Hello, new here, so hope I am posting in right place. Does anyone know about the group Universal Medicine? Bassed in Australia, but operating in UK too. My wife has become involved. All very scary as she is falling more and more in to their control and her though patterns/beliefs are changing beyond recognition. There is a very good blog that lists the true nature of the group here:

[cultevasion.blogspot.com]

It's in three parts so check the other section out too under April 2011. I am sure this group will get to America soon, if not already, so watch out!

Any advice you can give me about how to extract my wife would be much appreciated!

No one heard of this group then?

Any advice for me? :-(

Hi Herbert, I have known Serge Benhayon (founder) Universal Medicine for many years.

The worst things you will have to deal with will be to following,

1)Change of Diet,
This can include some or all of the following depending on the individuals,
Elimination of Caffene, Gluten, Dairy, overeating, especially carbs and sugary foods or desserts. (Creates all kinds of problems with family/friends, eating out etc..)

2) Sleeping habits,
The most desirable/benificial hours of sleep will be between 9pm and 3am. (This alone upsets most people!)

3) Scaling down or elimination of alcohol, pornography, Drugs (excluding most modern medicines, if not abused ex: used to hide mask or numb the core issues),

4)Scaling down or the ceasation of competitive sports, hobbies (any practice that gives glory to one person or group at the expense of another human or group).

5) A focus on being gentle at all times.

6) A focus on being present and consciously with yourself at all times.

7) A letting go of any previous religious ideals and belief systems.

8) Regular visits to practitioners within the organization that are accredited by the founder. (Can be costly)

9) Regular attendance to workshops, lectures, studies, healings. (More money)

10) Purchasing of books, healing symbols, tea, ointments, vitamin supplements, incense, etc. ($)

11) Reluctance or refusal to see most healing practitioners or modalities that are not esoteric.

12) Reluctance or refusal to have sex (or be touched) if it is not loving and gentle.

13) The possibility of Reincarnation becomes a integral part of ones choices and understanding.

Given the above, (understand the degree of adherence varies with each individual) you are bound to find her thought patterns/beliefs are changing beyond recognition.

In most part none of these things are evil or cause harm. In fact the whole concept is to live in Harmony, joy and love. But when you first marry or be with someone you don't expect them change to such a degree that they no longer are the same person you first knew. Especially if that person had no problem with drinking alcohol, eating pizza, enjoying competitive sport, and having rough sex (not saying they or you do). It kind of leaves you with a feeling of isolation or a need to adapt.

Its a hard and would probably help if you went along to one of the presentations to judge for yourself. I think the drop out rate is pretty high. We are beginning to see the backlash from those who have looked into it walked away and are expressing their opinions. I would expect there to be a huge amount of negative feedback in the future as the organization grows out of obscurity.

The teachings will probably be offensive, confronting or utterly ridiculous to 95% of humanity. Which I find interesting considering the fact that over one third of the people on the planet have no problem believing in eternal hell or heaven, talking snakes, virgin birth and a man that walks on water.

Your assessment is very positive of them. All the above sounds great - like a good thing to be part of and not dissimilar (in places) to many of the teachings of the great religions of the world. What I am afraid of is the words of many of who left the group, who suggest far more sinister undertones than you report. To quote from a Facebook page about them:

"Unfortunately Leanne, this organisation teaches alot more than just self love, gentleness and harmony. It is run by a man who believes he is Leonardo DaVinci reincarnated, performs a dangerous and self-accredited form of accupuncture, belives he knows precisely where Elvis Presley's reincarnation lives, denounces any other form of belief system but his and is rakes in nearly half a million dollars for a single 5 day retreat. He's dangerous as far as I'm concerned and I belive that exposing the other side of any suspicious group is essential in the 21st century."

And again:

"It sounds to me that people are merely wishing to express their thoughts and findings and in some cases their doubts and fears about something that mostly seems positive but has an undercurrent of control and a sense of judgement and criticism of things outside of the Universal Medicine realm. I myself came upon this blog quite by accident, I was googling Universal Medicine to take a closer look at what they do, as a practitioner I used to see is now heavily into all the workings of Serge, and to tell you the honest truth, I felt a sense of shock when I saw the word "cult" and at the same time I felt relief that I'm not the only person who has had trouble shaking off the fact that something doesn't feel 100% right in my heart. I have trusted the practitioner I had been seeing for years, but even then, I'm aware that I met her when I was in a state of grief, and it's taken me ten years to fully recognise just how vulnerable people are at particular points in their life, it is so much easier to be influenced to believe what's right and what's wrong when vulnerable, however I'm starting to truly wonder whether there is a need for a "right" or a "wrong"..... isn't our soul and heart meant to help us feel what is right for us? Why then have I been told to be rid of my angel books and a long list of authors? Maybe it's true that these authors are making a gain from other people's grief or vulnerability, but either way, I have a real issue with anything or anyone proclaiming that there is only one way and one path..... my belief has always been that God (or whatever you may choose to call a "higher power") came up with so many different religions because there are so many different people, and at the end of the day it is all the One, just expressing itself in many individual ways (cause after all, we are all individuals) :)"

The first quote is quite inflammatory isn't it? And the second quote certainly speaks form the heart. Of course these are people who are not part of the group anymore, so their words may be negative, but they can't be ignored.

Hi Herb,
Yea the claims Serge makes are bizarre. Astral entities, Lords Of Form reincarnation, root races, God imminent, Jesus married with children, past lives etc... What he has said to these large groups is that, he will not water down what he knows to be true. He once said he could say nice things like many other practices and make huge amounts of money whilst becoming very popular. He refuses to play it down and it is very confronting if not outright ridiculous to most people. It makes many people uncomfortable, skeptical and concerned.

He and the organization make a lot of money. But remember he didn't have to do any of this. He had a very well paid lucrative career in tennis. His family also had/have regular jobs. Money did not seem to be the motivation for this undertaking.

Control could be a factor, but unlike most cult type leader scenarios Serge does not have food placed at his feet or is catered to by followers, nor does he command anybody to do anything just because he says so. There is no compound families or individuals are locked up in. People are encouraged to stay in the real world and deal with their jobs and relationships with love and consideration.

I live my life doing plenty of things that are not in line with a true esoteric way of life. I hardly ever go to the workshops or clinic healings. I have known this group since it began and I still feel welcome in spite of the fact that I am not doing UM in a bigger way.

My partner also does not believe UM is right for her. Although it can be hard when we are not on the same page I respect her choices. She likewise does not like the changes I have made in my life but she accepts them.

I can understand your concern and that of many. But really ''performs a dangerous and self-accredited form of acupuncture?'' Self accredited? Exactly how does one become 'self accredited?' Accredited meas approved by the laws of the state or country What if regular acupuncture is dangerous?

Yes Serge denounces any other form of belief system(spiritual books, music etc...) Kind of a prerequisite to the establishment of your own cult or exclusive following. Bound to upset a lot of people and have a huge amount of criticism thrown at it for this reason alone. If this is offensive or a concern, one should just walk away. However if you can see the truth in the explanation WHY other belief systems are denounced then you might want to consider the possibility. (I doubt 2 billion Catholics will consider it for a second).

You can't ignore people expressing their feelings and conclusions. You are always going to get a negative response from those who have not liked something they have tried or have decided to walk away.

The principles on how to live are good healthy ones. Your partner won't be whisked away on a cruise liner for 8 years and brainwashed. Nor will they be instructed to do anything they don't want to do.

I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. But there are those that might disagree. Time will tell.

See [www.culteducation.com]

Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.

1. Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.

2. No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.

3. No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.

4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.

5. There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.

6. Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.

7. There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.

8. Followers feel they can never be "good enough".

9. The group/leader is always right.

10. The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

Ten warning signs regarding people involved in/with a potentially unsafe group/leader.

1. Extreme obsessiveness regarding the group/leader resulting in the exclusion of almost every practical consideration.

2. Individual identity, the group, the leader and/or God as distinct and separate categories of existence become increasingly blurred. Instead, in the follower's mind these identities become substantially and increasingly fused--as that person's involvement with the group/leader continues and deepens.

3. Whenever the group/leader is criticized or questioned it is characterized as "persecution".

4. Uncharacteristically stilted and seemingly programmed conversation and mannerisms, cloning of the group/leader in personal behavior.

5. Dependency upon the group/leader for problem solving, solutions, and definitions without meaningful reflective thought. A seeming inability to think independently or analyze situations without group/leader involvement.

6. Hyperactivity centered on the group/leader agenda, which seems to supercede any personal goals or individual interests.

7. A dramatic loss of spontaneity and sense of humor.

8. Increasing isolation from family and old friends unless they demonstrate an interest in the group/leader.

9. Anything the group/leader does can be justified no matter how harsh or harmful.

10. Former followers are at best-considered negative or worse evil and under bad influences. They can not be trusted and personal contact is avoided.

Also see [www.culteducation.com]

Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, who wrote the definitive book about thought reform (often called "brainwashing") also wrote a paper about cult formation. Lifton defined a cult as having the following three characteristics:

1. A charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose power.

2. A process [is in use] call[ed] coercive persuasion or thought reform.

3. Economic, sexual, and other exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie.

See [www.culteducation.com]

The key factors that distinguish coercive persuasion from other training and socialization schemes are:

The reliance on intense interpersonal and psychological attack to destabilize an individual's sense of self to promote compliance

The use of an organized peer group

Applying interpersonal pressure to promote conformity

The manipulation of the totality of the person's social environment to stabilize behavior once modified

Robert Lifton labeled the extraordinarily high degree of social control characteristic of organizations that operate reform programs as their totalistic quality (Lifton 1961). This concept refers to the mobilization of the entirety of the person's social, and often physical, environment in support of the manipulative effort. Lifton identified eight themes or properties of reform environments that contribute to their totalistic quality:

Control of communication

Emotional and behavioral manipulation

Demands for absolute conformity to behavior prescriptions derived from the ideology

Obsessive demands for confession

Agreement that the ideology is faultless

Manipulation of language in which cliches substitute for analytic thought

Reinterpretation of human experience and emotion in terms of doctrine

Classification of those not sharing the ideology as inferior and not worthy of respect

See [www.culteducation.com]

This chart done by psychologist Margaret Singer demontrates and dileneates the differences between various forms of persuasion, as contrasted with throught reform, commonly called "brainwashing".



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2012 09:58PM by rrmoderator.

Thank you for that info, very interesting. This Serge guy seems like he fulfills at least 5 of the criteria you list from what I have read and heard about him.

Thank you for that info, very interesting. This Serge guy seems like he fulfills at least 5 of the criteria you list from what I have read and heard about him.

Which five? Many say it satisfies all 10.

You're right, upon further examination he does.

This site is a further examination of Universal Medicine and Serge. It's pretty comprehensive a view and back you what you say shimwah:

[umsupportgroup.blogspot.com]