Look I feel that Mr Brendan Mooney resident psychologist at Universal Medicine be reported to the relevant professional board or authority for misconduct- ie. Associating ,working in and promoting a dangerous cult to his patients.I'm certainly going to mention this to Cult Couselling Australia who by the way are on to Serge Benhayon as they do recognize him as very suspicious character running a CULT ( for your informationBrendan).
And Brendan , I do notice you have quite an advanced qualification in AMEB music (AmusA). You must just love it ,not ,when the singing Telli - tubby and recruitment officer Chris James starts bellowing . After all those years of dedication to the art of fine music , how could you sell out to such a bunch of ignorant Philistines - Brendan you should be F***ING WELL ashamed of yourself !!! - I would be -Eric Dobbs



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2012 10:38PM by Eric Dobbs.

Quote
VenusDarkly
Amazing in the UniMed propaganda attributed to Brendan Mooney (Warez no cultz k thanx bai) that he has the gall to quote Margaret Singer and her seminal work on cult dynamics. Except that he left out the rest of the book that says 'Yeh u iz cultz k'.

It's no different to the way Serge misrepresents and distorts any respectable literature in order to further his interests.

Since Margaret Singer is no longer with us to offer an opinion on UM, perhaps Brendan would be happy to forward Serge's esoteric 'Initiation' document to some still living cult experts for investigation. If he feels confident that he's not in a cult, that should not be a problem.

One other thing, for an organization that prides itself on its transparency and willingness to interact with the world beyond the cult community, its rather fascinating that the UM blogs are not prepared to allow outsiders to post critical comments or questions. It's clear that a two-way discussion is not remotely welcome, whereas this thread, and other blogs criticizing UM are open to participation by Serge's students. On the UM blogs, only the sycophantic love-bombing of the true believers is tolerated, and even then it's subject to in-house censorship by UM's Minustry Of Truth.

"If Everyone is Equal, How Could I Worship Another?"
[truthaboutsergebenhayon.com]

The answer to that, and all the other questions posed by Jane in the above student blog post can be found in this detailed description of the 'initiation' process at the core of the UM belief system:
[wordsonsergebenhayon.blogspot.com.au]

Quote
corboy
Am worried that many UM followers who become heart broken and fall away from UM
risk recruitment by others waiting on the sidelines to scoop them up.

They've demonstrated themselves as having leisure time and funds.

For this reason, because so many people who come to this forum are heartbroken, this rule exists for use of this message board --and it also applies to the private messaging function (PM)

[forum.culteducation.com]

Quote

This forum is not a place for advertising or business promotions.

Helpful relevant links posted are appreciated, but please don't post links for the purpose of promotion.

Perhaps I could add something here. Many UM followers are in need of support and possibly professional help, and I suggest being extremely selective in who you take support from, to seek help yourself and avoid anyone spruiking or advertising therapy. The best therapists I know never advertise and never pressure patients/clients into return visits.

The tricky thing in the Byron Bay area is that followers who need help may find it difficult to sift out the therapists who aren't associated with UniMed, or to get recommendations for good therapists from people who aren't also followers. It's a minefield, and as Treefern's experience above reveals, a bad therapeutic experience can halt the therapeutic process and make a patient reluctant to seek the help they need.

My personal recommendations in finding yourself support is to shop around. Don't go back to anyone you don't feel comfortable with. Interview the therapist first (whether this is a body worker, counsellor etc.) and get a sense of the approach they are using and whether you would feel comfortable in working through your issues with them. Again, an ethical therapist will not pressure you for disclosure of any sort, nor will they make judgemental assumptions or dish advice. Rather, and borrowing from Rick Ross's '10 Signs of a Safe Group/Leader', a good therapist (like a an ethical leader) 'will encourage critical thinking, individual autonomy and feelings of self-esteem.' (No.8 [www.culteducation.com] )

Quote
corboy
Concerning Breast Massage

Friends..some interesting stuff about body chemistry here. Esoteric Breast Massage is not just for laughs. It may foster emotional bonding with the masseuse and possibly with the the maternal face of Mona Lisa if that image is prominent in the treatment room and any other UM symbols lying about. .

Breast massage and nipple stimulation, whether by a nursing baby or via massage, from oneself or from another person, appears to release two hormones.

Oxytocin which fosters bonding with ones baby

Prolactin which stimulates milk production but that can inhibit libido and lead to lack of interest in sex with ones partner.

[www.google.com]

Someone needs to interview some Obstetricians/Gynaecologists and ask them about this.

Meanwhile, here are some citations from google, that at the very least, are suggestive.

Breast and nipple stimulation release the hormone oxytocin.

Wanna get an idea of how oxytocin makes us feel?

See a kitten or puppy and recall how you went all gooey inside.

[www.google.com]

Oxytocin in turn promotes emotional bonding

So...here women are, being given breast massage. This may be causing the subjects of this massage to get hits of thier own oxytocin and with all the symbols of UM in the room, that mother like face of Mona Lisa prominently displayed... this may foster an intense bond, first to the masseuse and then, by extension whoever the masseuse is loyal to, such as the Master who taught the masseuse this marvellous technique.

Breast and Nipple Massage oxytocin

[www.google.com]

You're on to something here Corboy, and I reckon I could write a thesis on this topic alone.

However, I disagree that it's a technique to encourage emotional bonding and will try and briefly explain how the prolactin/oxytocin involvement reinforces to me that this is an abusive practice, which engenders dissociation, rather than UM's assertions that it reconnects women with their bodies etc.

By the way, I'll soon be seeking an opinion from a top notch reproductive endocrinologist on this. If he's too busy, I'll find the best ob/gyn specialist I can, and possibly a psychiatrist.

We know Serge portrays the breast as good only for 'nurturing' babies, and as another part of the female body for the entire male sex -- who are all perverted, abusive animals according to Serge -- to abuse and objectify. The science says, and we women know, the breast is much more than that, a vital part of our feminine identity and a major source of sexual pleasure - via the release of oxytocin. However, Serge constantly denies and denigrates female desire, constantly asserting we have only been dishonoured and objectified when sexually engaged with men. He's also howlingly heteronormative -- as if bisexual and lesbian women don't exist.

I would very much like to hear some first hand accounts of what happens during EBM, or from any woman trained in it. I'd like to know exactly what the treatment entails, where they touch and for how long.

However, the best account I have is from the medical observer article. [www.medicalobserver.com.au] where the patient in question experienced Esoteric Breast Massage as 'the most horrible thing I’ve ever had in my entire life.' No oxytocin there.

From the article 'And she also undertook “esoteric breast massage”, which she said Universal staff told her would prevent breast cancer by “clearing… all of men’s negative energy” that she had accumulated in her life. The “EBM” was conducted by female staff, but still “it was the most horrible thing I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Jenny recalled. Meanwhile, her craniosacral readings – in which she was told Mr Benhayon was the only person with a perfect score – were improving. After three sessions in which her hopes were raised, her GP, who had ordered tests with traditional specialists, gave her the real news: she had cancer...' And further: 'Did he (Serge), as suggested by Jenny, tell the physically or emotionally unwell – including rape victims – that their situation was the result of their own misbehaviour in a past life?'

Apart from the glaring medical negligence occuring there, I get the distinct impression the women subject to EBM are being pressured to disclose their sexual histories to the therapists. And please, naturopaths, craniosacral therapists, physiotherapists and the rest of the motley band of breast masseuses are NOT QUALIFIED to counsel on sexual abuse. Either way, the breast massages are occurring in a therapeutic context of unqualified rape counselling, claims to assist gyne disorders and prevent breast cancer, all of which, according to Serge, result from the patient's misbehaviours in PAST LIVES. Cue feelings of guilt, taintedness and helplessness. Add to that the assertions that EBMs clear 'men's negative energy' - and we have negative sexual programming, portraying all men as abusers, women's experience of sex exclusively as a violation, and the denial or nullification of any feelings of sexual pleasure the patient may have experienced in the past.

I'd call this oxytocin blocking.

Where breast stimulation is normally a source of pleasure via the release of oxytocin, performing it in a treatment room environment of negative sexual reinforcement, while deliberately retriggering painful memories of mistreatment will have a neutering affect on female sexuality and bonding. It reinforces a sick notion that the breast is an anatomical centre for the storage of traumatic memories, and denying it as a source for pride, beauty and pleasure. I believe it to be yet another of Serge's methods of induced dissociation to maintain psychological and emotional malleability. The therapists don't escape it either because they're encouraged to take on the negative energy as part of their 'duty' in cleansing women of pranic entities. Blind to the fact that the only negative energies are those Serge has either generated or insistently revives. They are also engaging in a practice which leaves them ethically compromised, at risk of losing their professional integrity, and the only bonding that is occurring is that of women sharing a sense of victimhood.

For women or anyone else looking to reconnect with their oxytocin, I suggest forgoing EBM and having a proper massage with a non UniMed massage therapist -- who doesn't seek to probe your past and indoctrinate you. Or for less money you can cuddle a kitten, or your kids or a nice lover/partner/spouse.

I'd like to urge everyone, regardless of sex, be wary of making sexual disclosures to anyone at all, and only do so in the context of working toward healing. I'll be very specific here -- healing is when you are able to move beyond feeling victimized to a healthy and peaceful existence. The practice described above is nothing but a process of triggering and retraumatization. It also makes a mockery of the fine and well qualified people who work in this area, helping people to overcome trauma and move onto healthy relationships and lifestyles. If you've been sexually abused seek a therapist a) who is not UniMed aligned, and b) someone with specialized qualifications in that area.

[forum.culteducation.com]

Quote
corboy
Robert S. Epstein in his book Keeping Boundaries:The Nature and Function of Therapeutic Boundaries (1994) writes on page 18:

'The therapist's role is that of a fiduciary (FIDUCIARY DUTY - An obligation to act in the best interest of another party. In the case of therapy, that other party is the patient – not Serge Benhayon.VD) (Frank and Frank 1991);(R.I.Simon 1987). The patient's compliance with treatment requires vulnerability and trust. Patients lack the objectivity and the expert knowledge to treat themselves, and must rely on professionals with special training. Peterson(1992) emphasized that some exploitative therapists attempt to disavow this responsiblity by disclaiming any disparity in the treatment relationship. They employ pseudo-egalitarianism to exculpate themselves with the excuse that the patient is a 'consenting adult.'

In contrast, note how very often in New Age/Human Potential circles, vulnerability is ignored or denied, often in some form of 'there are no victims' argument. The recognition of "undue influence" is not possible unless one also recognizes the existence and impact of the power imbalance that exists between caregiver and patient. Power and power imbalances are often ignored, or even denied in the New Age/Human Potential scene and practitioners who buy into this denial often like to contend they are friends to patients, rather than authority figures who are answerable to an ethos of care. Lilienfeld, Lynn and Lohr in their chapter on new age therapies published in Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology (2003) warn that this pseudo egalitarianism carries the risk of denying the actual impact of power imbalance...and the attendant risks.

And allow me to present just one example of Universal Medicine’s high risk behaviour, Brisbane dentist Rachel Hall in cahoots with Uncle Serge.

Mr Benhayon … said the reported 42 marriage breakdowns "if accurate, is terribly disappointing" but Universal Medicine was not to blame.
"I'm not causing the divide, the divide is being caused by the situation (which) as far as I know, factually, has always been there," he said.
Dr Hall said there were "no grounds for saying it's a cult" and that media scrutiny of Mr Benhayon "feels like a witchhunt". She knew of "a few" couples who split after joining the group as lifestyle changes were "very confronting" for some partners.
"But were there cracks in the relationship beforehand?" Dr Hall said. "Maybe the woman decides she's feeling more confident to go ... the other rejected party feels hurt and blames (Universal Medicine).
"A lot of them hide behind Serge. They play 'Serge said'. I've known Serge for eight years and he's never said 'stay' or 'leave'." [www.news.com.au]

This pseudo egalitarianism between theraptist and patient is also in keeping with Concerned Partner and Treefern's posts above where they talk about children being treated as adults, not as vulnerable, defenceless and wholly dependent on responsible parenting. Shirking responsibility in service of narcissistic self interest.

And thanks again to Corboy for this snippet on the above forum page, lifted from a training module for psychiatrists (weblink is now defunct) but is applicable to all therapeutic modalities:

Self aggrandisement

Clear breaches of professional boundaries
Making false claims to expertise
Practicing beyond professional competance
Grey areas.
Using a medical title to obtain advantage...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2012 08:36AM by VenusDarkly.

Quote
VenusDarkly

Quote
corboy
Concerning Breast Massage

Friends..some interesting stuff about body chemistry here. Esoteric Breast Massage is not just for laughs. It may foster emotional bonding with the masseuse and possibly with the the maternal face of Mona Lisa if that image is prominent in the treatment room and any other UM symbols lying about. .

Breast massage and nipple stimulation, whether by a nursing baby or via massage, from oneself or from another person, appears to release two hormones.

Oxytocin which fosters bonding with ones baby

Prolactin which stimulates milk production but that can inhibit libido and lead to lack of interest in sex with ones partner.

[www.google.com]

Someone needs to interview some Obstetricians/Gynaecologists and ask them about this.

Meanwhile, here are some citations from google, that at the very least, are suggestive.

Breast and nipple stimulation release the hormone oxytocin.

Wanna get an idea of how oxytocin makes us feel?

See a kitten or puppy and recall how you went all gooey inside.

[www.google.com]

Oxytocin in turn promotes emotional bonding

So...here women are, being given breast massage. This may be causing the subjects of this massage to get hits of thier own oxytocin and with all the symbols of UM in the room, that mother like face of Mona Lisa prominently displayed... this may foster an intense bond, first to the masseuse and then, by extension whoever the masseuse is loyal to, such as the Master who taught the masseuse this marvellous technique.

Breast and Nipple Massage oxytocin

[www.google.com]

You're on to something here Corboy, and I reckon I could write a thesis on this topic alone.

However, I disagree that it's a technique to encourage emotional bonding and will try and briefly explain how the prolactin/oxytocin involvement reinforces to me that this is an abusive practice, which engenders dissociation, rather than UM's assertions that it reconnects women with their bodies etc.

By the way, I'll soon be seeking an opinion from a top notch reproductive endocrinologist on this. If he's too busy, I'll find the best ob/gyn specialist I can, and possibly a psychiatrist.

We know Serge portrays the breast as good only for 'nurturing' babies, and as another part of the female body for the entire male sex -- who are all perverted, abusive animals according to Serge -- to abuse and objectify. The science says, and we women know, the breast is much more than that, a vital part of our feminine identity and a major source of sexual pleasure - via the release of oxytocin. However, Serge constantly denies and denigrates female desire, constantly asserting we have only been dishonoured and objectified when sexually engaged with men. He's also howlingly heteronormative -- as if bisexual and lesbian women don't exist.

I would very much like to hear some first hand accounts of what happens during EBM, or from any woman trained in it. I'd like to know exactly what the treatment entails, where they touch and for how long.

However, the best account I have is from the medical observer article. [www.medicalobserver.com.au] where the patient in question experienced Esoteric Breast Massage as 'the most horrible thing I’ve ever had in my entire life.' No oxytocin there.

From the article 'And she also undertook “esoteric breast massage”, which she said Universal staff told her would prevent breast cancer by “clearing… all of men’s negative energy” that she had accumulated in her life. The “EBM” was conducted by female staff, but still “it was the most horrible thing I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Jenny recalled. Meanwhile, her craniosacral readings – in which she was told Mr Benhayon was the only person with a perfect score – were improving. After three sessions in which her hopes were raised, her GP, who had ordered tests with traditional specialists, gave her the real news: she had cancer...' And further: 'Did he (Serge), as suggested by Jenny, tell the physically or emotionally unwell – including rape victims – that their situation was the result of their own misbehaviour in a past life?'

Apart from the glaring medical negligence occuring there, I get the distinct impression the women subject to EBM are being pressured to disclose their sexual histories to the therapists. And please, naturopaths, craniosacral therapists, physiotherapists and the rest of the motley band of breast masseuses are NOT QUALIFIED to counsel on sexual abuse. Either way, the breast massages are occurring in a therapeutic context of unqualified rape counselling, claims to assist gyne disorders and prevent breast cancer, all of which, according to Serge, result from the patient's misbehaviours in PAST LIVES. Cue feelings of guilt, taintedness and helplessness. Add to that the assertions that EBMs clear 'men's negative energy' - and we have negative sexual programming, portraying all men as abusers, women's experience of sex exclusively as a violation, and the denial or nullification of any feelings of sexual pleasure the patient may have experienced in the past.

I'd call this oxytocin blocking.

Where breast stimulation is normally a source of pleasure via the release of oxytocin, performing it in a treatment room environment of negative sexual reinforcement, while deliberately retriggering painful memories of mistreatment will have a neutering affect on female sexuality and bonding. It reinforces a sick notion that the breast is an anatomical centre for the storage of traumatic memories, and denying it as a source for pride, beauty and pleasure. I believe it to be yet another of Serge's methods of induced dissociation to maintain psychological and emotional malleability. The therapists don't escape it either because they're encouraged to take on the negative energy as part of their 'duty' in cleansing women of pranic entities. Blind to the fact that the only negative energies are those Serge has either generated or insistently revives. They are also engaging in a practice which leaves them ethically compromised, at risk of losing their professional integrity, and the only bonding that is occurring is that of women sharing a sense of victimhood.

For women or anyone else looking to reconnect with their oxytocin, I suggest forgoing EBM and having a proper massage with a non UniMed massage therapist -- who doesn't seek to probe your past and indoctrinate you. Or for less money you can cuddle a kitten, or your kids or a nice lover/partner/spouse.

I'd like to urge everyone, regardless of sex, be wary of making sexual disclosures to anyone at all, and only do so in the context of working toward healing. I'll be very specific here -- healing is when you are able to move beyond feeling victimized to a healthy and peaceful existence. The practice described above is nothing but a process of triggering and retraumatization. It also makes a mockery of the fine and well qualified people who work in this area, helping people to overcome trauma and move onto healthy relationships and lifestyles. If you've been sexually abused seek a therapist a) who is not UniMed aligned, and b) someone with specialized qualifications in that area.

VD you have nailed the EBMs in one!

Things to do when looking for a therapist

*Go for the ones who are licensed. That means they have accepted accountability for their work - and that in turn means one can go to the state registry and look them up via license number and see whether there have been any complaints.

* Ask questions. A good question is to ask the therapist whether he or she is part of a consultancy group of fellow professionals. This means a therapist has arranged to meet regularly with colleagues to discuss difficulties in his or her own life, concerns about work with a client and demonstrates that he or she is networked with colleagues and is not an ego-full lone wolf.

PS Membership in the consultancy group should NOT be based on membership in the same church or devotion to the same guru. Am not kidding.

If you've been through the ordeal of UM, you have every right to ask such questions. Any therapist who cannot welcome such questions -- end the session and look for someone else.

Just asking these questions will be part of getting your strength back.

Confidentiality. Your therapist must never disclose your private history to others, not ever. Therapists are under legal requirements to keep records and...keep those records safeguarded.

Serge once said to me: “My joy is to see you (students) returning to who you truly are.”

[truthaboutsergebenhayon.com]

Or rather, his joy is remolding you into an imitation of himself:

[wordsonsergebenhayon.blogspot.com.au]

Quote
MacReady
Serge once said to me: “My joy is to see you (students) returning to who you truly are.”

[truthaboutsergebenhayon.com]

Or rather, his joy is remolding you into an imitation of himself:

[wordsonsergebenhayon.blogspot.com.au]

Hi MacReady

Another self described auto-indoctrination process. Note how Serge is empowered with special powers that 'they perceive' ( this has come about via the referral effect, below)

This is a good summary of how most people come to Serge and how the process works.

They are in a state of high need for one reason or another- their potential for catharsis is high- think of a distraught trauma victim speaking to any interested listener ( no special skill required)

They have heard of Serge via someone else they know and/or trust- this is 'resonance'- a referral from a friend or colleague achieves many things. Firstly, it allows you to trust the person more than a cold meeting, it provides social proof and it provides 'pre-congnizant' information. ( most likely the person would have been told some 'amazing' story regarding Serge and the effect on someone else [ negative stories in this context are not recounted as the members need to reaffirm their beliefs to themselves and others])

Serge then uses the time old technique of interest and rebuff. A way of applying his hubris and rules. " I am not interested unless you behave in a certain way'- she is rewarded when she does. If she attempts to be another way Serge disapproves of ( smart/ smarter than him), she is ignored. An age old Guru trick that means the leader doesn't become involved in high level discussions or arguments and allows them to assert their doctrines and reward followers when they adhere ('now you are getting it!) The group will encourage compliance ( awakening) and there will be payoff's of group approval and self esteem. Naturally as this is coming from hundreds of people, the effect is greater than anything the member has felt up to this point. The very act of writing on the blogs will trigger a similar payoff in the member. They most likely secretly hope that Serge is aware increasing the imaginary bond they have with him, and the group.

The member BEFORE and during the process gathers information about Serge and the group from the members and from what Serge chooses to 'present'- of course this is carefully (but I would argue not cleverly) crafted information. The effect of this is to create a PRE- PRO- BIASED impression of Serge and his knowledge and abilities which empowers the new and current members to feel catharsis and paradigm shifting ( though reform)-

The effect of making decisions based on what you do know and what you don't is a phenomena well studied. For example, you hear 5 positive stories about a new friend that is going to enter your group, with details of their exceptional personality. Assuming you are not jealous of them, when you meet them you are more likely to accept them into the group than if you had heard 5 negative stories. However, in each case you actually have no real idea of the person, only what you have heard. Their real time line is not seen which consists of thousands of events and interactions; but the effect means that you will be predisposed to a positive or negative view dependent on the pre-congntive information, and furthermore, this will temper your view of any new information that arises. Think media exposing Serge's lies and untruths and how the students have glossed this over.

Most of the blog posts are exactly the same stories told in slightly different ways. What the Students are explaining is the process by which they fell into the thought altering group and the pre-existing need that was Serge's/UM's entry point. This is how groups recruit worldwide.- consider Scientologists overt assessment method, or Jehovah's witnesses looking for people who are in moral/emotional despair, Bible beating church groups who look for despairing wives, and so on. As nearly all people go through trauma or have unresolved esteem issues this is a safe entry point- throw 100 people at any group and most likely 20 or 30 would be ripe for a catharsis right then.

The reason UM started had a growth spurt a few years ago is a case of simple mathematics. There has been an algorithmic increase in the number of 'word-of-mouth' ( resonance) recruitment. Naturally the more people you have, the more this works. The chart would look like the growth in green houses gases in the last century over the last 1000 years. This adds to the Hubris of the leader, develops social proof on a large scale, and creates momentum for further growth- assuming Serge has put the systems in place to deal with that growth- protege's, practitioners, branches.

Of course, he now has a little negative press and his pesky past to contend with; hence the need for the PR battle and the unwitting work of his emotionally conditioned students in supporting him in what is actually a business empire that involves taking significant amounts of their money ( at his admission) and also days of their lives and of course, the added toll of having to leave families and partners at the slow drip fed insistence of Serge to comply with 'doing his work'

However, the blogs tell the real story to those not in the group. Keep them up students.