The destructive results for people who have spent time in extreme or abusive group have been well documented by the likes of Steve Hassan [See disclaimer regarding Steve Hassan below] among many others, as has the techniques used by these groups which result in these outcomes. Hassan describes the process it as the BITE model. He outlines the control destructive groups subject the individual to as behavior, information, thought and emotional control.

Behavior Control
Behavior control involves regulation of every part of the life of the target person, from what they wear and eat to what they do each moment of the day. This is typically coerced by repeated punishment of self-willed actions, plus reward of actions that follow given rules.

Information Control
The information that the person has access to is strictly controlled, such that all information supports the group, its beliefs and that which directs the person's action. Outside information is blocked to avoid disconfirming evidence. Information within the group is based on 'need to know' and seniority rules, thus ensuring individuals do not get hold of inappropriate information (whilst also helping to increase the status and desirability of higher positions within the organization). Information made available is massaged to provide 'proof' of group ideals. Individuals are encouraged to report on one another and also on their own innermost thoughts and confess 'sins'.


Thought Control
The thinking of individuals is controlled first by an implicit assumption that the ideas and ideals of the group are correct and unchallengeable. Anything else is framed as a polar opposite and hence to be avoided or destroyed. Words are invented and reinterpreted to have special meaning. Buzz phrases and clichés are used to simplify complex situations into trivial things that can be discounted or adopted without deep thought. 'Thought-stopping' practices such as chanting; meditation and prayer are used to create altered states of suggestibility and lack of challenge.


Emotional Control
Emotions are both controlled and used to persuade. Guilt is regularly used to show a bad past that must be shunned and overcome. Fear is induced about outside threats, losing salvation, punishment within the group and doing anything without approval. Self-sustaining phobias are thus created about anything that may challenge the group's ideals. People who leave are framed as weak or evil. Extreme positions are taken that jerk emotions between excitement and dread.


Lifton describes eight criteria needing to be present for mind control to be effective and others have described a three-step process of mind control where the individual is "unfrozen", rebuilt and then "refrozen" in the new "cult" personality.

Sure people are free in many countries to follow whatever beliefs or teachers they wish which is great. I think a cult is distinguished from a religion when there are high levels of deception between what a new or potential member is told (or sold) and what they will actually be living or believing after they have begun to live within the principles and daily practices of the group.

I believe it is a great warning sign if a group is not totally upfront with new members of what will be required or expected of them as full members. The new member may be told that they are not ready, not evolved enough to learn about the most intense practices or perhaps they simply have not paid enough. For me if someone is drawn to such an organization in a personal searching of truth they should be weary if they are told to “leave their mind at the door” and simply accept whatever they are told before considering the consequences or validity of the new beliefs being taught. I believe truth should be able to stand free of such cosseted rules for all to see, discuss and test.

To whom it may concern:

See [www.culteducation.com]


Disclaimer regarding Steve Hassan

The Ross Institute of New Jersey/May 2013

The inclusion of news articles within the Ross Institute of New Jersey (RI) archives, which mention and/or quote Steven Hassan, in no way suggests that RI recommends Mr. Hassan or recognizes him in any way.

News articles that mention Steve Hassan have been archived for historical purposes only due to the information they contain about controversial groups, movements and/or leaders.

RI does not recommend Steven Hassan.

RI has received serious complaints about Steve Hassan concerning his fees. Mr. Hassan does not publicly disclose his fee schedule, but according to complaints Steve Hassan has charged fees varying from $250.00 per hour or $2,500.00 per day to $500.00 per hour or $5,000.00 per day. This does not include Mr. Hassan's expenses, which according to complaints can be quite substantial.

Steven Hassan has charged families tens of thousands of dollars and provided questionable results. One recent complaint cited total fees of almost $50,000.00. But this very expensive intervention effort ended in failure.

Dr. Cathleen Mann, who holds a doctorate in psychology and has been a licensed counselor in the state of Colorado since 1994 points out, "Nowhere does Hassan provide a base rate and/or any type or accepted statistical method defining his results..."

Steve Hassan has at times suggested to potential clients that they purchase a preliminary report based upon what he calls his "BITE" model. These "BITE reports" can potentially cost thousands of dollars.

See [corp.sec.state.ma.us]

Steve Hassan runs a for-profit corporation called "Freedom of Mind." Mr. Hassan is listed as the corporate agent for that business as well as its president and treasurer.

RI does not recommend "Freedom of Mind" as a resource.

RI also does not list or recommend Steve Hassan's books.

To better understand why Mr. Hassan's books are not recommended by RI read this detailed review of his most recently self-published book titled "Freedom of Mind."

See [www.cultnews.com]

Steve Hassan's cult intervention methodology has historically raised concerns since its inception. The book "Recovery from Cults" (W.W. Norton & Co. pp. 174-175) edited by Dr. Michael Langone states the following:

"Calling his approach 'strategic intervention [sic] therapy,' Hassan (1988) stresses that, although he too tries to communicate a body of information to cultists and to help them think independently, he also does formal counseling. As with many humanistic counseling approaches, Hassan’s runs the risk of imposing clarity, however subtly, on the framework’s foundational ambiguity and thereby manipulating the client."

RI has also learned that Mr. Hassan has had dual-relationships with his counseling clients. That is, clients seeing Mr. Hassan for counseling may also do professional cult intervention work with him.

Professionals in the field of cultic studies have also expressed concerns regarding Steven Hassan's use of hypnosis and Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).

Based upon complaints and the concerns expressed about Mr. Hassan RI does not recommend Steve Hassan for counseling, intervention work or any other form of professional consultation.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/2013 10:27PM by rrmoderator.

Boags:

See [www.culteducation.com]

This is a paper by psychiatrist and author Robert Jay Lifton, written for Harvard Medical School.

Lifton says, "Certain psychological themes which recur in these various historical contexts also arise in the study of cults. Cults can be identified by three characteristics:

1. a charismatic leader who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose their power;

2. a process I call coercive persuasion or thought reform;

3. economic, sexual, and other exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie."

He goes on to describe what "thought reform" is in some detail.

Lifton also wrote the book "Thought Reform and Psychology of Totalism."

See [www.culteducation.com]

This is a chapter devoted to describing the criteria used to identify a thought reform program in use by a group or movement.

Also see [www.culteducation.com]

This is a chart composed by clinical psychologist Margaret Singer.

Singer makes distinctions between various forms of persuasion, such as education, advertising, propaganda, indoctrination and thought reform.

It is crazy your thinking can become so blinded
That you loose track of reality
That your mind becomes so muddled
That caring people can forget compassion

When sleep is limited, and your diet, money and time is controlled
and you are constantly being told how to restructure your veiw of the world through threats and degrading abuse
you can unfortunately choose to stay believing in order to belong, to not let them down

why does it not pay? why does it hurt? why is it embarrasing to the outside world? Good to know we are not alone. Hundreds of others have made the same errors and there is life after suffocating exisitence in a group like this. It is freedom.

To whom it may concern:

DDOS attacks commenced against the Ross Institute Web sites on about March 8th. They continued for some time causing difficulty accessing this message board and the Web site database.

This took place immediately after this thread began on March 7th.

As you can see a new hosting company and more secure server has helped to end this problem.

Some Universal Knowledge (UK) supporters were banned, for behavior that can easily be seen as "flaming," i.e. attacking people personally on this thread.

DDOS attacks began in March and continued periodically, but were eventually halted by the security of the current hosting company.

During this period of the DDOS attacks UK supporters were very active on the Internet creating blogs to further attack the group's perceived enemies.

Meanwhile, legal threats were made against me personally and the Ross Institute (RI), which have been shared with RI's attorneys.

RI is no stranger to lawsuits, the institute has been repeatedly sued by disgruntled groups, which has led to humiliating legal defeats for the plaintiffs, including the following:

Church of Immortal Consciousness
[www.culteducation.com]

Pure Bride Ministries
[www.culteducation.com]

Landmark Education
[www.culteducation.com]

Gentle Wind Project
[www.culteducation.com]

Gentle Wind would eventually face a much more serious legal situation, when the Attorney General of Maine pursued the group for fraud, closed it down and seized assets.

It is interesting to note that the Maine prosecutor probably wouldn't have known about the group, its products and practices, except for the attention garnered through its frivolous litigation.

Another purported "cult" called "NXIVM," led by a former failed multi-level marketing guru named Keith Raniere, also filed suit against RI. This group has suffered one legal defeat after another, all the way to the US Supreme Court.

See [www.culteducation.com]

NXIVM is now being sued by the RI for $1 million dollars, regarding unlawful conduct.

See [www.culteducation.com]

If anyone has information that might lead to discoverying the source of the recent unlawful DDOS attacks against this Web site and/or the name and location of the hacker/attacker please contact me.

See contact information at [www.culteducation.com]

A detailed report has been filed with national law enforcement.

DDOS attacks are against the law and the criminals that launch them and their sponsors should rightfully be prosecuted and/or sued.

Please understand that RI has not and will not divulge the identity of anyone posting at this message board.

This board remains a completely safe place to discuss your concerns.

FYI -- Landmark Education attempted to use its lawsuit as a means to discover the names of message baord members.

But that effort utterly failed.

A federal judge told the seminar-selling company that any such effort in discovery would be fruitless.

FYI -- A federal court ruling "Donato v. Moldow," was later cited by Landmark Education in its brief seeking to dismiss its own lawsuit.

That ruling essentially held that the host of message board could not be held legally liable for the posts of its members.

Another victory for free speech on the Internet.

Legal threats, hackers and DDOS attacks should not trump freedom of speech.

BTW -- There is now a UK subsection within the RI database.

See [www.culteducation.com]

Rick A. Ross
The Ross Institute of NJ
www.culteducation.com

Personality Traits of a Sociopath - Natasha Lakaev

1. SUPERFICIAL CHARM -- the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, and slick. Not in the least shy, self-conscious, or afraid to say anything. He never gets tongue-tied and has freed himself from the social conventions about taking turns in talking, for example.


2. GRANDIOSE SELF-WORTH -- a grossly inflated view of one's abilities and self-worth, self-assured, opinionated, cocky, a braggart. An arrogant guy who believes he is a superior human being.


3. NEED FOR STIMULATION (PRONENESS TO BOREDOM) -- an excessive need for novel, thrilling, and exciting stimulation; taking chances and doing things that are risky. Often has low self-discipline in carrying tasks through to completion because he gets bored easily.


4. PATHOLOGICAL LYING -- can be moderate or high; in moderate form, and will be shrewd, crafty, cunning, sly, and clever (in extreme form, he will be deceptive, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, manipulative, and dishonest).


5. CONNING AND MANIPULATIVENESS -- the use of deceit and deception to cheat, con, or defraud others for personal gain; distinguished from Item #4 in the degree to which exploitation and callous ruthlessness is present, as reflected in a lack of concern for the feelings and suffering of one's victims.


6. LACK OF REMORSE OR GUILT -- a lack of feelings or concern for the losses, pain, and suffering of victims; a tendency to be unconcerned, dispassionate, coldhearted, and unempathic. This item is usually demonstrated by a disdain for one's victims.


7. SHALLOW AFFECT -- emotional poverty or a limited range or depth of feelings; interpersonal coldness in spite of signs of open gregariousness.


8. CALLOUSNESS and LACK OF EMPATHY -- a lack of feelings toward people in general; cold, contemptuous, inconsiderate, and tactless.


9. PARASITIC LIFESTYLE -- an intentional, manipulative, selfish, and exploitative financial dependence on others as reflected in a lack of motivation, low self-discipline, and inability to begin or complete responsibilities.


10. POOR BEHAVIORAL CONTROLS -- expressions of irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal abuse; inadequate control of anger and temper; acting hastily.


11. PROMISCUOUS SEXUAL BEHAVIOR -- a variety of brief, superficial relations, numerous affairs, and an indiscriminate selection of sexual partners; the maintenance of several relationships at the same time; a history of attempts to sexually coerce others into sexual activity or taking great pride at discussing sexual exploits or conquests.


12. LACK OF REALISTIC, LONG-TERM GOALS -- an inability or persistent failure to develop and execute long-term plans and goals; a nomadic existence, aimless, lacking direction in life.


13. IMPULSIVITY -- the occurrence of behaviors that are unpremeditated and lack reflection or planning; inability to resist temptation, frustrations, and urges; a lack of deliberation without considering the consequences; foolhardy, rash, unpredictable, erratic, and reckless.


14. IRRESPONSIBILITY -- repeated failure to fulfill or honor obligations and commitments; such as not paying bills, defaulting on loans, performing sloppy work, being absent or late to work, failing to honor contractual agreements.


15. FAILURE TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OWN ACTIONS -- a failure to accept responsibility for one's actions reflected in low conscientiousness, an absence of dutifulness, antagonistic manipulation, denial of responsibility, and an effort to manipulate others through this denial.


16. MANY SHORT-TERM RELATIONSHIPS -- a lack of commitment to a long-term relationship reflected in inconsistent, undependable, and unreliable commitments in life, including marital.


17. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY -- behavior problems between the ages of 13-18; mostly behaviors that are crimes or clearly involve aspects of antagonism, exploitation, aggression, manipulation, or a callous, ruthless tough-mindedness.


18. CRIMINAL VERSATILITY -- A diversity of types of criminal offenses (regardless if the person has been arrested or convicted for them); taking great pride at getting away with crimes.

Out of curiosity, I've read the book.

Complete nonsense from page one. It's full of lot's of new-age neat sounding terms and claims, stuff on chakras etc.

The most telling thing, and the sign of the scam:
Chapter 32 and 33 are "blank" but are entitled" "Light beings and extraterrestrials" and "lightworkers" respectively.

The pages basically are invites to pay for the "secret knowledge" by atending one of the seminars. So if you've got that far, you are ready to accept the ridiculous assertion that Natasha is in touch with aliens or Atlanteans, and she will privelege you with the knowledge (for a price of course)

Then at the back of the book is an order form for all the other merchandise. A brief look at the webpages show it's all about money, but evidently, if you pay enough, you too can become a psychic healer or counsellor, and heal people over the phone or the internet.

OK, people can beleive wierd things, no mater how much evidence against the beleif. It's the money aspect that become a concern.

Having now had a look at the various blogs that have sprung up, and the reactions and various threats by members of the group, including the various legal threats, one can begin to surmise this group needs a closer examination. I intend to expose the crazy beliefs for scrutiny.

:shock: What do they believe?

The information that first appeals to you is largely available in any number of books on New Age thought and teachings. They are a mix-match of ideas from different traditions and cultures. (Although on reflection and reading, the thoughts and processes offered are very similar to other groups such as Landmark, Scientology, Kenja and Infinity Colours of Yellow Rising.) The Universal Knowledge information produces a very simplistic picture of reality. The golden truths are things like “the world is your mirror”, “fake it till you make it”, and other such mottos. You are told to continue to work through that which holds you back (stemming from your cellular memory) and you can create the reality you want to. The promises are endless … any dream can come true. The further you go into your Personal Mastery the science becomes more complex and at times out right bizarre. Personal Masters believe all of the courses are information have been channelled by Natasha from a celestial place called the Solar Cross.

Personal Masters believe that there are a number of dimensions in reality that exist all at the same time and are full of entities of matching energy levels to the said dimension. The first being the lowest energy level, is said to be where the heaviest, darkest, most basic and most unenlightened energy forms reside. The second is where there are more intelligent forms of energy that exist on hate, spite, anger and fear, it is here that psychic fleas are said to come from. Psychic fleas live off your energy, hold you back and are something that no one but Natasha deems to really understand or see. The third dimension is where humans and reality resides, and the fourth is where fairies, some angels, light beings and other loving beings live. As a Personal Master it is your path to move from the third dimension to the fourth within this life time, and they believe the quickest way to do this is by doing course channelled and ran by Natasha Lakaev.

So the main objective is to purify yourself of excess heavy emotions such as anger, fear and spite etc. by means of accessing, having healings, meditating and doing more courses. To do this you are to look at your childhood and sort out if you ever repressed something and release that suppression in the present thereby opening up new areas of your mind that would have been hidden from you when you were all blocked up with energy. But it does not stop there, after dealing with this life’s “stuff” you then must look at your ancestors stuff and stuff from past lives.

You end up believing that Atlantis was a real place and that it was one of the most influential past lives on our current one. As a personal Master you believe that you have the unique job of cleaning up all past dark energy blocks in the Universe. So you see yourself as having a huge responsibility to the Universe and others by doing this and you believe it is what you we were truly born to do.

You also come to believe that the Earth is going to move from the third Dimension to the Fourth in a very short period of time and that you have to help it. Also that Personal Masters will be amongst the few to survive the coming changes. It is an Armageddon belief, which installs fear into Personal Masters and keeps them working through their stuff so they will be saved. You believe in the need for survival for the coming changes, creating fear, paranoia and insecurity within you. You also believe your survival depends on Natasha. You end up feeling like you owe any talents, successes, gifts and anything positive to the group or Natasha (and anything negative to yourself).

The rules are different for beginners and combined Personal Masters.
Beginners believe they are doing a course that will fix them up, and then after they have completed this they are told that they have hardly begun and that they should do the next course in order to continue.

A belief that Natasha’s happiness comes before anything else. You develop an underlying belief that Natasha’s personal emotional world has an impact on yours and your health, well being and survival, thus compelling you to make her happy.

You believe the only way to fix a problem is subservience and in giving your entire being to Natasha.


:shock: The 8 criteria of mind control as decribed by Lifton in universal knowledge:

1. “Milleau control” – Personal Masters are told that they must keep the knowledge and courses secret. Therefore they do not communicate or discuss the information in any way that produces questions. Any deviation from Natasha’s knowledge or teachings is immediately condemned as a personal flaw. That person will be told that they were responsible for the destruction of Atlantis in a past life because they would have used the knowledge for their own greed, benefit and power. Also you learn to hold your tongue about any negative thoughts because you have seen those that question be literally pulled apart for it. Information outside of the teachings is considered to be flawed due to the fact that it was not written by the enlightened. Anything that challenges personal mastery beliefs can be criticised as revealing the impurities and dis-function of the author’s, or speaker’s personality. Concern from outsiders is immediately considered as a controlling influence and becomes a challenge for you to ignore and often you will cut off from this person.


2. “mystical manipulation” – Personal Masters believe that Natasha is a Winged Guardian and has the ability to channel the true knowledge of the Universe at this time now that humanity is ready to listen to it. They believe that she has a brilliant understanding of humanity, individuals, the earth and the Universe and that they are lucky enough to listen to her. Natasha suffers for us, she does this work not because she wants to but because her guides tell her it is her duty for humanity. She says her guides are voices that talk to her all time and tell he what should be done next. She believes her true soul is a light worker here on earth to help us move from the third dimension into the fourth (well only those who have enough money to do her survival course and then only if they keep the plants given to them during the course alive, or they are not thrown out of personal mastery, or a hundred other factors that Natasha could dream up. By the way the changes were supposed to occur when Pope John Paul died – well he is dead and the planet has not undergone monumental earth quakes, and the freezing weather in which human kind could have only remained alive underground, catapulting the chosen into an age of pure love and a golden age as we have never known it.)


3. “demand for purity” – it is believed that our true beings are without personality flaws and that the only way to find the true spirit is by accessing out all the dark heavy energy that we are embroiled with that has built up since the time of Atlantis thirteen thousand years ago. Accessing is a release of emotions by means of hitting bags, clawing pillows, bodily shaking, yelling screaming, crying, actually anything goes really, yelling at others, hitting others pushing others. You want others to get through their stuff so will help them by pushing them under black mats and squashing them until they will think they may die and they have to fight their way out. It is vicious, anything is said, there are no boundaries, people are bruised, traumatised, shaken to the very core, some people wet themselves with fear, it is horrifyingly scary, you could be next if someone has as issue with you. Your hair could be cut, or your clothes, you can be laughed at, put down enormously, you can loose your relationship in one of these sessions, or gain one, you can be lifted up and empowered, strengthened, or deadened. These sessions could go all weekend – that means no sleeping all day and all night accessing, sweating and releasing. Accessing is supposed to free all the heavy energy to the Universe so it can become something useful. Accessing cleans humanity. You clear all your past life stuff, it becomes bizarre, and it allows you to know the truth and to know yourself. To purge your soul and to ultimately become the true uninhabited soul you have been trying to be all your life. Anything that does not fit into this new world view is wrong and anything that supports it right.


4. “The cult of confession” – group meetings and counselling sessions expose your true thoughts. Again anything goes as long as you are being truthful (although remember you can lie to people who are not personal masters including your family and workplaces because you are on higher mission for humanity). But regardless of who you are Natasha ultimately knows the truth of everyone so anything you say can be overruled by her or a group consensus – the rule is that if two or more personal masters agree on something about you and you are a personal master the it must be true (except if you are Natasha. In a situation where more than one person criticises Natasha they immediately become condemned as witch hunters and she the victim).


5. “sacred science” – Natasha is the only one who understands the big picture. We were told not to try to understand how the Universe works for unlike her, we were not evolved enough to understand it. Once she told us that she could explain the science of how the cellular cleansing we were doing via accessing was evolving our DNA. But then implied that we would not understand it even if she took her precious (and expensive) time to explain it so there was no point in her continuing to. Another time she said she could explain the energical physics that our souls are composed of (thus she understands how dreams get caught in dream catchers when our souls journey through them as they return to our bodies after a night of dreaming) but again did not proceed to as if we would just not be able to understand even if she did.


6. “Loading the language” – the more you use the lingo the more committed you are to your evolution. This unites the group and makes you feel part of it. Some examples include: “victim consciousness” (a negative term said of someone who is blaming something outside themselves for their experiences), “higher self” (this is the entity that you aspire to become, in your unevolved state you are only a poor expression of this), “integrity” (a favourite word of Personal Masters bandied around in every meeting, it means to follow through with your personal mastery evolution to the best possible degree and doing actions which benefit Universal Knowledge or Natasha), “unconditional” (this is to give, give, give, without limit, it is the aspiration of all personal Masters to become unconditional), “loyalty” (it used with reference to Personal Mastery, Universal Knowledge or Natasha only, if you show loyalty to people outside of the organization then you may be considered to be an disloyal person).


7. “doctrine over person” – Meetings are spent reinterpreting your own and other’s everyday experiences in terms of the Universal Knowledge guidelines. Your integrity to the group, Natasha’s writings and your beliefs and faith in Universal Knowledge come before outside reasoning and old relationships or condemned peoples within the group. Thus compassion is never a word spoken of, neither is social conscience. You don’t have to worry about global or local social or planetary issues because you were already doing the best you could do to herald in a new age for humanity. And anyway the coming changes were going to clear all that dark stuff anyway.


8. “dispensing of existence” – You do not feel connected to people who you do not consider to be enlightened. You almost pity them in their choice not to join you in Personal Mastery, but because you believe that we have all chosen our lives, any problems others may be experiencing is their problem – they created it - they have to fix it in order for them to grow. Also if someone in the group questions or becomes a rival to Natasha, (or begins to think independently again) they also can be dispensed of, often in the most personally destructive way Natasha or the group can think of. You believe you are special, cleansed and more spiritually evolved than others, creating a new social order than is a living utopia.


:shock: The three Stages of Gaining Control of the Mind:

1: Unfreezing
2: Changing
3: Refreezing

How does Universal Knowledge employ the three stages of mind control?

This cycle takes place many times during the members involvement, and in fact becomes the process of purifying. By accessing sometimes daily and then keeping busy you ensure your pre-cult personality and thoughts remain buried.

Primarily this occurs during each of the courses, it is very easily to see this process occurring during The Final Step. It is evident when you look back and remember any periods of intense inner confusion and feelings that the world no longer makes sense.

Often Personal Masters will re-do courses when it becomes difficult for them to maintain the cult identity and thoughts (for example after spending time at Christmas with your family you may feel a lot of guilt and then a desire to clear all the heavy or dark energy away and perhaps look to enrol in another course). Often the difficulties may be personal, or it may be that things do not sit right within the groups dynamics so a course re-do is a re-indoctrination that makes you feel good and makes you accept the whole package again.

Wanting to please others the group and Natasha become the main objective of doing, you are no longer using your critical abilities. This desire to please becomes very important to you as you are in a small group where you have to comply to the larger group consensus. This in itself is a very powerful tool of mind control, but when mixed with a large dose of fear of rejection or ridicule most people will submit their doubts in order to fit in and be accepted and approved of.:cry:

This mob sound very similar to Kenja. Does anyone know of connections between the two groups, or with other groups?

Groups like this are typically exclusive and devoted to one leader.

I don't see any connection to other groups, other than that some leaders borrow teachings or practices they may have picked up from other groups.

Quote

This mob sound very similar to Kenja. Does anyone know of connections between the two groups, or with other groups?

I agree there are so many similarities between Universal Knowledge and Kenja, and although there is no evidence of a link between the groups it is interesting that Ken Dyer was an ex-scientologist and Ex-Kenja members have talked about Kenja being a rip off of scientology. Natasha Lakaev too did some "personal development" courses before starting to run her own (something like the courses run by EST or The Forum which were themselves off shoots from scientology). So perhaps that is why the belief systems are so uncanily similar, also I agree with Rick that the structures of both these small groups are similar too.