Actually, members under 21 are allowed as I was a member at 19-20 years old. I attended the retreats and received letters previous to my 21st birthday. Generally, however, persons under 18 are not allowed to become members.

Its interesting if a person runs Royal Way through various criteria.

Royal Ways fails every single checklist for charity or religious donation.
Royal Way fails all tests for financial accountability and transparency.
Its all a complete secret, no one knows where the money is going.

FTC Charity Checklist
[www.ftc.gov]

[www.ecfa.org]
Financial Disclosure
"Every member shall provide a copy of its current financial statements upon written request and provide other disclosures as the law may require. If audited financial statements are required to comply with Standard 3, they must be disclosed under this Standard. A member must provide a report, on written request, including financial information, on the specific project for which it is soliciting gifts."


Royal Way fails virtually every question on lists of group Warning Signs.
[www.factnet.org]
[www.culteducation.com]


Michael Gottlieb's status as a therapist as listed earlier in this thread is DELINQUENT.
These types of leaders want NO OVERSIGHT of their activities, and this is why they have no accreditation or licensing of any kind.

Thanks for setting me straight LOL
Are you still a member? If not, why did you leave?

And yet another question...
My SIL was Protestent however, she no longer celebrates Christian holidays. Is it common for RW members? And can somebody tell me, in plain English, what exactly do they believe in?!

Quote
Nietzsche
Actually, members under 21 are allowed as I was a member at 19-20 years old. I attended the retreats and received letters previous to my 21st birthday. Generally, however, persons under 18 are not allowed to become members.

Hi... I'm new here... and really surprised this is the ONLY place I can find any info on this cult.

I have a family member involved in this. In the past this family member has tried inviting other family members to retreats and stuff saying it will help us (with whatever weak point they see that we have). They never say how it helps or what it really is, they are vague. They have now been in this for a long time (5+ years that I know of), many of their friends are in it, and it seems like they have become a more distant and arrogant, even missing important religious and family events on occasion, because it is retreat time. It also seems like they spent alot more time at these classes and retreats now than before. They even loosely use the term "Ranch" in conversation, but never elaborate on it, other than how much it helps them. Is this true of other peoples experiences with this too?

Recently I noticed this family member has a picture of Michael Gottlieb displayed in their home for all to see. They will tell some people it is the guy from the Ranch, but others ask and they make something up about who it is. What is the significance of having this picture up in the house? At what level of their organization are you issued this photo, and what does that level mean? If anyone here has seen the picture, it is creepy looking.

Is there anywhere to get hold of some of the writings or the audio that has been mentioned on this board? I would love to learn more about this and try to understand what is going on.

[www.wikileaks.org]

Quote
Nietzsche
http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Royal_Way_Jacumba_cult_leader_Michael_letter_on_cults

WOW!!! Do you have more of these? Thank you for posting that. It answers alot of my initial questions.

Ahhhhh....I see said the blind man....

[www.wikileaks.org]

I have read the letters linked above. I find the information contained within them completely horrifying...

Before I go into detail as to my interpretation of the letters, I would like to hear what others have to say. I implore the readers of this post to review the letters and to post their feelings here.

Quote
Nietzsche
I have read the letters linked above. I find the information contained within them completely horrifying...

Before I go into detail as to my interpretation of the letters, I would like to hear what others have to say. I implore the readers of this post to review the letters and to post their feelings here.

I would love to hear your interpretation of these letters... When I read these letters, it seems like he says very little in alot of words, and is talking in circles giving generic examples to get you to agree and keep reading on.

Why do they all start with "A radiance of light..."?
I have heard other people (probably not this cult, but they were in something lilke this) talking about a white light that you see, and to close your eyes and look into the light--follow the light and things will happen. Is that also one of Royal Way's beliefs? Or is his just saying he is a radiance of light?

He does admit a cult. Good comback on his side saying it means to cultivate. But what is he cultivating? I didn't quite understand what his beliefs and teachings are.

He wants people to give up their ego and submit to him. The people i know in this cult definitely still have egos outside of their group.

He calls himself a disciple, but who/what is he a disciple of?

He mentions many religions out there. But what is this all about? Does he mention them just so everyone feels it is for them, making them easier to submit? Is he a religious group? Is he just looking for a retirement plan by having misguided affluent people donating more land to his ranch while paying him for the privelege of working on his property?

Does anyone have any info on these classes that go on in west los angeles? it seems like people will not miss these classes and retreats for anything--they come first in their life.

One more question. Does anyone have info on what I read in a previous post about people getting naked for him? What was that all about?