I am not trying to discourage anyone from posting here. It was not my intention to come across that way in my post. I am concerned about someone I know in RW, and out of my concern I found this site and have been following it as an observer ONLY for months.

I was moved to make my first posting after I noticed what I perceived to be a theme of retribution in some of the RW members' postings. They seem to be an "exclusionary" type of group, keeping their writings and business "private" and constantly trying to convince the rest of us that their way of life is so much more fulfilled than the rest of ours could possibly be.

I was concerned with the "Judas" and the "stroke" comments because I believe it's one thing to think you're doing the right thing - feel confidence in your teacher, group, church, or whatever - but I think it's another thing when you begin to feel that others should be punished for speaking out about your group or questioning its legitimacy.

It seems the authors of these postings were fanaticizing that people that are anti-RW would be the victim of some type of divine retaliation or karma, if you will. I don't necessarily believe that RW members will become violent, but I think their posts were illustrative of their conviction that they are special and protected. Frankly, that’s fine if they believe that. But when they take their ideations to the next level, start discussing themes of Judas and betrayal... well, I just find it disturbing.

Maybe I’m the only one who felt that way when I read those posts, but I just thought I'd put it out there.

To "JustChecking1234:"

You are correct in noticing a particular theme in the postings of the RW-supporters. What I found in my personal experience is that they [u:209ba24b08]do[/u:209ba24b08] believe that they are a select group of individuals and so also that they are somehow unique and protected. In this way, they also believe that their “way of life” is indeed much more fulfilling than the lives of those individuals not associated with RW. Remember, that as members of such a group, these are some of the attributes that make them feel as though they belong to [i:209ba24b08]something special and exclusive[/i:209ba24b08]. These are predictable consequences of Michael Gottlieb’s “teachings.” In this way, they are, in effect, an exclusionary group.

And, if you are not correct in your perception that RW-supporters – at least some of those who have contributed to this thread – believe that some sort of retribution or retaliation could be in store for non-believers, then certainly it might appear that they believe that such a divine intervention (as silly as that sounds) would benefit their cause which, at the moment, would be to terminate or at least stifle this thread.

And, to others:

Once again, I would implore those of you wishing to expose this group to simply [b:209ba24b08]follow the money[/b:209ba24b08].

I too am an ex RW member who left RW a few years ago beacuse it all got too much. I will explain more at another time.


I find this article written by Christopher Calder (an ex student of Rajneesh) very interesting since there are a lot of similarities between Michael and Rajneesh.
Here is an identical meditation that Michael uses on his retreats that was truly copied from Rajneesh. This meditation may actually be very dangerous for some people.

*Dynamic Meditation: (warning) This spectacular meditation method was Rajneesh's trademark, and it remains a tremendously effective tool for naturally expanding consciousness. Rajneesh never did the technique himself because he didn't need to. He developed the method simply by observing his disciples, who would occasionally go into spontaneous body movements during his early meditation camps. [b:ddd6863256]When his judgment started to decline, he unfortunately changed the third and fourth stages of the method into a pointless torture test.[/b:ddd6863256] The correct and most effective version of this meditation technique has four stages, each lasting ten minutes.

Stage #1) Start by standing with your eyes closed and breathe deep and fast through your nose for ten minutes. Allow your body to move freely. Jump, sway back and forth, or use any physical motion that helps you pump more oxygen into your lungs.

Stage #2) The second ten minute stage is one of catharsis. Let go totally and be spontaneous. You may dance or roll on the ground. Screaming is allowed and encouraged. You must act out any anger you feel in a safe way, such as beating the earth with your hands. All the suppressed emotions from your subconscious mind are to be released.

Stage #3) In the third stage you jump up and down yelling Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! continuously for ten minutes. This sounds silly, but the loud vibration of your voice travels down to your centers of stored energy and pushes that energy upward. When doing this stage it is important to keep your arms loose and in a natural position. Do not hold your arms over your head as that position can be medically dangerous.

Stage #4) The fourth ten minute stage is complete relaxation and quiet. Flop down on your back, get comfortable, and just let go. Be as a dead man totally surrendered to the cosmos. Enjoy the tremendous energy you have unleashed in the first three stages and become a silent witness to the ocean as it flows into the drop. Become the ocean.

[b:ddd6863256]Rajneesh unwisely changed the third stage of the method to rigidly holding your arms over your head while shouting Hoo! Even worse, he changed the fourth stage to freezing in place like a statue with your arms still held awkwardly over your head. This method is not only uncomfortable to the point of torture, it can also be medically dangerous for those with an underlying heart condition. When you stand with arms elevated over your head, you increase your level of orthostatic stress. This means that your heart must work harder to pump blood that has traveled down to your legs back up to your heart and on up to your brain. You could easily pass out in this position, or induce a heart attack in individuals with coronary artery disease.
[/b:ddd6863256]
Freezing in place makes deep relaxation impossible as it keeps your mind's controlling functions fully operational. This holds your consciousness on the surface, defeating the purpose of the exercise. The point of the technique was to have three stages of intense action followed by a fourth stage of deep relaxation and complete let go. Rajneesh could never have practiced the freeze method himself, not even in his youth. Asking his disciples to do it simply showed that he had lost touch with reality. Rajneesh was a fallible human being, not a perfect God.

I advise students to only use the enjoyable early version of Dynamic Meditation. This wonderful technique was intended to grow with the student and change as the student changes. After a few years of practicing the method vigorously, the first three stages of the meditation should drop away spontaneously. You then go into the meditation hall, take a few deep breaths, and immediately go deep into the ecstasy of the fourth stage. Rajneesh intended the method to be fluid, health giving, and fun. Those new students who wish to experiment with Rajneesh Dynamic Meditation should read the section on Cathartic Dancing Meditation in Meditation Handbook for further warnings and details before experimenting with this powerful technique.

an interesting older thread has come to light, about Benny Hinn.
It is the [b:82c688e46d]exact same type of financial problem[/b:82c688e46d] as pointed in this thread about Royal Way.
[board.culteducation.com]

A tax-exempt "religious charity", just raking in the big money, with no public accountability whatsoever.
On the bottom of this website, there are links to the Council for Financial Accountability, that has been mentioned over and over in this thread.
[www.cbc.ca]
[www.ecfa.org]
That is why Royal Way tried to discredit and distance themselves from that checklist, as that checklist exposes the unethical practices, or worse, of Royal Way.
WHY DOES ROYAL WAY COMPLETELY REFUSE TO SUBMIT TO THE MOST BASIC STANDARDS OF ETHICAL AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY?

There is no question, the tax-laws around tax-exempt "religions" can be a refuge of rogues and even criminals, due to the tax loopholes for so-called "religions" and churches. This first thing any scammer is going to do is set up a new "religion", and reap the HUGE financial benefits.
That has to end, those laws have to be changed to demand financial transparency, otherwise financial abuses will continue.

Perhaps some Ex-RW insiders will get some financial documents and details, and leak them to the press and on the internet, like they did in the Benny Hinn documentary.

It would also be a good project for an investigative journalist in the LA area, they could "infiltrate" Royal Way, and get some info that way. Someone could contact some journalists to look into it.

Because of the nature of tax-laws, if a person is going to "follow the money" they could report any suspected non-compliance with the tax-laws confidentially to the IRS.
The full information on how to contact the IRS is found in this post.

How to contact the IRS
[board.culteducation.com]

Anticult,

I see you have a new mantra: "Follow the money." You throw the IRS at us like some kind of gauntlet. We have no problem with the IRS. We never have. Our records and documents are in good order. The IRS is aware of that, but if you need to know so you can sleep at night, fine. Go for it. Follow the money.

Someone else coined the phrase "follow the money" when it comes to Royal Way, not me.

And if Royal Way's finances and records are in "good order", then they would simply adhere to the [b:200b2569e0]most basic[/b:200b2569e0] ethical standards of transparency and "Standards of Responsible Stewardship", and make them available on request, and do so promptly and courteously.

Has Royal Way done this?
No, they do the exact opposite.
When asked for information, they deny, attack, threaten, divert, tap dance...whatever it takes. Its perverse.
Its very clear that Royal Way is a sick organization, and their refusal to allow any transparency whatsoever does put them in the same category as Benny Hinn, the high-living con-artist, who also operates a "religious non-profit corporation" and spends tax-exempt money and lives like a King.
Congratulations!

Royal Way is [b:200b2569e0]not endorsed by any respected non-profit auditing organization.[/b:200b2569e0]
They have [b:200b2569e0]ZERO legit objective references.[/b:200b2569e0]
[b:200b2569e0]ZERO.[/b:200b2569e0] Not one. Nadda.
And they have lots of complaints from numerous people.

The dirty laundry will always get aired in public...eventually.

Its usually a "big financial donor" who wakes up one day, and then sues the folks who conned him, and it all comes out in the courts.

What a day!

The Landmark Education white-collar cult is on the road to destroying itself globally, based on posts started in this very forum.

Another vicious and dishonest cult, called the GENTLE WIND PROJECT, that was [b:73f9ded264]written about on this forum by the actual victims of the cult[/b:73f9ded264], has just destroyed itself and been liquidated. (I'm not finding the corrent links in this forum about that GWP cult, if anyone can, please post it!)

But the victims of the cult have won against the horrendous attacks by the GWP cult!!!!!!!
[news.google.com]

[www.windofchanges.org]

[b:73f9ded264]Everyone needs to read their AMAZING statement at the close of their case! [/b:73f9ded264]Especially ex-members of The Royal Way.
[www.windofchanges.org]

Quote

Also sued by Gentle Wind Project and the Millers were co-defendants: Rick Ross, Rick
A. Ross Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and
Movements – www.culteducation.com;
Mr. Ross successfully defended himself against the Federal lawsuit and was dismissed bySenior District Judge Gene Carter in January 2005. (See Lawsuit Against “Cult-watcher”
Dismissed: [www.cultnews.com]).

Now in this thread, we have The Royal Way sect, seemingly walking down the same Royal Road, as both Landmark, and the Gentle Wind Project.

The freedom and power of the internet works.
There is real HOPE for the victims of these greedy and ugly cultish groups.
The truth and facts are their enemy.

That is why these types of groups refuse to reveal any facts and figures, and want to stay mired in secrecy, and hide in the shadows.
The light of day, and the light of truth, exposes the darkness.

Here is the link to the thread on The Gentle Wind Project: [board.culteducation.com]

The statement at [www.windofchanges.org] certainly makes for very interesting reading.

Isn't the power of the Internet amazing?

Keep the info coming, and Anticult, thanks for the links.

Quote
Brad69
Here is the link to the thread on The Gentle Wind Project:
[board.culteducation.com]

The statement at [www.windofchanges.org] certainly makes for very interesting reading.

Yes, that is the thread! thx! I just read that thread, and it tells a similar story to this Royal Way one. A few posts by victims of the group, and then more information building about the abuses of the cult, financial, emotional, and sexual. Then the vicious attacks and lies from the cult, lawsuits, endless lies and BS by the cult.

Now, the victims of the cult WON. The cult is gone, and the victims even got their costs paid. People were ripped off are also able to get some of that money back from the court appointed Receiver! (take note Royal Way).
What a terrific story of hope.

But of course, the crooks from Gentle Wind Project cult-scam, have set up a new non-organization that does not exist, but exists! [www.gentlewindproject.org]

Quote

We are not a non-profit nor are we a profit making company. We do not accept donations or payment in any form. We are a group of people who want to make the world a better, easier place.

Read the bullshit on the front page of their new website, they're psychopaths.

Its sounds about as meaningless and vague as the stuff coming from Royal Way. Never trust an organization which is secretive, vague, manipulative, and dishonest. You could be dealing with a psychopath, wearing a holy robe.

Is there any information about the "sexual" energy exercise taking place in Royal Way?

In a previous post, someone had mentioned "naked" private sessions and "naked" group exercises. Perhaps some former members could shed some light on this.

Keep up the great work of lifting the vail of secrecy and fraud of Royal Way. I wouldn't be surprised if a media outlet jumped all over this story in the near future.

Stay tuned..................................