Sharon Nader says:

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there are one or two people with many anonymous names, using this website to pursue their vendetta against Royal Way.

No. I have run a check and this isn't the case according to the IP addresses.

There are individual comments made by individual members. No member is posing behind more than one user name, which is against the rules.

Okay. This is my last post I promise :) I just have to respond to Hal's last post and expose some of her lies.

First of all, I verified that no one can attend the meetings in LA unless they've been on an intro day first, which doesn't happen in LA, with no exceptions. There is no "intro night"!

Second, the LA office isn't even near Olympic Blvd.

Third, no one would be embarrased if they were trying to "recruit" people to go. If they would leave RW simply because they were seen in a video (probably with a camera in their face at the time), that is a lie. Why? Because the people I know in RW only continue with it because they LIKE it. They could easily move on if they wanted to. I would never continue to involve myself with something I'd be embarrased about, unless I was an idiot or a masochist - I would be running for the door!

Hal, you reacted so strongly to the word "Coward", yet your lies just confirm such cowardly actions. If you REALLY wanted to go to a meeting, you'd have do the seminar first, but your "friend" would see through your feigned interest and steer you away. It is only for people who are willing to be honest.

Anyone who accuses someone of having a "black heart" and then ends with "blessings" can't be too convincing. I wouldn't claim that you have a black heart- I don't see people like that unless they are terrorists and the like.

You say you are ready to fight, but there is no fight. Tell you what... you can have the last word on this. :)

To all: On a better note, my sister back east just informed me that I have a new niece today! Her arrival is a little early, but she's healthy and loud :wink: . Her name is Marlitte and I plan to go out and celebrate tonight with an apple martini and a great italian dinner with good friends. Ciao!

- Stacey

RE: “And who are you, Anon1234 and SS2006?”

Well, let’s start by saying who I’m not: I assure you I certainly am not Anon1234, or Hal, SANSAT, omnipolchc or any other member of this board. But be my guest and believe what you wish.

But pardon me for saying it may be wishful thinking on your part to assume that there are only one or two people out there writing under various names and sharing their beliefs that RW is a cult and Michael is a cult leader – that we all must be the same couple of people. Sorry Sharon, that’s just not the case.


RE: “Weak, petty, jealous anonymous people afraid and intimidated by real power, money and success, looking for power on the internet.”

Really? Isn’t this just going a bit overboard?

You know, with all the “pilgrimages” that you RW people take throughout the years to the Ranch, the classes you take regularly, the meditation sessions and all, it never cease to amaze me how negative, judgmental and condescending you tend to be towards others.

PS: to everyone else – note how “spiritually enlightened” Sharon always seems to come back to the central importance of “real power, money and success” – kind of proves our point, doesn’t it?


RE: “If you believe in karma you must know that sooner or later you are going to pay a heavy price for these unwarranted vicious attacks.”

Oh, trust me, I do believe in Karma! I just see a different ending to this RW saga.

Hal said:

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I asked if I can come [b:0f2530d484]to intro night [/b:0f2530d484]to see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears. I went as far and contacted the W. LA [b:0f2530d484]office on Olympic Blvd. [/b:0f2530d484]to ask if I can come to a meeting. And guess what? I was actually invited to go and I'm going!

Please respond to the following two points Hal.

1. Royal Way members claim there is no "LA office on Olympic Blvd."

2. Royal Way members say there is also no "intro night."

How do you respond to these points regarding alleged errors in your posted statement?

Anon1234 has now made it clear he/she has no interest whatsoever in a real dialogue where maybe somebody—maybe even everybody—learns something.

The newest posters—hal and SS2006—seem to be of the same ilk.

So what are they interested in? Read their postings and decide. Do you see anything other than viciousness, ignorance and self-righteousness? And all of it vented against whom? What did the objects of their insults and scorn (including my Teacher Michael, my friend Sharon, and the friends of hal, SS2006 and Anon1234) ever do to them?

It’s a strange formula, isn’t it? They say that there is much they don’t know about Royal Way. But this ignorance isn’t an occasion to try to learn more. Instead, it’s an excuse to say vile insulting things about people who never harmed them. And the crude insults are cloaked in this nauseating mantle of self-righteousness. Here come the cult cops!

By the way, did you smell the ozone frying off the logical short-circuits while Anon1234, hal and SS2006 tried to get their brains around the idea that many Royal Way members have money and are successful in life? Let me try to distill it: the true sign of a cult is when either (1) its members don’t have money or worldly success, or (2) its members do have money and worldly success. You can’t win for losing, as my mom used to say.

In fact, as well as the reader can decipher it, the only way to know for sure that you are NOT in a cult is to BE Anon1234, hal or SS2006, each of whom never once questions how it is that they were blessed with the gift of knowing what’s best for everybody.

Hey, why be content with uttering nasty things in a measly little chat room (or whatever this thing is)? Why not get yourselves some brown shirts and a salute? Start having meetings? Start breaking windows and roughing people up. I know this beer hall in Munich…

I find it very enlightening, that the few supporters of RW have such extreme intolerance to simple freedom of speech, and freedom of belief and personal opinion.
They appear to be so used to operating in an environment where everyone "believes the same thing" that when some people make some criticisms, they immediately jump to calling their critics Nazi Fascists?

The responses from the supporters of RW have been very revealing. There is an absolute intolerance of criticism.
I don't know this RW "Leader" "Michael" personally, but the red flags are flying like crazy about him, he sounds very suspicious to me, and needs to be monitored closely.

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John D. Zemanek
Hey, why be content with uttering nasty things in a measly little chat room (or whatever this thing is)? Why not get yourselves some brown shirts and a salute? Start having meetings? Start breaking windows and roughing people up. I know this beer hall in Munich…

Even a casual reader of this forum would acknowledge there’s a LOT of information coming forward here, over several years, about Royal Way, how it’s structured, how much it costs, and the role of Michael as the leader – from people outside AND inside the group.

So I don’t think it’s accurate for John to suggest the info here has no value or meaning.

If you’re reading this thread to learn about the Royal Way organization, and want to consider John’s question about what – if anything – qualifies it as a “cult,” don’t fall subject to his dismissive sarcasm.

A cult group is not just about whether the members are rich or not.

Try reading Rick Ross’s “Warning Signs” list about unsafe groups, or one of Margaret Sangers books, or many others resources out there…

And then consider a few things documented in the Royal Way discussion so far:

• The group is organized around a charismatic leader, Michael, who provides essential truth and validation to the groups’ members.

• The group leader is always right.

• Donating time and money to the group is essential for each member to feel approval/attention from the leader, Michael.

• Consequently, many members spend huge amounts of time with the group, and increasingly little of their discretionary time with non-members, including family, children and friends.

• The group’s teachings, finances, records and facilities are inaccessible to the public unless a person is fully initiated.

• New members must be initiated in a controlled way, by invitation. There is no casual way to learn about Royal Way, and gradually adopt it.

• Participation in the group redefines the identities of the members – they are “changed” – Sharon asserts this quite clearly.

And these are just a few of the details I’d urge everyone to consider when trying to decide if Royal Way is a true “cult” or unsafe group.

For my part, I consider Royal Way a cult, and Michael a cult leader.

And this comes primarily from my own experience witnessing changes in people close to me who became involved in the group, and learning things about Royal Way and Michael from what they shared…

I was sad to find others have experienced the same – but pleased to find a forum where the public can (finally) learn about this group’s practices.

I am an officer of Royal Way and have been since it was established 27 years ago. This posting is intended for anyone who is interested in the truth about Royal Way.

I have read the various postings on this website from the people attacking Royal Way and the postings from Sharon Nader and John Zemanek, members of Royal Way, who have used the voice of reason to respond to the unwarranted attacks. I have concluded that nothing they say, or could ever say, would satisfy the attackers. Therefore I myself will not waste time responding to their allegations. That has been done, openly and clearly.

I also read the posting from Stacey Levy, another voice of reason, who has never attended a Royal Way retreat or is involved in Royal Way in any capacity, strongly defending Royal Way. I read the posting of a psychotherapist addressing the disturbed minds of some of the attackers. One does not have to meet these unstable people to know they are disturbed. It comes through loud and clear in their postings. I have read the responses of the moderator who refers to many of the Royal Way responses as flaming, but allows the attackers to be as vicious as they please with very little warning from him. He also refers to the fact that Royal Way wants all of the postings removed as if there is something wrong with that. Of course Royal Way wants them removed. They are libelous lies. In any arena other than the internet, these attackers would be taken to court. Here it is called free speech. Also, Royal Way never posted a request to have the postings removed on the website, just like Sharon Nader and John Zemanek did not post the fact that they are attorneys. Yet both these facts, written in a private letter to the people that sponsor the website, were revealed. So much for confidentiality.

For the record, there is no Royal Way office on Olympic Boulevard in West Los Angeles referred to by Hal. And there are no intro nights or meetings offered by Royal Way. These are total fabrications. Hal is so outraged at being called a coward, yet here she tells outright lies.

The nonsense on this website has been going on for years. The only reason a few members of Royal Way even bother to address it now is that sadly, today, more and more people rely on the internet for obtaining information on almost everything. Therefore we feel it is prudent to at least post accurate information about Royal Way for anyone who accidentally comes upon this website.

Finally, we realize that our posting on this website gives the attackers fuel to continue attacking. So let it be known that this is our first and last official response.

We are not a cult. We are anything but a cult. We are against cults. Those of you, who for whatever reason want to continue to call us a cult, that’s fine.

Ok people, let us cut through the fog of non-information that RW members have presented and return to the basics. I have clearly asked RW to bring specific information--the "writings"--to the discussion table, but they refuse. So, we are forced to learn about RW through other directions.

To me, the issue surrounding Royal Way is whether or not this organization is a legitimate self improvement program or if it is a psychotherapy cult where the leader has manipulated members for monetary gain.

AND RW HAS PROVIDED NO ACTUAL CONTENT WHATSOEVER THAT SUPPORTS ITS CLAIM TO A LEGITIMATE ORGANIZATION OR REFUTES MY OPINION THAT IT IS A FINANCIALLY MOTIVATED CULT.

This is not a difficult task, and any if RW was truly the organization it claimed to be, my findings and opinions would be easily humiliated by the actual evidence.

For many of us, answering the question would be greatly furthered by reading Michael’s "writings" or "letters". So I ask again, would someone please post one or more of these documents in question? Show us the content. Tell us what you read at the weekly classes and at the retreats. Provide some specific evidence. This is not an unreasonable request of any church, which is exactly what Sharon Nader says RW is:

"to set the record straight, Royal Way is a church and all the money from our retreats goes to Royal Way"--Sharon Nader

Specifically, I ask that you post the approx. 10 page document that says giving to charity is evil and talks a great deal about how terrible income tax is. Every one of you RW people know exactly which document I am talking about…

From my previous posts, I have made my opinion of RW very clear. I have based my opinion on very valid findings:
- The negative changes I have seen in my currently and deeply involved Friend #1.
- The bizarre and cult-like specifics told to me by Friend #2 who attended two separate weekends at the compound.
- The research I have done at the County Recorder’s office.
- The posts by others in this forum.
- Most Importantly: My hands-on, eyes-on personal reading of Michael’s signed "letter" about income tax and the evils of charity (the complete writing).

But it remains that the RW members are desperately seeking to convince us all that RW is this wonderful organization, yet they refuse to show us the content they are studying.

If any one of us was involved with a legitimate organization, and you were questioned, would you not provide all the facts and evidence you possibly could to support your organization? Would you keep a specific document that has been questioned shrouded in secrecy? At this point, you have nothing to lose, right?

But this is not the case with RW. Some of us, myself included, who have read the material, were SHOCKED AND HORRIFIED at the content of what the RW "teaches". It was irrational, contrary to mainstream good acts (like giving to charity), was inconsistent with self improvement (income tax and self help--where is the connection?), and absolutely positively full of manipulative statements that are intended to bring someone (generally a troubled person) under psychological submission.

Could the Royal Way’s battle cry of "Surrendering Your Ego" be any more consistent with trying to reduce a human being to mental submission?

And then they are fleeced for thousands of dollars...

At this point, I have no additional information to bring to the table--but I continue to research. If I do receive new information, I will post my findings and conclusions here to help answer others' questions about this secret group of people that call themselves the Royal Way.

Here's the correct information:

Royal Way...[located at] SANTA MONICA BLVD [...]

[b:ecf00c1dbf][Editor's note--don't include specific addresses here or phone numbers unless listed in publicly by the group][/b:ecf00c1dbf]