'Concealed Control of Choice' resembles what Professor Janja Lalich has called 'Bounded Choice'---in certain high-demand groups, members continue to think quite rationally, but they are unaware that they're exercising what they 'experience' as free choice within a menu of options that progressively shrinks without their realizing it, until (in certain tragic cas
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

Compared to their old website there is now less informaton available on their website, since the various message boards have been active. www.miracle.org However, there is a way to examine previous editions of websites. which is otherwise known as the 'Wayback Machine' Plug www.miracle.org into the search ('take me back') slot. It will take you to the older ve
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

When an authentic Asian belief system is taken out of its cultural context and transmitted by a single, ambitious person to Westerners who have not been taught how to tell an authentic guru from a wannabe, problems arise. Indians are well aware that one must test the authenticity of a guru. One teacher told us that there was a Sanskrit proverb that, in English reads: 'A greedy guru and
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

thanks to Hope. She found the URL and made sure we found out about it. Thats the great thing about the RR.com message board. Everyone here has different interests and concerns, different styles of dong online reading & research. As a result, we get a rich selection of material.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quote One thing that I have found, is that many like me who got out of the corruption, still hold on to the religious parts of the movement, and are actually not bitter! Welcome to the board. However, if one's phase of recovery requires feeling anger and grief one has disowned for many, many years, thats a necessary part of recovery and must not be dismissed or criticized as 'being b
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

Here are two sites by Native Americans listing persons they're concerned about--there may be some information here on what you're looking for:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

kinds of difficult custody disputes--very valuable since men are often at a terrible disadantage in court. An excellent cover-your-butt resource. Its possible that if you go to www.bpdcentral.com ( you may be able to get referrrals to attorneys who have experience in tricky custody suits. Love and Loathing: Protecting Your Mental Health and Legal Rights When Your Partner has Borderlin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Certain kinds of dissociation (disruption of normal conscious awareness) can be confused with spiritual breakthrough and healing, if a person is under pressure and in social situations where they're encouraged to get confused. Hope found this article. See if it has some clues: You asked whether the double talk is a result of hypnotic suggestion? (quote) Is the double-talk languag
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteI think that our friend, when he says he investigated it prior, saw the statements from people that said stuff like just go to the forum, stay aware, get what you can from it and then don't do any more. That seems far more dangerous to me because everyone likes to think that they can't be taken in so it's almost a challenge. You're on to something important. Some of t
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

First, he wrote on his post of 10-3-2004 QuoteI'm a researcher at Mclean hospital. Dr. Bruce Cohen, whom is quoted above, is my boss and the head honcho at Mclean. Then, on 10-5-04 after I posted the article on psychotherapy ethics and the problems of dual relationships, laslow backpedalled and wrote QuoteFor the record, I'm working in biochemistry research. I couldn't wri
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Can be read in this article 'Dysfunction in Training Organizations'
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

'laslow wrote: QuoteI and a number of my colleagues did the Landmark Forum for both personal and professional reasons. At no time was anyone humiliated in our presence. If you and your colleagues mentioned your occupations & affiliations (health care professionals/graduate students at a prestigious university/medical institution) when filling out registration material, for the
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Some excerpts from Psychotherapy Cults: An Ethical Analysis Kim Boland,Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon Gordon Lindbloom, Ph.D. Lewis & Clark College Portland, Oregon 'The essential characteristics of these groups were described variously. Appel wrote that “therapeutic cults frame the salvation they offer in psychological terms, as personal l
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

entitled 'Manipulating the Room Environment.' Certain LGATs may perhaps pack their punch by combining indoctrination with a specific way of setting up the room, and all social interactions are very tightly scripted. Drew Kopp, who was involved with LEC write a remarkable analysis of the room set up, which can be found and read on this thread. He suggests that to the extent that on
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

see if this matches with what you've already observed. and
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

there are few message boards available to persons who want to discuss concerns they have about LGATs and who wish to discuss recovery resources, as well as objective information on LGATs. RR.com has LEC's official website listed on its database, so there's already equal coverage given to LEC along with data from outside sources. If anyone wishes to celebrate, justify or discuss
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

can be accessed here (text of first article)--other articles are also on this same thread ------------------------------------------------- This seems to be a relatively new group. But anything that is a spin-off of TM deserves a close look. Up to date information appreciated.) Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a guru who spent some time with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (Transcendental Meditatio
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

concerning Art of Living here are some quotes from various sources. The FACT Net correspondant wrote: 'Hi, Ravi Shankar and the art of living foundation operate mainly in north-west europe, and India (with hq based in Bangalore). They are especially big in Holland, Germany and Denmark with ashrams and such. I have heard a lot about this organization from former martial arts trainin
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

In the US, back in the 1960s and 1970s, advertising emphasized the quality of a product. And a lot of the advertising on TV was humorous. Those were the commercials which became famous and quotable. Remember some of the more famous ones? 'Avoid the heartbreak of psoriasis?' (Head and Shoulders shampoo) 'Mikey likes it' (Life cereal) 'I can't believe I at
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

The belief that we can re-invent ourselves, triumph over any and all circumstances with little regard for limitations, is very American. Americans have been hungry for self improvement since at least the early to mid-19th century, and there were major social movements for religious revival that swept large areas in the 18th century. Just have a look at the original Pilgrims: they were a g
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

For another take, I highly recommend 'My Father's Guru' by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. Masson's father became a disciple of Paul Brunton (PB), a Theosophist/Vedenta guru, and young Jeffrey in effect grew up in a secretive family cult. Years later, after studying Sanskrit at Harvard, young Jeffrey Masson realized that Paul Brunton was a fraud and felt furious at having been lie
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This is interesting. I hope things go well for you and your daughter. Its actually a very complicated process to determine whether something has generated a rate of illness higher than the statistical average. They will have to do epidemiological research to determine whether there is a 'cluster' -- that is, whether the rate of diagnoses of brain malignancies among TM practitione
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quote(quote) 'If you're recovering from opium addiction, it's best to steer clear from groups of opium users who have left the den, because they're not recovered addicts, they just think they are since they've managed to pull themselves out of the den. They're still compulsively stuffing opium in their pipes, so they still have a serious problem.' You've na
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

According this this article, the former participant reported: (quote) 'Meanwhile, the whole thing was being video taped'. I would not want to be part of a videotaped event unless told about the videotaping process well before arriving, and before I'd paid or signed anything whatsoever. I hope that videotaping is not typical of a Sterling event and is no longer bein
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

In my opinion, meditation should be appreciated as a resource but should never, ever have the effect of becoming addictive, or of estranging a practitioner from friends, family or activities he or she has formerly enjoyed. At most, a meditator may choose to live a less hectic life, but if the practice is healthy, it should be apparent that the person has retained a capacity to enjoy themselve
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Have you attempted a Google search? And searched both Google and the Google listserves? Someone in a Slavic Studies Department of a major univerity might also help. But only if you have a specific question and can provide search terms.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

and be religiously committed, too. Religion itself is not the problem. It is a the social process of the group that determines whether that group is functioning as a cult, not its belief system or whether it is 'religious'. There've been non religious cults, not just religious ones. Some are non-religious/political, others are non-religious/psychotherapy/human potential cu
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

(Note: The contrast between Walsch and Bill W, founder of AA is that Bill created a protocol to keep AA non profit, and made personal anonymity part of its 12 Traditions to ensure that the principles of AA would be emphasized and not any one person's charisma or personality. The power of AA was shared by the whole group, not centered on any one person.) (
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

This article gives a good checklist for persons trying to assess a psychotherapist or the behavior of a spiritual leader who has appropriated theories and techniques based on psychotherapy. The original article has diagrams that cannot transfer to message board posts--the URL is Undue Therapist Influence: A Paradigm Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D. Medical ethics All things being equal
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Dont kick yourself around. A group and its leader usually start out with best foot/feet? foward. Very likely your leader didnt expose you to marathon meetings the first few weeks you knew her--you'd have been scared off. People tend to join these groups (especially the small, under the radar groups) through some form of courtship; you the seeker are looking for a resource that will bri
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"