Very, very interesting. I just received the latest Byron Katie International newsletter in my email in-box. Which I still get to keep tabs on her org. Try this on for size: QuoteI am thrilled to be traveling to Europe this summer. This may be my last visit for a while. The body says "slow down" and mind says "keep going until everyone in the world has The Work. Could
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteygKatie doesn't ASK for worship? Is that true? She does get the worship.Wow, YG, very well put.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Crikey, Anticult, thanks for the heads up about the pretenders. I'll be on guard for them now. As if we don't have enough on our plates with the cult leaders ahd the wares they peddle. But I guess this sort of thing can come with the territory.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

There is A LOT of info re problems with Byron Katie's "work" in the following thread, please read it! [Byron Katie (The Work) and Eckhart Tolle - Legit??]
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hey, I watched the first two parts so far. Great stuff. Will be sure to see the entire program. Thanks much for posting. :-)
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotescreddy57My other two cents' worth here is to say that in my experience a lot of people like Byron Katie really and truly believe in what they are saying. It's not a conspiracy to rip people off. But that they start to believe so deeply in their ability to help people that they move into areas and take on "cases" where -- because they have no modesty and don't see th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I certainly told my friends what I'd uncovered about Byron Katie and the work, and they were all thankful. You mention apologizing to people, but I can tell you that I didn't do that, just shared the info about BK. Why apologize for something you did in earnest? I agree with Anticult that you've given an excellent report. Thank you. :-) QuoteSusanDNow if you got this far
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoterobDo you know this website ? Anab Whitehouse wrote a book about his abuse experiences with a sheikh. www.sufi-spiritual-abuse-recovery-assistance.org I did not know about this site. Will check it out. Thanks!
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteCoolhermitAs 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. Breezy comments like this are not helpful. At all. If it were that easy to avoid being taken in by cults and the like, then a very active forum like this wouldn't exist.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteThe AnticultAnd its obvious, even from the most basic overview, that Dr. Robert Jaffe is a Playa, when it comes to "our sect can heal your illnesses" and his "healing story". (notice they all tell the same basic "story"?) If you die, its your fault for not believing hard enough. While it is very sad that Jaffe's wife ended up dying of cancer, it was fort
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteThe AnticultBut Byron Katie, without a license, can claim she can "eliminate depression" and she gets away with it? She is unregulated, so she can operate in the New Wage Wild West, where any Snake-Oil seller seems to be able to say anything they can get away with, and enough people believe them so they can rake in MILLIONS of bucks. Byron Katie's extreme claim to "el
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Just in case the web page disappears at some point, this is the text for the anonymously published, "Divine Marriage/How did I come to be a Sidi Sheik Muhammed-style Sufi of the Shadhuli Order?" Some time ago, I arrived in Jerusalem in a very sad state. I was looking for something, and Sidi seemed to be an archetypal middle-easternern Holy Man. I was previously attracted to easte
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

About my involvement in the Shadhiliyya (Shadhuli) Sufi order... In 1998, a good friend told me that he had been having sessions in something called "Sufi healing". He raved about the sessions, said they went very deep and were really helping him. I trusted this friend and being in a very vulnerable time of my life (my marriage was on the rocks), I decided to try one of these sess
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

From 1998 to 1999, I was a member of a Sufi order that has gone by various names. Some of the group's names are: Shadhiliyya, Shadhuliyya, Shadhuli, Shaduli, University of Spiritual Healing & Sufism, Jaffe Institute. School of Energy Mastery I definitely find this group to be a cult. It has taken me nearly a decade to come forth and say something about it. There is only one oth
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Warnings about Byron Katie are making their way into personal blogs. For example: [Changing My Thinking]
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteygWow, it is true that "innocent" folks who think The work helps etc. can be more dangerous. There go I but for the grace of ?? And yes, it is true we have to vent anger. I shouldn't take it personally :-) Could be true about Tolle, who knows. But what this whole thread has brought home to me, is that to try to find the "good" in people like this can be da
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteygI guess it's time for me to share a little bit of my experience and why I know that Katie and Eckart can be dangerous, as much, oh my god, and this is the truth that I like them and don't believe for a moment that they are doing this maliciously. THIS IS WHAT MAKES IT MORE DANGEROUS. I had a friend who was so powerful and did "healings" on folks and people loved a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteygHi RB, I don't feel it serves anyone to call people idiots. What I also found in what is stated here is the inaccuracy of certain things, such as the facillators trying to sell anything. The ones I used were always ready to give me their time in all sincerity. But I do see the danger in it. Attacking anyone, including the "cult leaders", is not necessary. I
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Here's a link to an article on Oprah from the New York Times, discussing a fall in her ratings which just might be linked to her partisan support of various parties: [A Few Tremors in Oprahland]
Forum: Celebrities associated with "cult-like" groups

QuoteThe Anticultof course it goes without saying that there are many lower level Byron Katie "facilitator" people who do believe that what they are doing "helps". Some of them would join the Katie Hotline to "help" people. But in reality those people can be the most dangerous! Why? Because they don't know what they don't know. They are completely out of
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteexscientologykidThat was before I read corboy's response to me. My true purpose was to find out more about Byron Katie and whether or not she was cult-like. I found that yes, "The School" sounds very culty, and I have deciced not to attend one. However there were statements here that I found to be inaccurate, and I commented on them. Also, as I have cult experience, I th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteexscientologykidCorboy, I don't understand why it bothers you that I pointed out a major difference between Scientology (in which you are treated like a leper for daring to seek psychotherapy, and people having psychotic breaks have been locked in rooms to prevent them being placed in psychiatric hospitals) and Byron Katie's group. I'm a bit disturbed that pointing out ina
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteexscientologykidOk, I get it, this forum is only for discussing the negative aspects of such organizations. I just wanted to point out that not everything being said about The Work sounded accurate to me, and having grown up scientologist (I'm 32, my parents left the CoS when I was a teenager), it doesn't sound nearly as detrimental as a cult. I'm utterly baffled by peop
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotecorboyI agree, this is sounding fishy. The time this correspondant claims to have spent in Scientology has left an impressive set of obfuscatory skills intact. That was brill. :-) Thanks, Corb.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteexscientologykidI'm not sure why you think it's therapy to read off of a worksheet, or why that needs to be tested. Because I experienced facilitation as therapy, and bad therapy at that. Well, once the initial high wore off. Which thankfully was pretty quickly in my case, and then I woke up and got my precious psyche the hell out of there. I'm in therapy with a licensed p
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A reminder to some people... this board is a place where people are seeking information and/or support in dealing with cults and unscrupulously persuasive people/groups... NOT a place to defend said cults and people/groups. Thank you.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteexscientologykidI'm not sure why you think it's therapy to read off of a worksheet, or why that needs to be tested. Are you also against suicide-prevention hotlines? The people who answer those hotlines are also nonprofessionals, and are literally talking people out of suicide. Perhaps the real issue is that The Work Hotline is being called a "hotline" when it should
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteexscientologykidAnyone could be on the hotline including criminals? Ok, that applies for any phone number, including those of psychologists and psychiatrists who advertise on the web. I was never asked for my name or any personal details. I was never asked to bring up any important details of my life. Sometimes I would give ONLY the troubling thought I was working on, with zero context.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteThe Anticult But its clear that Stephen Sashen is quite a slippery self-promoter, and a promoter of Byron Katie and The Work, in an indirect permissive way. That is more effective than banging on drums and shaving your head bald. You can call yourself an Anti-Guru, but still promote your own Guru. And that is exactly how I got into "the work" - via Steven Sashen. I found out
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteHenriTheSkepticAntiCult, I am curious about what you think of Salerno's blog. I have read it for quite some time, but it seems to be getting filled with Byron Katie/Toll commentators pretending to be anti-shamsters. They seem to be shaming Salerno into allowing their comments. They are not promoting these gurus outright, but they are playing mind games on his blog with regular commen
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"