Here are some examples of the nonsensical idiocy Poolman and his lackeys have recently been promoting: The Wise Explains the Universe is another obtuse rant by Poolman against academics and his critics. He says 'Hitler improved the lives of his people'. Well, Hitler's people were the Nazi Party. The Future of Homeopathy in an Equal Money System is an attempt to describe '
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

While all other members of Desteni are required to do v-logging to promote and recruit for Desteni, even though Cerise Poolman calls herself a 'Super Buddy at Desteni I Process', she has comparitively few videos, and none of them are really about the 'I Process' in the same way as other recruiters... http://www.youtube.com/user/DrumMeBald Her brother is also a 'recr
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Regarding the Desteni group's attitude to non-Destonians, and their idea that anyone disagreeing with them 'doesn't deserve to live' and in their 'equal money system' will be offered the option of being 'euthanized', Valentin Rozman says in response to Bernard Poolman's video Smoking is Really REALLY Good: "Come on, is it really necessary to p
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Andrew Gable (the man responsible for the painting used as Bernard Poolman's avatar) writes in his blog post Time to Face the Money Issue – “Desteni I Process": "I am ‘glad’ that we decided to change the name of the course to Desteni I Process from Desteni income plan because then I feel more comfortable talking or speaking about it or/and promoting it, and I see that this is
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Poolman "explains" his choice of the Blood Group Diet for Desteni members: Desteni Process Support - Diet Plans & The Blood Group Diet It is a choice which appears to be quite arbitrary, but it is after all only for Poolman to exert control over decisions made by his followers such as to what to eat. Blood Group Diet is pure quackery. As the Anticult suggests, the fundamenta
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

As far as we know, Poolman and other people who reside permanently at the Desteni farm make money by selling the various courses: the Desteni "I" Process (including the Desteni Income Plan), Structural Resonance Alignment Training, Introduction to Desteni etc. However, that is a relatively recent thing which only took off in the past year or two, because when Desteni first started in
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Cult Witness - a new documentary from Arthio Films SYNOPSIS I lived in a cult for ten years. The cult leader controlled my life and dictated my thoughts, feelings and actions. Why did this happen to me? Why was it so difficult to break free? To try to understand these questions I went on a journey of self-discovery and spoke to experts and ex-members who suffered similar experiences. Whi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Poolman has often openly expressed his admiration for Osho Rajneesh and recommended his books. Some commentators have compared Poolman to Jim Jones, for his statements about equality, something which Jones was also keen on, and because the "equal money system" appears to be a totalitarian ideal with overtones of both Communism and Fascism. Jim Jones was an admirer of Stalin, and like
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Regarding what goes on at the Desteni farm, Poolman and members of Desteni use the illegal drug Ecstasy on an apparently regular basis at the farm. In Process Support - Transcending Existence Poolman suggests that his followers "do the very things you judge as bad... The answer is in the things you judge as bad like sex, money, gambling and all kinds of stuff like that... dare I say,
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It seems a special dislike was taken to those three videos because they parodied Poolman's rants. I would assume the copyright complaints were registered on the basis that the image used was of Poolman's beast-man avatar, even though it had been altered. But it is also interesting to note that besides those three videos, a number of other videos satirizing the Desteni cult were also
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteshaktiWhile I would agree that this thread was not handled well by those "banned from Zeitgeist forums", and I don't think there was full evidence provided that this is a traditional dangerous cult, it is definitely a "controversial group", and worthy of discussion on this board. All one needs to do is view the original movie with its rehash of recycled anti-semitic
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Here are links to the discussions on 'Equal Money System' at the 'Zeitgeist Movement' forum: Equal money FAQ 'Equal Money systems' EQUAL MONEY SYSTEM WORKS; TVP IS DREAMING, DESTENI CLAIMS Some interesting points are made, but only a few of the posters appear to be aware that 'Equal Money System' (EMS) is just a recruitment slogan and device con
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

So, the message is, give as much money as you can to Desteni now so that by the time the big financial crash comes around Desteni can save the world. We've heard it a thousand times before: "Disaster is coming! Join our cult!" Even if there was a worldwide financial crash, Desteni would have no influence whatsoever in reconstructing the economy. It's not as though they a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Darryl Thomas writes: "Yes, it would be difficult to start EMS from scratch under the current economical design. There may well be a transition just to get to the EMS. But where the EMS is most likely to come in is after the inevitable collapse of this current economic system, which will descend on us as sure as rain is wet. Only from out of the aftermath of the worldwide financial catacl
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In Desteni, 'self-purification' and 'self-realization' are described in terms of destruction of the personality, the mind, consciousness, thoughts, feelings and emotions, and the destruction of beliefs and opinions. All of it is to 'realize self as the physical', whatever that means. Other people in disagreement with these notions are variously described by Bernar
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Some Desteni-related trivia which highlight just how ridiculous the cult really is... On their FaceWorldFaceOff website the purpose of which is to help "to get at least 100 million people to shave off their hair" they're offering downloadable stencils to put the words, 'faceworld' and 'faceoff' on T-shirts, as well as stencils of the alphabet and an image of
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The Desteni cult targets naive, disillusioned New Agers looking for something less airy-fairy or less capitalistic than the New Age Movement, but it is also aimed at and attracts individuals with mental health problems, a history of criminal activity and/or maladjusted or alienated people confused about basic social, sexual or psychological issues. There are numerous examples of this at the D
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteThe Anticultquotes with names and references could be sent to those who look into these issues in Germany, as Desteni has websites and connections with Germany. A search on the co.za whois reveals that desteni.co.za is hosted by It states at that the hosting server for desteni.co.za is based in Nürnberg, Germany. The Hetzner company at is a branch of the original German
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks, concernedmom83. Feel free to PM your email address so we can pass it on to former members and ask them if they want to write to you with information to help get your loved one out of the Desteni cult. Via the computer your loved one uses, you may be able to gain access to the Desteni private forum and SRAT lessons, take screenshots and post them on this forum. That way we can find out
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

concernedmom83: It's curious that, as well as inquiring as to which authorities in SA are investigating Desteni, you've also been sending PMs to me and other forum members here suggesting that you would like to obtain the contact details of ex-Desteni members. Care to elaborate?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteconcernedmom83Does anyone here know if the authorities in SA are 'watching' destini and the going's on of this evil man? If anyone knows about authorities in SA monitoring Desteni, then it wouldn't make a lot of sense to place the information on this forum.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A classic article there on ur-fascism by Umberto Eco. Thanks, corboy. I've found Christopher Locke's provocative writings on his blog, Mystic Bourgeoisie to be an interesting exploration of the subtly fascistic nature of much of the New Age and related material. Apparently he's writing a book on the subject. http://mysticbourgeoisie.blogspot.com "The unlikely story o
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The Window venue is in Islington, London. The main local newspaper there, the Islington Gazette may be interested in publishing an article on The Window and EnlightenNext's dealings. They can be supplied with the main points of reference such as the book by Cohen's mother, Luna Tarlo http://themotherofgod.com American Guru by William Yenner http://americanguru.net the What
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks, randomusername. This gives a clearer picture of what Desteni is really about. Poolman and his cohorts have stated numerous times that those in disagreement with Desteni 'don't deserve to live', so 'euthanasia' would just be a more definite description of their policy. Except it's not really euthanasia. No two ways about it: they are advocating murder.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

My friend who had attended a government-sponsored seminar at The Window told me everyone there was oblivious as to what EnlightenNext was about, even the Business Link organizers who'd hired the conference room. She mentioned it to a few people and none of them knew anything about it. One said they thought the place was run by some New Age self-development group but didn't see it as bei
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This may have been mentioned before in this thread or elsewhere in connection with Andrew Cohen's 'EnlightenNext' but there is a property in London, UK owned by EnlightenNext called The Window which is being used as a corporate events venue. On a recent visit to London, a friend who had taken part in a business seminar held by a company called Business Link, which is a UK govern
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteit's edenheartWhat is the latest crazy ideas and notions that Poolman and his lackeys have come up with and are using as their propoganda? Added to the range of FaceworldFaceOff and Shame-Poo tee-shirts available via http://www.faceworldfaceoff.com/Fun%20Stuff.htm Desteni are about to launch their 'very first tee-shirt' through http://www.equalitees.net where a vote will be
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello FreakyChakra, Many well-educated, highly intelligent people get involved in cults, and for different reasons. For example, having been impressed by the methods of a particular group leader, they might get involved to pursue their own agenda for wielding power within the inner circle of a given cult. They may be over-idealistic and see the group they've joined as fulfilling ideals th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

An increased emphasis in Desteni on cutting ties with friends and family may be due to disapproval of friends and family... Parents & Siblings are the Keepers of the Past If You're Not Evil, You're NO Good Sunette Spies talks about family as Memory Manipulation Entity Possession As most people are aware, cults separate those involved in such groups from their families an
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This video link was posted before: Process Support - Tithing Poolman says that he and/or the Desteni org do not own the Desteni farm (which is called 'Mountain View', not Desteni, by the way). It is apparently owned by a bank. So presumably Poolman and his buddies are renting it. As regards copyright, Poolman makes it clear that there are strict policies about using the Desteni na
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"