Jim Belushi, sitcom star of the show “According to Jim” is out hawking a book titled Real Men Don’t Apologize. But the book and Belushi’s philosophy is largely based upon the views of a controversial weekend seminar guru with a “cult following” named Justin Sterling.

Jim Belushi's book not so sweetSterling who now lives in California was born in Brooklyn. His given name was Arthur ”Artie” Kasarjian.

The philosophy “Artie” concocted and later taught his disciple Belushi is a facile, self-serving mix of Robert Bly (Iron John), with a dash of John Gray (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) presented through a mass marathon training weekend format much like EST, which Sterling himself was once involved in.

Apparently the former “Estie” realized the profitability of such seminars and essentially copied the format to create his own spin-off of another guru’s teachings named Werner Erhard, formerly known as Jack Rosenberg, who just like Sterling had changed his name too.

Much like his mentor Belushi’s book is largely derivative and it appears the sitcom star may have done the Sterling Weekend himself. He offers warmed over “Sterlingisms” such as “men don’t apologize for being who they are,” with such original thought as “Beer does not judge you” reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Now on his third marriage the actor turned author has supposedly worked through his relationship foibles, with a little help from his guru, whom he gushed about and quoted last night on the CNBC Donny Deutsch talk show.

However, critics of Justin Sterling have told CultNews that this self-styled relationship guru has done more harm than good and is something of a woman-hating misogynist and his weekend has been likened to “brainwashing.”

Sterling preaches for a price that society is “screwed up because women have become masculine and competitive and men have become feminized” and that “we are going against thousands of years of genetic programming–men are the hunters, women are the gatherers.”

No doubt Belushi would grunt his approval of such “breakthrough” thinking.

Sterling teaches what are affectionately called his “$50.00 tips” such as the following:

  • Men don’t have any emotional needs (that can’t be gotten from a dog) 
  • Men should never discuss feelings with women 
  • Men should never do anything with women that they do with men (in a competitive sense) like play golf, tennis, etc. because women take it personally. 
  • There is no room for competition in a relationship 
  • Women are 100% responsible for the relationship 
  • Women are attracted only to power and resources or the potential to get these things. 
  • Women marry for power and resources, not love. 
  • Men marry for love. 
  • Men should not compromise themselves at all in a relationship. Corollary: How much you are devastated by the end of a relationship with women is a function of how much you compromised your masculinity. 
  • Men should focus on success and only that. 
  • Men think they are good at relationships–but aren’t and shouldn’t try to be. 
  • Women are problem concentric: They need to have problems so don’t try and help them solve them because they will just find another problem to bitch about. 
  • Problems to women are status. The highest status problems lately are sexual harassment, abuse, etc.
  • Belushi's guru Justin SterlingHey wait a minute, does this sound like the world “According to Jim”?

    Could it be that much of the ABC sitcom is based upon such “Sterlingisms”?

    One of the most bizarre features of the “Sterling Weekend” is its finale. At the conclusion of the seminar the participating men strip naked for a male bonding ritual that is routinely videotaped by Justin Sterling’s devoted “volunteers.”

    Is there a video of Jim Belushi dancing naked sitting up on Justin Sterling’s shelf?

    Whatever the case is it doesn’t appear that the actor’s philosophy garnered from his guru should be taken any more seriously than his sitcom character.

    Perhaps the best advice Belushi offers within his book is this, “Don’t be a know-it-all. There’s no reason to be an expert on everything.”

    Now if Jim Belushi will only take his own advice.

    Relationship Institute blamed for failed marriage

    The Sterling Institute of Relationship charges $600 for a weekend seminar and says that it’s “an organization dedicated to improving the quality of people’s relationships.”

    However, despite that statement and the cult following Sterling has developed, it doesn’t seem to work that well for many that become involved.

    One Sterling spouse claims the group and its teachings made her husband a “Neanderthal sexist.” She ultimately concluded that its alumni are “brainwashed” and dependent upon Sterling follow-up support teams “like drugs.”

    Founder Justin Sterling became a multi-millionaire through his relationship weekend retreats. Each seminar typically draws about 150-200 participants, which means Sterling pulls in about $100,000 for two days work. He reportedly grosses more than $2 million per year.

    Sterling recently bought a former Masonic Temple in downtown Newburg, New York and has begun staging weekends there. His for-profit corporation headquarters is in Oakland, California.

    The Sterling weekend seems to be little more than warmed-over Erhard Seminar Training (EST), now known as Landmark Education, which presents the Forum.

    Sterling appears to have copied the basic format of the Forum and simply superimposed his own composite philosophy, which includes misogyny, sexism and a large dose of profanity.

    His men’s weekends typically culminate in a strange nude male-bonding ritual.

    Apparently Sterling does practice what he preaches; his own marriage ended in a bitter divorce.