Joe Dispenza, Cult Leader in Plain Sight
back away from this evil man
Let's cut to the chase. Joe Dispenza is syphoning energy from one portion of his audience and event participants (as well as other unknowing victims), is taking a cut for himself and the giant beings (aliens) with whom he works, and is feeding the rest of it to the ‘lucky ones’ who are ‘healed’ at his retreats. This is why some folks feel miraculous and others feel awful and drained. He and his alien conspirators are also creating a stockpile of energy for future use as well as trapping souls. None of this is good.
In July of 2023, I dismantled the work of Joe Dispenza and found his teachings to be full of lies and quite objectionable energetically. At the time, it was clear that he was using some cult tactics and was actively syphoning the energy of his followers and workshop participants. He struck me as more concerning than the Gabby Bernsteins and Mel Robbins of the world but still hadn't gone into full cult mode. Now he has.
This compilation of thoughts and opinions is long and will cut off in your email before you make it to the end. You might want to hop over to the web.
Since Dispenza's name keeps arising in various conversations, I thought it was time to revisit my initial assessment. What I found when watching more recent interviews that he's done in the past three to six months is highly concerning. In increasing his prominence and reach, he has doubled down on cult tactics, though I'm not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg. Did the cult tactics expand his reach or did his reach grow as he increased his tactics? Hard to say.
You'll commonly see hypnotism, sleep deprivation, separation from self, breaking down of the ego and/or the personal identity, sexual arousal, detachment from God and/or replacement with a different god, and demoralization followed by showering of compliments and gifts used in cults and cult-ish environments.
Joe Dispenza is employing ALL of these.
I can't say this with enough emphasis — Joe Dispenza and his work are incredibly dangerous. He is systematically and intentionally stripping people of their natural defense mechanisms in order to replace them with a belief system that he bestows on them. In his own words, he's brainwashing them so that they leave their old selves behind. Say it with me. Cult! Cult! Cult!
When people wonder how hundreds ended up dead in Jonestown because they don't understand how anyone could follow Jim Jones, this is how. Jones didn't start at that level of escalation. He bounced around trying various tactics over many years in order to see what worked. By the time Peoples Temple formed, Jones was well versed in impeccable manipulation. He had workshopped his techniques on various congregations and followers.
The same is true for Keith Raniere and NXIVM. He didn't introduce sexual servitude and slavery right out of the gate. He had multiple iterations of followers and devotees over decades before honing in on what worked best. At least three iterations of leadership existed before Raniere found the perfect mix of mailability to turn people against themselves and others. These men are masters at manipulation.
David Koresh and the Branch Davidians also come to mind. It takes a kind and charismatic leader to develop that level of devotion. While the events surrounding the siege and firefight in Waco are up for debate, the fact that Koresh's followers were willing to die for him and their beliefs isn't. Seventy-six died that day, including roughly twenty-five children.
Am I saying that Dispenza belongs in the same category as Jim Jones, Keith Raniere, and David Koresh? Absolutely. It may take another two, three, five, ten, fifteen years until the damn breaks, but it will. This man wants to be worshiped. He will string people along, giving them just enough hope to keep them engaged. There will be incredible stories of recovery and healing intermixed with devastation and destruction. It might not result in mass suicide or murder as it did in Jonestown or a sex slave ring complete with branding as it did with NXIVM, but Dispenza is equally dangerous.
As you read the following scrutinization that I wrote a year and a half ago, please multiply my concern and warnings ten fold, possibly more. This man is intentionally syphoning the energy of his followers and does not have their health and wellbeing at heart.
One of the things that I was asked when initially writing this piece was how to detach once you were in Dispenza's energetic hold. My answer is to begin questioning. In order to break his hypnotic trance, you have to acknowledge that the man behind the curtain is not THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ.
Upon even the slightest examination, what you will find is an insecure and weak man who has positioned himself to accrue power at the expense of others, even if it's not apparent at first blush. Question. Question some more. And PLEASE!!!!! Stop listening to his mediations. Those things are pure evil. The minute I start playing them in the house, Blue begins to whimper. I trust my dog. Dispenza’s meditations are a form of hypnosis meant to separate you from your soul. Don't let him.
Now to revisit what I wrote in July of 2023 with a few added updates — let's begin.
This isn’t where I thought that I would start this discussion, but it’s what is being asked of me. As I sat back down to continue this breakdown, I found the timing curious that we had just touched on the Denver airport, its tunnels, and the release of Sound of Freedom (2023) highlighting child trafficking. Not a coincidence.
The aliens that Joe Dispenza, with his 3.4M Instagram followers and 1.26M YouTube Subscribers, is calling on for 'healing' are one and the same as the group that is enslaving and shuttling galactic beings in tunnels throughout the Earth. These activities run parallel to what is happening with humans. (I'll explain the specifics of these three meter tall alien beings in a minute.)
Part of the shift and releasing of vortexes and balancing the energy of this planet has to do with freeing the galactic captives. Often there is massive experimentation happening on them as we see depicted in a variety of shows and movies. iZombie (2015-19) and Wynonna Earp (2015-21) are pretty accurate in their portrayals. I’m sure there are many more, but those are the two that immediately come to mind.
So when Dispenza invites these aliens into his workshops to assist with 'healing,' he’s actually feeding them. The humans in those rooms are their energy source. This is what gives them the power and stamina to experiment and torture other beings, humans included. Not great.
Now, this is where I really thought I would begin…
Let’s break down this quote.
The only way change can come is to stop trying to predict it — otherwise, that’s the known. Change can show up only when we least expect it. That is the surprise of the unknown.
First of all, Dispenza is conflating change with the unknown. He uses them interchangeably. They’re not the same. Change is defined as “make (someone or something) different; alter or modify,” whereas unknown is “not known or familiar.” I read and reread this and read the quote one more time, because, what!?!? What a load of crap.
Based on his claim… I'm moving to Montana in a month. Nope! Can't happen. Change can only happen when you aren't expecting it. I'm having a baby. Nope. Nine months from now when the child is born can't actually be change because you know it's coming. That new life in your house won't alter things in any way. It's too anticipated!! I’m losing my job in two weeks. That’s not change! Far too predictable.
Yes, change can show up when you least expect it. You can also plan for it. Both possibilities exist. Dispenza treats change as the only unknown in order to support his teachings and ramblings. It continually redirects his students back to him as the one with the answers instead of empowering them with tools to face their own predicaments and fluctuations in life. Additionally, fear sells.
Let’s make it even simpler. I want to make my bed every morning. I haven’t for years. Tomorrow I’m going to wake up and make my bed. I’m planning for it. I know that I can execute on it. That action is the first step of rewriting a behavioral pattern. The second day, I wake up and make my bed again, just as I had planned. Day three, same as the first two. Boom! Change! It hasn't become a habit yet – but it will. Unfortunately, according to Dispenza, this can't happen, even though we know it most certainly can, because it is a known event.
This mushing of words and rewriting of definitions so that they fit his false narratives is a common theme in Dispenza’s work. He plays fast and loose with meanings and definitions. It’s one of three notable behaviors — tells in his body language, the reinvention of words and definitions, and hypnospeak. As we explore his teachings and work, keep an eye on these three main things. I’ll address each in more depth, but they’re the main components of the web that he weaves, intended to confuse and bulldoze his audience.
One | Body Language Betrayals
There’s an incredible amount of self-soothing and self-silencing that accompanies his speech. You’ll see the self-soothing as he caresses his own hand or rubs his arm. He does so after the majority of his thoughts or statements. When he’s not doing that motion, his hand is in front of his mouth, a self silencing tell that indicates he does not believe what he is saying. Lies are followed by a touch of the nose or the ear. Lip curls, subtle grimaces, and other facial tics abound.
Pay close attention to these body cues and their timing. He gives himself away.
Two | Reinvention of Words and Definitions
Dispenza rattles off terminology at a breakneck speed giving meanings to words that are far from their actual definitions. He’ll often do this with one, two, or three words in a single sentence or explanation. He then cites these false definitions as the basis for further assertions. He never leaves room for questioning or expanded clarifications. It's a verbal sleight of hand or what Orwell would have defined as "new speak." This brings us to…
Three | Hypnospeak
There’s a cadence to Dispenza’s delivery that is meant to lull you into believing whatever comes out of his mouth. His intent is not to gain comprehension, but rather to pepper you with words so that you don’t question. There’s no room for it. By the time you think, “Wait a second…” he’s on to the next three manipulative concepts.
Also note his lack luster tone. There's rarely any inflection as he mumbles in a constant drone. This again is meant to be hypnotic, not accidental since Dispenza has extensively studied hypnosis techniques. Without variance in his voice, the listener gets lost in the blur resulting in greater difficulty distinguishing truth from lies.
Dr Joe Dispenza
I suspect that one of the main reasons that Joe Dispenza has risen to prominence is his background in neuroscience. That discipline gives some version of validation to topics that can be elusive and esoteric, false though it may be. People want charts and tests and substantiation of complex energetic happenings that we cannot see.
I mean, “Researcher of epigenetics, quantum physics & neuroscience 🧬” sounds super fancy when you put it as your Instagram bio. I bet he even has big, framed degrees hanging on the wall when he’s letting giant alien beings syphon his students’ energy. Can you tell that this isn’t going to be a flattering summary?
I bet a lot of you even think that he is a neuroscientist. Nope. He’s a Doctor of Chiropractic. No shade there. I’ve known some brilliant chiropractors through the years. Dr Joe Dispenza is not one.
It’s the obfuscation of his actual degree and his desire to manipulate your perception that I find objectionable. Why not claim outright that he’s a chiropractor with an intense focus on neuroscience? Wouldn’t the combination of specialties be even more interesting?
Everywhere you look with this guy there’s deception. I have very little tolerance for that.
Dispenza has very intentionally differentiated himself in an oversaturated self-help market by positioning himself as a scientist (even though that's debatable) and distancing himself from spirituality and his roots as a teacher and student at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment, which is commonly (and rightfully) referred to as a cult. This warrants its own in depth discussion as Dispenza and Mark Vicente, who went on to be a key leader in NXIVM. Both were influential at the school at the same time prior to their respective splits with JZ Knight, the founder and channeler of the 35,000-year-old being named Ramtha.
As part of this scientific mysticism tactic, Dispenza and his team are conducting 'research' and have recently published a study titled, "Meditation-induced bloodborne factors as an adjuvant treatment to COVID-19 disease." As I've been rewriting this piece and delving into the early years of Dispenza's career, my dad has been tearing apart the statistics and methodologies of the aforementioned study. That too warrants a standalone essay. Stay tuned.
Another oddity with Dispenza is the lack of a period after his abbreviation of doctor. Even on his website it reads "Dr" instead of "Dr." Why!? To my mind, it discredits him. At first I thought it was due to exceeding the character capacity in the titles on YouTube. Then I saw it in all of the branding for Unlimited on the main website for Dispenza and his umbrella company, Encephalon. The lack of a period is intentional. (My dad is now referring to him as 'Dr Pepper' since that's the only other doctor to lack that punctuation.)
The missing period in Dispenza’s title prompted me to dig a bit deeper into the school from which he received his chiropractic degree, Life University. Graphic design can really make or break trust based on what it conveys. The graphics on this site say, "We took our inspiration from a bottle of 5 Hour Energy while standing in line to check out at the local 7 Eleven." It doesn't convey accredited university. Granted, they lost their accreditation in 2002 and have since gained it back. With an acceptance rate of 94%, it also doesn't scream rigorous education, particularly if you pair that with their ACT range of 15-19.
Demonic Influences in Healing
I’ve introduced the concept before of alien or demonic influences in healing. Reiki was founded by a guy who readily admits that all of the healing techniques came from demons he encountered on a mountaintop in Japan. Not everyone is so forthcoming.
The tricky part with these arrangements is that the healing is real, but there’s always a catch. You may or may not be aware of it. It’s like borrowing money from a loan shark or having your business protected by the mob. There are strings attached. Years may pass before that additional debt is called due, but it’s always hanging in the balance.
I watched The Devil’s Advocate (1997) recently after not having seen it in years. Wow. What an incredible depiction of this dynamic. In that case it was wealth and power not health that was being showcased. The same principles apply.
You’re offered something you want very deeply and something is taken in return, a true Faustian bargain. But what happens when you don’t know that the deal is being made on your behalf? You’re still energetically on the line, but you didn’t directly enter into the exchange.
This is what is happening with Dispenza’s community. He is in partnership with alien beings, per his own admissions. What he won’t tell you is that though “giant and noble,” those beings are syphoning energy from the people Dispenza is ‘healing’ who are using his techniques and teachings. That doesn’t sit well with me.
But wait, it gets worse. Those who are actively engaging with his work then infect those around them. The energetic syphoning spreads and spreads and spreads.
What's more, Dispenza actively targets healers to attend his week long workshops, the hotbed of hypnotism and reprogramming. These energetic practitioners then taint any and all of their clients. This prompts me to go hmmm. What is it about Dispenza that attracts these folks? What do they get from it? Is it further access to their patients to feed the aliens? My spidey senses say yes. What benefit are these practitioners gaining? Are they receiving a cut of the energetic syphoning? Seems likely.
I also began pondering, what else is happening at his retreats? Dispenza is overtly telling people that he's using hypnosis. He even arranges it so that his meditations are programmed onto the hotel televisions in order for participants to listen to them as they fall asleep. Creepy. Are there other subliminal messages encoded in the recordings or the music? Does the timing of the lights have an impact? What about the colors? Are scents being pumped into the room to elicit a certain emotion? Maybe oxygen is added like in Vegas.
I’m often reminded of this scene from Usual Suspects (1995). What a brilliant trick to make us believe that evil does not exist. Where there are positive outcomes, there cannot be dark undertones. Healing is a gift and must have benevolent origins. I want this to be true, but it’s not.
Pay No Attention to the Giant Beings
As we shall see with this 2019 interview of Joe Dispenza by Lilou Macé, Dispenza knows what he is doing. At the very least, he turns a blind eye to the origins of the information and the healing modalities he is receiving, but I think that's being overly generous. He's been honing this con for over twenty years.
I’ve referenced this interview previously. It’s the one in which Dispenza details the giant beings with whom he works. I’ve highlighted a few segments to display the lack of discernment and where I get energetic shouting that foul things are afoot.
We kick the interview off strong with interviewer Lilou Macé asking —
We've done several interviews, many interviews, and I get very often this question. And I'm quite intrigued by it, about those beings that seem to show up within your work. Who are they? How long have you been there?
— Lilou Macé, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” | August 2019
Dispenza dodges the question, a very tried and true media tactic. Deflect. You see this commonly in talk shows. The guest is asked a question that he or she does not want to answer so redirects conversation. It’s rampant throughout this interview. There are only a handful of questions that he actually answers directly.
Instead he focuses on pattern recognition, promising to return to the topic of the beings —
Let's talk about how we could actually see them first, and then I'll talk about them because I'm not the type of person that ever looks for them. I'm not the type of person that spends a lot of time trying to connect with beings.
But think about this. The brain could only see equal to how it’s wired. If the brain… If there's no circuitry for patterns in the brain, then you don't see reality, right? It's called pattern recognition. So then how do we begin to see things that exist, but we don't have the circuitry to perceive, right? In other words, we don't see things how they are. We see things how we are.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
I’m trying really hard to focus only on the beings and his relationship with them, but gosh. There is so much drivel. None of what he is saying about the brain and how it’s wired and patterns in the brain or reality or the third dimension perception is accurate. Pattern recognition is the ability to identify patterns and typically anticipate what will happen next based on them, not whatever nonsense he is spewing. But boy is he convincing.
Know that my brow is furrowed through this entire viewing.
"We don't see things how they are. We see things how we are," becomes an often repeated claim by Dispenza that he began stating in 2006 (possibly earlier) and is still reiterating in his 2024 interviews. In a way, it's his redefinition of perception or opinion. Except, it's far more insidious. It's part of that low, consistent rumble where he tells you that you have to change. He quietly whispers that something is wrong with you, and therefore, you need to adjust the way that you see yourself and the world. This is how he breaks people down and allows other entities to step into their bodies as he displaces the original souls.
Dispenza explains —
If your senses were heightened, your awareness of everything around you would be heightened as well. Well, awareness is consciousness, and you can't have consciousness without energy. So in a sense then, if a person has a transcendental experience and they start interacting with beings that are not physical… If they have that really profound experience, that experience is going to be logged in their brain because experience enriches their brain. Yes the end product of an experience is an emotion, but you wouldn't feel fear from these beings.
You wouldn’t feel fear from these beings. You would feel kind of a love or a grace or a presence or an acceptance. So then you wouldn’t be intimidated or afraid of them. You wouldn’t throw them into the box of some dogma or superstition.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
I find myself again asking, what does any of that mean? And take a damn breath.
These are words strung together that mean nothing and are meant to confuse. He wants you to think he knows so much more than you do and thereby you should trust him and default to what he suggests. Might I offer a counter suggestion. Run!
In essence, what Dispenza is offering is a psychedelic experience without the drugs. He even says as much in recent 2024 interviews comparing the "heightened arousal" that one achieves through his meditations (through a technique that he never overtly mentions is Kundalini) to the same place one accesses through psilocybins. Which means, Dispenza is trapping souls in the Black Abyss and exposing people to the same dark entities that hijack people through MDMA and Ayahuasca.
Someone recently commented, "Omg his voice is sooooo creepy!!! Very echo-y!! Makes me think of that scene in the movie Get Out… it’s like he is hypnotising people to draw back into there own body so they live in the background and someone else can take their place?!" This is exactly what is happening.
And don’t get me started on, “The end product of an experience is an emotion.” That’s just more nonsense meant for people to further relinquish responsibility in their lives and say, “Whew! All of my problems are just an emotional reaction to events that are outside of my control.” While there is a sliver of truth in there, it’s far more complex when we actually assess where we have the ability to reshape our lives. We’ll break that down a bit later in a fuller context.
Setting aside the danger of not knowing the nature of the beings with whom he chooses to blindly interact, where's Dispenza's curiosity? Doesn't he want to know anything about these intergalactic beings that showed up in his life? He's all about expanding consciousness, but apparently not insight and knowledge.
There’s such a 'white van parked next to the playground bribing kids with candy' feel to so much of Dispenza's description of these beings as he tells us we should unquestioningly trust them. These aliens. Ick. It makes my skin crawl. Obviously. It’s deceptive with a massive sleight of hand. See how pretty they are? See how loving? Don't look beneath the surface.
Watch how much he wrings his hands while describing these beings. Even he is uncomfortable talking about them. Granted, that’s probably because he doesn’t want to actually expose them.
He shares —
About five or six years ago, I started sensing these presences in the room during our week-long events… Out of the corner of my eye, I started perceiving certain things, primarily when we were doing the pineal gland meditations — at other meditations as well. But there was an energy in the room that I noticed. They're very noble. And they're very interested in what we're doing.
Many, many times in the beginning they observe. They're along the walls, and they're they're not small. They're very, very tall. Most of them, probably three meters. Maybe more. Tall. I mean they're beautiful and big. And they have this grace about them in this presence. And they're very interested. They observe. And when I started seeing them and perceiving them, I never really asked who they were. I just observed.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
Hold up. Really? He had no questions?
Why!?! Why didn’t he ask who they were? They’ll tell you! They’ll explain where they’re from and their intentions! They’ll introduce themselves and share if you and they know any other beings in common.
Does Dispenza open the door and let anyone who wants to enter into his home? Does he fall into bed with anyone who asks? Does he let strangers stick their fingers in his ear? Then why let these beings into his life with no questions asked?
Not only is Dispenza being reckless on his own behalf, he is introducing these beings to his workshops and the participants. Their influence is also laced through everything he has created since 2013 when they first appeared. (Though it's quite possible that the relationship dates back further than that to his time working with Ramtha.) That's over a decade of tethering themselves to people to syphon and feed off of human energy. It's no wonder that Dispenza has risen in prominence over that time. They want his reach to be as vast as possible in order to keep them satiated. Does he inform workshop participants of their presence and tell them who the beings are? This seems unlikely since he's stopped speaking on the subject of the giant, noble beings altogether.
This segment also highlights something that is addressed more at length in the documentary (Super) Natural Mind: The Art and Science of Transformation (2018) which is the sleep deprivation that goes along with these workshops. Dispenza mentions in passing that he's up at 2:30 in the morning to orchestrate the pineal gland workshop in which "everybody's sitting up and laying down." (They're actually lying down, but that's a different essay.) This means that he's facilitating these so-called meditations in the middle of the night. Yikes.
A Rolling Stone article focused on the endorsement of Joe Dispenza by beauty influencer Michelle Phan refers to the highlights of the event that she shared on Instagram —
Phan noted that the retreat she had attended entailed her getting four hours of sleep per day, waking up at 3 a.m. to meditate for five hours straight without bathroom breaks, concluding with a screengrab of her alarm set for 4 a.m. to do “body electric meditation.” “I am the universe experiencing itself, and I feel Love because I am Love,” she said.
You know who else intentionally manipulates the sleep patterns of participants? Cults. These are the “readiness drills” of Keith Reiner in NXIVM and the “White Nights” of Jim Jones in the Peoples Temple. This is how you break people. It’s commonly used with prisoners of war.
Why keep people up in the middle of the night for this work if you’re not trying to harm them? Sleep is one of the best methods for healing. Our bodies are brilliant and use that time for repairs. Yet Dispenza claims this is when these mediations are most effective. I ask, effective for whom?
Side bar to comment that every inch of me hurts while watching and writing the review of this video. These beings are powerful. They are drawing a lot of strength off of Dispenza’s workshops and audience at large as well as anyone who tangentially comes into contact with his work or devotees.
I suspect these are also the beings who were influencing and whispering to one of my former doctors which is how they have such a solid read on me. They’ve had a front row seat to my care. Even though I’ve severed that human relationship, the opportunity to plot out my weak points was already accomplished.
As I listen to Dispenza prattle on with complex terms and lofty (fake) quantum theory and neuroscience, I’m reminded that all of this can be explained in much simpler terms. How do I know? I do it. Every galactic visitor who has ever joined me has made it a point to elucidate these ideas in a way that is easy to understand. If something is still unclear, they break it down further or find a different approach.
The aim of my galactic friends, first and foremost, is for us to understand.
Dispenza’s convoluted, breathless hypnospeak is intentionally convoluted so that you don’t and can’t question him. It sounds impressive (sort of, not really) but it doesn’t say anything. He hides behind his words. For instance —
I was waking up and moving around. And I was between worlds. They started talking to me. They said to me, we can only lower our frequency to a certain point. We can’t lower our frequency or our energy any more because we would change our consciousness, and we love ourselves too much to do that. But if you can raise the frequency of the audience to a higher frequency, we’ll meet in that place where that energy intersects. And so there’s an invitation or a door for them to move through or to exist as.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
This is all hogwash. Instead of thinking about this in terms of frequency, swap it out for age. When you talk to kids, do you have to lower your intellect or intelligence? No, you retain that while still meeting them where they are. There will be things that they don’t understand or that you need to explain. The same goes for frequencies. Beings do not have to lower theirs to engage with us. I repeat, hogwash.
What this does sound like is priming for energy harvesting. Get people resonant to a specific frequency, and the energy theft is easier for these beings. If the participants heighten their frequency, there's more energy to syphon and harvest. Worse, these workshop goers are also coerced into opening themselves to having their souls removed so that malicious entities can step in to occupy their bodies.
So yes, not only do these beings support Dispenza’s work, they thrive off of it. They steal energy from his workshop participants. He feeds them. Even though he somewhat deflects this question when Lilou asks saying, "Yeah, I don't know if they directly support my work, but I'll tell you that maybe the better word to use is they approve of it." He knows.
Watching these interviews upsets me because there are so many people embracing Dispenza's 'healing' modalities. They’re just handing themselves over to aliens. How would they know? He has systematically shut down all defense mechanisms that a person naturally has. The brainwashing and hypnotism work.
The glee in Dispenza's voice as his face lights up describing how aggressive these beings can be is equally unsettling —
Maybe we'll play a couple testimonials of people who have been healed by them. And they are sometimes very aggressive. I mean very aggressive. In one story a woman had a severe problem with her hip and her knee, and while she was in the middle of a healing, this being grabbed her leg and shook it really hard. Really hard. And kept shaking it, shaking it, shaking it until it released. And she was yelling in her mind, "Hey! That hurts," and just kept working it until finally it just broke loose.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
Listen to this recounting about how aggressive these beings are and how Dispenza embraces it. This sounds to me like the beings are going against the will of the participants. They’re harming them — and not in a break the bone to reset it kind of way. Depending on the situation, this might also be the final straw that prompts the soul to leave the body. "Nope! I'm out. Enough of this." That leaves the door open for a walkin of some sort.
I'll say it again. These beings are harvesting energy throughout the week and storing it for a giant feast at the end. This is horrific. 1,500 people attend any given event, with some held in venues with a capacity of 12,400. Dispenza hosts roughly fifty per year. That’s a lot of energy to steal. (The average week long retreat costs $1,499 to $2,499 and day tickets are $550 on average, so it's not hurting his bottom line either.) There are very real and very serious ramifications to what Dispenza is peddling. He’s the Gislaine Maxwell to these alien beings. He is priming people for optimal energetic harvesting.
It's worth noting that this interview on the subject of giant beings is no longer available on Lilou Macé's YouTube channel. Suspicious. I have an archived version that I have shared which is why we're still able to reference it. In recent years, Dispenza has stopped discussing these beings altogether as he continues to distance himself from the mystical or spiritual side of his work (as he calls it) and substantiate himself in 'the science.' His discussion of brainwaves and brain states has increased. Unless you really dig, there's no visibility of the presence of these giant beings and the hold they still have over him.
Onto his healing claims —
Now we have 80% of the people that come to our events either have a mild, a moderate, or significant change in their health. And when I say significant, I mean complete remission. Now 30% has a complete remission of the condition in one week. Now that's a pretty good statistic, right?
So how it happens, whether there's an inter-dimensional being that decides to appear and shake someone's leg or do something with that person, the important point is that the person is experiencing something outside of their known neurological network. And when they come back to reality, how it happened to them is incidental. The major thing we see, Lilou, is how people feel. In other words, people have a healing.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
Dispenza spouts off the statistic that thirty percent of people go into complete remission of a symptom in one week. Those sound like great results. Can they be substantiated with actual data? I would love to know if and when symptoms recur with any of those folks or what specifications are being used to define “a mild, a moderate, or significant change in their health.” If this 'research' is at all similar to his 2024 published study on the effects of meditation on COVID, the scientific inaccuracies abound.
These statistics sound appealing. Who wouldn’t want complete remission after a week? Incredible, especially considering most of these people have probably been in chronic pain for literal years. But remember, it’s a Faustian bargain. What are they giving in return for what they have received? In this case, they're making that exchange without even knowing.
Dispenza blatantly says that the how, why, and what of the healing doesn’t matter. Doesn’t it? Wouldn’t you want to know what has transpired in your body? I would.
Pay attention to Dispenza's body language around the fifteen minute mark of the interview when Lilou asks the probing question —
Did they change? Did the group got bigger? Is it that they are more and more loving or actually is there a way to that they could be changing? I mean their energy could change, and they could take over. Or is that not at all…
— Lilou Macé, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” | August 2019
Arm scratch. Eyes to the ceiling. Hand wringing. While Dispenza counters —
These beings are not at all like that. They're not at all like that. These beings are benevolent. They are beautiful. They are graceful. They are noble. They're beautiful, and you wouldn't want to tell them what to do. You wouldn't want to request anything from them. They're just… They're… They move with such beauty and grace, and they're interested in certain, certain people at certain times. And they know when it's the right time.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
When he says, “These beings aren’t at all like that,” meaning they wouldn’t take over, his mannerisms betray him. Without a doubt, Dispenza is taking instructions from them. They are in control. He doesn't ask questions because he is not allowed to do so. That would break their agreement. He would lose his wealth and power.
To really drive home the intentionality of Dispenza’s actions, read his blog post, “Opening Pandora’s Box, Part I: Crossing the Threshold” in which he states —
Now, we’re crossing the threshold into the realm of our subconscious – where we encounter hidden aspects of ourselves; unknown to us in waking life. We’re opening Pandora’s Box.
As these memories and experiences rise to the surface, we often experience vivid dreams or visions that can seem frightening and dark. And it’s confusing, because the associated energy seems counter to the enlightened state we’re trying to cultivate.
This is quite common in early stages of practice. Some people see faces or disembodied entities. Others hear voices. Some experience recurring nightmare visions; a loop of imagery they can’t seem to break. And some are so troubled by what they see and experience, they’re tempted to quit.
But when the work seems hardest and most uncomfortable is when it matters most to stay with it.— Opening Pandora’s Box, Part I: Crossing the Threshold, Joe Dispenza | July 1, 2022
What Dispenza is preying on those with an utter lack of discernment and telling those who do have it to override those warnings!!! He knows these beings are up to no good. He returns to their physical appearance again and again. This has no bearing on whether beings are benevolent or malevolent. Beautiful beings can be incredibly cruel and beings we deem hideous can shower infinite love. The same is true for humans. It certainly helps if those with nefarious agendas are beautiful though, much easier to hide in plain sight and get people to trust you that way.
In his interview with Lilou Macé, he continues —
Then you go to your physician the next day, and you say, "Yeah, I had all these problems. And yeah, this inter-dimensional being did this thing to me. And you know, I don't know. And now I'm better."
Yeah. Doctor doesn't care. All he cares about is you're better, right? And so, so whatever's happening in that world between wakefulness and sleep in that transcendental moment is the most important thing for the person. So they come back to life. They come back to their world. And now they're there in a new body. They're in a new life, a new environment. And they're in a whole new time.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
What? What? What? What? Whenever the phrase “new body” or "new life" springs up in a conversation of this nature, I give it the squinchy side eye. “They come back to life and now they’re in a new body. They’re in a new life, a new environment, and a whole new time.” Can you say alien walkins? Danger! Danger!
As Lilou asks her follow up question —
Could we say that those beings or other actually civilization, if we could say, or extraterrestrial beings in other galaxies are really there to want more and more of these type of connections with all of us to support our growth, our evolution. And this is really a time of revelation?
— Lilou Macé, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” | August 2019
Dispenza crosses his arms, looks away, and bites his lip.
None of these is a trait or reaction to be trusted, particularly because his response is, "Well, I don't know that they've not always been interested in the human race."
Listening to this interview again as he describes the workshops, this flood of information came to me.
How much body swapping is happening? How many beings are displacing the souls whose bodies are present and in a hypnotized state? These are black market energy dealings to put aliens in human bodies. Do not trifle with them. Dispenza is serving his audience up to aliens.
If a person's in suffering, in guilt and unworthiness and shame, that's a different energy. And you attract different consciousnesses as a result of that. Yeah? And now all of a sudden, you, in a sense, have a parasite that's weakening the host but not taking… but not weakened enough that it destroys it. Right? So you have that, that happens as well, and just because you have a body doesn't mean… You don't have a body, doesn't mean you're, you're enlightened. You know?
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
It's unclear to me what Dispenza is actually intending to describe when addressing the dynamic of a parasite weakening a host. This is the truth hidden in plain sight. His explanation is exactly what is happening with the giant beings. They're taking just enough to weaken an individual until ultimately they destroy it. Horrific. But don’t worry, they're beautiful!!
This is followed by a whole sequence of Dispenza talking about fractals, a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, even though that’s not what he’s actually describing since he says they look like patterns of a kaleidoscope or barcodes. These things are entirely different. My suspicion is that this is more of him throwing around big words to seem impressive or to jumble the mind of the viewer.
I sense it. I see it with my eyes closed, and then it unfolds, like it rolls out, and this beautiful being is standing right next to me. And I'm sitting there with my eyes closed, and I say, "Oh shit! Like holy, whoa!"
And I hear it laugh, and it sounds like a symphony, like a harmony. And it said to me while I was thinking about how to explain how we read frequencies, like that, that fractal pattern, that's… that's information.
And it said, "May I suggest a barcode."
And I thought while he said that or she said that, I said, "What do you know about bar codes? Do you shop in a supermarket?"
And it laughed really loud. And as soon as I saw the barcode, I knew that the only way a barcode could be read is with a laser. A laser is coherent light, and when you have that coherent heart and that coherent brain, now you're producing a very multi-dimensional signal. And now you can read. You can read that fractal. It's just information. It's coming from Source, and it's slowing down into patterns. And your pineal gland is actually going to take that and transduce that into profound imagery. That's what it's going to do.
So it's like a barcode. So then as we begin to create more coherence in the brain, more coherence in the heart, you're creating a very profound laser — a Wi-Fi signal that can allow you to read information. Can't read it if you're separate. You can't read it if your brain's incoherent. You can't read it if your heart's incoherent. And so the more coherence and order you have, the more the experience gets enriched because you can't read that information unless you're ready for it. That's the point.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
While most of this is nonsense, what is evident to me is that these patterns are being used as brands and tattoos for the aliens to track the attendees. It reminds me of tagging birds to chart their migration patterns or chipping cattle to claim them as yours. And if we're talking barcodes, is that in fact to price humans for sale or trade?
This makes my heart hurt. While this all sounds theoretical, it’s not. They’re destroying real people.
Here's the cult tactic to break you little by little to dismantle your defenses to allow all of this to happen —
You stretch a person out of the known. You take them on that journey, and they're gonna go with you. And they're gonna get beyond their fear, their pain, their past, their identity — all the things that keep us trapped in the same world. And we stretch people outside of that realm. And every time they step into the unknown and they realize it's safe, they relax a little bit more. And they're a little bit more happy with themselves, a little bit more in love with themselves. They're believing in themselves a little bit more.
And all of a sudden now, they feel worthy. And we only, the Universe only gives us what we think we're worthy of receiving. So a person's in a state of grace and worthiness, doors open. Like, let's show you.
— Joe Dispenza, “Giant Invisible Beings Working with Dr Joe Dispenza” with Lilou Macé | August 2019
Incoming. Incoming. More cult language. “And in that moment, they’re worthy to receive.” Warning! Warning! When you start throwing around the term worthy, that’s accompanied by a lot of red flags. See how this is the Law of Attraction repackaged without the label?
The flip side of all of this is that if unwanted things are coming into your life, you attracted it. It's your fault. You did it. You aren't worthy or didn't believe you were worthy. If you did believe you were worthy, you didn't believe that you were worthy enough. If you did, the bad things wouldn't have happened. This is yet another cult tactic that positions followers to be blamed for their own misfortune so that when the cult leader abuses them, the fault is their own. The abuser is never accountable. As the abuse escalates, the follower doubts him or herself more and more and more until he or she is completely broken.
I recognize that this is an exhausting breakdown. Yes, exhausting not exhaustive. I’m trying really hard not to focus on Dispenza’s rogue definitions, but there's one that I can’t let slide. Plasma as he describes it is, “When you have a negative charge and a positive charge, and they haven’t formed an atom yet.”
The actual definition of plasma is, “superheated matter – so hot that the electrons are ripped away from the atoms forming an ionized gas.” Plasma is a state of matter. It’s not holding anything together.
The constant barrage of false terms is infuriating. The man lies. Extensively. It's what allows him to make things up to substantiate any and all claims he has.
My dad and my Statler and Waldorf comment of the evening is that, “He has 200 words in his vocabulary and throws them together randomly.” With his explanation of frozen water and three stones and shining a light through it and holograms as he described stars, things really went off the deep end. It’s like quantum MadLibs.
In case you wonder how stars really connect, let's head over to NASA and their aptly titled article, "How Do Stars Form?"
I'll Skip the Brainwashing, Thanks
I've approached this breakdown of Joe Dispenza and his work by mainly focusing on two interviews and a documentary by Gaia. The videos I have watched are not limited to these three. I have also watched additional interviews for the revisiting of this topic. You can find the complete playlist of everything I viewed here.
Brainwash Is in the Title
This Impact Theory interview between host Tom Bilyea and guest Joe Dispenza is five years old (now six) but still one of the most recommended and viewed videos according to YouTube. Let’s shift gears from the shady, unseen energetic practices that Dispenza is employing and focus on his made up ‘science’ and invented definitions for a bit.
The title itself made me go bleh when I first came across it — “How To BRAINWASH Yourself For Success & Destroy NEGATIVE THOUGHTS! | Dr. Joe Dispenza.” I dismissed it thinking it was a title provided by the host. Then I started seeing that same language elsewhere. Other channels were using the term ‘brainwash’ when posting interviews with Dispenza.
The interview hosted by Jay Shetty caught my eye when it too had an almost identical title, “Dr. Joe Dispenza ON: How To BRAINWASH Yourself For Success & Destroy NEGATIVE THOUGHTS!”
This leads me to believe that Dispenza is providing that wording as a recommendation of how to title his appearances, particularly because this is a term that he uses frequently. Brainwash. Really? Interesting language. To brainwash is to “make (someone) adopt radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible pressure.” Is that a tactic you want to embrace for yourself or impose on others? I don’t.
Does brainwashing scream cult? Why yes it does.
Tangentially, you should totally watch Nicole Arbour's video — “Jay Shetty Is Full Of SHIT!” — about Jay Shetty’s work and how the Facebook algorithm artificially inflates the popularity and visibility of certain accounts and creators. (YouTube does this too.) She also highlights how Shetty plagiarizes everyone while providing zero attributions. Arbour isn’t always the most reliable narrator, but man, does she nail this one. And don’t think that Shetty is the only one pulling this crap. A lot of larger accounts steal from smaller folks.
Back to Dispenza.
Tom Bilyea begins the interview by introducing Dispenza’s book, You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter (2015). That cover!! So creepy!! There’s a nineties horror movie titled The Frighteners (1996) that has this same concept for the poster. Absolutely the parallel one wants to draw in a self-actualization book. Not! (That was a heavy dose of sarcasm.) But you have to believe that this reference is intentional.
I was focused on the cover art while my dad was exploding about the misuse of the term placebo. (He watches most of this stuff with me. Shameless plug for how awesome he is.) Would you like a definition?
placebo | pla·ce·bo /pləˈsēbō/
noun
a harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect. Alternately, a substance that has no therapeutic effect, used as a control in testing new drugs.
A placebo may have a psychological effect, but mainly it’s the control to weed out the other psychological effects of taking something. The placebo is separate from the psychological effects that you are giving it. It’s a nothing. Ergo, the title of his book is "You Are the Nothing." Again we have the language and the meanings under the meanings. If you think I'm reading too much into this, I would like to inform you that his previous book was titled Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One (2013). So no, I'm not.
I didn’t even make it four minutes into the Impact Theory interview without yelling at the screen. Dispenza claims, “Emotions are the end products of past experiences.” What!?!! Let’s pull out a definition again.
emotion | e·mo·tion /əˈmōSH(ə)n/
noun
a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships with others or instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge.
Dispenza continues by saying —
How you think and how you feel creates your state of being. So the person's entire state of being when they start their day is in the past. So what does that mean? The familiar past will sooner or later be predictable future. So if you believe that your thoughts have something to do with your destiny, and you can't think greater than how you feel — or feelings have become the means of thinking, by very definition of emotions — you're thinking in the past.
— Joe Dispenza on Impact Theory with Tom Bilyea | June 12, 2018
This sounds all sort of noddably agreeable until you put actual examples to it, at which point you realize it’s totally bogus.
So you’re upset about your breakup because of past breakups? You’re grieving the death of your friend because of past deaths? You just saw a tragic accident. Are you not supposed to have any emotion because you’re never encountered something that horrific?
You'll note that Dispenza is also relying on his false definition of emotions to substantiate his claim. He ends this diatribe with the phrase, "by very definition of emotions." Except he's redefined it! So by the actual definition his assertion is false.
He throws these claims and definitions out so quickly that you’re meant to go, “Oh, okay!” with no support for his erroneous declarations. This is a perfect example of hypnospeak.
Eradicating All of the Warning Signals
My body is so agitated watching this interview. It feels like I’ve downed a quad shot of espresso and then gone back for another round. With as jumpy as I am viewing this, it’s certainly energy syphoning or something equally egregious, meaning it happens with his broadcasts and not only at retreats and workshops.
Dispenza also uses the cult language undertones of telling you to ignore the cues your body is giving you that signify that you should question things. He actively says to override when your body says, “That doesn’t feel right.” To which I say — Danger! Danger! Those are the very signals that will keep you out of his clutches. If you need a reminder on the importance of them, I encourage you to watch Gavin de Becker discuss the gift of fear.
Pay attention to how much Dispenza touches his face or brings his finger to his mouth or right above his lips. The frequency is incredible, and the interview has only just begun! This is his tell that he doesn’t believe what he is spouting. It’s also a hypnosis technique of getting the viewer to recenter attention after each lie, as if to say, “Come back to me.”
I’m fascinated by Bilyea’s body language. While Dispenza is busy fidgeting, Bilyea (the host) looks at him with feigned interest. I imagine him wondering, “What the hell are you talking about!?” while trying to maintain professional composure.
Meanwhile Dispenza substantiates his false claims by citing his erroneous definitions as validation and evidence. He's using made up information as the basis for further made up information. That doesn't work. Citing one's own distorted definitions and claims does not validate subsequent points. This doesn’t stop him from doing an awful lot of it.
Next up is a dismantling of routines. Let’s not knock routine. Those are the activities that free your mind to focus on more creative endeavors. If we had to think about the mechanics of brushing our teeth every time we did it, we would be exhausted.
I can speak to this first hand having had physical impairments prevent me from easily brushing my teeth or washing my hair or getting up and down from a toilet. When these are not habitual or routine, vast amounts of energy pour into doing them, depriving you of resources to spend on other more enjoyable endeavors.
[People] go through a series of routine behaviors. They get out of bed on the same side. They go to the toilet. They get a cup of coffee. They take a shower. They get dressed. They drive to work the same way. They do the same things. They see the same people that pushed the same emotional buttons. And that becomes the routine, and it becomes like a program. So now they've lost their free will to a program, and there's no unseen hand doing it to them.
— Joe Dispenza on Impact Theory with Tom Bilyea | June 12, 2018
I’m sorry, what!?! How did we get to the assertion that, “You’ve lost your freewill to a program.” I repeat, what!?!?!
That was a leap. Also, no.
Finding a cadence in your day is not equivalent to losing free will. Is someone forcing you to complete those tasks in that order? Have I lost free will because I put the glasses and the cups and the plates in the same spot in the dishwasher every time? No. It’s where they fit best and reduces decision fatigue.
Oh good. Dispenza threw in a random, unsubstantiated data point for good measure —
95% of who we are by the time we’re 35 years old is a memorized set of behaviors, emotional reactions, unconscious habits, hardwired attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions that function like a computer program.
— Joe Dispenza on Impact Theory with Tom Bilyea | June 12, 2018
Did you notice how he rattled that off so quickly that you didn’t have time to process much less question? Dispenza purposely doesn’t pause to let you think and critique what he is saying. This rapid speech is a hypnosis technique. More hypnospeak. More lies and made up information.
As my dad put it, “All of these guys rattle off a false constructs so quickly that you’re meant to assume it’s true.” Throw in some made up statistics and continue to speak rapidly and no one can question you.
I’m struck that there’s so much information pumped at you through a fire hose of speech. Dispenza speaks in a monosyllabic, stream of consciousness pattern without taking a breath or pausing to let a question sneak into conversation.
This is not the first interview that I’ve seen like this. It’s a common technique in this space (though certainly not relegated exclusively to self-help and spirituality). By the time Dispenza, or those like him, pause, the viewer or interviewer is so overwhelmed that he or she doesn’t even know where to begin picking the argument apart or asking questions to gain clarity. This is intentional. At this level of the game, these speech patterns are not an accident.
Knowing that most of the folks reading my writing are over forty, do you feel like 95% of who you are is the same as when you were 35? I certainly don’t! The core of who we are remains the same as we’re constantly evolving. Don’t let this drivel convince you otherwise. This comment also makes his comments about returning from his week long retreats as a “whole new person” even more suspect.
As I mentioned earlier, I bet a lot of you think that Joe Dispenza is a neuroscientist. He is not. He is a chiropractor who has supposedly studied a lot of neuroscience — not a knock on chiropractors. This becomes relevant because of how he portrays this and the ambiguity he pursues to make his medical claims seem more established than they are.
Now, you know that I have my qualms with the traditional medical model. But what he’s doing is trying to use its clout to make himself and his ideas more important all the while not actually citing any science or research behind his ideas. On one hand, fine. I convey the ideas of ghosts and galactic beings — the difference being that I don’t hide behind false credentials to do so. I’m a gal with an Art History degree who’s phenomenal at business process, loves giant dogs, talks to the trees, and enjoys quilting. Do with that what you will. Oh, and I make a fabulous chocolate chip cookie. My dad will confirm this.
On the other hand, Dispenza is hiding by positioning himself as a scientist and hiding behind ‘the science’ in order to differentiate himself from the spiritual and mystical side of the self-help industry. Except, his science is no more valid than that of Dr. Fauci. The only difference is that Dispenza isn't torturing Beagles (to the best of my knowledge).
Even a cursory glance at Dispenza's published study that he touts in all of his 2024 interviews tells you that the data is unsound; the participant pool is completely biased as well as far too small; the findings are circumstantial at best; there's a stated conflict of interest. At the end of the day, he's spewing all of the same Law of Attraction nonsense, with a Kundalini spin, while avoiding calling it by name.
Trauma, Trauma, Trauma
The stronger the emotional reaction you have to some experience in your life, the higher the emotional quotient. The more you pay attention to the cause and the moment the brain puts all of its attention on the cause, it takes a snapshot, and that's called a memory. So long-term memories are created from very highly emotional experiences.
So what happens then is that people think neurologically within the circuitry of that experience, and they feel chemically within the boundaries of those emotions. So when you have an emotional reaction to someone or something, most people think that they can't control their emotional reaction.
— Joe Dispenza on Impact Theory with Tom Bilyea | June 12, 2018
As Dispenza rattles off all of this nonsense in response to Bilyea asking why people find it so hard to move past trauma, I don’t even know where to begin in disputing it because there isn’t a sensical thread. How is Dispenza even defining trauma?
Trauma by definition is “a deeply distressing or disturbing experience.” That differs wildly for each of us! Two different people can have the same experience, and only one of them stores it as trauma. Also, not everything is trauma no matter how much the internet tries to convince us it is these days.
Meanwhile, memories (something remembered from the past; a recollection) and trauma (a deeply distressing or disturbing experience) are two completely different things. One can remember a trauma, but that does not make a trauma a memory. Yet Dispenza consistently conflates them.
Well, it turns out if you allow that emotional reaction — it's called a refractory period — to last for hours or days, that's called a mood.
I say to someone, "Hey, what's up?"
You say, "I'm in a mood."
I say, "Well, why are you in a mood?"
"Well, I had this thing happen to me five days ago, and I'm having one long emotional reaction."
If you keep that same emotional reaction going on for weeks or months, that's called temperament. Why is he so bitter? I don't know. Let's ask him. Why is he so bitter? Why are you bitter? Well, I had this thing happened to me nine months ago.
And if you keep that same emotional reaction going on for years on end, that's called a personality trait. And so learning how to shorten your refractory period of emotional reactions is really where that work starts.
— Joe Dispenza on Impact Theory with Tom Bilyea | June 12, 2018
Then there’s this bit, where I throw my hands up in frustration. He’s just making crap up in rapid succession at this point. Let’s dismantle some of this blather.
Refractory Period
An emotional reaction implies that it cannot be based in reason. A refractory period, according to the American Psychological Association, is “a period of inactivity after a neuron or muscle cell has undergone excitation… [and] will not respond to any stimulus.” Merriam-Webster defines it as, “the brief period immediately following the response especially of a muscle or nerve before it recovers the capacity to make a second response.” If this is the case, how can Dispenza claim that there’s a reaction?
Mood
A mood is “a conscious state of mind or predominant emotion” or “a state of feeling at a particular time.” A temperament is “the combination of mental, physical, and emotional states” or “characteristic or habitual inclination or mode of emotional response.” This is as close as he comes to using an actual definition. Except, he’s stringing it together with so many false definitions that it loses its meaning and credibility.
Personality Trait
Meanwhile, a personality trait is define as “a relatively stable, consistent, and enduring internal characteristic that is inferred from a pattern of behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and habits in the individual” or “usually traits, characteristics, and qualities that help define you as a unique individual.” Note that those are all plural. They’re a compilation of many aspects of your life, not the ‘refractory period’ of a single emotional reaction to something.
What’s wild is that you hear Dispenza recite an earlier iteration of this assertion in the 2004 documentary What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?. It goes as follows —
Who is in the driver's seat when we control our emotions or when we respond to our emotions? We know physiologically that nerve cells that fire together wire together. If you practice something over and over again those nerve cells have a long term relationship. If you get angry on a daily basis, if you get frustrated on a daily basis, if you suffer on a daily basis, if you give reasons for the victimization in your life, you're rewiring and reintegrating that neuro-net on a daily basis. And that neuro-net now has a long term relationship with all those other nerve cells called an identity.
We also know that nerve cells that don't fire together no longer wire together. They lose their long term relationship because every time we interrupt the thought process that produces the chemical response in the body, every time we interrupt it, those nerve cells that are connected to each other start breaking a long term relationship. When we start interrupting and observing, not by stimulus and response and that automatic reaction, but by observing the effects it takes, then we are no longer the body, mind, conscious emotional person that's responding to its environment as if it is automatic.
I like to think that Bilyea’s internal dialogue at this point goes something like this, “Why did I invite him to this interview? Do I need to pick eggs up on the way home? How much longer do I have to sit here? Is he going to let me ask a question?”
Pick a clip from the Impact Theory interview, and watch Dispenza’s eyes. There’s no life to them, just like the monotone of his voice.
Then he touches his upper lip at the end of every point because he doesn’t believe what he just said. Pay attention to how often he does this throughout the interview. It happens at least four times in under a minute around the 7:57 mark if you're looking for a prime example.
I really wish I could have recorded viewing this video Mystery Science Theater style as my dad broke apart all of the definitions. His Behavioral Psych degree was really put to good use during this viewing. Dispenza is redefining words to suit his arguments. Slap some enthusiasm onto that, and it must be true!
For instance, “The redundancy of that cycle conditions the body to become the mind.” Sorry to be a broken record here, but what!?!?! No. No. No. The mind and body are connected and have an ongoing dialogue but one does not ever become the other.
I’ve been grappling with why so many people are enamored with these teachings when all I hear is gobbly gook. My dad has pointed out to me that it’s this concept of blaming the body so that you can abdicate responsibility. It’s not my fault. This is how I’m wired. Begrudgingly I see how that can be appealing to some.
A round of applause for Tom Bilyeu for asking the follow up question, “Give me a little more detail. What do you mean by the body becomes the mind or the unconscious mind? What do you mean by that exactly?” referring to the body becoming the mind.
Of course, Dispenza responds, “Well, those are two different things. Your body is your unconscious mind,” even though literally less than a minute and a half earlier he claimed that one became the other — followed by a face touch.
I can’t understand why anyone is confused! (Yes, sarcasm.) Way to contradict yourself, as the finger to the mouth self silencing continues.
I’m not going to continue to pick apart Dispenza's every word because it’s too exhausting to keep up with the lies stacked on lies and the constant redefining of terms. Plus, we’ll be here all day.
Know that this information is being fed to you rapid fire for a reason. It’s so that your brain does not have the time or bandwidth to question it. Dispenza relies on that. His teachings are a house of cards. When you question one piece, the rest crumbles to the ground.
Dispenza’s teachings are also a much more subtle version of the New Age adage that if things aren’t panning out for you that it’s all your fault. He doesn’t ever address it directly but alludes to it multiple times. I suspect that it’s spelled out more clearly in other interviews or in his writing.
Additionally, he wants you to think that his intellect is staggering and that you’re not intelligent enough to keep up with him. It’s not you. You’re plenty savvy to engage with complex discussions. Want to know how I know!?! You demonstrate it again and again in these series as you send the most interesting insights and probing questions. Don’t let Dispenza fool you about your own capabilities.
I said I wasn’t going to break every last concept apart, but I take specific issue with this one, “If you’re not being defined by a vision of the future, then you’re left with the old memories of the past and you will be predictable in your life.” Many of us are building futures with an outcome that we cannot even conceive. We are living day to day knowing that we are on the right path, pointed in the right direction waiting to see what unveils. What Dispenza is saying is a load of crap.
For me, the ideal balance is to look to the past to educate your present and your future. You learn from your past behaviors as well as the actions of others. This influences subsequent decisions you make. You follow your interests and your strengths.
Let’s take a simple example to disprove Dispenza’s stance. I’m a novice gardener, but I know that planting corn in the dead of winter in Northern Michigan won’t result in the outcome I desire.
You keep an eye on the future, adjusting your trajectory as you glean new information.
The other thing that I keep coming back to is that Dispenza assumes that all of your past decisions have been undesirable ones. His whole premise is that your history is riddled with bad outcomes. You need to change. Maybe you don’t want to rewrite your whole life but rather fine tune for even better scenarios.
What if you like this version of yourself? What if those people you see every day make you the best version of you? What if you don’t feel that you constantly have to reinvent yourself because you’re happy with who you are? Where is that angle in this discussion?
But that doesn't sell seats at week long workshops. It's far more lucrative to push change, change, change.
Meditation or Entrapment?
The way Dispenza describes meditation makes my skin crawl. “If you can sit your body down and tell it to stay like an animal,” he suggests. Bleh. Our body is filled with incredible wisdom. Why would we ever want to tell it to sit down and shut up in this way? This is a further example of him trying to sever the deep connection between mind and body. In doing so, a person becomes much easier to manipulate.
“You’re going to sit there and obey me.” Is that really the conversation you want to be having with your body and your mind? No thanks. Not for me. In his more recent work, he suggests entirely severing the brain and body connection. The only people who will try to convince you to do this are ones aiming to control you. Do not listen.
I loathe this definition of meditation and the look of anger on Dispenza’s face as he suggests it.
In explaining how our current state is linked to the emotions we are reliving, he says that “You’re syphoning your energy out of the present moment and into the past.” This is true, but not in the way that he means. He is actively facilitating the energy exchange between his audience and ancient beings of Egypt, the ones who influenced the building of the pyramids to be exact. The energy that is being sent back through time to them is keeping them alive. They’re not present in our current 2023 timeframe, but that doesn’t mean they won’t jump through time to catch up.
Quantum This. Quantum That.
Why is it always the people with the worst ideas who push the concept that we shouldn’t judge?
By the time Dispenza starts discussing his fraudulent take on quantum theory, I find I simply want to yell, "Bullshit! Stop throwing out quantum terms as though they mean what you say they mean." I've yet to find someone in the realm of spirituality and healing who is using them correctly.
When he starts talking about removing programming, I see all sorts of red flags. Those so called programs are there for a reason. These are our survival instincts that keep us alive. Yes, there are other patterns that we have adopted that may no longer be serving us, but let’s not lump them all together. Dispenza has a different take —
We have to unlearn before we relearn. We have to break the habit of the old self before we reinvent a new self. We have to prune synaptic connections and sprout new connections. We have to unfire and unwire and refire and rewire. We have to unmemorize emotions that are stored in the body and then recondition the body to a new mind and to a new emotion, deprogram, and reprogram. That's the act, and it's a two-step process.
— Joe Dispenza on Impact Theory with Tom Bilyea | June 12, 2018
Telling our bodies and our minds to ignore those programs results in abandoning ourselves and the intelligence of our intuition. Cults rely on this to push people further and further into complying with behaviors far outside of your comfort zone. Be wary.
A Kernel of Truth
Twenty minutes into the Impact Theory interview, we get to the kernel of truth. Here’s how folks like Dispenza fool you. Buried in all of this babble is a nugget of truth — don’t let excuses validate your shortcomings. True. These nuggets are there to substantiate the rest of the gobbly gook. One speck of accuracy does not make the rest that is nonsense true.
There was another kernel of truth around the fourteen minute mark too highlighting how you can’t wait for the external circumstances to be perfect in order to be fulfilled. I agree. You need to find your way there in this moment with things exactly as they are. (Which actually means that you don’t need to change yourself, only your perception.) From that place of contentment and stability, expand into enjoying life even more. Weather the hard moments not by ignoring them but by embracing that they are part of the fluctuations of life.
I had some additional notes on this interview, but I’m scrapping them. You get where I’m going with all of this. A few more examples aren’t going to persuade anyone who isn’t already questioning Dispenza's validity.
The general gist is that Dispenza plays fast and loose with terms and definitions while jumping from a physical arena to a psychological arena. The reason that he’s so creepy is that it’s clear that he doesn’t believe what he’s saying — arm scratch, touch, touch, lip tug, curl, curl.
This man knows that he’s a charlatan. He’s going to keep peddling this nonsense as long as people are willing to pay him for it. Here’s why this breaks my heart — his following is comprised of people who have tried everything. They’re desperate. He preys on that as do his alien companions.
Documentary or Infomercial?
If you’re still with me, hi. And thanks. This is a coupon for $2 off your next Coke for your perseverance. Substack tells me this is a 68 minute read. Thanks for your time.
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I watched the documentary (Super) Natural Mind: The Art and Science of Transformation (2018), but I viewed it for good measure. Mainly, I wanted to see some of Dispenza’s workshops in action.
It opens with him explaining —
If it happens once, it’s an incident. If it happens twice it’s a coincidence, but if you see it happening three and four and five and six and seven times, now you’re looking at a trend. You’re looking at a pattern. And anything that’s repeatable is science.
— Joe Dispenza, (Super) Natural Mind: The Art and Science of Transformation (2018)
What an erroneous definition of all of those things.
This is a chair interview as I like to call them (really a direct address or straight to camera interview) which means it’s a well thought out statement captured through multiple takes. This is not some offhand comment that we should dismiss. It’s been framed as the intro and premise of the entire documentary.
As the documentary introduces meditation, Dispenza stands in front of a workshop crowd telling them, “Now there’s four kinds of meditations. There’s a standing meditation, a walking meditation, a sitting down meditation, and a lying down meditation.” How limiting!
By definition meditation is “to engage in contemplation or reflection.” There are countless ways to do that. I don’t need to be walking, sitting, standing, or lying down. Maybe hopping on a pogo stick is where you find the clarity of contemplation and reflection or when you’re washing dishes.
I’ve watched enough interviews with Dispenza to understand that he always frames meditation in these tight parameters. I would understand if this were positioned as an introduction of the four most accessible ways to mediate or some such thing. It’s not. What often happens when you narrowly define how to meditate is that you lose people who think they’re doing it 'the wrong way.' Instead of helping them figure out what method works for them to connect to their internal insights, they believe that they have failed.
Again, this comes back to the kind of crowd he’s attracting. These tend to be people who are at their wits’ end and have tried everything else. The last thing they need is to have one more thing not work for them. It leads to more isolation and frustration that often gets turned back on themselves. They feel that they’ve done something wrong when really it’s weak teaching.
Ultimately what you’re looking to do through mediation is to be more present in your life. What I hear when I listen to Dispenza talk about his version of meditation is actually promotion of disconnection from your life, from your body, and from your environment.
As you start opening your focus and sensing space and nothing, as you begin to unfold into that infinite vast void, the longer you can linger there as an awareness, and you’re touching and tuning into a frequency called the unified field, which it’s signature is order and rhythm which is wholeness. Sooner or later, coherence is going to consume incoherence and all of a sudden the brain is going to become more integrated.
— Joe Dispenza,(Super) Natural Mind: The Art and Science of Transformation | 2018
Does this sound like cult conformity programming to anyone else?
Coherence is a word you hear him use with great frequency. I’ve been writing it off as just one more term that doesn’t mean what he says it means. But is there more there? My intuitive nudge tells me that there is.
Nature is chaotic. Space is chaotic. We’re not all meant to be the same. We’re not meant to be identical, tapping in synchronized rhythm like metronomes, as shown on screen in the documentary.
That concept of uniformity evokes Socialism and dystopian societies and cults. It’s a big part of the reason that I believe that 'Unity Consciousness' and the 'New Earth' are alien ploys for control and energy harvesting.
I really have to ask what they’re tapping into in these exercises. As they show clips of the audience in deep meditation, I see beings wandering the crowd examining them. Poking. Prodding. Sniffing. It reminds me of how one assesses cattle looking for the heartiest of the bunch. They remind me of the creatures in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village (2004) with their hunched nature and shuffling.
It’s clear the way these beings present themselves to Dispenza as massive, noble beings is not their true appearance. This isn’t uncommon for those beings who wish to manipulate. We’re not supposed to see their genuine essence.
Throughout the documentary, Dispenza’s trend to use words in ways that mean something different than what they actually mean continues.
Reaching the end of this documentary, you realize, it and he did not explain anything. Just like his recent docu-infomercial, Source: It's Within You (2024), this is meant to sell you on his intelligence and convince you to attend a seven day retreat. Vague anecdotes for three main individuals are meant to substantiate the work that Joe Dispenza is doing in the field of meditation. I’m not convinced. I know, you’re shocked. His interviews work the same way.
There’s definitely an element of "the Emperor has no clothes" happening here. Dispenza has such a high profile that who would question? We would. That’s who. All too often we’re afraid to go against the grain because we fear we’re a lone voice. There are always people who are asking themselves the same things. Once you speak, you’ll be joined by a chorus.
The Eyes Tell the Story
I try really hard to focus on body language, not physical appearance (unless we’re chatting privately in my DMs). My aim is to critique ideas and presentation, not the look of a person. I'm breaking my rule here because when I originally published this to Instagram, I received numerous comments regarding how Dispenza presents himself. (I will be gracious enough to skip all commentary on his new hair plugs.)
Bear in mind that Joe Dispenza has been speaking professionally and hosting retreats for over two decades. At this juncture of his career, he likely has a media team and a stylist crafting his appearance. So when he shifts from wearing button down shirts to ones with Mandarin collars, it's an intentional choice in order to take on the air of Guru.
I often find myself asking how these people who sell health and healing for a living lack vibrancy and vitality and are still trusted. Dispenza, the Medical Medium, John of God, Gabor Maté, and the list goes on lack luster and exuberance. If I’m taking health advice from you, I require that you not look unwell. Others share my sentiments.
One person commented, "He doesn’t look healthy or charming at all. Why are some people so obsessed with this guy? The dark beady eyes alone make you not want to trust him. It’s creepy." While another said, "I believe that eyes are the mirrors of the soul. The eyes are blank.. I can’t feel any positive or sincere or authentic energy coming out. 🫣"
Even when a person is dealing with health struggles, a situation for which I have tons of compassion, their eyes still tell you who they are, even if the body is having a moment. Is there a glimmer to them or are they dead, hollow, or empty?
I keep asking myself how so many people can trust him. He’s been on the scene for twenty years. There are countless documentaries featuring him. Yet, if I met this man, I would want to walk out of the room. What is it that draws people to him? Is it desperation? Why are his predatory ways overlooked?
I want to wrap this up in some way, a tidy ending. I don’t have one. I don’t like him. I think he’s doing incredible harm. My heart hurts watching this level of manipulation. I want these aliens to go away along with their demon minions. They’ve snaked their way into so many people’s energy fields. Their food supply needs to be severed. Hopefully casting some light on this is a good first step.
As a palate cleanser to the muck that is Dispenza, my dad and I have been watching snippets from Adam Savage's Tested livestreams and his behind the scenes studio tours of major sets. The former co-host of MythBusters (2003-18) provides more heart, enthusiasm, insight, and advice in a ten minute clip or less than Dispenza does over the course of multiple 2+ hour long interviews. I'm providing one such example below.
This is why when people ask me which spiritual teachers to follow, I have no recommendations. Find someone who exhibits joy and amazement over a hobby or a craft or a skill. Recently the farmer who raises our meat regaled us with the ins and outs of corn in animal feed and how that impacts fat ratios and hanging weights. I understood a mere fraction of what he explained. It didn't matter. His pride in his work and excitement for his methodologies were captivating.
Turn to people who want to help you cultivate real skills and real understanding. Follow the enthusiasm. Life is too short to take advice from people who can't muster excitement for their own endeavors. Stay away from these dang cult leaders while you're at it.
Believe it or not, this is only part one of three. There’s more!
Thank you so much for this article. Very well researched and put, in my opinion. I have attended a week-long retreat of his and have encountered very few other people who have stopped attending after a short time as it was clear this is a cult, and nothing else. It saddens me to have observed how people get sucked into this group, as the majority of people seemed to buy into everything. Very, very sad to then see them there at their 11th, 5th or 28th retreat and dragging their kids along (or sending their teenagers there as a 'gift'). Horrifying. My advice is to stay clear of any of them and also any such Podcasts, audiobooks, materials and Youtube-Channels. THIS is also part of that eco-system. Most critical posts (and there are not so many) are bombarded with comments of people commenting about how he helped them 'heal' etc., so I suppose his followers are very loyal (and very much brainwashed indeed).