious artistry of comic illustration:
We are only twenty pages in and so far have encountered multiple signs of authoritarian cult behavior using Steven Hassan’s B.I.T.E. model. Behavior control through behavior modification. Thought control with toxic positivity, repetition of affirmations, and loaded language. Emotional control through emotion-stopping techniques, and suggesting normal life circumstances, ailments, and one’s financial position are negative curses that require upgrading.
The entire book continues to compound upon these concepts, giving lists, charts, and diagrams to reference when you need to upgrade a negative. Upgrade affirmations are called decrees which are then activated by Young Living essential oils. We can look at the table of contents for a better look at how this narrative develops, but for the sake of brevity I won’t be breaking it down chapter by chapter, but will point out pages I believe are important to highlight.
The second chapter, titled “Laws of Reversal and Revision,” starts with an explanation that equates to your health issues are all in your head and this book, the cure:
This chapter is followed by a set of worksheets you are expected to fill out. Have to make sure that brain is getting good and washed.
As the book continues, I noticed another repetitive phrase popping up “Health and Wealth.” With constant reminders that your issues, your pain, your imperfections, your financial problems are the direct result of you misinterpreting your “sacred body language.” This is further compounded by contradicting statements and affirmations that you are God but also a miracle of God.
An interesting addition, and suggestion, of using oils to treat health problems in first aid situations is at the bottom too. Speaking of treating health issues with oils, the entirety of chapters eight through eleven give alphabetical lists on health issues and either affirmations (upgrade decrees) and/or oils (decree activators) for those health issues. Chapter ten focuses specifically on gut health and parts of the digestive system. Some examples are seen here:
Chapter thirteen leaves us with statements like “There are seven octaves of emotions,” which reminds me of charlatan David Wolfe stating chocolate is an octave of the sun. We also get “Anything less than love is an E-motion, or against motion,” and the assertion that we actually have sixteen senses, not five. It also contains a set of diagrams on what the authors call “Scale of Emotional Harmonics.” My friend, and cult educator, Spike Robinson aptly pointed out that this scale of emotional harmonics appears to be a direct copy of Ron. L Hubbard’s Tone Scale used in Scientology. She provided me with a pdf of Hubbard’s book so let’s compare the two:
YIKES. They didn’t even try to hide it.
Chapter thirteen also contains a page of “15 Steps and Decrees for Transforming Feelings Into Our Highest Potential” which is stated as being “Formerly released as ‘Letting Go’ by Gary Young.” I tried to find this original copy to no avail. I wanted to see if the original contained “decrees” or if that was a later modification by Stevens. If anyone comes across the original please let me know and I will update this post. It’s still interesting as I’m assuming Mary also gave permission for Gary’s writing to be included in this book, showing further endorsement and connection to the company.
By chapter sixteen we get to the hard sales pitch for Young Living essential oils. Chapter sixteen is prefaced with an explanation of how Young Living oils are the ONLY oil you should use. “Young Living Essential Oils is the only company dedicated to the restorative use and application of essential oils that can guarantee essential oil quality from seed to seal.” This is followed by a list of every single use essential oil Young Living sells, accompanied by a set of uses and decrees. Chapter seventeen is exactly the same but lists the full catalog of Young Living’s essential oil blends, and chapter eighteen every Young Living supplement. Chapter nineteen has a list directly calling the oils themselves upgrades. At the end of chapter sixteen we get the first link to sign up, and a second identical link at the end of chapter nineteen:
This is where I believe the information control begins. The book is purposely withholding and distorting the facts, presents a situation of insider vs. outsider information, and discourages the use of non-cult information. They tout YL oils as the ONLY solution while leaving out other essential oils can be of equal or superior quality. They push you to buy and sign up to have exclusive access to these oils. They list YL’s entire product catalog to be used exclusively with the decrees. They brag about YL having its own farms but omit that in 2017 Young Living pled guilty to, and was convicted of, illegal importation of endangered species for use in their oils. Importation from outside sources, not their own farms. This case can be found here:
Essential Oils Company Sentenced for Lacy Act and Endangered Species Act Violations
They gloat about the seed to seal purity process and insult the use of synthetics but leave out that Young Living oils have been tested and found to be adultered. An ex-YL distributor chronicles her experience with testing and asking for answers from the company only to be ignored and dismissed here:
The Day Young Living broke my Heart
An Update on YL and the Cinnamon Bark Testing
They claim the book is a solution to financial woes but completely ignore that signing up for YL, a multi-level marketing company with a business model proven to leave the vast majority of distributors in debt:
The Case (For And) Against Multi-Level Marketing
Young Living Essential Oils 2020 Income Disclosure Statement
We are just past halfway through the book and have shown evidence of all four sections of Steven Hassan’s B.I.T.E model applying.
The book continues on with topics such as commitment to your upgrades, and outcome mapping to predict where your upgrades will take you. The outcome mapping section concludes with a reminder to keep your map private because, and quotes, “Great things are done in secret.” Can’t have outsiders criticizing our cult rhetoric now, can we?
Chapter twenty-two, titled “Health is Wealth and Wealth is Health,” explains that health and wealth are essentially on the same vibrational frequency when one is spiritually woke enough to see it. That is followed by a diagram equating financial issues as direct causes of health issues. Let’s just completely ignore serious issues like poor and marginalized people lacking access to proper healthcare. Can’t be a systematic or political issue when it’s the victim’s fault for just thinking too negatively and not buying enough essential oils. Chapter twenty-three continues on this thought but brings nutrition into the picture with how it relates to health and wealth. Again, ignoring issues of classism, generational poverty, and food deserts.
Chapter twenty-four begins the sections of charts and resources with its own index:
And immediately jumps to a sexist gender binary listing female and male traits of each side of the body. Because women can’t be rational or outgoing and men can’t be creative or nurturing unless tapping into their oppositional binary, of course. And we can’t upgrade our lives and read sacred body language without studying ethnic facial features and judging them based on common racist stereotypes:
In this section, we find how to read and judge a person based on nearly every feature of their body from the back, eyes, and even teeth. Modified examples of iridology and reflexology with explanations are also included:
The charts and resources end the chapters of the book, but we can’t end without another sales pitch. The first appendix is dedicated to an explanation of why Stevens uses YL oils with more language of exclusivity to the brand and lack of transparency with it and its founder’s seedy history of lawsuits, purity issues, and predatory business structure.
Note that the author writes that he wrote the book for Young Living distributors and customers. It’s pretty clear Young Living fully endorsed this book and only distanced itself once the backlash started. He also deceptively, and incorrectly, refers to Gary Young as “Dr. Gary Young.” Gary Young held no medical license and it’s dangerous to mislead the reader as such. Appendix three is full of anecdotal testimonials, and after appendix four we find yet another pitch and link to sign up as a Young Living distributor. And the book fully concludes with a list of scriptures for “language awareness’ and an index.
After a long and grueling read, I can understand where Melissa is coming from with her call out of this book. As an atheist, I can’t relate to her belief in its demonic nature but considering the Christian belief system, I think it’s understandable. The book suggests you ARE god, you are the divine creator. It talks about reversing curses, using oils to do so, and rather than prayer suggests mantras and affirmations. I think the freak out by Christian reps is more than just satanic panic. It may not be satanic, depending on your perspective, but I do think there is an argument that it’s evil.
There are very clear authoritarian cult tactics throughout the book. We can see examples of behavior, information, thought, and emotional control. There is undeniable use of Scientology brainwashing techniques. The entire premise of the book is victim-blaming. YOU are at fault for every negative in your life. It disregards legitimate and systematic reasoning for health and financial issues. It gives zero sources to substantiate its claims.
Stevens, Harting, and by default Young, want you to believe that repeating phrases until they become delusions and slathering your body with Young Living products is the answer to everything. Disagreement with this concept means you lack the motivation for transformation, good health, prosperity, and happiness. You, like Gary Young, simply need to believe in positive thought so you too can walk again. And that path to upgrading, to spiritual awakening, to enlightenment, simply requires your full wholehearted dedication to the YL cult by self brainwashing with this book. Your words made flesh, their bank accounts made bountiful.
For further information and coverage on this book, I highly suggest checking out these youtube videos:
