Thankyou VenusDarkly for making the effort to post here , your experience is invaluable to everyone , particularly those questioning this hideous Cult and Serge Benhayon.This thread is the first stop for people interested in getting an honest and genuine appraisal of Universal Medicine. This thread since it's inception in mid January has had over 1,000 posts and in 8 months has had 50,000 visitors.People are not fools- they will judge this Madman and choose not to embrace his poisonous beliefs . Eventually this organization will become extinct and the responsible party will be dealt justice. I look forward to your future posts - Eric Dobbs

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Hi everyone, thanks for reading the posts and for your comments. I kept my promise and made two more posts earlier. They must be awaiting moderation...

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MacReady

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COncerned Partner

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HerbertKane178
Here's an interesting thread:

http://forum.astro.com/cgi/forum.cgi?num=1343693750/0

There is some really insightful material on there, even if you don't follow astrology. I know Serge recently spoke on numerology, I wonder what his views would be on astrology and the information presented here?

Well worth a read from start to finish.

Thanks Herb, this is the most pertinent line from the whole thread.
For any UM'ers doubting what is going on ( even though they would really know about the breakups) here it is from someone outside of the situation.


Thanks for all the replies, its an interesting one I think.

His website www.universalmedicine.com.au has been radically modified since I last looked on it about a year ago. Working for a lawyer here in Byron Bay I am always getting phone calls from concerned partners whose wifes (normally) have fallen under his spell.

Indeed, CP.

That says it all really, doesn't it? No doubt Serge and the UM faithful will dismiss this testimony as yet another 'mis-truth' coming from an abusive, loveless person with no integrity, who seeks to blame others rather than take responsibility for their own ill-choices.

Yep, that post said an awful lot didn't it? I really appreciated the below also, a Jungian analysis of Serge Benhayon. The author obviously knows an awful lot about Bailey and Blavatsky. Somewhat more than Serge I suspect:

"I shall offer an educated Jungian assessment that Benhayon is trapped within the experience of an inflated archetypal overwhelm of a rather bog-standard Roman Catholic "Messiah" variety. For sure Benhayon has flushed himself and it would be comical if he didn't have camp-followers and had steered clear of integrative medicine. He is not aware that he has been archetypally overwhelmed and is inflated, that the ego is acting as though it were a god. He doesn't notice the archetypal influence that makes him feel that he is more than just a mere mortal. He may or may not have developed sufficient consciousness these last 12 years to have a relationship with these wild archetypes. To suggest that archetypal energies can be harnessed, appropriated and exploited at will is like supplying a pyromaniac with matches and petrol. *whooossshhh*

As the psyche attempts to recover, it scans through the available mythos and narratives for a 'safe mode' for the shattered consciousness to take refuge in while it is still dazed and saying "WTF!!?!??!" Benhayon has made no mention of having had a spiritual director or a guide from any mystical tradition around him when he experienced this psychotic/shamanic shake and bake in 1999.

Jung says that inflation is an expansion of the personality beyond its proper limits by identification with an archetype, or in pathological cases, with historical or religious figures. It produces an exaggerated sense of one's own importance, and is usually compensated by feelings of inferiority. Jung also says that an inflated consciousness is always egocentric and is conscious of nothing but its own existence.

There's the identification with Leonardo da Vinci and on one level it is good to know that Benhayon is following a road that is very well travelled which has an Ariadnean thread. Archetypes are real energies, not just theoretical constructs, and are not to be taken lightly. Only a well-established ego can safety seek contact with such energies at a reduced risk of inflation. Every foundational mystic tradition is aware of this danger while these hybridized woo-woo mystic teachings chuck you to the wolves.

Benhayon has gathered around him the requisite apostle-practitioners whose valid quals. and reputations lend an aura of respectability to his lack of the same. This is where it gets sticky. Sensing that he is out of his depth and drowning, that the psyche needs help with finding a safe harbor, the Shadow Healer' archetype is "uploaded" and *da-dah* out goes Benhayon into the community giving workshop-sermons from the mount, raising the dead, driving out demons and withering fig-trees. All in 21st Century Entrepreneur enlightenment-in-a-nutshell fashion of course.

In the valley of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Serge Benhayon himself is currently undergoing a medical treatment program for his left eye. He has had two vitrectomies, with one operation still to be completed.

The synchronicity does not get more eloquent than that, no?

The Bible is rich with highly numinous archetypal content and recall that the esoteric material of Bailey and Blavatsky, the Theosophical and Anthroposophical paradigms are presented within the Judeo-Christian framework. I am surprised that Benhayon uses the term 'esoteric' and not the term 'quantum' - there's something old-fashioned about that which isn't 'quaint'.

As a Shadow Healer, Benhayon is harvesting the energy of his followers as his psyche continues its attempt to recover from the trauma of being blown to smithereens back in 1999 and whatever collateral damage has been accrued since 1964. As a trauma archetype the Shadow Healer has a formidable array of defense mechanisms and is thoroughly convinced of its own non-existence.

The establishment of UniMed is a sanatorium for Benhayon and nobody else. It keeps him in contact with humanity, prevents him from flipping-over into a murderous expression a la David Koresh, Charles Manson, James Holmes. It maintains the illusion that people are visiting him as an authority and that he is immune from having authority visit him.

Claims that UniMed is a totally transparent organisation are incongruent as Benhayon himself is not transparent and while the metaphysical man of mystery is a persona that pulls the chicks, in the company of Master Teachers this is just so much posturing and spiritual immaturity.

Claims that Unimed is an environment where students of the teachings can come and go as they please, the teachings are open to all, there are no controls or hurdles of any sort and no exertion of any kind whatsoever is the stock-standard narcissistic disclaimer that fails to recognise that a duty-of-care does exist. Especially for those who style themselves as disseminators of sacred knowledge and 'esoteric' wisdom.

In the immortal words of the Mother: He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy!"

Source: http://forum.astro.com/cgi/forum.cgi?num=1343693750/60

When getting intimate, sensitive information from clients/patients, professionals are under both a moral and legal obligation to keep such disclosurse confidential.

(Anyone who is a gentleman should do the same)

This is why it is not good to encourage people to do confessions of this sort in front of an audience.

Disclosing such information can put a person at risk of giving away his or her ability to think objectively.

It is too horrible to imagine that someone you've disclosed personal secrets to might be unworthy of such trust.

Once you have handed over such information, there is an incentive to persuade yourself that you did the right thing.

The cognitive dissonance (anxiety, horror) could boil up at the more thought that somone is an untrustworthy recipiant of personal secrets is to much for most of us to bear.

To give over such delicate information about onese life is the equivalent, for most of us, of crossing the Rubicon.

Therapist confidentiality anonymity

[forum.culteducation.com]

Therapist--professional rules for avoidance of all but necessary touching

[forum.culteducation.com]

Issues for licensed professionals in fiduciary capacities who get involved with untested therapeutic modalities

[forum.culteducation.com]

(small quote from longer article) -talking to ovaries could be considered at best an experimental or untested approach--to say the least.

'Clients have the right to know in advance that they are being subjected to experimental approaches. Therapists have the fiduciary obligation of informing clients when such methods are being used. Therapists have the further responsiblity of informing clients that alternative therapeutic approaches are available and that these approaches are based on methods commonly accepted within the professional psychological community....as fiduciaries, therapists must ensure that psychotherapy furthers the aims and purposes of clients (my italics-C), rather than adding to the prestige, self image, or feelings of power and control of the therapist. (Lilienfeld, Lynn and Lohr, 201

I found section of the Jungian analysis shared by Herb above to be particularly perceptive:

"The establishment of UniMed is a sanatorium for Benhayon and nobody else. It keeps him in contact with humanity, prevents him from flipping-over into a murderous expression a la David Koresh, Charles Manson, James Holmes. It maintains the illusion that people are visiting him as an authority and that he is immune from having authority visit him.

Claims that UniMed is a totally transparent organisation are incongruent as Benhayon himself is not transparent and while the metaphysical man of mystery is a persona that pulls the chicks, in the company of Master Teachers this is just so much posturing and spiritual immaturity.

Claims that Unimed is an environment where students of the teachings can come and go as they please, the teachings are open to all, there are no controls or hurdles of any sort and no exertion of any kind whatsoever is the stock-standard narcissistic disclaimer that fails to recognise that a duty-of-care does exist. Especially for those who style themselves as disseminators of sacred knowledge and 'esoteric' wisdom"

Hey Serge , I teach mostly young teenagers and they are mostly females , it was compulsory for me to obtain a "Working With Children Check" before I could commence. My question to you Serge is - Do YOU have one?

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Eric Dobbs
Hey Serge , I teach mostly young teenagers and they are mostly females , it was compulsory for me to obtain a "Working With Children Check" before I could commence. My question to you Serge is - Do YOU have one?

That is a very good question, Eric. I wonder how easy it is to obtain a 'Putting Entities Into Impressionable Children' check from the government?

Hello again, thanks for bearing with me. I did post this last night, but may have inadvertently deleted it. Either Serge psychically intervened and sent the post to Arcturus or I need an IT expert with me at all times.

My experience of UM seven years ago continued:

After the dodgey ‘ovarian reading’ I was convinced Serge was in the act of establishing a full blown cult with him as its enlightened leader. I’d already paid a deposit on the Advanced Level 1 Esoteric Healing Workshop, and was experiencing ambivalence, to say the least. On the one hand, I doubted any more of my association with Serge would benefit my health and wellbeing, but being a student of religion and cult dynamics, I felt compelled to bear witness and confirm my suspicion that he was heading down a destructive cultist path. At the same time, I remained curious about the Esoteric Healing method itself and its ability to induce strong, spontaneous physical reactions, and wanted to see if those reactions could be reproduced by everyday folk. I was also somewhat attracted to Serge’s teachings, because as I mentioned, some of what he said made sense, and I had no doubt he was a genius of a kind. The whole loving, heartfelt feeling approach has a certain appeal, and I was interested in seeing how successful he was at syncretising diverse beliefs (in the tradition of theosophy et al).

So the workshop, which was designed to train students in Esoteric Healing, was held over a weekend at a very pleasant facility in Lennox Head. I wish I’d done a head count, but I believe there were 40 to 60 souls there, of which there were only about half a dozen men. Serge had 8 women assistants in attendance. It was clear there was a hierarchy among those women. Three or four appeared to form part of his inner sanctum; an admin/manager, a Brisbane complementary therapy practitioner who seemed to be Serge’s Brisbane tentacle, and the ubiquitous burping priestess – quite a formidable, mature woman, who periodically spoke with Serge in what I assumed was their native tongue (Portugese? Arcturan?). The other four or so assistants had completed previous workshops and had therefore attained ‘advanced’ status. However, they seemed to have little to do over the weekend and it appeared there was competition among them. I found them bickering from time to time and at least one was rather aggressive.

Ah, I can still feel the ‘lovingness’.

The first day began with a lecture from Serge. Here, I will say, Serge must have read the same instruction book as every other successful guru, because the delivery followed the usual sales/guruism/personal development hysteria formula common to self help gurus, Amway, Scientology, Landmark etc. and basically consists of 'pack em in and hype em up'.

Serge’s delivery was exactly the Dr Fox effect (thanks for the reference Corboy); rapid fire, unstructured, illogical and jargon loaded while persistently oversimplifying and disparaging other belief systems. However, in spite of the erratic content, Serge's delivery is cool and personable and he knows how to interweave enough of the more potent and attractive aspects of established traditions to keep his audience interested. Even with my degree in religious studies, I found myself intrigued by some of the more sensible or potentially useful aspects, yet only moments later would be astonished at the absurdity of some of the statements. For example, he would move from talking about the heart chakra and accessing our heart’s purpose to live in love, to the coming of Maitreya Buddha, to compassion, to divine versus astral, to the Internet evolving until we can access it inside our minds, to the Arcturans being responsible for crop circles – all within a few minutes of smooth monologue.

Toward the beginning of this thread, Corboy also provided a reference to a member named Anticult who described an ‘idiot test’, and although it’s an unkind term, it applies to Serge’s oratory technique. The inclusion of audaciously nonsensical content in Serge’s lectures and teachings immediately weeds out anyone with strong critical faculties who might be resistant to adhering to the group. They will quickly abandon it, leaving a remainder of folk who are less critical, more suggestible and more malleable.

Although I was itching to challenge many of Serge’s statements, I didn’t because I felt intimidated. He talked too rapidly for me to concentrate and construct a useful argument, and thinking that quickly on my feet is not my strong suit. Then again, I’m not sure anyone thinks that fast, particularly when they’re unused to interjecting and when the guru is rapidly shifting the subject matter and using terminology which he has adapted to his own personal definitions. It would take a rowdy, vocal and ferocious skeptic to keep up.

To their credit, there were a few participants who challenged Serge’s statements only to have their objections annihilated, albeit via manipulation and distortion. Serge is particularly liberal with misrepresenting other belief systems, which when it comes to Eastern philosophy, is too easy to do, particularly when the audience is not well versed. He has done enough study to stay ahead of students with above average knowledge, but he has also co-opted and distorted those philosophies to legitimize his own. As did Alice Bailey.

For the next day and half, from memory, there was less lecturing and we got into the actual Esoteric Healing techniques. Mostly the room was kept dark, with lights out, blockout curtains closed, and only a small amount of natural light allowed in. Students worked in pairs, one to a treatment/massage table and Serge demonstrated one technique at a time for laying hands on certain parts of the body. Both ‘healer’ and recipient were instructed to empty their mind for the duration of the treatment – to resist conscious thought. (This is also done in Serge’s personal treatment sessions where he asks you to keep your mind clear. Says it all really. If you want to follow Serge, whatever you do, don’t think!)

Each technique involved placing both hands on the patient for various purposes, like releasing anger from the Liver, unblocking sexual energy, clearing sadness, draining fear, dealing with childhood issues or issues with a parent, quietening the forces of Maya etc. Yep. Snore. After the demo, students would then take turns to carry out and receive the technique. I was fascinated to find the students, including myself, able to induce hot and cold running catharses time after time, with each technique. It was a spectacular experience in many senses – in a dark room, forty or so people gradually building to a crescendo of hysterics. Reactions varied in intensity. Some people had subtle reactions, where they might shift on the treatment table a bit and alter their breathing patterns, while others launched into full convulsive thrashing, hyperventilating, sobbing, screaming and vomiting. Again I surrendered to the experience, jumped around a fair bit, spoke in tongues etc.

Serge bustled excitedly from table to table, observing and commenting. He carried on a lot about the persecution and torture of our past incarnations – archangels and monads being burned at the stake etc. and him helping to pull imaginary swords out of people or healing wounds where their angel wings had been hacked off in a past life. Also a lot of divisive and paranoid ravings about how good people like us, his followers, are constantly under attack from the corrupt and evil members of the astral world. Etc.

The following morning, the last day of the workshop, I was in Lennox Head scrounging around for some breakfast when I came across a couple of Serge's customers, a mother and daughter sitting outside the bakery. The daughter was shaking and in tears and I remembered her being similarly distraught during and after the ‘treatment’ the day before. Her mother was trying to comfort her but she was very distressed. I feel guilty that I didn’t stop and tell them to quit while they were ahead – debrief them somewhat and tell them they would be better served to see a real psychologist, but selfishly perhaps, I didn’t want to compromise my cover and invite vilification if exposed. They persevered and attended that day, but I feel it was a detrimental experience for that woman at least. There were no apparent measures in place to screen out participants who may have dissociative or psychiatrically unstable tendencies, and no measures for helping them to regain stability should they break down.

During the course of that day, we went through more techniques and continued to reproduce catharses, releasing our astral energy or whatever it was. About half way through the day, I was getting bored with speaking in tongues and having these intense physical reactions. There’s an initial wow factor but I was wondering how many past lives and how much torture and suffering I’d have to tap into, because apart from the immediate stimulation and excitement, I could see no substance to it, no meaningful lasting effects and no future for it in my life. It wasn’t making me a better person, I didn’t need further persuasion that Serge’s teachings were bullshit and I’ve had a chronic health condition for decades and Serge’s medicine made no difference to the symptoms, where other tested modalities have.

By the end of the workshop, although I was fairly burnt out and skeptical, I was still interested and somewhat engaged with the teachings. At the end of the day, the group sat in a circle and held hands. I’d met so many truly lovely people over that weekend, decent, conscientious and kind, but clearly the intensity of the workshop had strong if not adverse effects on many of them. The young man beside me was trembling uncontrollably and many other participants appeared to be in an emotionally heightened state. For days afterwards, I was in a trance like and confused state, still grappling with the teachings. Luckily I visited a wise friend and when I described the experience, his refreshingly spirited rant on its preposterousness helped me snap out of it.

However, I remain alarmed by many problematic aspects of the workshop, and how they might negatively affect some participants. I’ll bullet point them.

1. Serge presented the Esoteric Healing as something anyone could practice and openly encouraged people to use it on others, including children, inferring that students might charge for it. With my health problems and my chequered experience of healing I urge anyone not to adopt healing as a hobby, or anything other than a serious profession. Please! Medicine is a critical, complicated and arduous occupation to be undertaken only by fully trained and qualified professionals. UM minimizes and oversimplifies the difficulty of resolving symptoms and makes highly questionable claims to its own efficacy. Unless you have proper qualifications, do sick people a favour and leave therapy to the professionals. You’ll do more harm than good.

2. The cathartic nature of the healing practice may be responsible for some of the hold UM has on people. I’ve been around the block with healing and went in with some foreknowledge, but for those new to that kind of experience, it could be alluring, exciting and intoxicating at best, and frightening, damaging and addictive at worst.

3. The strong cathartic nature of the healing is also highly exposing of participants’ vulnerabilities. To this day I’m concerned about the people who grew distraught during the process, because their vulnerability not only left them ripe for exploitation by Serge (“you’d better do more workshops...come to more healing sessions...tell me more about your painful past...I take cash, cheque or credit card...”) but I also don’t believe Serge and his crew have the proper training and qualifications to adequately assist students in recovering from revisiting trauma. As a counsellor friend of mine says, ‘if you’re going to break someone down, you’d better be able to put them back together again.’ This may also explain how followers’ personalities end up becoming more and more fragmented – also allowing UM to tighten its hold the longer they stay in the group.

4. Serge’s 15 year old daughter was participating in the workshop and receiving the Esoteric Healing training. It’s not illegal, but ethically it reeks. I don’t care if Natalie is Hippocrates himself reincarnated, a 15 year old has no place in therapy, except as a patient.

5. I assumed all of the women at the workshop were patients of Serge’s and could therefore assume most of them were subject to his ‘ovarian’ fishing, and had disclosed if not their sexual history to him, then at least their history of negative experiences with the men in their life. This bond gives him the power to exploit their emotional wounds, and an opening to provide marital or relationship advice, which as a favourite cult manoeuvre encourages followers to alienate themselves from non followers. In doing so, Serge is also capitalizing on the unfortunate and enduring gap in communication between the sexes. Again, it’s not an actual crime, but enormously problematic in terms of therapeutic ethics and potentially extremely harmful.

6. All of this makes a mockery of UM’s assertions of integrity and professionalism. NONE of what went on at that workshop would be acceptable in a registered therapeutic profession. NONE. And if any UM staff with legitimate training are reading this, shame on you for associating yourselves with such conduct! Healers have an obligation to do no harm and your behaviour and apologism is reprehensible!


Next post will consist of observations I feel compelled to make about Serge’s targeting of women, including with breast massage.