This thread, started by Herbert, is for persons who are concerned
about UM, either on account of loved ones, or who themselves have
once been in UM and have chosen to depart.

From earlier descriptions, it sounds as though UM makes immense
demands upon its inmates.

On joining this thread, here are your basic rights.

A) If you get any PM from someone pressuring you to divulge private
information or that just feels strange, immediately contact
Mr. Rick Ross and send him a copy of the PM sent to you.

[forum.culteducation.com]

Mr. Ross cares about this message board and the private message function
remaining a safe, and bully free space.

This is not 'whinging.' This is necessary to keep the message
board and private message function a clean, safe place for
everyone.

Send Mr Ross a PM by finding his handle rrmoderator and click on the live
URL. That will give profile information for Rick Ross and a link by which
you can send him a PM.

B) You are under no obligation to divulge your identity or your
contact information or prove your sincerity.

C) You are under NO obligation to respond to private messages
(PMs) from persons pleading or demanding that you go public with
the media.

If anyone importunes you to do so, claims you have
some sort of duty to go public, that is harassment. You'd
have been through enough browbeating when in UM.

D) YOu have a right not to get pulled into someone else's drama.

Send a copy of such PMs to Mr Rick Ross.

Anyone dumping on you to go to the media -- they should go to the media,
and leave you alone.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2014 09:49PM by corboy.

Great to see the thread back, thank you Mr Ross and who ever else was involved in returning this to the public domain. I reread a fair bit of it when I heard it was back online, and it's still a very valuable information tool for those concerned by the involvement of anyone they know with Universal Medicine.

The first hand stories of ex-members, the sharing of information of those with family members involved, and the truly amazing research and knowledge of many contributors makes this a very comprehensive examination of Universal Medicine.

Data lost through a backup failure some months ago has now been restored to this message board.

This board is also now open for indexing by search engines such as Google.

Information posted on the board should soon be appearing in searches as this is a public resource.

The data recovered and restored included many individual posts and some threads.

Lost membership registratio was not restored. Old members not currently listed must register as new members again in order to become active members of the message board.

I need to make sure I remain anonymous, because the web of Eso that surrounds me is very sticky. I have mixed feelings about Serge, but were any negative ones attributed to me, I would be in a very sticky situation.

Dear FM:

There is indeed a dense web to contend with. I am not and have never been
involved with this, but former members report a similar situation to what
you describe.

One way to remain anonymous is never, under any circumstances, share
your above ground information with anyone, no matter how convincing
they seem.

Fact check everyone and everyone connected with them.

Does the eso member rent office space?

Fact check who owns the property they rent from.

Find out if that person owns other property. Are those properties
rented to a wide range of people -- or mostly eso members?

Who comes to fix a drip in the faucet? See if the plumber
is a member of eso. Thats the kind of fact checking to do with these
'dense web' organizations.

Do eso members favor a cafe or restaurant? Who owns the property?

Who runs the restaurant or cafe? Employees? Are all or most of them
eso members?

You get the idea.

Does an eso member share an office with some others?

Fact check those others.

Even if they're not eso members or say they are not eso members,
they might have former ties to eso -- and bear grudges toward eso,
but not want to go public themselves.

(This is conjecture on Corboy's part, but a possible scenario.)

Never allow anyone to pressurize you to go to the media.

Whoever pushes you to go to the media-- THEY should be going to the media. Not hectoring you--or others to take that risk while they remain on the sidelines.

Your story sounds a familiar one. This board has always been a safe place for discussion and advice.

Universal Medicine is back in the news. The Daily Telegraph published this article today:

A COLLEGE run by a new-age healer who offers ‘‘esoteric” breast and ovary massage is being investigated over claims it broke charity laws.

Serge Benhayon, who insists he is a reincarnation of Leonardo da Vinci, has raised more than half a million dollars using a charity licence granted to him by the NSW government in July of 2012 to build an educational facility.

The former bankrupt tennis coach, who has no medical training, started Universal Medicine near Byron Bay in 1999, where he performs and teaches the so-called esoteric medicine.

But the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing said it had “completed an initial ­assessment and commenced an investigation” after receiving a complaint last week that the College of Universal Medicine had breached charitable fundraising laws.

“The complaint also contains serious allegations in ­regard to conduct beyond the scope of NSW charitable fundraising laws and will be referred to police for consideration,” a spokesman said.

Mr Benhayon, a 50-year-old father of four who decided to become a healer after ­receiving an “energetic ­impress”, urges followers to avoid negative energy from cheese, alcohol and even tampons. He claims esoteric breast massage can assist to “heal many issues such as painful periods, polycystic ­ovaries, endometriosis, bloating, and premenstrual and menopausal symptoms”.

With family members also working as healers, he said in 2012 that Universal Medicine turns over $2 million a year in treatments and retreats in Byron Bay, Lismore, Brisbane, Vietnam and England.

Businessman Lance Martin, from Bangalow, on the state’s north coast, formally complained to the OLGR regarding the charitable licence and also to the Department of Fair Trading, claiming The College of Universal Medicine does not meet the definition of a charity.

“The College of Universal Medicine charitable activities are directed to benefiting the UM commercial business and propagating Serge Benhayon’s teachings and practices, and do not benefit the public,” the complaint said.

Mr Martin blames Universal Medicine for the breakup of his marriage in 2011 after his wife became involved with the group in 2009.

One objective of the college is to “teach, educate ongoingly and present for all men and women to have the understandings of the immutable energetic laws and sciences that govern all universal life and the way of livingness this entails”, its website states.

But Mr Martin, who claims an estimated $60,000 to $70,000 was spent on retreats and treatments in the three years before they broke up, said: “Every part of their life gets taken over — eating, sex, activities, friends, literature.”

He said he knew of 40 marriages that had broken up.

“It’s modern-day snake oil based on pseudoscience. They haven’t done any charity work, we’ve found no evidence of it,” Mr Martin said.

Mr Benhayon set up the College of Universal Medicine as a “charitable institution recognised by the Australian Tax Office”.

He also set up the Esoteric Practitioners Association so that his students can graduate with accreditation.

He runs courses that can range in price from $120 a day, to weekend retreats costing up to $1000.

He said in 2012 he made $36,000 from a single relationship course.

Treatments such as the breast massage at the Goonellabah headquarters cost around $70.

The charity has raised over $548,000 to build a school building on Mr Benhayon’s land.

“The building, which will become the College of Universal Medicine Centre in Australia, is situated on six acres in a beautiful green valley 10 minutes from Goonellabah and 25 minutes from Byron/Ballina airport,” the website says.

Mr Benhayon said his critics were liars and “cyber-bullies”.

“In 1999 I began presenting on the energetic fact that most of our malaise resulted from our lifestyle choices, and that it was important, as hard as it is, to deal with our hurts and not press on as we are usually told,” he said. “Many clients have ­responded to these simple principles and are today enjoying the vibrancy and real joy and love in their lives.”

He refuted allegations that Universal Medicine was a cult-like organisation.

“Not a single person can be persuaded, coerced or brainwashed against their own will,” he said.

“Science is on my side here.

“People are much smarter and wiser than some will like to accept. I hold and treat all to the fact that they do know and, hence, are capable of their own decisions.

“I don’t look down at anyone, and especially not women.”

A statement from the Department of Fair Trading said they are “currently assessing the material recently submitted” and urged consumers who have concerns about their dealings with Universal Medicine or Serge Benhayon to contact them on 133 220 or lodge complaints online.

Source: JANE HANSEN THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Full article here: [www.dailytelegraph.com.au]

Article published in Echonet Daily 24th June 2014:

Universal Medicine college under investigation

Chris Dobney

A new complaint has been lodged against Goonellabah-based alternative healthcare provider Universal Medicine, this time focusing on a charity run by the group.

A spokesperson for the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing (OLGR), which also investigates complaints against charities, yesterday told Echonetdaily it had received a complaint ‘alleging contraventions of the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991 by the College of Universal Medicine.’

‘OLGR has completed an initial assessment of the complaint and has commenced an investigation into allegations the College of Universal Medicine may have breached charitable fundraising laws,’ the spokesperson said.

‘The complaint also contains serious allegations in regard to conduct beyond the scope of NSW charitable fundraising laws and will be referred to NSW Police for consideration,’ he added.

The complaint was lodged by Bangalow man Lance Martin, who told Echonetdaily the basis of his complaint was ‘whether the charity is operating for the sufficiently wider public benefit.’

‘Under the newly amended act it also requires charities not to act against public policy,’ he added.

‘It is my belief that Universal Medicine’s ideas are against public policy.’

Mr Martin said that charitable donations to the organisation centred on a fund to build a college on land owned by Universal Medicine founder Serge Benhayon.

The college’s Fiery Building Fund claims to have raised more than half a million dollars so far.

Director of The College of Universal Medicine, Charles Wilson, released a statement yesterday saying the college ‘is aware from media reporting that a complaint has been lodged with the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing’.

‘The college has not received notification from OLGR about the matter and is unaware of the grounds of complaint.’

‘However, the college is informed by News Ltd journalist, Jane Hansen who has seen the complaint that it was lodged by a local businessman, Lance Martin who has been conducting a “hate” campaign against Universal Medicine over the last two years.’

It describes the complaint as ‘simply the last in Mr Martin’s series of abuses of public sector agency complaints processes.’

Mr Martin responded that, ‘they are seriously misinformed as to the number and nature of complaints I have actually made. Contrary to conducting a “hate campaign” I am simply seeking that they be as accountable as any other business or member of the community.’

The college says it ‘will fully co-operate with OLGR’s investigations’ and ‘is keenly aware of and strictly abides by its charitable fundraising obligations’.

The OLGR spokesperson said it was not possible to provide a timeframe for completion of the investigation ‘at this stage’.

Source: Echonet Daily, Chris Dobney. [www.echo.net.au]

Article published on ABC News webiste 24 June, 2014:

Charity status of College of Universal Medicine investigated
Posted Tue 24 Jun 2014, 2:50pm AEST

The charity status of a north coast-based alternative medicine college is being investigated.

But a Bangalow man who lodged the complaint about the College of Universal Health says legislation on the issue has too many grey areas.

The college promises to deliver teachings about everyday self-loving choices, which give participants the opportunity to consistently feel lighter, clearer and more naturally vital.

Its healing methods are based on the esoteric principle that humans are love, and individuals should restore the rhythms of their inner-harmony

Lance Martin says he initially raised his concerns about the organisation with the Australian Charity and Not-For-Profit Commission.

"For two years we've been communicating with them, and I must say it's been fairly disappointing," he said.

"They told me that while they do invite complaints, they're not complaint handlers.

"Quite belatedly we came across some legislation, and it's managed by the Office of Gaming and Liquor, and that is (a charity) should sufficiently benefit the wider public and it should not be against public policy."

The College of Universal Medicine says it is the target of a hate campaign.

It has issued a statement that says the college has not received notification from Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing about the matter.

The college says it is unaware of the grounds of complaint.

Source: ABC News [www.abc.net.au]

A further article that was published last year, during the time this message thread was offline, relating to an investigation in to The Sound Foundation, a charity which operates out of The Lighthouse, the UK headquarters of Universal Medicine:

Charity Commission hands action plan to health charity
25 November 2013 by Chloe Stothart.

The regulator received a complaint about the Sound Foundation's use of charitable property and its relationship with a company that practices 'esoteric medicine'

The Charity Commission has given the trustees of a health charity an action plan to address concerns about the management of conflicts of interest and the extent to which it is being operated for public benefit.

The commission said it gave the trustees of the Sound Foundation an action plan in October with which they must comply by 1 May.

The charity’s entry on the commission’s website says it aims to promote "wellbeing through sound".

A spokeswoman for the commission said its action came after a complaint was made about the charity in May 2013 over the "the extent to which the trustees were using charity property for charitable purposes".

She said that the complaint also "referred to relationships between the Sound Foundation and other organisations, one of which was Universal Medicine".

Universal Medicine UK is a company based in Frome, Somerset, which practises "esoteric medicine", according to its website. Universal Medicine also works in Australia and Vietnam, the website says.

The commission spokeswoman said that after receiving the complaint it contacted the trustees of the Sound Foundation to find out to what extent they operated the charity in accordance with its governing documents and for public benefit, and to what extent they managed conflicts of interest.

"We have met the trustees and they have submitted comprehensive information to us in the course of our engagement and have been cooperative," she said.

"We issued the trustees with an action plan in October and intend to monitor their progress against the plan. The trustees will need to satisfy the commission that they have complied with their action plan by 1 May 2014."

She could not say more about the contents of the action plan until the deadline for implementation of it had passed.

The Sound Foundation’s accounts, published on the commission’s website, show an income of slightly more than £1.2m and an expenditure of £77,829 for the year ending 30 September 2012. The Sound Foundation Training Centre in Tytherington, Frome, was completed during that financial year.

Sara Williams, a trustee of the Sound Foundation, said: "The board of trustees understand and accept in full that it is a matter of due process that any organisation receiving a complaint is obliged to act on receipt of said complaint. In accordance and in honour of this, we have and will continue to lay the Sound Foundation’s operations open to a fair, unbiased and proportionate enquiry that is evidence-based and meets the standard required of public bodies."

Sound Foundation is different from Sound Foundation Somerset, which is a music education hub funded by the department for education and Arts Council England, Sound Foundation Music, which is a charity working in Uganda, and the youth music charity EMI Music Sound Foundation.

Source: Third Sector, Chloe Stothart [www.thirdsector.co.uk]