Just a note for the sake of accuracy - and if I'm mistaken please feel free to correct me - but my understanding is that any UM/EPA practitioner wishing to practice chakrapuncture has to go elsewhere and do the formal acupuncture training. As far as I know Michael Benhayon did, and he's widely regarded within the UM community as 'the master'. No doubt the UM'ers do champi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteCOncerned PartnerHi Eric No worries. Serge has that covered: The books themselves are written under the impress as is the natural language of the inner-heart, that is, expressed as does the Soul express. This means that the expression and way of writing is the way the inner-heart expresses via the higher-mind. And hence, no adherence has been paid to structure or lineal academic rule
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotelifetruetomeThis is quite interesting. Its hard to imagine that Serge was the only person on the planet that predicted humans in the 21st century will have multiple symptoms of physical disease. My GP 10 years ago told me that immune system problems were on the rise due to over processed food, toxins etc etc ie the rise in autism, allergies etc. It is farcical to think that Serge predic
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Rod H. said in regard to the 'Universal Healing Symbols': "For example I now understand more about what is behind the energetic configuration of healing symbols and why they are effective" I just wanted to point this out for anyone who uses them or is considering doing so; on the backside of the cards is a disclaimer stating that any attempt to reproduce the symbols will
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Note also that the use of 'Thought Terminating Cliches' is quite apparent within UM. The most notable example is the dismissal of all criticism with the explanation that the questioner is coming from the mind not his/her 'inner-heart'. Students are most welcome to ask questions at workshops and presentations, however if the individual doing the questioning doesn't ac
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Potential readers should be aware; the convoluted writing style Serge employs is deliberate by his own admission, and even his editor made note of struggling with it in at least one of the books. Serge claims to understand the 'energetic' meaning of words and the combination thereof, so apparently the books are written in such a manner as to 'constellate energy' and communi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It seems to me that those dedicated to UM keep going back because they want to attain what Serge claims to have done: a state of pure connection not only to their own souls but also to a divine higher power. If they accept him as being the only source of divine truth (which the students do) it automatically puts them in a lesser position on the esoteric 'initiation' ladder, therefore he
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I don't doubt that Serge was a tennis coach. It was a long time ago so of course there are no websites with active business details, but traces remain if you look: As far as how he 'transformed', according to an interview I read (which is no longer available on-line) SB claims he started hearing voices (from the Hierarchy) telling him who he had been in past lives and that he
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Well, thanks to the symbolism of UM theology, the mere sighting of a Daddy Longlegs can cause irrational worry in a follower over some perceived life complication or other, possibly necessitating a visit to the nearest practitioner asap. Regarding men's massage, the UM clinic does offer it, but it doesn't appear to be as specific as the 'esoteric breast massage', so I think
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotePranic AttackI have been following the UM postings on the net and find it interesting that they seem to want to attract people (mostly lonely women) who can afford their courses /retreats etc. This especially as they were offering 'esoteric financial health', although all references to this now seem to have disappeared from the internet along with mention of the therapist who coul
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteHerbertKane178 How does he get around the issue of fossils then, and particularly the lack of 'mermaid' fossils? That's one for the UM devotees, assuming there's any willing to critically question the belief system. Atlantis and Lemuria are frequently referenced on UM teaching, so maybe all the mermaid fossils will be found there. Perhaps alternately, realizing the me
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteHerbertKane178What about Darwinian evolution? Did the specific number of souls Serge decrees all appear at once on earth then? Forget evolution, the apes etc. According to Serge's logic none of this could have happened. So he's really in the territory of the fundamental christians who take the book of Genesis as fact.[/quote Serge's creation fables outdo even those fundament
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Robert Jay Lifton's Eight Point Model of Thought Reform: The following points in particular can be applied in some degree to UM and Serge's presentation and writing techniques: 2. Mystical Manipulation The claim of divine authority or spiritual advancement that allows the leader to reinterpret events as he or she wishes, or make prophecies or pronouncements at will, all for
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotelifetruetomeI believe Serge had told us that there was going to be another major earth quake in Tokoyo in May of last year. It didn't happen. I believe Serge thinks that volcanoes, earthquakes etc are just the earth releasing prana. I can only imagine what he believes the cause of global warming is. True. Serge claims that natural disasters are the earth's way of 'cl
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

PS. I wasn't aware that UM had registered as a religion. Very interesting. If anyone else could verify this it would be much appreciated.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Concerned Partner - Thanks for your (excellent) contributions. Regarding the book burning you mentioned; someone posted on Yvonne Mcilvaine's blog that this occurred but took I it with a grain of salt as I have not heard any first-hand confirmation of it. Did your partner tell you about this? Can anyone else (whether pro-UM or con) verify that this happened?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In my experience there was never music playing at the UM clinic (certainly not during the few sessions I had there) nor was it ever played during any paid session I had with practitioners outside the clinic. Unless it was being played at such a low volume that it was inaudible, which is a possibility. I would say if any paid practitioner did incorporate it into the session at an audible volume th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Herbert - as I understand, for a practitioner to be approved by the EPA one has to complete the relevant UM courses, for example Sacred Esoteric Healing levels 1-4. If one was looking to practice Esoteric Massage specifically you would have to complete the four SEH levels, then the relevant Esoteric Massage workshops. The aspirant would also have to display dedication to the general UM dietary/li
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

More on the triangle pendants: Two pages have surfaced questioning/criticizing UM. The first references this very thread: This FB page seems to have been set up in place of the now defunct 'umsupportgroup' blog:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The above blog was taken down due to a legal request, possibly because it had cut 'n' pasted some posts from the Fraudulent Faith facebook page without deleting the names of the UM supporters. I can almost guarantee that the Fraudulent Faith blog and FB page also disappeared due to threat of legal action. Universal Medicine is an extremely lucrative venture, and as such I imagine Se
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotecorboyExtraordinary claims require extra ordinary proof. Absolutely. And the claims being made by Serge definitely qualify. Essentially he's claiming to have exclusive access to knowledge that completely trumps the bulk of human understanding of medical, scientific and religious issues. Moreover, little to no evidence is provided to support these claims. It's not enough for Se
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello Rod and thanks again for contributing. You asked if I think it's possible that PHD holders, lawyers, professors etc can be tricked - of course it's possible. In fact, if as you say, you 'unreservedly accept UM's teachings' you also believe it's possible for such intellectuals to be tricked, just not by Serge. As I noted in a previous post, Serge teaches t
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A note of clarification on the alcohol issue: Serge teaches that drinking alcohol allows 'astral entities' to 'possess' the drinker and drain his/her kidney energy. These entities will apparently go after anyone in the immediate vicinity, which is why UM advises students to avoid pubs or events where alcohol is being consumed. Parents are warned that drinking alcohol will allo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hello Rod and thank you for sharing your experiences with UM. A few points if I may: As you say, in all religions there are truths that have been altered by men to suit their needs. Possibly so, but this critique applies equally to Serge's belief system, since it consists of a grab-bag of second-hand Buddhist ideas, deities from the Hindu pantheon, mixed up with Alice A. Bailey's biz
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

One more thing: apparently the various UM massage creams, herbal supplements etc are designed according to Pythagorean principles, which Serge is able to do as he claims to have been Pythagoras in a previous incarnation.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Frodo's experiences above are an accurate description of what it is like living with someone who is obsessively involved with Universal Medicine, and very similar to my own. I might add that listening to music (apart from the mostly dreadful UM produced recordings) is generally out, too. It may not be the same for everyone, but if your partner takes Serge's teachings as gospel truth it&
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteHerbertKane178Quotecorboy Nearly all these programs will make you feel excited, feel better -- at first. Can you pick a point where YOU can stop this process and get on with the rest of your life? Do you have to keep going back to UM in order to keep on feeling better? This is one of the troubling areas of UM for me. As Serge describes himself as 'a forever student',
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Serge conducts an exercise at some workshops where he 'allows' entities to enter people and then removes them. Apparently he has control over the ability of these beings to enter and manipulate other people, but he claims this subtle 'possession' by entities is something that happens to people all the time without them realizing it, so it's safe for him to allow it in a c
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteHerbertKane178 How do your aquaintances react to challenges to their views? Or do you not challenge them on it? Very defensively. In the past, whenever I questioned a particular claim the conversation would ultimately turn in an attempt to illustrate that I was the one with the problem for trying to analyze it rationally instead of feeling it with my heart. If you read Serge's books,
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Corboy - I tend to feel much of what you wrote above is probably quite accurate. I should note that while I do not subscribe to UM's theories, I do write from experience here. My exposure to UM came via acquaintances who are deeply involved for several years and who take what Serge presents as absolute truth. I have read several of Serge's books, listened to countless hours of interview
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"