I was introduced to the above subject by a man whom I met at the event in California.
I was bit surprised that there was no mention of Zhi Gang Sha or DrSha at www.culteducation.com

www.drsha.com

Does anyone have an opinion or an experience ?
Dr sha offers a wk long re-treat in Canada.

Thank you.

This is a very dangerous cult and is very seductive. Dr Sha makes incredible promises and claims.

[blog.wired.com]

You can read quite a few posts here of people who have been in the cult or who have family members in the cult.

Actually, I am shocked since I have not seen such a powerful cult since the Transcendental Meditation of the 70s, Hari Krishnas or EST. Dr Sha's cult is far more dangerous because he has adapted and use the language system of current since and blended it with his own religion along with Chinese medicine.

Dr Sha makes outrageous claims and charges large amounts of money. He claims to be able to wipe our your past karma, to prevent future illness, to replace organs in your body, to send "downloads" over the phone. These services cost $ 200 up to $ 2,000 and more.

this from Dr Sha's Institute
Soul Rainbow for Divine Financial Blessing

Zhi Gang Sha Soul Rainbow Light Ball and Soul Rainbow Liquid Spring for Divine Financial Blessing is the newest and highest divine financial blessings one can receive to date. As a direct channel and servant of the Divine, Master Sha has been given a divine order to offer this new blessing to humanity at this time. He thanks the Divine, the Akashic Records and the highest saint who is in charge of financial blessings in the Soul World for the authority and ability to offer this divine service.

Master Sha is offering Zhi Gang Sha Soul Rainbow Light Ball and Soul Rainbow Liquid Spring for Divine Financial Blessing for the first time in his Sunday Divine Blessings teleconference on January 22 and January 29 only. It is valued at $1,000 per transmission. For this two-week period only, it will be available at the very special price of $500 per transmission.

Some of the cult members are very web savy and have the skills to use the internet to promote and build the cult with incredible speed.


Soul Masters: Dr. Guo and Dr. Sha is a DVD video tribute from one of the cult members. It is choppy and shot poorly on a private trip to China to the compound/village of the cult leaders. They conduct seminars and regular phone broadcasts to keep members involved and entranced. Cult members run around presenting this video to groups, especially new age groups hoping to recruit new members. They have woven in a kind of pyramid marketing scheme. Members buy boxes of books and DVDs on Amazon and at Borders to make it look like it is a growing and popular movement.

Cult members order cases of books and some do not even take delivery. They are shipped to a warehouse in CA for storage. Other members can buy them for the cost of shipping so they can give them away or sell for a small fee to entice others to join the cult.

His meetings are like a tent revival with people claiming miraculous healings. Members swoon and clap. There is no follow up to see if the healing are genuine. Dr Sha uses brain washing methods to keep those attending re-treats constantly busy from early morning to late at night with little or no time to eat and little time to sleep. There is no real time for the to contact family members or the outside world.

Cult members spends hours a day on the phone listening to him or his chosen lieutenants. Supposedly he sends blessings through the air. Cult members have jars of water that are energized with healing power for physical or psychological benefit.

They have an answer for everything......... typical of a cult. They are engaged in a Pyramid or multi-level marketing scheme. As they bring in new members, they get a percentage of whatever that new member buys or signs up for. This amount of money only offsets a small portion of what they are spending already on their involvement in the cult.

Dr Guo's wife suddenly died a few months back. The cult was told that 'she was called back early'. No mention of the failure of the cult's healers to keep her alive.

It is so frustrating. Once you have a family member that has burrowed deeply into this cult, you have little hope of getting them to stop and see the reality on their own.

It is good to see more people speaking up about this very dangerous cult.

this is the kind of crap they are promoting


so it boosts their sales fraudulently to make it look on Amazon.com like they are really popular in order to snare more people for the cult

*******

SOUL COMMUNICATION Book Campaign Program
Soul Healing and Enlightenment Retreat, Atlanta – October 2008

I agree to participate in a special Soul Communication Book Campaign offered through the Institute of Soul Healing and Enlightenment (ISHE). I understand that participation in this program is priceless. By electronically agreeing to this agreement, I consent to the following:

· I understand there are two ways to participate in the book campaign as a part of the Soul Healing and Enlightenment Retreat Webcast:
o I may participate in the 180 Golden Divine Soul Energy Matter Treasures for a $1500 commitment in books.
o I may participate in the 180 Rainbow Divine Soul Energy Matter Treasures for a $2000 commitment in books.
o I will indicate which programs I will participate in as I check out.
· I acknowledge that the purchases described above may begin on October 27, 2008 and may extend through November 2008. I agree to make the funds I commit below available for this entire period. Purchases may be made on my behalf from Amazon.com (ordering 3 books at a time) or other booksellers as determined by ISHE.
· I acknowledge that there will be no refunds for books purchased and no cancellation of this agreement.
· I understand that I may receive further instructions from ISHE regarding my participation.

not sure id be as harsh as Dr Tim....but

Dr. Sha has released his latest Book: The Power of Soul….this was accompanied by a “Book Campaign” on Jan 5/6…I wrote the following review on Amazon but within hours the Dr. Sha “professionals” convinced Amazon to remove the review…

----

It is with mixed feelings that I write this- The world DOES need a soul movement – and Dr. Sha’s teachings are based on some basic truths and provide empowering tools that can provide benefit…

But, I’m just not sure it needs the ultra-organized commercialized dogma of the Dr.Sha “Mission”:

First of all, similar to his previous books, don’t be duped by the “best seller” status or 5 star ratings:

1) members of the Mission contribute thousands of dollars in lieu of ‘blessings’ from Master Sha as a part of a ‘book campaign’ – these funds are used directly by Master Sha’s institute to internally buy books from retailers 2 or 3 at a time to falsely and unethically stage the book’s popularity (Google “Dr Sha book campaign” if you don’t believe me)
2) members of the Mission are urged to write positive reviews about Master Sha’s books, and get discounts for it…thus all the prosaic 5 star reviews.

It’s not really that they want to sell lots of books – they want to attract more members to the Mission- i.e. to join the Sunday Blessings and the Retreats….which is where the real money is made. It’s not that unlike this story: google “Did dirty tricks create a best-seller”

Sure, the members deeply believe that they are promoting truth (indeed, other religions have done much worse in the name of God)…but personally, I don’t find these methods to be all that ‘saintly’(it might even be karmic)… if there are real truths in the book and the Mission it would sell itself on its own merit like most best sellers do.

And what ‘services’ does Master Sha offer at his blessings and retreats? Well, Master Sha believes that he is a “Channel” of the Divine, and he (and only he) has been given special powers. So he (and only he) can offer you- via the “Dr Sha dot com” channel (check it out for yourself):
- Divine Protection against every imaginable hazard
- clear your Karma for $2000. just like that – no followup or practice or nothing…even Dr, Sha calls it a “short cut”
- Transplants for diseased organs
- Body Soul Transplant for $5000 (not explicitly listed in the web site, but it is a prerequisite, among others, to be come a Master Teacher Healer)
- Etc.
(actually, you can usually get the blessings for less because there is always a last minute special to appeal to the “shoppers”)

What is a Body Soul Transplant? You current soul leaves you and a new soul (a saint) chooses you. Its sad that some people are so down they feel they need a brand new soul….and I guess all the poor folks have little chance at becoming a saint…how exclusive.

By the way, for the higher services, you aren’t told the cost of these until you apply first, in which Dr. Sha receives Divine guidance in whether he should accept you. Imagine trying to say no after the Divine supposedly accepted you (but of course, these are “priceless treasures”).

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg…the later chapters of his books speak of the higher Soul Transformations etc. The “highest” downloads for the ‘chosen’ ones are offered only at the “invitation only” retreats (i.e. for those who have ‘passed’ the previous courses)...

Dr Sha’s Sunday blessings are as follows:
He offers a free blessing (download). Then his top assistants (the “professionals” on “dr sha dot com” who have gone through the full Soul transformation and have received all the highest downloads so that their souls reside in their highest chakra and they can see with their third eye- paid for either with $ or Universal Service™ to the Mission) describe what they saw. Then all the people who have registered get their downloads. That’s it.

Yes, the downloads might feel empowering, but inevitably you are left wanting more…if the top assistants can really see with their third eye, wouldn’t you want that too? Well you can get there by getting the downloads, becoming indoctrinated through the courses and practice practice practice (the practice e.g. chanting, empowering statements etc can make you feel good) – till you believe it (or some would say become deluded?)

So inevitably, most are drawn to take the courses and to become a Universal Servant (requires you to volunteer time to the non-profit Institute that does all the ‘work’ – whereas payments go to Dr Zhi Gang Sha LLC.). The courses all link together and coax you higher and higher, with the light at the end of the tunnel that eventually you might be able to charge for your services, like the “Professionals” on the web site - it’s the classic pyramid marketing scheme.

But here is the hard part for me: people DO feel better… faith in the empowerments can help heal. But any one will feel better if they spend time getting out of their thinking brain and doing some chanting, setting good intentions, and having faith that they are empowered to make choices to make their lives better. And the collective energy at (any) group retreats is very powerful and healing. Why not rejoice in that - it might be the piece some people really need...

But when that collective energy at the retreat is highest, and people are feeling their best, that is when Dr. Sha ‘suggests’ that his downloads can make you even better….which is made so easily done by sticking your personal barcode on a form (& voila, your credit card is charged). It’s so effective that retreat registrants have to sign a legal disclaimer saying that all though the downloads are ‘priceless’, they must spend ‘within their means”. From my experience, few of the faithful do, unless you call credit card bills and liquidation of savings as ‘within your means”. (many retreat attendees spend 10’s of thousands)

Seems like Dr. Sha is selling water to people standing in a river. It’s a shame that our consumerist society thinks we can ‘buy’ everything. Its part of the reason we need a true soul movement.

Members of the Mission have made a huge leap of faith to jump on these tracks. But the light at the end of the tunnel might just be an oncoming train. After investing so much, it might take an even bigger leap of faith to get off…

another anonymous wrote on the wired blog:

" I am a former student of Master Sha's. Master Sha threatened us by telling us that bad things would happen to us if we ever talked against him. I was at Stacy’s the day that Master Sha did a soul transplant on Kevin Iams. Kevin received additional higher level soul transplants from Master Sha after that , got his karma cleansed and he still died. I worked with Kevin’s mother until Kevin died, so I have personal knowledge about all of this.. Whenever a cure didn't manifest, the retort was that the person didn't chant enough, had more karma to clear, anything to take the onus off Master Sha.

As for the double blind study, the article failed to mention that it was a "spiritual" heart study. The questions the participants were asked to answer did not ask about the physical heart, nor were any medical doctors involved with the study to review physical aspects of the heart. The study consisted of Master Sha downloading a soul transplants to a group of followers who did not know whether they were receiving the download in that session. The participants had to fork over a load of money to be able to participate in the study.

There were two PhDs who designed the questionnaire for this study. Both have left the organization. One died of cancer after two years of purchasing various downloads, and the other because of conflicts with Master Sha. The PhD who died of cancer was told that she didn't do enough for the organization and that's why her cancer came back. These are the kinds of messages that come out of this organization. Buyer needs to be better than aware, buyer needs to stay away.


What someone wrote about the frenzy of buying that occurred at retreats is absolutely accurate. The comment that someone made about losing their father to Master Sha is right on. Master Sha would tell us stories of how he sacrificed his family to do this divine work. He told us that we were chosen people who had the mission to heal the world. The only problem was that we never did that. We just attended classes in which we were given the same teachings over and over, and spent our life savings on purchasing downloads and/or soul transplants that didn’t heal us.

During the time that I was part of the cult, I did not see any healing that could be documented and I did not heal from the aliments that I suffered from. Master Sha would tell us of his healings, some of his students would attest to the healings, but there was never any documented evidence. RG said he’d been healed of his cancer, but no one ever saw the diagnosis. SL said that she got pregnant because of Master Sha, but MS paid for a “special download” so she could get pregnant, and she never did. I attended a book lecture in the Marina in San Francisco during which a woman, who came in a wheel chair, got up and walked. When I tried to get her to share her healing with others, she was still in pain and not able to walk. Sadly, her healing was only temporary, and her failure to heal more was laid at her feet, not his.
There were downloads given to us for going to the web site and writing our stories of healing; we were also given them for buying books from Amazon and Barnes and Noble and writing favorable reviews.. All those who have talked about the book campaigns and reviews are telling the truth. Master Sha is a best seller because he is the best at getting his followers to spend money they don't have on books that no one wants, so he can have the stature of a best selling author. And this is all done in the name of the Divine.
All of the downloads were very expensive, and after a while it was clear that what cost $1000 yesterday was now available for $100 today, because, after all, the Divine was now downloading a newer and higher version of it. There were a number of people I knew personally who hid from their spouses the thousands of dollars they spent on downloads.

I travelled to China with Master Sha in 2005 for a “soul retreat” and spent time in Master Guo's compound. Master Guo lives frugally and his services are available to all those who need them. One night I sprained my ankle fairly badly. Master Sha was there, but it was Master Guo's doctor's who attended to me and gave me ointments to heal my ankle. Not Master Sha. I have been unable to watch the DVD “Soul Masters”. Master Guo doesn’t speak English so he gets only what Master Sha gives him in Chinese. I don’t speak Chinses so I don’t know what Master Sha tells Master Guo.
For a time I volunteered setting up people for healings on his remote healing and radio shows. During the time that I worked with him on that project, none of the people ,whom I followed up with, experienced any healing. What can I say about that time? That I did a lot of service to those who came to his "mission" to be healed, that I did a lot of service for Master Sha's mission, that I spent a lot of time on the phone in "classes" where the same lectures were given over and over again, that I spent a lot of money on downloads for which I have no result.

Before I met Master Sha, I would say that if there is a God, it is the God that I see in you. Since leaving Master Sha, I now say, if there is a God, it is the God I see in you.

Master Sha says “You have the Power to Heal Yourself”. If that is true, then he misleads those who come to him, because he sells them “downloads” , then “soul transplants” telling them that this will heal them. "

Zhi Gang Sha was scheduled to talk about his new book at a nearby bookstore last weekend. I didn't attend the event although now I think it would have been interesting to see what he had to say after reading these posts. One thing is for sure, there is something very creepy about someone who promises to have an answer and a cure for everything. If only life were that simple!

I'm currently reading about Pranic Healing because I'm hoping it will be a tool I can use to help myself and others (I'm a Reiki Master), and while I have a much better feeling about PH than what Sha offers, I'm hoping it's not based on lies. Seems a lot of people are making all kinds of promises these days.

just posting some 'curiosities' here for those doing research...make your own judgements

1) [www.instituteofsoulmindbodymedicine.com]
this is the website where all the info for the classes is delivered (passwords needed to get the details)

2) [www.instituteofsoulmindbodymedicine.com]
IVE ATTACHED AN IMAGE OF THIS ONE, accessed Feb 18
these are the terms that describe how Dr. Sha's "Divine Writing Channels" are engaged...very "interesting" ;-)


3) [www.sharesearchfoundation.org]
this is the research foundation website...little recent activities, and no scientific papers are posted

an example of the terms for participation in a study
[www.sharesearchfoundation.org]

another anonymous recently wrote on the wired blog, linked in a previous post:

"I am another person who escaped the Dr. Sha cult. Everything posted by "anonymous" above is accurate.
The aspects of Dr. Sha's books and teachings that seem profound and "right on" come directly from his teacher Master Guo of China. Yet Master Guo does not charge an arm and a leg to help anyone, and he has a medical center that treats people on all levels. In fact last I heard, none of Master Guo's patients ever died. Dr Sha can not say the same.


Dr. Bob if your wife has only spent 20,000 you are far better off than most. However I am saddened for you both. Dr. Sha used to have a "no questions asked" refund policy for his downloads but that is long gone. I will keep your wife in my prayers. I am sure she is as well intended as we all were....
Most of his students come and go once they run out of money. A few hand fulls are still around but the organization depends on new bank accounts to feed on. I believe Dr. Sha believes he is doing the right thing which is what makes him so convincing to his students. He literally told us all he was Jesus at one retreat and told a small group he was literally GOD at another. I am dumb-founded that I continued to say in after hearing these things. I could go on and on with many stories.
I share to protect the innocent. I pray for Dr. Sha and all his students that the truth be illuminated once and for all. "

I just spoke with a friend who confirms what you say. Sha was claiming to be Jesus and a Divine channel from god. My friend was amazed at the well planned and pressured marketing machine that Sha runs. He guessed that Sha took in $ 50,000 for the weekend at least.

People are do desperate that they lose their ability to discriminate and healthily judge. Sha and his people run these trainings and workshops like Timeshare or Multi-Level market in terms of pressure to buy.

It is sad that those who have left the organization are fearful to speak out.

Seems like people should contact their state Attorney General to report this kind of fraud - promises to heal, promises to gain financial success, practicing medicine without a license, etc.

In addition to the wired blog, [blog.wired.com]

the following discussion threads provide viewpoints on Dr Sha:

[www.thetaobums.com]
[yedda.com]
[taoism.about.com]
[forums.about.com]

The amazon book reviews (along with the flurries of prosaic 5 star posts by followers) are also a place to read about other’s experiences. E.g.


[www.amazon.ca]

“ I have had personal experience with this doctor including attending soul language/wisdom workshops years ago that comprise the subject matter of this book. At his workshop, you will have the opportunity of seeing Dr. Sha's message put into practice. What to expect:

Buddhas, Jesus, Mary etc. active in the room with you. No, you will not see them, but Dr. Sha will have several of his workers who have "3rd eye" capabilities tell you they are there, and gasp at how miraculous it all looked. The same people will also interpret "soul language" for you.

If you have an ailment, Dr. Sha may "download" a new organ for you by grasping the top of your head with his hand and putting on quite a show as he grunts and shakes, although he also does this remotely to 1000s at a time, without having to touch anyone at all. Some days he may download a whole system like "Divine Digestive System", other days it may be just an organ like "Divine Liver".

He will spend time teaching you energy healing techniques but later you will learn that having a divine organ via his download is so much more powerful.

He has disciples spend thousands of dollars to follow in his footsteps and become "healers". Once, he made an example of one of them who explained she was having "doubts" about all this. Dr Sha assured her, and everyone else that day, that these doubts came from evil entities that may be drawn to you as you advance spiritually.

Dr. Sha likes to promote his books at his workshops and has told participants that God spoke with him about his (God's) wish to have his book "Power Healing" top the amazon best seller list. To that end, Dr. Sha urged people to buy as many books as possible and distribute them to jails, hospitals etc. As a reward, you will get more of Dr. Sha's products and/or organ downloads.

I could go on, but hopefully I've raised enough red flags . .”

[www.amazon.com]

“Here I talk about the book and my experience at a Dr Sha weekend workshop:

This is old style religion with an eastern flair: your soul is burdened by karma and you need salvation. While the book starts with the statements we are all healers and are able to heal ourselves, there is a great disconnect as it moves into 'only Dr Sha can help you' with his divine transmissions and treasures. Work really hard, pay lots of money and you will possibly (and very slowly) get off the wheel of karma. All the while Dr Sha insists he is here to "serve you". Dr Sha is a skilled healer and many people do feel better after his healing work but the tendrils of enmeshment are all too strong.

How sad that people are taken in by this. He is a great salesman. The money part isn't even mentioned until you are signing up for the "gifts". He does initially offer free gifts only if you register on his website so they can bring you into the fold and solicit you constantly via email. His followers really believe this and are ardent in their testimony. They worship him like a guru.

There are some positives: the power of chanting, the healing of t'ai chi and chi gung. But too much guilt and insistence that we are running out of time and if you wait, it will be too late and you will be stuck forever. Too much bowing down to Dr Sha as our savior and direct link to God.

We are empowered to do our own spiritual growth. If we focus on the positive and nurture those aspects of each person, we will grow the positives. If we focus on our fear, we will grow our lack. If we believe we need teachers like Dr Sha to pull us through, we will. If we believe we can directly access God, Goddess, the spirits and the transmissions of love and healing, then we will. You are a creator and you are powerful. Don't believe this book.”


Others:
[www.amazon.com]
[www.amazon.com]
[www.amazon.com]