Retting, You state that some people who left Option Institute did have psychotic breaks. Is there more specific information available in the public domain? Are these people that you knew? I would like to know what you base your statement on. I am not a fan of the Option Institute - if anything the opposite. But I want to make sure I have valid information about the destructiveness of OI
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

When I first started doing the Sedona Method, all that could be found on the Internet were glowing testimonials about how wonderful the method was. When I began to have doubts about the value of the progam, there were no balanced viewpoints to be found. As some posters have stated, there may be small gains to be had from such a program, but the more involved you get with it and the more you buy
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QL, I also had the experience in Sedona of being told that your feelings only lie, which I accepted at the time. But now I think feelings are just feelings, and we get to decide how to deal with them. For instance, if I am angry I can decide to hit someone or I can decide to contain the feeling and deal with it in a more constructive manner. Feelings neither tell the truth nor do they lie -
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Dear Anticult, I believe the story was told as at a weekend seminar I took with Hale Dwoskin at the Omega Institute. Hale claimed to have witnessed this miraculous event. It's also possible I heard it on one of Hale's tapes. As of this point, I have thrown away all the materials I purchased on the Sedona Method. I had a series of five books called "Happiness is Free."
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I did the Sedona Method for 3-5 years very faithfully, and honestly, I probably got the most benefit from the first tape - I probably could have skipped the rest and saved myself a lot of money. My question is, if the method works so well, why do you need the next set of tapes, and the next, and the next seminar. The biggest help to me was the statement: you are not your feelings. While this
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Tippytoe, My point was not to scare you, but to point out the ridiculousness of some of the "teachings" of Lester Levenson (on which the Sedona Method and Release Technique are based). I have had major fear and anxiety in my life for most of my life, and very few, if any, of the things I have feared have come to pass (and I am in my 50's). I think the belief about attracting i
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I don't think the Sedona Method distinquishes between the protective aspects of anger and the purely emotional, physical (feeling) aspect of anger. The method is simply to release the emotion (whatever it is, and that includes so-called positive emotions). This is supposed to happen almost instantaneously once you decide to release the emotion. The end result of all this releasing is to b
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I tried to get information about the gurus of the Sedona Method via the internet, and ran into the same problem. Only glowing testimonials of how wonderful it was. Nothing even slightly critical of either the method or the gurus. I actually wasted quite a bit of money buying the tapes, books, and even took a couple of 2-day seminars. I can't say that it made a significant difference in
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Question Lady, Thanks for sharing about the Sedona Method. The work I did with the Sedona Method was with Hale Dwoskin's tapes. I even did a weekend workshop with Hale at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. Sorry to hear that the Sedona Method/Release Technique is affecting your husband so negatively. I really appreciate that you chose to share this experience, because it is extreme
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

For me the dangerous part of belief systems of people like Louise Hays is that it when it doesn't work, the person who is using the system thinks they are doing something wrong. This type of belief system also encourages simplistic, black-and-white thinking, e.g., (and I am making this up) saying that everyone with cancer has unexpressed rage. Even if there turns out to be a psychosomatic
Forum: Multi Level Marketing and Commercial Schemes

While Dr. Burns may have some helpful information in his books, please be cautious about accepting all of his claims without getting further evidence. Please see the link below. I personally did not find his book "Feeling Good" all that helpful, though it does contain some useful ideas. QE
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

Colter, I agree with Barbara that there are some serious flaws with AA "doctrine." She has provided numerous links, such as orange-papers, which provide a critique of the 12-steps and, whether you agree with the critiques or not, provide support for her position. I think that if alcoholism is truly a disease as AA contends, then saying that the remedy lies in faith in God, makes ab
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

Carol, I think what helped me decide to leave Unity was the realization that there was no genuine intimacy with the members of the group. Even after going regularly for over a year, I had not established even one close relationship. The Unity Church I was going to was all about volunteering and chasing after any new age gurus that happened to be in vogue. Yet none of the teachings helped to
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi Mindful, I think it's pretty normal to feel confused and even depressed when you begin questioning something that has been a part of your life for a while. After I left Unity, I still felt for a while that I needed to be part of a "spiritual organization" and did briefly try a couple of other things but quickly decided they were not for me. I no longer feel the need to be i
Forum: Destructive Churches

I have been following this post because, while I have never had issues with addiction to alchohol or been to an AA meeting, I did attend co-dependents anonymous for about 2 years. It did not help me with my issues and I stopped going. I don't have any particular negative feelings about the experience - it just didn't help. As a non-AA person, I wanted to share my perspective on thi
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

The website for former Scientologist Arnie Lerma seems to have disappeared. Does anyone know what happened to it? QE
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotenutrinoHelpful hint: there is a deeply embedded suggestion in the, ahhh, "languaging" of Nu Age Junkthink(tm)... that ALL you require is a (somewhat mysterious, to be sure, but take our word for it, marvellously powerful) shift in perspective.... you see, the problem isn't the way your brain works, or your life experiences, or the situation you are in, oh no, the problem is th
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I was introduced to David Hawkin's book the "Eye of the I" when I took a Sedona Method weekend introductory training. The Sedona Method instructor was pretty enamored with this book. After the course, I purchased the book. Having had a negative experience with kinesiology and therefore not really accepting its validity, I had a hard time with Hawkins insistence that using kinesi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

As a former new age, personal growth seminar junkie, I have been reading a lot of posts under the subheading of LGATs. I have been interested to see how I was sucked in by some of buzz words used to promote these seminars. I know one of my issues that I need to work on is trying to be perfect all the time (never making mistakes) and boy, does the word "transformation" sound to me like
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

In my opinion, I would consider Carolyn Myss a guru in that she professes to have knowledge about healing (and other matters) that she gained "psychically" and the rest of us are not privy to, and therefore her worldview must be accepted on faith, rather than on scientific fact. I believe it would be difficult for the average person to evaluate her claims critically. She has gained a
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Yes, my overall experience of the Sedona method was that it was relatively innocuous (i.e., no hard sell, no pressure to reveal personal information, etc.). However, it does promise "transformation" and solutions to problems (even long-standing ones) in a short period of time. Also, I had a hard time with some of the material in the series of books "Happiness is Free," parti
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I was involved with the Sedona Method for several years and, honestly, it didn't really help me very much. In reading some materials on Scientology, I was struck by the similarity of Hubbard's tone scale and the scale of emotions used in the Sedona Method. Also the use of repetitive questions in order to "release" problems in the Sedona Method seems to bear some resemble
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteWiser AussieCONTRADICTIONS & LIES 10. FEAR was False Evidence Appearing Real. No exception to the rule.WA I learned the above acronym in the Sedona Method training. It was attributed to Lester Levinson, the creator of the process. I was really into the Sedona Method for a couple of years, and while some of it seemed helpful to me, the methods for releasing fear did not work
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

"Apparently, this cult-like organization was exposed in the 1970's to be fraudlent (at least in the United States). The idea behind this group is that man does not need food, and that it is actually healthier to not eat or drink anything at all. They argue that you get can get all the life force you need to live and feel good from the air. The man on the above site, Wiley Brooks, is
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi Glam, I have heard of Feldenkrais. It has been around for many years (my guess would be 20-25 years). As someone who has done yoga and explored various types of bodywork for many years, I came across Feldenkrais and purchased a tape set to go through 24 basic lessons. The gist of it, if my memory serves me, is to learn to move more efficiently by repatterning the automatic, conditioned m
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteVicarionI think you're forgetting the part about Helen growing up in a Christian Science environment, and a house full of metaphysical texts. She had plenty of years of exposure to this kind of material. I did not know that Dr. Schuchman had a Christian Science/metaphysical background. All I knew was that she was of Jewish background. It's interesting how promoters of ACIM onl
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I heard about Byron Katie when I was involved with the Unity Church several years ago. At that point, I was kind of overloaded with "new age" gurus and I was becoming jaded as nothing these gurus said transformed my life to the heights indicated by these self-proclaimed gurus. After gathering some information about BK on the internet, I felt very dubious about her. The one commen
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

In searching the web for the above two mystics, there only seem to be glowing accounts. I was exposed to the philosophies of these two through my experience with Unity. In particular, I find Byron Katie dubious in that she charges enormous amounts for her seminars. Eckhart Tolle also seems to be cashing in with all his books (Power of Now was his first book), seminars, even "Power of Now&
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotesupermonkeyAre they harmless? You have to ask yourself is going to the doctor a good thing? Is science real and I am not talking about what they refer to as the science of mind. IT IS NOT A SCIENCE but a false psdeoscience based on disbelief in logic and just good basic honest common sense My experience with Religious Science is that it is very similar to Unity (I have written about my
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuotefoodguypdxSo, to say it again, the Forum is like going to a restaurant...if you like what happened then it could be called a good experience, if you did not like what happened then it could be called a bad experience. It is up to YOU to decide for yourself. Because, what you call bad and what the next person calls bad could very well be 2 entirely different things. There is no interpretat
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"