James Arthur Ray has become a self-help superstar by packaging his charismatic personality and selling wealth. Those who first attend his free seminars hear a motivational mantra that promises that they can achieve what he calls “Harmonic Wealth” — on a financial, mental, physical spiritual level.

He uses free seminars to recruit people to his expensive seminars, starting with $4,000 three-day “Quantum Leap” workshops and moving on to the weeklong $5,300 “Practical Mysticism” events and the $9,000-plus “Spiritual Warrior” retreats like the one that led to the sweat lodge tragedy.

Americans have long prided themselves on being “positive” and optimistic — traits that reached a manic zenith in the early years of this millennium. Iraq would be a cakewalk! The Dow would reach 36,000! Housing prices could never decline!

By the mid-’00s optimism wasn’t just a psycho-spiritual lifestyle option; it had become increasingly mandatory.

Two years into the Great Recession, it’s time to face the truth…

Steve Salerno, author of SHAM — How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless: We’re so conditioned to take the pulse of our happiness from one moment to the next, and it’s self-help that’s encouraged this. And the reason it does this is to keep us convinced there’s something wrong with us, so they can sell the next book.

By Steve Salerno, Steve Salerno's latest book is "SHAM: How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless."

They are everywhere - the life coaches, the supernannies, the makeover experts, the celebrity chefs, the fashion police.

There's a fine line between being motivated and encouraged and being "gurued" ? could you be a victim? By Helen Hawkes.

John Naish looks at the top people who have got inside our heads, from Deepak Chopra and Susan Jeffers to John Gray.

Deepak Chopra earns $20m a year selling spiritual guidance to the likes of Demi Moore, Hillary Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev - and he's not the only self-help guru making a fortune. In the first of two extracts from his new book, Francis Wheen traces the rise and rise of mystic mumbo-jumbo

Take these three steps to happiness:

Aerobics instructor is 'trainer for the soul'

Motiva Robbins says he wants to 'own' the wellness business

Self-Help Stars

Sunday Tribune (South Africa), Aug.16, 2002

Sunday Tribune (South Africa), Aug.16, 2002

Jayson Orvis grew up in the LDS Church, served a two-year mission and