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rrmoderator
In my opinion NXIVM fits the criteria of a group that can be seen as a destructive cult.

This is ironic and sad to me since I know people who are in it and use this term all the time when referring to something that destroys value. It's almost like they're programmed to say the same thing over and over again. Thanks for the information.

Sadly, pinkunicorn, your friends have become 'true believers' and cannot see the truth in front of them to escape their mental prison. NXIVM is a very abusive LGAT as is clearly documented in the Rick Ross Archives. The best defense is open and complete knowledge of any questionable group which is the reason most of these LGATs are so secretive.

I am happy you are free and completely immune from this nasty group. Knowledge is power...and freedom...

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Sparky
Sadly, pinkunicorn, your friends have become 'true believers' and cannot see the truth in front of them to escape their mental prison. NXIVM is a very abusive LGAT as is clearly documented in the Rick Ross Archives. The best defense is open and complete knowledge of any questionable group which is the reason most of these LGATs are so secretive.

I am happy you are free and completely immune from this nasty group. Knowledge is power...and freedom...

Thanks, but you bring up an interesting point.

The thing that concerns me is how do you know that you're at the point where "thought reform" has started to take over? Like you said, these people really believe that they are doing the "right thing". If they've been in the group/cult for a while, how can you convince them that what they are doing really is "destructive" using their language, or that these thoughts aren't simply of their own free will, but have actually been slowly indoctrinated, seed by seed, in an environment that isn't conducive to their mental health? The "external" message of this group has a universal appeal, although I see nothing really profound in it. Is there a way to disassociate yourself from the "secretive" nature of the organization and only believe in this public message?

This is what concerns me the most. I know a few people in it, one in particular I care about, that I don't want them to get emotionally abused or scarred. To me, it seems that this universal appeal is the hook, only to reel you into more and more detrimental aspects of the organization where you spend more of your time and money in it without you even knowing it, thinking you're doing the "right thing". It's like a pyramid scheme, where the higher in rank you go by essentially paying more money for more "courses", the more secretive it becomes, the more you get to "know", the less outsiders get to know about what goes on who then start becoming "the others" who just "don't get it", and thus, the more potential for abuse can occur. Soon, you only trust those who are in the group, while others outside of it, hold less and less weight in your eyes. But, this trust isn't based on something superior in the beliefs they hold, something that can be publicly defended, but just the fact that they are all part of the same group.

To me, there are few things worse than those who abuse others by an attempt at feigned sincerity, i.e. those who act like angels, but are nothing but devils.

I know that the Rick Ross archives et al are very good at giving coping tooks and information. I do not know if your friend(s) can be 'saved' by you or this site. I think you should read as many links and posting on LGATs that you can find here.

(Get a big glass of iced-tea and sit back, there are a ton of horror and coping posts).

I don't think that you, alone, can be successful in making your friend(s) realize that they are in a cult. Think about the old adage of "How do you boil a Frog"? (answer, put him in a pot of water then turn on the heat and he will boil slowly over time without realizing he is in hot water.)

If you need more help and assistence I know that Rick Ross can be contacted personally and will respond to your concerns.

Good luck and God Bless.

In other words, I really have no ability to do anything. This makes me depressed.

I found this site doing some more research:

[www.nxivmrevealed.zoomshare.com]

It mentions Rick Ross, but it's poorly designed website and has some pretty strong accusations against the organization, including rape charges against members and the founder himself, Keith. Is this credible?

I don't know.

Keep the lines of communication open. Build your library (buy used) and give books to your friends after you read them. Books about any mind religion subjects are good. Learn all the techniques they use. Find out what leverage they are using and be prepared to support your friend in that area. If they shut you out let them know you will always be there for them.

Good luck pinky!

I see. It doesn't really look very credible from the interface, although the allegations are quite disturbing.

Well, in more of my research, I found the following concerning the Acapella Innovations event that NXIVM sponsored in April of last year. Basically, it is a thread on the "Recorded Acapella Review Board" (www.rarb.org) website forum that discusses the members of the acapella community concern about the event's association with NXIVM. It also contains participation from members of NXIVM including Mr. Raniere. If one reads through the entire thread (be patient, it is quite long), one will see just how poor a job the members of NXIVM were in defending themselves against a bunch of apparently rather articulate musicians:

[forum.rarb.org]

I wrote the original post on this thread and I was surprized to see new comments. I too know many people involved in this group. I narrowly escaped being involved myself. Thankfully, I am a terrible joiner of anything.

I gave up trying to convince these people of anything. Although it is worrisome, in my experience, it is impossible to sway their minds. It is bizarre that a group who takes your money, mind and family can be something a person wants to stick with.

Someone has claimed that in order to bring the Dalai Lama to Albany, the Bronfman sisters paid him a "tribute" of one million dollars. Is there a way that this information can be verified?