Following up on my previous post about why especially narcissistic and psychologically troubled people become problematic spiritual teachers after an awakening experience: I think it's important to add that if deep psychological wounds play a role in triggering the awakening experience, this opens up a tempting opportunity for escapism. During the awakening, you see that you never were th
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

@Andy.Mo18: ego-phobic is a great way to put it. I do think Tolle has had the awakening experience he described, but he drew the wrong conclusions from it. That awakening experience (sometimes called 'the initial awakening') has to do with a sudden change in brain functioning. The process of habitual thought patterns that involve and maintain the self-concept is suddenly drastically red
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

stefa Wrote: > However, if you are a fake, you need a guru attire > ironed to straight perfection, handpicked > rudraksha stringed round your neck Right! And apparently, you even need to mix a fantasy Indian accent through your native accent, like he does, and add the typically Indian head bobble to your body language (like here at 27:13) It's really amazing how he can say
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Here's a video of Adyashanti explaining what I've been trying to say: there's two stages to awakening and you can get stuck halfway — In his latest video, Mooji acknowledges the fact that he or at least his teachings haven't progressed beyond the first stage (see my previous post).
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I was curious about what Mooji's up to these days, so I watched his most recent video: . Mooji uses a lot of words to say very little, but this is how I would paraphrase Mooji's half hour talk in one sentence: I've been pointing again and again to the truth "Thou art that" , but I think it's time to move on, because that insight is not the end of the spiritual pa
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Well said, Stefa. You might be right that many of Mooji's followers don't even reach Stage 1. I think the Ramana book you recommend is an excellent reading tip. A more traditional explanation of Advaita is also worth looking into. I think these three talks by Swami Sarvapriyananda are a good intro: one, two, three. I feel I should add one thing to my previous post: Realizing the onen
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi Stefa, interesting idea to use a mirror as a device for self-inquiry. I can imagine it can lead to the same perspective as meditatively inquiring "What observes the observer?". The latter is one of the things I picked up from Mooji that I still find useful. I think both types of inquiry can lead to a pure experience of "seeing sees seeing", disentangled from the usual habit
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The woman says: "I saw him in front of this Sahaja landscape just by himself. It's hardly ever you see him moving around so freely." So he doesn't move around freely normally? And when he finally does, they immediately start filming him like he's some kind of Zoo animal, and turn it into Youtube views? Seems odd to me.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Leo's Messiah complex seems to be getting only worse. Adeptus Psychonautica did a good job with this video about it:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks!
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Awesome! Everybody who even thinks of listening to a spiritual teacher should read that message. Do you have a source, so I can share the link? Google wasn't helpful.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks for sharing his name, chopper22! I'll repeat some details below for the sake of findability: Keith Sudano A New Course LLC Charleston, SC www.anewcourse.com
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Your anger is understandable, Gaja, but I think you're right that Mooji won't feel guilt about manipulating you or anyone. In the end, your experiences will help you mature psychologically beyond the level where the manipulator/manipulated dynamic plays, while Mooji is likely forever stuck there.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

That's terrible. I've been lovebombed by a cult myself in the past. They make you feel great and you believe these loving bonds are going to last forever but then one day it just stops and they make it clear they'll get back to loving you when you're servile enough. At that point it's best to forget all about them and go your own way. I think you had it right in your m
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Are you okay, Gaja?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Joseph703 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think my brother and his wife are being > brainwashed by the same guy in Charleston. I'm sorry to hear that! This sounds like a dangerous man who has probably victimized many people and will continue to do so. Would you be willing to share his name? That might prevent some people falling victim to him,
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks for the book tip! BTW, Idiocracy is one of my favorite movies. Indeed, Tolle and Mooji would fit right into that movie. They condemn mind/thinking in general. That's like burning down your house to get rid of a few house mice. The problem consists only of over-identification with the self-concept within the default mode network (DMN). The DMN is a habitual way of using the brain a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

That makes sense. People tend to resent focusing attention inwards because of the abundance of negativity there. Hence modern human's tendency to keep attention engaged externally constantly, e.g. work, conversation, tv, gaming, etc. If it wasn't so, meditation wouldn't be some kind of practice that requires discipline. So what's the solution to the mental negativity? Perp
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Not sure either what Rob means but his words make me think that (and perhaps that's what he means) a person that truly isn't under the spell of ego anymore can't hold any beliefs about themselves (their identities) being enlightened or not. That notion would seem as ridiculous as the notion of a clown mask being happy or unhappy. The mask doesn't have a state, it's just a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks for sharing, Amoo! You're obviously not open to becoming a mind controlled devotee, so a long term stay probably would have been neither in your nor in their best interest. In that respect, they did you a favor by asking you to leave. QuoteAmoo truth is amorphoric and cannot be captured by anyone in anyway, as such any teaching rooted in any nature of 'agenda' is dead
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteTraveler99 So to go back to our main topic here, where is Mooji on this 'continuum'? And, really, where on this "scale" are 99% of the "spiritual teachers" out there? Good question! In my assessment (which may of course be incorrect), there aren't any well known present day teachers that are as far along the continuum as Ramana, but plenty who are fur
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I stumbled on a very appropriate blog post at the same blog (Chi-Ting Apocalypse) I linked to in my previous post: QuoteThe age of the guru is over.. We have replaced the worship of an ultimate state (God) with the worship of enlightened beings (gurus). But there is neither an ultimate state or an ultimate being, this is just a chimera of the imagination. Apparent reality is in a state of p
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteMany, many persons have called Mooji on this one. Some of these who complain state something like “It’s okay for an Indian guru to do this stuff, but not a Western one.” (To which others retort, ‘In a non-dual framework, what is Indian and western?’) Many, many others have written to me with statements like, “Don’t these persons know anything about India and the Guru tradition?” Guru worsh
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Just remember that even though one teacher's criticism of another teacher may be valid, that doesn't make him/her a valid teacher. I've seen the quote above (starting with "Mooji is kid stuff") before, it's from James Swartz. There's a lot of red flags with Swartz, more than with Mooji even, I would say. See the discussions on this forum about him.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi nmconcerned, it's nice to see that you've caught up on the new additions to this thread. I hope your wife has regained some of her critical thinking ability in the meantime. It's remarkable how many cults are formed around people claiming to channel alien entities. The book "Messengers of deception" by Jacques Vallee looks at some of these. I don't necessari
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteSahara71 If someone sustains a deceitful position over a long period of time - and relies on that deceit in order to earn a living.... and allows people to treat them as though they are 'God', worshiping their 'person'.... then I think we have a problem. But of course, many people don't see a problem, they are perfectly happy with the situation and all this doesn&
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteSahara71 If Moo is an enlightened being, he wouldn't be doing anything wrong, so therefore he wouldn't need to be secretive about anything. So I guess this whole scenario shows that Moo is not an enlightened being; he is just some average Joe, who feels the need to deceive people, the very people who pay his way, by donating money and services. With all respect, I think this
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks a lot for clearing that up, Traveler99!
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteMynameisHeather I think what Rick and the ASI panel are attempting to do is admirable. Agreed! QuoteMynameisHeatherIn my personal experience I am convinced there are no good spiritual teachers...not at all! I absolutely do not trust any human to guide or lead me in the right direction. I believe there are excellent teachings, but an ethical, moral, "enlightened" teacher doesn&
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotefacet I know that Rick follows Amma already from watching previous bat gaps over the years. That's right, but I seem to remember Rick acknowledging the problems with Amma in a recent interview (and maybe more interviews, I haven't seen most of them). From a quick look at the google-searches Corboy posted, I get the impression that Mariana Caplan is compromised more seriously.
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