You sound wise and have a delightful, droll sense of humor. Do not relinquish up either of those! Astoundingly wise for a teacher to advise 12 Step work. Ouspensky, from various reports, exhibited classic alcoholic behaviors by the time he died. Gurdjieff reportedly pressured people to drink heavily - despotic and despicable. Mold illness is only too real. Upstairs neighbor got sick fr
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I'm 67 and joined Subud last year. A friend had been in Subud for years before he passed away two years ago. So when I reached out to the organization out of curiousity. I met with a helper for three months and was duly opened. Being opened felt more symbolic than anything, but I realized I've been in and our of cults for a long time. I realize now, just recently, that my birth famil
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I'm 67 and joined Subud last year. A friend had been in Subud for years before he passed away two years ago. So when I reached out to the organization out of curiousity. I met with a helper for three months and was duly opened. Being opened felt more symbolic than anything, but I realized I've been in and our of cults for a long time. I realize now, just recently, that my birth famil
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

around 1997 i was initiated, (indoctrinated) into the nityananda, muktananda, rudrinanda (rudi) chetanananda (michael schumacher open eye meditation. is is written about by da free john (adi da etc) and others. had been practicing baths yoga a lot for several years and was looking to 'deepen the practice' the small santa monica, ca group was a devoted offshoot of swamiji's portl
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

i moved to a small off-grid community in august 2019. mid life, very alone, with great dog. looking to begin again. 'the town' is actually two teeny tiny towns within a few miles of each other about 25 miles south of santa fe. the public face of both towns is similar. geared to tourists along 'the turquoise trail' route 14 between santa fe and albuquerque. good tourist bait. i
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Trouble Taints a Cerebral Sanctuary By JENIFER WARREN NOV. 4, 1996 12 AM TIMES STAFF WRITER OREGON HOUSE, Calif. — Deep in the Sierra foothills, at the end of a twisting road, lies Apollo--an oasis of high culture in the outback. A mock French chateau houses a museum and library stuffed with rare art and books. A vineyard on terraced hillsides produces award-winning wines. Apollo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Miracle stories are common currency in Vajrayana (aka 'Tibetan Buddhist) groups. Ditto for Gurdjieff groups. This readiness/will to believe would make it quite easy to pass from Vajrayana, to a Theosophical or Sufistic group, or any group which bonds through making and telling miracle stores. Here's an example of how personal hopes plus social context affect one's beliefs.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Eight go mad in Arizona: how a lockdown experiment went horribly wrong This lengthy article is fascinating and well worth a peek. There's a suprising connection between John Allen, the driving force behind the BIosphere Spaceship Earth project and The Theater of All Possiblities. John Allen's techniques are said to have been similar to those of Sharon Gans. See note belo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I have have enjoyed the wonderful trove of information on various things related to Cults in our culture from Scientology to the dubious work of Gurdjieff (in my younger years, I had an interest in one such group--but more of that in a moment) so I appreciate this page. But I feel I must defend Anthroposophy or the work of Rudolf Steiner. Firstly, Steiner contributed a whole host of inform
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteThe Gurdjieff foundation has a calendar, and we've just reached the end of the "year". The Foundation closes for a few months, and reopens in September. Something like a "summer vacation". I wanted to share a little about my experiences in the last month. I attended a talk at the Gurdjieff foundation where we listened to a few readings and some music. One of t
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

As I said in my previous post: Dr. Gabor Mate is an expert in addiction. He talks about spiritual seeking and addiction. In this video he mentions certain spiritual teachers he likes. I do not know who these teachers are, or if they have credibility. However, the conversation & information is valuable. I would like to add a word of caution to all folks investigating the questions on my
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Since this is quite old thread (june 2012) This might be of no interest, but anyway I express my views: I am a Jazz fan/Musican. While listening to Keith Jarret`s rendition of Gurdjieff`s compositions, I noticed: there is definitely a MESSAGE.. Usually some players execute just learnt scales or cliches. Then I found out that several other players ( Charles Lloyd & John Coltrane) also said th
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

Anything that gets you to pay super close attention to someone can be used to heighten trance induction. If a person is in a role of prestige and trust, that contributes. Forty years ago there was a commercial with the slogan, 'When EF Hutton talks, people listen.' A charismatic cult leader GI Gurdjieff had hpynotic charisma. He began interviews speaking in a hard to understand ac
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

One way to strengthen your recovery is to write down jargon and catch phrases used by your guru or group. Likewise if you've been in an abusive relationship, see if you can list words or phrases your abuser habitually used. Ditto for topics that were areas of obsession/hate from your guru, your group or your abuser. Scientology has its own jargon and former members have created a diction
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

I never heard of a Dr Roles at Coombe . The Dr who was eventually called in after my father died was Bernard Courtney-Mayers.He looked after Bennetts sick wife. He was a Gurdjieff man and left Coombe right after the death -as a result of the death. He went on to become chairman of the Britsh Gurdjieff Society.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

A profound them in Sufism is that of longing. This can be cruelly exploited. QuoteShe TARGETS people, gathers intelligence, pre-frames them, talks on the phone, meets them, induces trance states, creates confusion to overwhelm the conscious mind, asks question to collect information, inserts powerful suggestions, creates Guru Transference, more suggestions, and on from there. The key i
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Gnosis Peru Prince Gurdjieff Félix Steven Manrique Peru Spanish woman and baby freed from ‘sect’ in Peruvian jungle Man arrested after allegedly keeping women as slaves Fri, Jul 6, 2018, 13:43 Guy Hedgecoe in Madrid Quoten total, three women and five children were rescued from Mr Manrique, the police said. All were suffering from malnutrition. “I’ve been sent a photo of her a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"There was much licentiousness condoned in the name of not being "religious"." Cult leaders hate being accountable to objective guidelines of any kind, hate anything that is a reminder that there is something they cannot control, standards where they are falling short. So...one cult building strategy is for the leader to persuade us that these moral guidelines are necess
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Tknc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Really happy to discover this thread. Been > desperately trying to find more people that I can > relate my story to that will understand what I > have/am going through. > > When I look back at the reasons I've ended my > relationships in the past, the answer that rings > in my ear is my fa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Really happy to discover this thread. Been desperately trying to find more people that I can relate my story to that will understand what I have/am going through. When I look back at the reasons I've ended my relationships in the past, the answer that rings in my ear is my family. They have convinced me to end so many relationships that I've been happy in and and with because they be
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

A number of Western Traditionalists and Westernized Sufists have fostered art movements. Evola was an early participant in the Dada movement. Rene Guenon influenced the aesthetic theories of many Traditionalists. Guenon was introduced to Sufism by a Swedish artist, Agueli. Guenon influenced Frithjof Schuon. Gurdjieff had ideas of his own regarding music and dance. Small excerpts from a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Background on Lifewave provided on the website maintained by former followers of Prem Rawat, aka Guru Maharaj -ji. Very detailed information including a newspaper article. Bella, a former disciple of John Yarr wrote here of the lingering fear she felt after she left the Yarr group. This was clearly not a state of mind she had chosen for herself, that she could discard at will. She d
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Russian Traditionalism started with Gurdjieff QuoteA recent interview has revealed more details about the origins of Russian Traditionalism in the 1960s: it all started with Gurdjieff. In chapter 12 of Against the Modern World, I wrote "The attention of Yevgeny Golovin, a Russian poet known only to the circle of dissident or ‘independent’ intellectuals he led, was drawn to . . . Tradit
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Corboy note: artists are often in need of both living space and studio space. In many places, this accommodation has become scarce and expensive. As a result, artists who lack funds are vulnerable. Some accept the hazard of living in areas without adequate fire protection or hazmat safeguards. And, when it is difficult to find safe and affordable housing, people are often willing to tolera
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Dear Darlof: One way to assess a teacher's character is to observe how he or she deals with source material. If someone claims to be sole custodian of something for which no one can be sole custodian -- hmmm. One item to be aware of is that some are out there who claim that a "serious seeker" gives up all claim to basic human rights. That one isnt a serious seeker unless
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Some more stuff. Googlebooks rules. specialkitty wrote: Gurdjieff and alcohol. This from a sympathetic source. That source notes that Gurdjieff was found to have hade cirrhosis of the liver. One has to drink one hell of a lot of alcohol for this to lead to cirrhosis. Though pigging out on rich food would also aggravate any liver trouble as well. A man who spoke of teachin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Yes, I actually read In Search of the Miraculous as well as Views from the Real World. Gnostic students may be aware of the Gurdjieff doctrine's influence in Samael Aun Weor's writings, but may be unaware of how extensive it is. The three brains/five centers, work with negative emotions, the hydrogens, Self-observation and Self-remembering: it all comes from Fourth Way literature.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

You are so fortunate that you are not a joiner and did not become socially dependent on that organization. Putting us at war with our own human nature is a recipe for misery. A lot of the concepts that you list as part of SAW gnostic teaching show up in the larger culture today - these symbols have become part of the New Age scene and have slipped in to the larger culture. The self
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

For someone fluent in Russian and with access to the state archives, this would be an interesting area for further research. A myriad of occult and new age movements derive from Madame Blavatsky's "Theosophy" movement, most notably Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy with its Waldarf schools, its adherants effors to equate biodynamics with the non occult evidence based permacult
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If anyone once involved with Gottlieb and "The Ranch" wishes to learn more about Rajneesh's methods, here is an article written for former Rajneesh/Osho people which discusses the link between methods used by Gurdjieff and those used by Rajneesh. One commenter wrote: QuoteRanch? Lokesh says: 25 July, 2013 at 6:12 pm If a parallel between a teacher and
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"