Free 995: If you don't mind my asking, would you be so kind as to provide a definition of a 'mythomania cult'? It's an unusual phrase I've never heard before, and sounds like it has some intriguing implications.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

There's never been any book published about Adidam, except those published by the official Adidam organisation. Most of the info on the abuses of Franklin Jones aka Adi Da stems from court cases in 1985: There is critical commentary at but the fact remains that Adi Da or Da Free John was the most accomplished Western religious performance con-artist on the planet. The likes
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Seems incredible that anyone in this day and age could fall for a guru who claims to be a disciple of Sai Baba. Maybe if it was the 1980s, but since then the internet has brought to light the chicanery of so many fake gurus and spiritual leaders, Sai Baba being one of the foremost, there really is no excuse. Maybe they are just desperate for some "exotic" Eastern spirituality at
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I don't know why Bastian is asking for advice. It's obvious that Desteni is self-delusion on the part of those who run it. Desteni videos and postings are all over YouTube, various web forums and social networking sites. Members of Desteni have been accused of spamming forums. They lack netiquette. Some of these forums, such as "Noble Realms" have ended up banning all posts
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I haven't been part of JZ Knight's group but here's a link to a website that is a good resource for former students of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteAndrea Whuhahahah So you dont care to discuss the desteni philosophy? Why is that because then you would not actually have anything else to write about - would rather find dirty little secrets about us and talk about that until your ego's expand. I won't be discussing the Desteni philosophy with Desteni followers because it would be a pointless argument. Apart from that, it
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteDarryl ThomasYou seem to be running out of steam. Quite right, because I am not the slightest bit interested in discussing the Desteni philosophy.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Yes, cultic beliefs would be those that originate with those sorts of groups and/or group leaders. But at the same time, cults are most often understood to be of a religious, spiritual or otherwise philosophical orientation and their beliefs tend towards encompassing ideas well outside the mainstream and involve superstitious, supernatural, paranormal, magical or mythological elements. They ha
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteAndreaOh God here we go again with the 'cult talk'. It is the Cult Education Forum. What do you expect? QuoteAndreaI am not here to win over anybody. What I mean is that your efforts to try and show that Desteni is a humanitarian group out to right the wrongs in the world are unlikely to convince members of this forum. But maybe you're not trying to convince anyone.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Daryll, presumably you have joined this forum in order to try and reassure people that Desteni is not a cult. I have already shown in this thread from the beginning how it is that Desteni has the hallmarks of a fledgling cult. Others agree with me, evidence can be found in various places on the web. Although you might not realise it, mostly everything you and Andrea have written here only con
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Andrea, thanks ... I've no idea what a "scid" is, but money is a medium of exchange, not a "cult". You can use the term "cult" metaphorically and apply it to all kinds of activities, and to a greater or lesser extent there might be a point to make, but this forum is about cults in the literal sense. Also this forum deals in the subject of cults not as cliches bu
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks, Daryll. You say Desteni is not a cult, yet in all the numerous postings found on the web re: Desteni, it has frequently been referred to as a cult. The website you've provided a link to has a video on the first page called 'Cult Farm Confidential' (meaning the Desteni Farm), so someone else at Desteni describes it as a cult, even if you don't, and even if they are usin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I haven't had any dealings with them, but I do think that when such people use claims such as 'gives simple God-Mind tools to effect permanent change in the mind-pattern, as well as align Self with Oversoul and God-Mind' or 'A gifted medical intuitive ... a clairvoyant who has the ability to see auric fields and personal archetypes as well as read DNA sequences and min
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Yes, I've read a number of disturbing reports about 3HO. Charlotte-Marie, the woman who sings on Wingmakers music CDs, is a devotee of 3HO. People behind wingmakers have been connected to all kinds of NewAgeist businesses. Somebody pointed out to me that the interview sessions on wingmakers.com with the supposed creator of Wingmakers called "James", are all fake. It seem
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

There's no doubt it's genuine wack job material and is probably designed to shut down your mind. A lot of the videos are painful to watch and the written work would only appeal to those who lack basic skills in English. But still it would all have a hypnotic effect on the target audience. Desteni Productions, which only seems to have been up and running for the past couple of years,
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Just to follow up... Amongst the hundreds of videos and reams of text put out by Desteni Productions, there are explanations for why the "portal" is no longer in use. This doesn't mean the project has come to an end. It's been a very effective means of publicity, and they will no doubt move on to new methods. I just stumbled across Desteni Productions on YouTube and thought
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Turns out the Desteni girl calling herself a "portal" in the videos is really named Sunette, not Winged or Jack. Seems that she recently stopped releasing videos of "interdimensional interviews" etc. For what reason, I don't know, and I could be wrong as it's difficult to get clear information about the group. It is not Sunette who's running the show aft
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This looks to be a new cult in the making at It's run by a 22 year old but there may be some other individuals behind it. She conducts interdimensional portal interviews with Reptilian gods, Marilyn Monroe, Adolf Hitler, Jim Morrison and numerous others. Amazingly, it's totally serious. From the messages at YouTube, which seems to be the main recruiting ground for this fle
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Much of New Ageism is based on ancient religious or pagan superstitions. Belief in karma and reincarnation has been assimilated into New Ageism so that it is accepted dogma throughout many of the different belief systems. Another good reference point along these lines is , also Stripping the Gurus... You say, Judy, that it's hard to know what's true in the here and now, never mind w
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Excellent comments, corboy. The notion of a Cultic Milieu definitely carries some weight as regards understanding the phenomenon of the New Age. I have been meaning to read that book, 'Against the Modern World' by Mark Sedgwick, so thanks for drawing my attention to it again. Also, I meant to post the link to that Karla McLaren article earlier but couldn't find it. By the wa
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

As regards dieting, then a nice recipe never goes amiss and if it's green and healthy then why not. Photography is useful, but watch out for any orbs or UFOs. According to New Ageism, if a letter you were waiting on did not arrive on time, then it could be due to something like that archetypal symbol identified in a dream two nights previously in which you were unable to communicate with
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I can sympathise with some of what you've posted here.The New Age plays on people's insecurities, also their ambitions. So on the one hand there are healing affirmations and karmic cleansing to rid yourself of attachments to the lower self (as opposed to the "Higher Self") and on the other hand, pseudoscientific techniques to accelerate "spiritual evolution" such as
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

'Heaven's Gate' existed as an offline group with a recognisable leader before they set up an online presence, as far as I know. What appears to be unique about WingMakers/Lyricus/Event Temples is that they have all originated from an ostensibly anonymous online source with connections with some quite significant cutting edge Internet business innovations. While the leadership e
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Does anyone here have any opinions or experiences to relate regarding WingMakers - http://www.wingmakers.com ? which has offshoots The Lyricus Teaching Order - http://www.lyricus.org and EventTemples - http://www.eventtemples.com Here is the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingmakers The material is wide-ranging, the text voluminous and dense. Although it may not be
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"