also, remember the psychotherapy technique of the "inner child" which was popular a number of years ago from John Bradshaw, and many others. These child goodie-bags, and also the childish way Katie can speak to her 'school-mates", also serves to bring out the "inner child".
In these areas, people experience psychological Transference to the group leader, Byron Katie.
This sets Byron Katie up as the School Teacher, Mommy Dearest, Seducer, etc.

Byron Katie also knows damn well, that many of her female audience have sexual abuse and other trauma in their childhoods, and she is opening all of that up, starting right from the beginning. She cracks open peoples psyches, and if they were unfortunate enough to have childhood trauma, that could all come flooding back, making the person even more desperate and dependent on Byron Katie and BKI.
Its enough to make you ill, the way these LGAT groups operate, its extremely dangerous to break down people's psychological barriers like that.
That is why they make people sign the waiver of liability, if she hurts you through opening up trauma, tough nuts for you.

Just a little remark before bedtime.

I shared bedroom and bathroom with another participant. BK wants you to share a room with a stranger, because this is an exellent opportunity to question your stressful beliefs about that.(anyone surprised?)

GoE *tired smiley*

P.S. will get back on the waiwer-thing as soon as possible.

another thing to have a look at, is how BKI gets people who have attended The School before to reattend. BK calls them "Staff", but they are not paid, they pay to work there, and to "help" people.
So perhaps some of these "Staff" also share rooms with newbies, and this creates a deeper social influence network.
On top of that, all the meals together, and the long days, etc.

So many of the seminar techniques, are not unique to Byron Katie, and are part of the LGAT seminar environment of social influence, similar to Landmark, PSI, or other multi-day long hour LGAT seminars.
Then inside that structure, you have the particular methods and content of Byron Katie.

But there is the entire layer that most people don't think about, or are not even aware of, the meta-level of these type of multi-day seminars, called LGAT's, "Large Group Awareness Training".
People can search google for

LGAT, or "Large Group Awareness Training".


[skepdic.com]

[pagesperso-orange.fr]

Staff and participants eats seperately, and in silence.

I think staff sleeps with staff, but I dont know for sure.

I can tell you that if my routine is disrupted in the slightest, I cant crap.

My stepmom had a male coworker who could not travel away from home for more than a week because he was unable to take a dump outside of his own bathroom at home.

The old Drill Instructor saying was, 'Your soul belongs to God, but your ass belongs to me.'

Will tell you, that's not really true.

Control someone's butt and the rest of them follows.

If a lot of people cannot poop or if by contrast, they are getting stress induced runs during BK events, that has to add to the impact.

Wonder what kind of TP they use--Charmin?

(couldnt resist)

its interesting how they put in these controls around food and eating.

Could you imagine if you took a course or training, and they told you who you could eat with, and you ate in silence? It really is about social conformity and complete immersion.
Of course they frame it in a different way, but its about creating those group dynamics.

Virtually every group has some controls about food, as that is a powerful issue with most people.
They really go at it from all sides at once, with these external controls, and then the inner manipulations as well.

Quote
Garden of Even
Staff and participants eats seperately, and in silence.

I think staff sleeps with staff, but I dont know for sure.

There are many spiritual leaders that have fallen and become or always were corrupt and many that were and are not. The question I pose with all due respect and with the utmost humility is that everyone is trying to verify and deride teachers and beliefs. I have never in many years of study ever heard of Jesus and the saints or God for that matter ever been verified except for in the heart and souls of the individual. To be sure there are dangerous cults and charlatans out there but it seems discernment and compassion may be not the answer but a more proper way than complete dismissal of every teacher/guru/ God?

We're talking for-profit people and organizations who covertly use NLP techniques, physical stressors, and other manipulations on their unsuspecting paying customers, and who make them sign waivers without providing the true nature of their programs. If you explore the website, you'll find plenty of information on how to discern religion, military, advertising, from cultic individuals and groups.

Last time I checked, none of the new age media Gurus are Jesus or a saint of God.
And if a saint of God, or Jesus was alive today, and they claimed to walk on water, then they would have to prove it, like anyone else. Isn't that just common sense?

No one here is doing a complete dismissal of EVERY Guru or teacher, and are not criticizing them for no reason. If you look at the facts of what they do to people, its extremely bad.

But why is virtually every Guru in the media these days corrupt on some level? Its because they are the aggressive salespeople, who are able to publicize themselves and sell their products. they are the aggressive self-promoters.

Byron Katie and her company are extremely aggressive entrepreneurs. They are making millions a month, probably.
The psychological tactics being pulled by Byron Katie, for example, are legion, to the trained eye, you can see right through them.

The problem is not that people need less critical thinking, and more passive acceptance. People in general seem to have way to much passive acceptance already.

And actual Teachers are great. But a real teacher doesn't "suggest" who you eat lunch with, where you sit, and doesn't exploit you using dozens of LGAT techniques and group hypnosis.

But its true, most of the big name new age Gurus in the media these days are not legit and are dishonest and corrupt. Why is that? It seems to be because the aggressive self-promoters who are in it for the money and fame, take over their entire field. Its hard work to promote yourself like that, and it also takes an extreme arrogance to act like you have all the answers.

And these new age Gurus get almost universal unquestioned passive acceptance in the media already!! They can do 50 media interviews, and not get one decent question asked of them, they are treated like celebrities, to try and get ratings.
Could you imagine if some tough questions were asked of some of these people? It rarely ever happens.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2009 01:52AM by The Anticult.

earlier some made a joke about Jesus forcing people to sign a Jesus Disclaimer before he would speak to them, and disclaimers against any loaves and fishes eaten..."these loaves and fishes are for entertainment purposes only"...

but some of these folks do represent themselves as Saints of God, they even take the names of Saints from the past. (Eckhart) They do this, as that does shut down the questioning mind of their followers.
They thrive on passive acceptance and unquestioning minds.

Once people start asking some real questions, the jig is up. Critical thinking is the most important think to free oneself from these Gurus, and they know this of course, which is always why they try to suppress that from the get-go, from teaching people to be more passive, unquestioning and accepting! Gurus are clever people, its not so easy to be a Guru and a leader of people.