That's interesting that yo brought that up, LaurenRose.. For years and years now I have talked to people all over the place who call themselves Buddhists, or say that they hold a Buddhist believe. One thing that pretty much all of them have in common across the board no matter where they're from, is that, when asked what the ultimate goal of Buddhism is, they all give a very blurry
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi Cultleak, On what basis were they able to do that? How can they just force YouTube to close a channel that is not theirs?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Lauren Rose-- Very fleeting indeed... The followers never last long if they don't go nuts, and the so-called 'gurus' themselves never last either....either get caged up, killed, or something crazy happens to them. You wouldn't think it'd be too hard to sense that things aren't quite right when you walk into a circle of individuals like this, living low and playi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I would disagree with Scott Carney, in that it is necessarily the meditation practice that is to blame, or that it is the practice that makes people mentally unstable. With any spiritual practice, even if the original philosophy is on track, if the teacher or the so-called "guru" is a complete animal and strays worlds away from the original philosophy, then what he is teaching can no
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

That's a really good question LarenRose. Now I know that this site provides definitions of a cult on their FAQ page, but they seem to be more or less very broad definitions, and some may say that some of them are arguable. However, at times when there is obvious exploitation such as monetary or sexual, then there would be no doubt that it is a "cult" in the most negative sense of
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks for the lead, cult leak. I found some really eye-opening stuff on ramss.com --opposing views to Ching Hai, through the chinghaiexposed.blogspot.uk I mean, it's obvious that she's a fake, but I've come across so many people like that. I could just sense how something is really off the wall about them. I couldn't really explain what it was about what they were s
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

LaurenRose, I've been to 2 of of their restaurants and got the same thing at one of them. We waited about 15 minutes past the hour they were supposed to open, and called the phone number and no one answered. When we were about to leave, someone finally opened shop... I thought that was very strange. Maybe they are all "her" restaurants, but just under her follower's n
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

b.f.m.: The Sufi dance is also known as Dervish dancing, a type of trance in which one aims to be liberated from one's notion of self as the physical or mental body, and thus be enabled to meditate upon one's spiritual relationship with God. It is an ancient spiritual practice that has now more or less become a custom or ritualistic ceremony devoid of remembrance of God. In some
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

LaurenRose, Sorry, I was having trouble...hope this works... Book Review "The Nuns of Sant' Ambrogio"
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

rrmoderator: I don't know how I missed that!... That's no wonder you are so dedicated. It's very interesting. Why did you stop doing involuntary casework? What were the problems that you found?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

There is a new book out about the scandalous convent in Rome, where horrific things take place such as rape and murder... Here is an article reviewing the book, if anyone is interested: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-false-saint-and-sexual-predator-in-a-warped-rome-convent/2015/03/05/072069da-b14d-11e4-827f-93f454140e2b_story.html?hpid=z3]Book on convent scandal
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Cool...wow, even Paul Morantz is giving you the hands down in his review.. I was curious what brought you to be so dedicated in this cult education. Have you any personal experience of cults? If so, is it mentioned in the book? I'm always interested in people's first hand experiences... Thanks so much, really appreciate it.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

To Whatevahs, But what is the basis, the evidence of Misstyk's statement? There is so much hear-say, especially when it comes to stuff like this. It is not good to jump into anything blindly, but also equally bad to reject anything blindly, simply because someone else says something against it. Wouldn't you think you ought to look into the authenticity of others' words before
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you, rrmoderator. As we're seeing all the crazy stuff going on in the news about ISIS, all these characteristics certainly are exhibited in a loud and noxious way. Do you have any discussion regarding ISIS and maybe ways to prevent their influence on young people?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you Cathleen. I'm really glad I came across your post. I was actually contemplating about signing up for a life-coaching course on line, but was not sure about it. I wasn't very clear, first of all, about the line between a life coach and a professional counselor. Also, the person offering the course at one of the most popular online schools did not seem very professional
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi Corboy, Thanks for your lead. Does anyone have any information on what exactly Kalu Rinpoche was telling the women that they were going to obtain as spiritual reward? Usually, knowing and debunking the harmful ideology presented by a spiritual wolf is the way to protect ourselves. He is obviously a wolf, but to be able to recognize others down the road like him, it is helpful to know
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

==>Blue Dakini Thanks so much for your 2 points. I really appreciate your pursuit for accuracy. It fact, it is that website extibetakbuddhist.com that first got me to delve deeper into the research because it didn't seem to make sense to me either... I was expecting something much more substantial and agreeable, rather than shallow and non-sensical. If anyone has any information
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

There has been much information and on-going debates regarding the Dalai Lama's political integrity. I myself am more interested in information about his spiritual qualification. As far as I'm concerned, if a person has real spiritual qualification, he or she may act in ways that might be misunderstood or misinterpreted by the common men, for there may be insights that are lacking in
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you moderator. I think this will be something I need to research more on....finding legitimate articles, etc..
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi LaurenRose, If you are still in contact with her, do you get any sign of her being in any distress? Do you speak of the center with her? If so, how does she seem when speaking of the center and the people there?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi, I'm new to this thread... I've always been curious about Tibetan Buddhist practice, but there doesn't seem to be an accessible authentic lama... I'm doubtful of the Dalai Lama....and he is supposed to be the leader of Tibet both politically and spiritually, right? As corboy mentioned in the thread, "Real teachers stress the Bodhisattva precepts and never, ever cl
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

That is incredible how people like that can get away with it. But he is certainly not uniques in churches across the globe. I often wonder though, why people would continue going to a church like that?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

When you have a leader who is not walking straight, you will find followers astray. The empathetic political plight of the innocent Tibetan people paved the way for their leader to become almost an emblem of spiritual compassion or even enlightenment. However, the celebrity-like status and fame has swayed the man from their very own teachings. The Dalai lama even eats animals now.....what happ
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Wow that is incredible. I'm sure he is not uniques, though, in all churches across the globe. There are a lot of people like this....demoniac... Do you still go to that church? I've often wonder why people continue to go to churches or temples or what have you where there are examples such as this?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Coolhermit Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > As John Paul Sartre said, "Hell is other people" > > As Jeremiah chapter 17 says, "cursed is the man > who trusts in man." > > Never let spiritual pirates board the ship of your > life. But you are not saying that there is such thing as a real spiritual teacher, such a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"