Best way to check out a group is 1) Read material like this on how to selet a growth group: 2) Supplement this by reading the material on this website about Large Group Awareness Trainings (LGATs) 3) After giving yourself some background, do Google searches of both Google itself and the Google listserve groups (click the 'Groups tab) and then run your search. 4) Talk with pe
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

in addition to examining ideas and contents of belief systems, pay attention to the physical setting in which you were exposed to the information, and whether you were able to get sufficient sleep. If your body is thrown off balance by lack of sleep, poor diet, stress, uncomfortable postures, this is going to affect your mind, along with confusion induced by certain belief systems. There a
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Processes commonly termed 'brainwashing' and 'thought reform' very often include interventions that target subject's body. We have learned to recognize the importance of social interaction and belief systems, but often ignore how people's bodies are treated. The good news is that this component--the body/mechanical portion of the undue influence recipe --can be
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

The process commonly termed 'brainwashing' and 'thought reform' very often includes interventions that target the subject's body, not just his or her belief system and emotions. We have learned a lot about the importance of social interaction and belief systems in conditions of undue influence, but we do not always investigate the physical conditions in which undue inf
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

It can be hard to tell whether your relative freely chose to leave home to join this group, or would have left home for some other reason even if he or she had never become involved, or whether this group did exert some influence. You'll need to get more information. And, not all shamans or spiritual teachers are alert enough to say to an eager student, 'But where's your family
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In the long run, you may not be able to change your friend's mind. But you can do some basic things to take care of yourself. 1) From your description, this relationship sounds serious. If you were thinking of becoming married, this entails financial obligations. If you marry someone who is already emotionally committed to a secretive group that causes her to take substantial time from wo
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I have no way of knowing whether this is some experiment or not, just threw it out as something to wonder about---simply because these kinds of in-your-face requests are so unusual for a room-mate set up.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

a four-hour block spent house-cleaning is a major, major time commitment. IMO it would be arrogant for a roomate to ask someone else to do such a thing--unless they offered to pay you. And having to leave the house one evening a week?! Ask yourself if perhaps your roomie could be doing this as an experiment to test you and see how far you can be pushed. Social psychologists have found
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

If you go to Scroll down to the section on gurus whom Ken Wilber admires. One of them is Sri Aurobindo, one of the two (now deceased) leaders of Auroville. It describes some of the claims Aurobindo made. He apparently claimed to have been the reincarnation of both Leonardo da Vinca and Michelangelo, which presents a problem as both men lived during the same time spread. Jeffrey Masson
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

by which one can distinguish groups that actually support spiritual development from those which undermine it:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

it might be a good idea to alert the bishop/archbishop of the diocese where your mom lives--this group may be causing others to run scared. It is possible to search the discussion groups on Google--go to the Google search option, click the 'groups' tab and then do an advanced search--it will take you to whatever material has been posted on the Google listserves.
Forum: Destructive Churches

The author was in a group (Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) which was structured differently from a Large Group Awareness Training (LGAT), neverthless, some persons who have been through an LGAT may find this essay a helpful resource. Read it for yourself and see if it rings any bells. The entire article is worth attention--but two sections may be pertinent: 'Outline of
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

one can use to understand what Boz is describing: The vulnerablity of the Microsoft Windows operating system to various computer viruses, worms, etc. The program is very useful, lots of people benefit from it. But the MS program has certain vulnerabilities, deficiencies in its boundaries, that permit alien and disruptive programs (viruses, worms) to enter the system, then be carried by the
Forum: Destructive Churches

'Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology' by Lilienfedl, Lynn and Lohr is up-to-date and has a chapter on repressed memories, and describes how to tell the difference between therapeutic modalities that are being properly used and when they are being used in ways that are irresponsible and not supported by scientific testing.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

must also be matched to the needs of the client. Therapists have a lot of power in relation to clients. Any recommendation of outside resources, must be done very carefully. Reading a book or participating in a 12 step program are not the same as participating in an LGAT. You're free to disagree with a book, you can put it down when bored, and 12 Step meetings last no more than 1.5 to 2
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

People can be in high demand groups for 'just two years' and be quite deeply affected. It all depends on: *What you were going through at the time you were recruited/joined the group. Problems you had before joining the group may still be unresolved and need attention after you've return to the outside world. If you joined when very young, you may miss out on life experiences
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

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

on a dissociative disorder termed 'depersonalization.' See if any of the signs and symptoms in the article match up with the 12 signs described in the posts given above. The author of the second article used to be a New Age healer, sincerely believed in the material, then eventually realized that much of it was not true and decided she had, with the best of intentions, led
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Persons who have been members and can describe 'life on the inside' are also more likely to have relevant information. An unusual belief system is not itself enough to make something a cult. A key aspect of a cult is whether prospective recruits are told the full truth about the leader, his or her background, the actual doctrine of the group, living conditions, whether disagree
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The author was in the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order but persons dealing with other groups may find this material is transferable to their experiences as well.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quote On her second date with Carlos Santana, the future Deborah Santana accompanied the guitarist to his Marin manse, meditated with him under a painting of Jesus, then spent the night. By the time the couple wed in Albany, they were devotees of guru Sri Chinmoy, whom they considered an avatar but who was really a manipulative cult leader, as Santana writes in Space Between the Stars (Ballan
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This does not specifically address sexual abuse but offers one framework by which to understand recovery from any violation of trust.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

(To find it, put 'tolle' in the search slot) Scroll down and read the 10-21 post from 'PSISurvivor'. This person had been through another group called PSI Seminars hence the username.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

There's an interesting discussion on BK on the integralnaked.org forum, which can be read here: (Reading the material is free. If you wish to register as a member on the IN.org forum, you have to pay--read their terms) This new article describes how recovery takes place sequentially. The kind of question asking used by some spiritual teachers appears to be a powerful techni
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

(There are many ways to understand recovery from abuse. This is one framework, offered by a psychotherapist named Borzymenyi-Nagy. It was submitted as an article on a blog ) The key insight is that a person who has suffered abuse must first recognize he or she has had her boundaries violated and trust compromised by persons who were supposed to be protective and honest. Only when you'
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

PSEUDO-IDENTITY and the Treatment of Personality Change in Victims of Captivity and Cults by Louis J. West, M.D. Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA School of Medicine Paul R. Martin, Ph.D. Director, Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center, Albany, Ohio Excerpted with permission from Dissociation: Clinical and Theoretical Prespectives, ed. Stephen J. Lynn **and Judit
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

'Bridging the Chasm Between Two Cultures' The author is a former New Age healer and teacher.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If you can find URLs for links, posting them would be great. If a public figure is organizing a fundraising effort, it will important to see if their organization ensures that that money is accounted for and will go to support the stated cause. Anyone raising funds, especially for a disaster that has tugged at our hearts, and obtained massive media coverage, must exert tremendous and long
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Nobody, since you're appear to be investigating various therapeutic methods, Id recommend a book entitled 'Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology' by Lilienfeld, Lynn and Lohr. The price may seem expensive, but it is much less expensive than a therapy session and will give you background knowledge that will help you evaluate a prospective therapist. The authors discus
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If you get a copy of a memoir by Steve Susoyev, entitled 'People Farm' you get detailed descriptions of this 'cradle' technique. The book describes a human potential group/commune that existed in the late Sixties into the early 1970s and then imploded around 1978. Everything is disguised as pseudonyms but really happened. The author gives precise descriptions of the techni
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"