Well, I do have a victory to take ownership of - I received an offer for the job I interviewed for yesterday and got the offer today. Apparently, very good things CAN happen when you don't chant!

As most all of us here on this MB understand by now, falling into the trap of cult programing is more commonplace than ever. And there are SO many predacious cults around us, all prepared to capture our minds and hearts to further their agendas, wealth, and power. It is almost impossible to avoid being a cult victim at some point.

Too many of our fellow citizens may erroneously believe that they are not now, and have never been affected by cults. But those people have been purposefully deluded. The present war culture society is riddled with cults that constantly affect our daily lives, and is adversly threatening the entire world. War profiteers are laughing all the way to the bank while dealing out death and suffering to millions of innocent peeps. The consumer cult(ure) leaves us empty and unfullfilled, rotting our souls from the inside out while systematically destroying our living environment in the name of profit. The spy cult(ure) invades and destroys our privacy and ignores the rule of law. The religious cult(ure) reinforces mental and spiritual slavery while supporting wars and murder. The television cult(ture) is numbing our minds, repressing cognative abilites, and implanting subliminal messages (mind-control) on an average of 34 viewing hours per week per adult. The police-state cult(ure) leaves us cowering in fear of LEO and their ever-increasing powers of repression and brutality. And in a familiar behavior pattern exhibited by most cult/abuse victims, all these cult(ural) enslavements, along with numerous more, are routinely ignored, excused, or even praised by their victims as the mega cult machines grind on with little or no restrictions.

This is a truely disturbing video that demonstrates how children are perversly taught to think of "the President" as a GOD by cult purps. The tears running down this child's face are a chilling picture of cultism, so reminiscent of the hundreds/thousands of times we've witnessed this same warped idol worship for Senseless before as ex-SGcult members. But children are not the only vulnerable victims of cults. Adults can be just as succeptable (especially in moments of weakness or great stress) to cult influences, buckling under extreme pressures, mind-games, distortions, lies, manipulations, and general power tripping.

Here's another alarming video that shows how a dangerous cult is being built up around the "Prez". Talk about Obamabots! O__O

As former religion-cult victims that have awakened, let us endeavor to inform and educate the masses to the ever increasing dangers of cult practice/mentality which presently pervades our lives. Everyone needs a special education/realization of some sort to clearly recognize and understand the multiple cult dangers that threaten us all as human beings. With proper understanding and awareness, we can begin to take active steps to reverse the dangerous and deadly path that we the people have been set upon by the men behind the cult curtains. Here's my prayer: let us discover and create solutions to offset the cult(ure) wars, both as individuals and collectively as humanity.

As so many of us knowfrom experience, it's a lot easier to fall into the pit of darkness than it is to climb back out. Many thanks to all the enlightened posters on this MB for their contributing roles in helping so many cult victims to rise above the muddy swamp and blossom like a true lotus flower. May we always live as free spirits!

Spartacus

Well done, meh! That was a very courageous act, stepping into that situation naked, so to speak, with just yourself to lean on, no crutches or magic vests or any of that other nonsense. I DO hope you got the job!!

The problem with "making it difficult for an individual to leave" is that, unless they are physically restraining the individual, like by tying him to a radiator or locking him in a closet, it's *fine*. Psychological pressure is typically too difficult to measure to take action on.

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This is a truely disturbing video that demonstrates how children are perversly taught to think of "the President" as a GOD by cult purps.

That surprises me - it's typically the ultra-conservative right wing Evangelical Christians who "go there" - and they *HATE* President Obama! Imagine, a BLACK MAN in OUR WHITE HOUSE!!!

No, I'm not kidding. That really is the content.

You've seen Jesus Camp, I presume? Here's where they're praying to Prez Bush: [www.youtube.com]

Why worry that it's just a paper president? Heck, they don't need any more substantial jesus than that, so why not??

You want to see creepy? And I don't mean superficially creepy, I mean deeply, disturbingly creepy? Here ya go - again, from Jesus Camp: [www.youtube.com]

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As former religion-cult victims that have awakened, let us endeavor to inform and educate the masses to the ever increasing dangers of cult practice/mentality which presently pervades our lives. Everyone needs a special education/realization of some sort to clearly recognize and understand the multiple cult dangers that threaten us all as human beings. With proper understanding and awareness, we can begin to take active steps to reverse the dangerous and deadly path that we the people have been set upon by the men behind the cult curtains. Here's my prayer: let us discover and create solutions to offset the cult(ure) wars, both as individuals and collectively as humanity.

Sign me on. One of my son's friends is a hard-core Evangelical Christian youth (age 16). His parents give him no support - won't give him rides, expect him to get himself to the train and ride it, even though that adds over an hour each way, don't treat him with respect, etc. They, of course, are hard-core Evangelical Christians themselves - the acorn is not allowed to fall far from the oak. Well, we were having a small discussion at one point, and he was saying, "You can choose what you're going to be a slave to - you can either be the slave of the good, or a slave to sin." And I said, "Actually, you don't have to be a slave to anything. We've outlawed slavery because it's an outrageous violation of human rights, even though it is accepted, condoned, and encouraged in the Bible. Jesus had no problem with slavery; Paul and others described themselves as 'slaves' and called everyone else 'slaves'. It's a shame they had such narrow minds, because there's no reason to think of oneself as a slave. We have demonstrated that we're better, because we recognize that slavery is an abomination." He responded, "Oh, you're a slave to something - it's a matter of deciding what you're going to be a slave to."

He didn't get it O_O That's the problem. People raised within an exceedingly narrow, harsh worldview are unable to think outside that box. Even if they get fed up and leave the one (abusive) organization, they are likely to gravitate toward an equally abusive (but different) organization, because it is that abusive environment that seems "normal" to them. Being in a more positive environment creates severe cognitive dissonance within them, because they have no experience with positive environments, and in order to assuage their anxiety, they will condemn and vilify the positive environment, often in fundamentalist terms - "blasphemy", "sinful", "depraved", "distortion", "unsound", "incorrect", "twisted", "debauched", "hedonistic," etc. It's really no different from women who grew up in abusive alcoholic environments who seek out abusive alcoholic partners.

I don't see why children, some of our most vulnerable citizens, don't have the same protections from bodily harm, abuse, and neglect that we adults have. Why is it that, if you hit ME, I can charge you with assault (a crime), but if you hit your child, that's considered perfectly *FINE*?? It's appalling. 31 nations around the world ban corporal punishment - full stop - and 70 others ban corporal punishment in the schools. Only 31 states in the US + the District of Columbia ban corporal punishment in the public schools, and only TWO of those extend that ban to private schools - and NONE of these bans corporal punishment of children as a general proposition! What is wrong with the US???

I wasn't aware that corporal punishment was permitted anywhere, TaP, so that's an eye-opener. I'll venture a guess and conjecture that most of the states permitting it are in the south and in the bible belt? That we still allow capital punishment in this country isn't exactly a mark of pride, either - yes, a true Christian nation.

It is so much easier to be a slave, isn't it? Lines are clearly drawn, you know what is safe for you to say or do . . . when you are directed in your actions and speech, you don't have to worry about mis-steps. You don't have to make decisions for yourself, and you don't have to take responsibility. You don't have to think for yourself, and you're told what to believe. You're isolated from those who don't think the way they're supposed to so that, in theory, you won't be contaminated by their dangerous ideas. You learn who to trust, who, who is dangerous to your belief-system. It is a very safe place. If you're brought up that way, I can't even imagine how terrifying it is to let go of those ideas and open your mind to the real world; for those of us who signed up for it, it's still pretty darn scary because we haven't had to think for awhile. That someone honestly believes that you have to make a choice as to what you will be enslaved to - I can't even get my brain around that idea.

My interview "experience" from Monday. I've been laid off since early April (once again, I work as a contractor; that basically means that I'm a high-class temp in the wonderful world of IT project management), and it's not all that unusual to have a month or two off between gigs. What threw me for a loop was that I had ended a contract on 12/31 and started on what was supposed to be a year-long contract at the beginning of February. At the beginning of April, I was told that the position I was working in had been eliminated by the company . . . thanks for your help, and don't let the door hit you in the arse as you leave. It was during the early part of my lay-off period that I started thinking about this practice on a deeper level; I mean, if I'm doing all this chanting, going to every meeting I can and being a good little zombie, why wasn't I being better protected? Sheesh. More chanting, more doing org stuff. I had job-leads and a couple of interviews while I was still chanting, but remained unemployed. I wound up having a blow-up with my leaders over treatment of some of the members, and that was it for me as far as das org was concerned.

Monday was a big day. I don't like the idea of working in the city, but that's where the job was. And at this point, I can't afford to be picky. I gritted my teeth and headed into Philly, deliberately not chanting. Nmrk's arose in my mind (out of habit I imagine), but I dismissed them. I got a little turned around once I got downtown, more deliberate not-chanting. I quickly found my way and pulled into the crowded underground parking lot - damn! No spaces, and I actually got lost in the parking lot! More not-chanting. A nice man appeared (in a parking-lot uniform), told me that he could park my car, gave me an appropriate receipt, and I was good. No back-of-the-mind "thank you" to the mystic law. I went into the interview and nailed it. I got an offer yesterday and I start next Wednesday.

For me, all of this was HUGE. I'd spent the last seven years chanting for everything (including not getting lost, finding parking spaces and getting jobs). People who have never been sucked into a cult simply can't comprehend how meaningful these normal, every day occurrences were. I wasn't punished for not chanting! Knowing how silly that sounds on a practical level is very different from coming out from under that veil of superstition and brain-washing to realize that chanting doesn't do anything and doesn't affect outcomes. I was just a regular person, in a normal situation and I had resolutions that any other person would've had. I wasn't mystically guided to my destination, and the guy who parked my car for me wasn't a shoten zenjin. How freaking cool is that? And I got the job based on my expertise and ability to do it, rather than some magical force. Hot-damn!

Spartacus:

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And there are SO many predacious cults around us, all prepared to capture our minds and hearts to further their agendas, wealth, and power. It is almost impossible to avoid being a cult victim at some point.

One doesnt have to be recruited into a cult to be victimized by one. Here are various examples people have described on this message board over the past 11 years.

A) You pay your taxes on time. But many exploitative and deceitful groups/cults do not pay tax because they filed as tax exempt entities. You, dear tax payer indirectly subsidize them. So as an outsider who pays or files tax, you have every citizen right to take an interest.

Other ways to be victimized

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*Your spouse or business partner, lover or business partner, becomes involved with a cult. You get dragged along. If you have children, they get dragged along to. If you protest, you risk a divorce, and your ex may have legal support from the cult--and once you are kicked to the curb and paying alimony or child support, the cult gets access to the money.

*You are in jail or prison and the yoga program is actually run by a cult.

*You or an elderly person you love is in a nursing home. The local cult church has ties to the place and sends in people to proslytize you and you cannot just get out and leave. Rick Ross got into the cult education field because he discovered his grandmother, in her nursing home was being hit on by cult proslytizers.

*Your teenaged son or daughter is taking terrible risks and you are at your wits end. The counselor advises sending your child to a troubled teen program that is based on a cultic and abusive ideology. You're the typical overworked stressed parent, and you have not been taught to how to fact check.

*A boss or manager makes it a condition of your employment to go to a Large Group Awareness Training

*You are in a city with expensive rentals and limited vacancies. You at last get a share rental for a an apartment. Then your master tenant pressures you to participate in a Large Group Awareness Training

*Your professor at school pressures you (per above)

*Psychotherapists who are members of a guru led cult are given workshops at the ashram on how to introduce the belief system into their therapy practices so as to lure clients into the belief system (SYDA Yoga, as reported by Daniel Shaw, LCSW, a former disciple)

*You own your own property, mind your own business. Then some oddball group in your area begins enlarging thier own property or bringing in more converts and it becomes more difficult to find parking spaces, traffic becomes a major hassle, and property values go down, right when you or someone in your area has planned to sell their property and retire.

*You have a child and are looking for a non sectarian school that encourages creativity. The Waldorf school in your area looks charming. You are expected to donate volunteer services as a parent, along with paying tuition. You are not told that the school is run according to the religious/occult ideology and strange child development philosophy of someone named Rudolf Steiner who called his belief system Anthroposophy.

*And that its members feel entitled to conceal all this from non believers on the principle that mere exposure to an Anthroposophy environment will 'karmically benefit' parents adn children kept ignorant of its doctrines--who might otherwise refuse to participate.

*You get involved with a charming sustainable gardening project or a Green housing project and its tied to Anthroposophy--which, by the way, has its own bank--Triodos. Steiner had his own theory of money and political change.

*You lived in Antelope Valley, Oregon, ate at the salad bar of a local restaurant and got sick from salmonella, because followers of a guru named Rajneesh contaminated the food hoping to get lots of people sick and homebound, so they'd not be able to vote and thus skew the election in favor of candidates who favored Rajneesh and the asram.

*You were related to anyone who was involved with Jim Jones or David Koresh.

*You were in Tokyo on the subway, during the Ashahara cult's sarin gas attack.

Meh, congratulations!

What you are celebrating is your own agency.

Getting the job is all the sweeter.

A sense of ones own agency is exactly what bad relationships and cults seek to conceal from us.

In the ultimate sense, we dont have control.

But we do have agency.

Thats huge.

To add to the list:

You were friends with or related to someone who died in the 9-11 attacks in New York, the London subway bombing, or the attack on the Atocha train station in Madrid.

Or in Boston, this year.

You join a martial arts dojo and do not know that it is a front for a cult.

You go to acupuncture and your new therapist or therapists assistant bugs you to try a preparation that, it turns out, has no proven efficacy per the FDA or NHS and is a major money maker for a cult. There you are with needles in you. You cannot get up and leave.

You're going through a rough patch. Your girl pal at work is oh so supportive. What you do not know is she's recruiting for a group or guru and they are adroit at waiting until someone is in distress.

Your therapist becomes enthralled with New Age material and contaminates the therapeutic boundary by peddling the stuff to you. Unless you are new to therapy and have not yet developed emotional ties or you have an unusual degree of autonomy in relation to your therapist, you risk listening to this garbage and not getting full value for your therapy hour. A cult obsessed therapist cannot be fully present to you. He or she will see you through the distorting bias imposed by his or her belief system.

An elderly or obsessed relative gets into an online cult or ministry and constantly sends in money he or she cannot afford to part with. Or sells property or assets believing the end of the world has arrived.

You are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and various cults with a lot of political influence vote representatives into office who deny your right to equal representation under the law.

You are Jewish and dont want to be part of someone's end of the world salvation scenario, whether that group is a Jewish cult or a Christian cult.

Your neighborhood is hit by a disaster.

A cult shows up and offers what seems to be trauma counseling but is a front for its activities.

You are poor and need help with meals. You gotta take whatever you can get.

You have to listen to sermons before you are allowed to eat.

You practice at a reputable Zen center.

You go to a dharma talk and the teacher raves about the film, What the Bleep Do We Know? The teacher means well, but is equating mere inspiration with Dogen Zenji's ordinary mind.

And the teacher doesnt know that the film is based on erroneous science and tied to the Ramtha cult.

There you are in your Zen center, listening to this drivel. It is impolite to get up and leave.

This is minor vicitimization, compared to the very grave examples above, but still indicates how this SHITE trickles into the larger culture.

And that too few who do public speaking in any capacity are savvy enough to check the quality and origin of their source material before preparing lectures.