Interesting point. I think commercialism is much more accepted and respected than it was in the "counterculture" 1960s. Back then you'd be accused of "selling out" if you tried to make money. Nowadays, people are considered stupid or weird if they choose NOT to make money on something. People wear t-shirts with product names on them, big corporations get stadiums na
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Most interesting to return here after such a long absence and find that this topic still has life in it. Vicarion -- are you an old and dear friend of mine from the old Unity forum battles, by any chance? If so, I'm glad to see that you are posting here -- and "what a long, strange trip it's been", eh? :D I shudder to think what fresh hell I would find if I were to vent
Forum: Destructive Churches

This is a new cult that has come over from Germany. My contact with them has come through my partner who is a teacher of the Path into Light. It is a six-day course of guided meditations, an eclectic mix, borrowing from various traditions, that will set you back about £1000. However my partner set up her centre in order to bring people into the light. As a practicing Dzogchen Buddhist I expected
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Sai Maa and her "group" based primarily in Crestone, CO have been successfully flying under the radar for some time. Although Satya Sai Baba--her Guru to whom she is very close---is monitored by several groups, Sai Maa (his number one pupil) has escaped. So far. Indeed, her message seems harmless enough. She preaches that in this world there is only fear and love, one destructi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoterrmoderatorTimmer: You have offered no scientific evidence to support any healing claim or even cited research or tests to prove anything. Sai Baba is someone with a deeply troubled history of scandal. His "ideas," reportedly have been to prey upon boys and young men for sex using his "guru" status to gain undue influence and advantage. If this is evidence of enl
Forum: Destructive Churches

Thanks..yep, I'm up on the Sai Baba stuff. Just wondering if anyone had heard any spcific pitches by this guy..so far he hasn't really made any, which is curious. He is doing one more lecture tonight-wonder what would happen if I brought up what he thinks about all the allegations against Sai Baba? LOL
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If he has Sai Baba as part of his foundation of teaching then this guy is totally suspect Materialising the ring is a middle ages concept called Alchemy derived from chemists who could turn brass into gold through chemical use, somethinng that is too costly to do given the price and quantity of chemicals involved. New Age people have have appled this concept to creating something out of no
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I went to a lecture given by someone called Prince Hirindra Singh. He claims to be from one of the richest governing families in India-but he claims he renounced all that wealth to go in search of god. He says he wandered around the Himalayas for 14 years, spent time with many "invisible" gurus there, and is a devotee of Sai Baba, who he claims is Shiva reincarnated. He shows a flashy r
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This is an interesting article by Frank Morales I found on Exit Baba and a few other anti-Sai Baba sites. It's a good critique of Sai from a Hindu perspective. It's been translated into many other languages as well. Any thoughts or comments?? An Open Letter to the Followers of Sathya Sai Baba By Dr. Frank Gaetano Morales, Ph.D. The one-billion strong global Hindu an
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Well, I am not going to waste to any more time with Timmer, as its obvious this person has zero interest in objective facts, and just in propagating the irrational New Thought dogma. I will just be blunt. What is it with the bullcrap about Myrtle Fillmore? Who cares? That is some ridiculous story written as a testimonial going back what, over a hundred years? Get real. First, where are t
Forum: Destructive Churches

Timmer: You have offered no scientific evidence to support any healing claim or even cited research or tests to prove anything. Sai Baba is someone with a deeply troubled history of scandal. His "ideas," reportedly have been to prey upon boys and young men for sex using his "guru" status to gain undue influence and advantage. If this is evidence of enlightened thinkin
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteCosmophilospherUnity is so decentralized, that many of the problems are LOCAL. Like the local Unity Church where the Minister was having sex with many women. Because he stacked the board, they could not get rid of him. Aren't the boards elected? Clearly, that group needed to oust its board. QuoteWhere are the FACTS to support their outrageous claims? There are ZERO facts, just s
Forum: Destructive Churches

Unity is so decentralized, that many of the problems are LOCAL. Like the local Unity Church where the Minister was having sex with many women. Because he stacked the board, they could not get rid of him. The Catholics were much worse, so don't get me started on those guys. But the larger Unity organization is not much better. Where are the FACTS to support their outrageous claims? Th
Forum: Destructive Churches

Timmer: Quotetar Unity with the "cult" label. Please understand that there is not even a Unity Church section within the Ross Institute database. But there is a very large database section regarding Clergy Abuse, which for the most part contains articles about Catholic priests, related arrests and litigation. See Sai Baba has a section though. See This guru has see
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuotebozmanIn theory, that is the case. However, ACIM people often do everything they can to stack the deck in their favor -- including working to get rid of ministers who don't want ACIM taught in the church. They have also gone to great lengths to keep church members ignorant of the many controversies surrounding ACIM, such as the Endeavor Academy cult (and attendant suicides), the copyr
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteTimmerQuotebozmanIn UNITY, unfortunately, those who would advocate the use of some sort of firewall are silenced or marginalized, at every level. I know of no one who has had such an experience. Well, that does not mean they don't exist, does it? QuoteIt is taboo to openly criticize ACIM, even in some cases the extreme forms such as Endeavor Academy, or the bogus teachers who
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuotebozmanUNITY is not a cult per se. However, because it has become so far removed from its own guiding priciples, it has become a perfect haven for cultic groups. In what way do you think it has gotten away from its principles? The Unity ministers, licensed teachers, and members I know are all teaching pretty much what they have always taught. Quote3HO, the Sai Baba groups and Endea
Forum: Destructive Churches

In UNITY, unfortunately, those who would advocate the use of some sort of firewall are silenced or marginalized, at every level. It is taboo to openly criticize ACIM, even in some cases the extreme forms such as Endeavor Academy, or the bogus teachers who glom on to the movement such as James Twyman. Even the fake "gold-filling miracle" preachers are tolerated, because they bring peo
Forum: Destructive Churches

UNITY is not a cult per se. However, because it has become so far removed from its own guiding priciples, it has become a perfect haven for cultic groups. 3HO, the Sai Baba groups and Endeavor Academy all operate in various Unity churches -- and in the case of Endeavor Academy there are persons who were trained by them in the leadership of the Association of Unity Churches. There has also be
Forum: Destructive Churches

Yes, you're right Hope. Certainly, they would think that I am the sadly deluded one. I was trying to shortcut my thoughts into a few words, and perhaps expressing some frustration in there too because sometimes it seems like I'm beating my rational head against a brick wall. What I was trying to express is that Twyman's followers seem more than willing to suspend disbelie
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteEric BlairImplicit within Dervish's opinion that ISKCON may be riddled with "false gurus" is the assumption that there may in fact somewhere be an entity that is a "true guru". A scary prospect indeed. I feel it is only a scary prospect to those who only see eastern religion in terms of ISKCON, TM, Sai Baba, and other talked about cults which found their way in th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

search for Wayne Dyer at this site. ----------------- Letter from Glen Meloy to The President's Office at KCET From: Glen Meloy To: The President's Office at KCET Subject: Dr. Wayne Dyer and Sai Baba Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 11:30:25 -0700 The President's Office at KCET Dear KCET, I was shocked to learn today in the Email below that Wayne Dy
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Wow, your point of view on this is utterly amazing to me. I think you are thinking of Dyer from 25 years ago, and not what Dyer is doing now. I am not able to take the time to go over everything Dyer is "teaching". But Dyer is running a TYPE of LGAT. There are many types of these things. Read the blurb from the TV show at the beginning of this thread, there is a lot of info in tha
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Cosmophilospher wrote: QuoteAlso, i can't recall, did Yogananda make claims to be able to perform "miracles" himself? Paramahansa Yogananda use to perform a "pulse trick" in front of audiences (along with other tricks) to demonstrate how he had superhuman mastery over his body. I'm going to present two article excerpts here. The first documents him actually perf
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Well, there are a number of groups that believe that to be the case. And if He did come back... would it make a difference to the rest of us at all anyway? I'm not up on my Bible studies, but don't most Judeo-Christian teachings talk about a coming Messiah? or the second coming? The Mormons teach that Jesus came and taught on the North American continent. Sai Baba is supposedly
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

paranormal phenomena. This is the 'Neural Surfer' website created by Dr. David Christopher Lane. In an interview, he commented, 'We need to shave more with Occam's Razor.'--that is when something strange happens, consider and eliminate the most common place, simplest reasons for its occurance instead of jumping to conclusions that something paranormal has happened.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

who abandoned a formerly lucrative career in the New Age world and is preparing to return to school to become a social scientist and researcher. Many thanks to Mr. Brian Steel of Australia, who alerted me to this article. (For those unfamiliar with his work, Brian Steel is a Spanish language specialist. For a few years, Mr Steel was a disciple of an Indian guru named Satya Sai Baba and
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

That is my viewpoint, that it is all the power of Suggestion and Belief. Obviously, this is a massive subject, and people have different points of view. But to me, if i BELIEVE that Sai Baba can read my thoughts, and control my chakras, then i am going to feel those effects, just like if i BELIEVE that a Voodoo Hex is going to harm me. The world is full of charlatans, claiming they can talk
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

First, ask why you want enlightenment and what you think it is. IF you equate enlightenment with power or miracle working, you'll be entralled by anyone who panders to your craving for power. If you're unconsciously looking for a Magic Parent, you'll be exploited by anyone who presents as the spiritual equivalent of Santa Claus. Implications of this are, if you're consid
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

'Prabhu Das seemed very kind, never took money when I offered because he claimed I didn't know enough about the org to be able to do so.' This is the fiscal equivalent of the way girls in the old days were advised to 'Play hard to get'. Really smart charlatans dont make overt moves for money. They'll discourage donations, saying 'You're not ready yet&
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"