Lifespring

Domain XIV · Western esoteric, divinatory & new spiritual movements · John Hanley Sr. · 1974 · San Rafael, California

What it is

Lifespring was a for-profit human-potential company founded in 1974 by John Hanley Sr. with several others, Hanley being majority owner; it was headquartered in San Rafael, California, claimed over 400,000 people trained through ten US centres, and disbanded in the mid-1990s amid lawsuits. Hanley…

Format

• Advanced course: a five-day "breakthrough" course; typically 75 to 100 participants, with about half of advanced graduates going on to the Leadership program.
• Format: lectures, paired work on emotional issues, whole-group exercises and eyes-closed guided imagery; trainers set ground rules at the start that participants had to accept or leave (speaking only when recognised, mandatory attendance, punctuality, no alcohol or drugs, structured breaks);…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Basic training: about 45 hours across successive evening and weekend sessions, then a post-training session ten days after graduation and a post-training interview. Groups typically of 150 to 200 participants.
• Leadership program: three months, intended to help graduates apply the training to daily life; reported as including three weekends, a final weekend kept secret and treated as compulsory, and enrolment of new trainees as a central task.
• Present day: WRSP lists smaller later groups in North America (Momentus, Insight Seminars, Visionworks, Vistar) and describes a coaching business founded in 2019 by the founder's son as the most direct organisational successor. This guide makes no claim about those organisations' current practice; assess any present-day training on what it actually does (see Harm account).

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• : hiding spending from a partner; spending timed to emotional peaks. Working: spending is planned and visible.
• : increasing detachment, panic about "losing my mind". Working: the client re-orients and the episodes become rarer.
• : shame about having complied; body-image distress. Working: the client can name what happened and decide what to do.
• : sleep loss, pressured speech, impulsive spending, family alarm. Working: mood settles and commitments are reviewed calmly.
• : guilt for "withholding" the training from loved ones; loss of friends. Working: the client sets and keeps their own limits.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.