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she now wont talk to me about anything confrontational or difficult and prewarns me when there is some potential to have to deal with something- all to avoid breaking the mood)

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I don't understand Leader X.

It seems to me, he has a tic. He wants to be the best, claims to be the best, even of having been Jesus.

My god, what kind of nonsense. And all this people go with him, and that is because X organization does work.

When you start with it and you work with your emotions, it is really incredible.

You start to understand something about yourself and people too is really great, but then by and by, by wanting to understand your premier sentinel, you come into the grip of the organisation.

The appeal is really great.

You really want to understand yourself, and because of that, you will give it this try. And then you are lost.

With every step going deeper, even more you need the great knowledge of the Leader

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Universal Medicine & Serge Benhayon
A forum offering an investigation of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon
Feb24

Universal Medicine - Serge Benhayon - Part 3

Part 3 of the blog concentrated on quotes from former members. To me, this is really important. It provides substance to all the other research because these are people who have been directly effected by Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon:


I've put together a collection of quotes from emails I've received in my research and as a reaction to my blogging. It was a delicate process and I hope I've respectful in my reproduction of what I've received. None of the names I've used are real, but their stories and hurt are.

Kate came to Universal Medicine in 2004 and found it resonated with her deeply, before it was recommended she participate in an Esoteric Breast Massage:

"I find the idea preposterous now. I was content to follow Serge's teachings, but I can't understand the focus on breasts. It's sad because I found the whole philosophy very interesting, but this doubt led me to question the whole thing. In the end, it wasn't EBM but Serge's affiliation with [Alice A.] Bailey that left me too unsure to continue with Universal Medicine."

John came to UM through his wife, and became enthusiastically involved for several years. He left after it begn to cause problems in his family:

"I could understand why my family were a little unsure about it, but I felt like I could really connect with it. I think my wife found some of Serge's stuff a bit spooky, and the kids felt a bit neglected when we'd drive down from Brisbane to Goonellabah and around those kinds of places. It sort of started to cause a few fights, and a few of my friends looked into it and they showed us the inconsistencies of some of Serge's ideas about emotion. I think the reason we stuck with it for so long was because of Serge's charisma."


Julie joined an esoteric meditation group in Bendigo, which led her to UM:

"It's such a shame - I feel sort of silly. It ended up costing me so much money, which is the really stupid part. But I'm trying not to blame myself. It was a bit of group psychology and the social acceptance that I craved, and a few friends and I have left. We can laugh about it now, but it's worrying how easy it is to get sucked in."

Comments from others who were never affiliated with Universal Medicine:

"It's a clever kind of organisation - based right in the heart of alternative culture, lots of ideas that resonate broadly, and some really effective affiliated groups. A good business plan to begin with, really."

"It does show a lot of the characteristics of being a cult. Vague ideas that people relate to and a competent leader. What you said about counterfeit information and manipulation is correct, and that is the unequivocally deceptive part about it. I wouldn't say it's sinister, but it's dangerous in the effect it can have on people."

While leaving a group such as this is a big step, I know from my experience with my own family that the process can be as empowering as the belief systems presented, and that it can bring families closer together. What I hope most of all, though, is that this is not patterned behaviour. I hope those who are attracted to groups such as Universal Medicine don't continually look for other belief systems to find solace.

It is enough to believe in oneself and in humanity, despite whatever flaws and problems one can see or encounter. As Benhayon has said, one cannot find "truth" outside of oneself. If you are searching for something, question what faith in something intangible will really bring.With all groups, in fact, please endeavour to consider the basis for information that is presented, and what evidence there is for its truth above any other equivalent faith, belief or lifestyle.

This month has been a tough one - a lot of time and effort has gone into these blog posts, so I'll give myself a break from research after my next one. The last post for the month will be on Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian spiritual figure and his affiliated organisations which have been plagued by controversy, including allegations of sexual abuse.


Further Reading (for all three posts on theosophy, esotericism and Universal Medicine)

K. Paul Johnson, The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood Albany, New York: 1994 State University of New York Press

Nicholas Weeks, Theosophy's Shadow: A Critical Look at the Claims and Teachings of Alice A. Bailey. blavatskyarchives.com.

Bruce F. Campbell, Ancient Wisdom Revived: a History of the Theosophical Movement, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1980.

Janet Williams, The What if...? Treatise, universalmedicine.com.au.

Vernon Harrison, Ph. D. H. P. BLAVATSKY and the SPR: An Examination of the Hodgson Report of 1885, theosociety.org

Various Alice A. Bailey books, notably A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Vol 4: Esoteric Healing. Lucis Trust. 1953.

Various Serge Benhayon books, notably The Way It Is: A Treatise on Energetic Truth, UniMed Publishing, 2006. (note the almost identical cover to Bailey's books.)

universalmedicine.com.au

ascendedmasters.ac

thesociety.org

12 comments:

(name omitted for privacy) 21, 2011 08:05 AM

Those comments are correct - it is a clever organisation. My heart goes out to Julie especially - I wonder how many others put so much money in, only to end up feeling cheated.

Thanks for providing such a wealth of information for everyone to read!

21, 2011 08:31 AM
(Name omitted for privacy) Jul

Wow...my sister is part of this stuff...I thought it sounded a bit weird, but I never knew it was so sus!

Righto then...explains a bit for sure...

Mr. Y Sep 12, 2011 08:19 PM

This comment has been removed by the author.

Joeygirl25Nov 14, 2011 02:23 AM

I've been getting healing sessions and I've been to a few students houses for this ~ and they all seemed to have a picture of mona Lisa on the wall.

When I asked further about this I was told that serge believes he was Leo da vinci in a previous life! I had to laugh really cos he's so arrogant & manipulative of course he would say that!

Also u will find that every healers house has serge's books on the shelves and nothing else. And the universal medicine endorsed CDs playing and nothing else (poor musicianship on these CDs by the way ~ aweful sounding vocals) !

Now if that's not brainwashing I don't know what is....

The sad thing is these healers are often very talented & loving people. But they only see life through serge's eyes not their own. They often ask themselves 'what would serge do/say' when faced with dilemma.

And I find this really sad.

And not 'esoteric' at all.

And yes where does all the money go!?!?!?!???? A 4 day course in vietnam is $1800!? Hellooo!?

Joeygirl25Nov 14, 2011 02:47 AM

And while I'm at it ~ u will also find (well I did from my observations) that the advanced Unimed students are all exceptionally thin & have little muscle tone, especially in the butt area.

This is because serge recommends eating very small portions & only exercising lightly. The Unimed endorsed yoga classes burn as much calories as u would in your sleep.

In fact in one class i fell asleep!

Very little movement. Same goes for the exercise classes.

Fine if ur 90 but I'm not quite 30 & i personally like to move!! Serge also says u shouldn't run/jog... It puts stress on the body... But I just couldn't do that to myself. Give up something I love...

But this is what Unimed asks u to do CONSTANTLY.

nofooliamDec 22, 2011 07:01 PM

I just wish UM'ers didn't think they have the exclusive license on self-improvement.

In their world you have to 'do the work, (eg. spend the money on courses) and if you don't 'do the work' you are doomed to another umpteen-thousand reincarnations

(sounds a bit like the Catholic Church's using 'Hell' as a motivation to fill their coffers).
Oh, yes, have you even attempted to read any of the Serge's Blue Books? Anyone who can get through just one of those without falling asleep by rights should never have to come back as a human again.

Lighten up UM! Not everyone needs to follow your path. Some of us have managed to break our addictions and move forward in life by other means.

lifetrueformeJan 16, 2012 01:18 PM

How can you argue with this pg 322 The Way of the Initiation "Forget not that it is in the mind (the human intellect - the lowermind) they want, and they can easily have it in the most intelligent person, for that person without the inner-heart and its soulful connection, is , but a mere puppet for them even though the pride and intelligence of the puppet here described will proudly defend this fact with all their intelligent might!"

does that mean I am an intelligent puppet. Serge is talking about the evil Pranic Consciousness of the Lords of Form. .

Rachel PJan 17, 2012 09:27 AM

Most of the writing sounds like an attempt to sound like an ancient text. Perhaps as Serge sees himself as a reincarnation of Alice Bailey he is trying to 'channel' her voice in some pathetic hope to add validation to his writing.

The end result is an incomprehensible mess. How intelligent people fall for this is the biggest mystery of the whole UM debacle.

lifetrueformeJan 18, 2012 07:49 PM

Yes I agree with you Rachel. I am fascinated by the whole "cult" or "dogma" thing. It interests me that people really believe this and if they don't follow the esoteric way they will reincarnate as some low life person.

I think for me that I could have been one of those people that fell for it, so to see it clearly now and to read the texts from a completely other perspective, it seems ludicrous.

marko23Jan 16, 2012 02:44 PM

why do you even bother trying to decipher this rubbish?

GARYSPEEDJan 28, 2012 01:05 AM
A new blog about Universal Medicine:

[umsupportgroup.blogspot.com]

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elocution (elo|cu¦tion) Oxford Dictionaries Online

noun
[mass noun]
the skill of clear and expressive speech, especially of distinct pronunciation and articulation: "lessons in singing and elocution"

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One really does need to put in days of reading to get to the heart of it all and understand it. The problem one faces is - what's really at the heart of it all?

Where's the evidence for any of it? What is it about Serge Benhayon that compels people to listen and believe?

Is it the mysticism surrounding the Hierarchy, the dulcit tones of his monotonous and hypnotic FM radio voice, or is it really the information he presents?

His radio interviews show his lack of nous regarding the English language just as readily as a paragraph of his books.

At times one can hear Gayle Cue struggle to connect what he says with a central idea, and relies on him to continue talking to find the next idea to rest on.

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Now onto the group in question: Universal Medicine (UniMed) and its revered founder and director Serge Benhayon.

There is no mention of Benhayon pre-1999, aside from rumours he was once a junior tennis coach. He came flying out of the 90s with a New Age belief system basically using the writings of Alice A. Bailey and other theosophy figureheads as a foundation. While he does acknowledge these so-called "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom", he manages to distance himself just enough to justify writing his own books - something of a modern take on the subject, or merely an equally ambiguous and convoluted regurgitation of ideas. The most frustrating thing of all is that his writing is so poor, he seems to rely on excruciatingly long sentences, poor syntax, little punctuation, bad grammar and invented words to get his point across - which, due to these factors, is not often. It is almost as if you're expected to take his word for truth simply because it would take years to actually extract relevant and useful meaning from his "studies".

Testimonials and positive comments/feedback can be found on the books from figures known only in initials - J.W and D.K for example. J.W. is actually Janet Williams, an early student and author of the "What If" treatise (it is actually an essay, although the less used word does give it a sense of importance).
D.K. is Djwal (or Djwhal) Khul, an eastern guru who may or may not have existed - the only evidence being his influence in the writings of theosophists and a grainy photograph (I've got a grainy photograph of the Loch Ness Monster too!) K. Paul Johnson asserts that he may be moreso an idealisation of one of Bailey's mentors. In fact, the Hierarchy to which Benhayon refers is a cloud of characters, some real, some unknown and some long, long dead. In an interview with Gayle Cue of Radio Bay FM, he actually claims to be part of a spiritual lineage following Djwal Khul and Alice Bailey. Even if we assume for a minute that they present genuinely useful and ethical ideas, it strikes me as arrogant for someone who has emerged from a career as a tennis coach to suddenly announce himself as a spiritual leader (or presenter) and claim telepathy with these characters. In that same interview he claims to know where Elvis Presley's reincarnation is living as a 13 year old girl - the information is classified, obviously. He also dismisses Buddhist beliefs regarding reincarnation with striking smugness ("we do not come back as caterpillars or anything like that, sorry Buddhists, we do not”) as though his Elvis theory is far less ridiculous......

Serge Benhayon also homes in on a few words that are key to his teachings. Most important among these are the words esoteric and energetic truth. Esoteric is commonly understood to describe something that is "intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest." This seems counter-productive when attempting to bring joy and love to a greater number of people. In Universal Medicine, however, esoteric means simply "inner-most". However, it is so ubiquitous that it loses that meaning as well, and seems to be more of a buzzword to begin or fill out weak sentences. Benhayon claims that everything in the world is energy - a claim that has some scientific truth when viewed from certain perspectives. His definition of energetic truth: that which is said, spoken, stated, thought, acted and/or expressed with absolute energetic integrity, which stems from the Inner-Most truth.