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And although it is 35 years late, I would just like to thank Harry Houdini for being such an avid fan of and participant in exposing Fake Psychics before they could do more damage to an unsuspecting gullible public.



Thanks, Harry.




You da man.

:|



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Thanks TheRealDeal for all the replies and updates to your story. It sounds like you were really damaged by your experiences with the Ringroses and I could see how justified your anger must feel to you. I hope that you have been able to get some help in dealing with this so that you can move on and so that the next 35 years will not be filled with more nightmarish suffering. There is support for victims of cult abuse etc. Even here there are resources and links for more info. Good Luck.

In your story with the Gathering you mentioned that you were there in NY with them. I would like to get some dates approximatly, that you were there. Also the dates of any alleged abuse that you witnessed. Were you sexually solicited by Tom Ringrose? If so, can you remember the date or dates? Did you travel to Virginia and live with them at the Schuyler house? If so during what time period? When did you leave and under what circumstances?

Thanks and I hope that this does not bring up too many more painful memories.

OK so I have this older sister who is a new age guru rake ''master''. So this channeler sits her down and tells her that ''Jesus'' has something to tell her. Apparently ''Jesus'' needs forgiveness from my sister. Apparently my sis is a HEB(Highly Evolved Being) and because of her past lives in which she...I don't know...became god...she should never feel guilt. So apparently when ""Jesus'' was crucified...he forgot to cry out ''don't ever feel guilty over this because you are perfect, infallible and sinless''. So apparently at some point in her life my older sister had been told she was imperfect(a sinner). This was a lie(as she is a perfected soul..incapable of error). So ''Jesus'' asks the channeler if my older sister will ''forgive'' him for letting himself get crucified.
So my sister tells the channeler to tell ''Jesus'' he is forgiven for causing her grief through his suffering.
This spirals my sister even higher into the spiritual realm....that's where our mother dwells.
So my two little brothers follow these depraved women around as if they actually are goddesses(they claim they are).
So there you go.......
Thanks to the channelers....

Sallie, that would be hysterically funny if it were not true. This almost sounds like "National Lampoon Does Channelling" -- not a real film but if it were your post would be a direct quote. I'm sorry to hear about your family and I do hope they come to their senses, sooner than later.

About channelling: Let's just say, just for the heck of this post, that it's true. Let's say that channellers really do have passed-over people speaking through them. Let's just say.

My question to the channellers would be, How do you know this spirit is who they say they are?

I mean, everybody dies, including crooks, psychopaths, lawyers, wannabe cult leaders, everybody. How do you know this entity is, in fact, a benevolent fount of spiritual wisdom? How do you know they aren't a con?

What if I personally went, alive, to the home of someone like JZ Knight (the Ramtha "channeller) and announced myself to be a 35,000 year old Atlantean warrior? D'ya think she'd buy it? Not likely. Yet these channelled entities (remember, for the sake of this post they are REAL) claim the same thing and these people believe them. I suppose it might be hard to get a spirit's curriculum vitae or even resume but if, God forbid, I started hearing voices telling me that they belonged to so-and-so, I'd ask for some sort of proof. For example, I'd fly to the country of their past life, assuming it isn't Atlantis or Lemuria -- which it almost always is -- and ask them to direct me to certain landmarks from their time.

On second thought, nah. I'd just get on some meds.

But really. If anybody is ever faced with a channeller, ask them how they know this entity is who they say they are.

Some of them might answer that they asked for that kind of entity so that's what they got; still, ask them how they know they aren't being conned. How do they KNOW malicious spirits can't talk to them?

Enough. Point made.

Fishbulb wrote:
My question to the channellers would be, How do you know this spirit is who they say they are?

I mean, everybody dies, including crooks, psychopaths, lawyers, wannabe cult leaders, everybody. How do you know this entity is, in fact, a benevolent fount of spiritual wisdom? How do you know they aren't a con?
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Good point. What's really sad is that my siblings are all college educated proffessionals. You would think that between them they would have enough brain power to figure that all out. They 'want' to believe this nonsense. That is the sad and weird truth of it all.

Even though I'm sure this topic is long dead, I would like to share my thoughts on The Gathering.

I'm 25 and a new member of the group. We are only 5 at this point with me being the youngest member and the rest being 'original' to the group.

I don't want to discount or negate anything said thus far, because I just don't know how things went in the past. I never knew Tom and I mostly only know the current people who live here plus some that visit frequently. My moving here was a whimsical event upon meeting some others my age that frequently visit the house.

The channeling part I'm honestly not so sure of. They don't force me to listen to it or read it or believe it. We discuss it on occasion and I've read bits and pieces here and there. The form of spirituality currently here is based on many spiritual & mystical practices, but it is up to each to choose how they want to pursue that with the one rule being "love God." This is what I've experienced. I meditate, I believe in God and the Bible, I read metaphysical books and explore various 'out-there' topics out of curiousity.

At this point we're trying to rebuild an intentional community that focuses on sustainability with an appreciation and love of God and the exploration of the higher self. I fully intend to change and update the website at some unknown point in the future and I'm working hard to change the perception of The Gathering. Right now, we are just 5 people trying to get a garden going, trying to upkeep a huge house, trying to build a fence and take care of any other deferred maintenance around the property. We hope to have new members come in that want to share in these goals.

No matter what it was in the past, know that things have evolved and progress has been made toward a more acceptable spiritual and sustainable community...not a cult. We still have First Fridays, which anyone and everyone is welcome to if you have questions. We have a short group meditation, dinner, dessert and either a group discussion or people just talk amongst themselves about whatever is on their mind.

This topic is not dead. I am not sure you can evaluate the status of this group or not. For a long time channeling was the direct link for Tom Ringrose to control the entire group. Even the most minuscule details of students lives were controlled through channeling. If you read the archives of past channeling sessions you will find members asking for advice on health conditions, house remodelling, vacation travel advice, parenting, family relations, food, etc. The mind control was subtle but overwhelmingly pervasive.

I would recommend caution and common sense. While everyone may be nice and jovial towards you, be aware that love bombing and flattery can be used to groom an unknowing student toward becoming more entranced and dependant upon the group for support. There are many sustainable community groups in the Virginia area that have a balanced spirituality that is real and not dependant upon channeled material originating from "aliens". Any original members would be suspect unless they have abandoned that teaching altogether.

Changing the perception of the Gathering can have only one aim and that is to gain more members and that can never change unless they abandon the unbelievable claims in the channeled materials and stop trying to publish and spread that kind of bogus teaching. Please post more on the topic of the Gathering and how they have changed, evolved, etc. and how "progress has been made towards a more acceptable spiritual and sustainable community...not a cult" in specific terms if possible. Thanks.

Alright. It's only been a couple more months, and yes, I would agree there is some coercive persuasion going on underneath the surface. I moved out recently after finally realizing what was going on. I can't say it was terrible, still, but they have a way about them. I feel sad more than anything that they still hang on to old beliefs that are doing them more harm than good. Seems more like a self-inflicted purgatory than anything else. I feel silly for being suckered in for as long as I was...a whole five months...but ultimately, their promises are more material than anything else. There is no real spiritual aspect other than the static information they 'received.' Channeled material or not, nothing is static and everything is dynamic (in my opinion at least) which they don't believe. At the very least, I've learned from the situation. Definitely not as bad as what appeared to go on in the past, but I see how that stuff might be accurate.

I wish this thread was a little more current and that therealdeal was still posting. My family was greatly affected by this cult, The Gathering, and Tom Ringrose. I know for a fact that many of the things posted by therealdeal happened. I am almost positive that the little boy he spoke about was my brother. Neither of my parents ever, really, got over their experience with the cult. My father stayed with them for 13 years after my mother got me and my brother out. They did not make it easy for my Mom to get us out either, court orders and policemen were involved. Later there was a lawsuit against the cult brought on by another family that got out after us. That family won a judgement against the gathering. Sadly, we are all still affected by this. My heart goes out to therealdeal because I was only a baby when all of this happened and have no memory. I do, however, continue to live with the aftermath. Also, I feel like I'm the lucky one. I can't imagine what it must be like for those who remember. I know that my Mom struggled with the guilt of her involvement my entire life and it definitely affected the way she raised me and my brother.

My advice to anyone looking for spiritual guidance, in these troubled times, is stay away from promises of quick fixes and absolutes, don't allow your own weaknesses to be manipulated, trust your own questions and uneasiness, and when the people who know you best say "you are too smart to believe this nonsense", listen... That is what saved me and my family from a much worse fate.

[www.icsahome.com]

Bibliographic data
Cult Leader Charged With Child Abuse

Author:
Posted: 9/19/2004 4:01:20 PM Type: Doc_article
Topic/Group: tp_child_abuse Gathering (The) (Thomas and Isis E. Ringrose)
Publication:Advisor Vol.: 03 No.: 05
Date: 1981 Page(s): 12

URL:
Cult Leader Charged With Child Abuse



A $600,000 damage suit alleging child abuse against two leaders of a Nelson County, Virginia religious group known as The Gathering was settled behind closed doors in federal court on May 19.

Ruth Anne Kane and two other mothers testified that Thomas J. Ringrose and Isis E. Ringrose, leaders of The Gathering beat the children in the group to drive out the “Black forces.” The most frequent forms of abuse, they said, were “thumping,” in which fingernails were rapped against the child’s cheek and holding the child’s head under water until the child could not breathe. This sort of treatment was rendered on various occasions: such as when the child cried; made an odd expression; or received affection from its mother.

The suit was brought by an Austin, Texas minister on behalf of Ms. Kane and her two children, Hotep and Elijah. The suit charged that the Ringroses had severely abused the children many times until September 1979 when Ms. Kane chose to leave the group. The Ringroses reluctantly agreed to settle the case against them by paying a sum of $25,000-$30,000, according to the Charlottesville Daily Progress (May 20).

U.S. District Judge James C. Turk stressed that the Ringroses were not admitting any liability in the case and that they continued to strongly deny any wrongdoing or abuse of children.

Two psychologists testified that 6-year-old Hotep Kane and 3-year-old Elijah Kane exhibited behaviors typical of children subjected to abusive treatment.

Charlottesville lawyer D. Michael Atkins, who represented the Ringroses, said he had medical records, from a pediatrician who gave the children regular examinations, that indicated no physical signs of abuse.
The Gathering was formed in New York City in 1972, and Mr. Ringrose was looked upon as spiritual leader of the group. They moved to Nelson County, Virginia in 1978. According to the Richmond Times Dispatch (May 19), testimony is expected to show that Mr. Ringrose exerted a strong influence over members of the group, giving them new names, telling them when they should marry and when they should have children. Mrs. Kane told the Times that if she felt Ringrose’s behavior “was abusive, I attributed it to my own spiritual shortcoming¼I believed in what was going on in the group. I believed they knew better.”