"Yes, but they are also taking part in the Desteni process with the deliberate intention of ridding themselves of their thoughts, feelings and emotions. If Poolman abuses them they will excuse it as being what's "best for all" because of how they regard him."
Well in terms of destabilizing the self, of provoking long-term conflicts in the individuals interfering with themselves, Desteni (=Bernard Poolman) is using all typical and specific coercive persuasion or mind control techniques at full force.
I don't know if it really is a deliberate decision or intention of the victims wanting to get rid of their thoughts, feelings and emotions.
If you take the first step into the fold, which can happen for various reasons, like interest in the supposed charity, or in the intention of changing oneself,
I think you very quickly and subtly become suggestible to typical manipulation methods used in all coercive persuasion groups.
To the best of my knowledge, all thought-reform cults use almost the exact same techniques to change people by destabilizing their self, drive them into isolation and make them dependent on the group.
This process only needs one little step, one little weak spot of the individual in the beginning, but as soon as the invdividual steps in, there is almost no way back.
It is difficult to resist warm reception when feeling lost or in need of a sense of belonging.
It is difficult to resist peer pressure when being vulnerable, slightly depressed, or lonely.
Obviously, cults target friendly, obedient, altruistic, malleable persons, they are easy to persuade and manage.
The recruiter appears nonthreatening, shows empathy, puts into play the idea that the recruiter and recruit are alike, in sync.
Because of this, the potential recruit feels he/she is resonating with a nice person who is showing great personal care and interest.
Soon, like also done at Desteni, typically recruits are invited to a special event, or to some seminars, courses to some nice, even beautiful, distant place (the Desteni farm in Kwazulu Natal, SA), where the recruit will be further cut off from their normal lives and society, therefore become more suggestible to manipulation and isolation.
Already stepped in in the environment of the group, already being persuaded to belong in something important, something bigger than themselves, new members will follow further directives given to them step by step, very subtly, so they don't notice what's happening to them at all.
In the typical phase of confession in those cults, and Desteni sets a great example of very typical mind control techniques, all very nicely publicly documented all over youtube etc.,
members are lead to reveal past and present behaviour, contacts with others, undesirable feelings, in order to unburden themselves and become free.
In reality, whatever you reveal is used to further mold you and make you feel close to the fold and estranged from nonmembers.
When you are at this stage, I think you are already processing towards identitiy crisis by trying to rid feelings, emotions, thoughts.
Speaking about identitiy crisis, unluckily, coercive persuasion, malicious manipulation done in cults like Desteni leads to intense psychological stress and many cases to
psychological casualties.
As a frightening and upsetting example of what Desteni does to one of its typically shaven (female) members, in this case 'LLCraver', you can witness absolute and total commitment to the "process",
to the principle, total trained aversion against all things outside Desteni.
LLCraver, once more, rejects informations, signals, subsequently even an old friend who told her she's afraid of her becoming crazy.
She's reacting to her friend's warning at 04:00
LLCraver reacting to a warning the Desteni wayAs I am following her "process" for quite some time, I really hope she won't end traumatized and in psychotherapy in the future, she seems totally way off.
She began to go to college again to finish her degree (possibly pressured by her parents), after a long stay at the Desteni farm in South Africa, and you will see, I am
predicting she won't be able finish college, in the state she's in.
She went possessed by the principles of "equality" and "self-honesty" (which is loaded language and means brainwashing in this case).