I met a guy who went on a retreat and used this stuff. He was completely screwed up by it. Not sure he will ever recover.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

You don't have to look far to see that this person is a complete wacko! I am always surprised people fall for the "spiritual healer" stuff. Looks like she will be in London soon. English people beware!
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

OK, thanks. I will read those with interest.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thinking further about how you assess to see if a group is a cult, is it OK to use reports of visits to the group in question? Here is a visit report that is broadly positive, but from someone who didn't stay for long: Life among the Bruderhof Here is one where the people visited for a couple days: Learning from the Bruderhof: an Intentional Community And most compelling, here is a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I look forward to reading it. Looks good.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

According to Bryan Wilson, the Bruderhof is not a cult, but rather "positive and life-affirming,and it maintains non-violence as a basic principle." I am not sure what others think, but this is a very interesting paper from a man who spent his life studying cults and NRMs. Here is the text: "The Bruderhof by Bryan R. Wilson, Reader Emeritus in Sociology at the Universit
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I see you never received a reply. What you describe doesn't make you a cult, but certainly could be perceived as pretty strange, and maybe dangerous. Parenting experiments sound very interesting...
Forum: Destructive Churches