I am not a counselor, so these are some educated guesses based on what Ive been through and what Ive read about other people's recovery. Make sure to check this with your counselor. First, recovery occurs in stages. What helps you in one stage of recovery may not help later. Its like children and shoes--kids outgrow shoes and you dont want them wearing a pair that's become too small
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Congratulations on what you did for yourself, 'Nobody'. Can you recall what helped you/what you did or learned to do to take your power back? And you mention altered states of consciousness. Did you find anything especially helped you recover from this? And how long it took? Were there any books, persons or things you did that aided your recovery?
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In an interview, Dan Shaw makes some interesting comments about patterns and pitfalls for some persons who leave high demand groups, then join another similar group, or create a spiritual project of their own while still subconsciously operating from the indoctrination/world view of their old group. Shaw does not say so, but this might be similar to what people go through when they've be
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

additional material on psychotherapy issues here:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If anyone who has benefitted from participation in Wellspring's program can describe what the program was like, that would be terrific. Especially the features that you felt made the most difference in your recovery. And were there any things you were advised to do after you returned home that you found especially helpful in either extending or stablizing your recovery?
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

Gary Lachman's book 'Turn Off Your Mind' you'll find lots of information about books and art movements that influenced the leaders and aesthetic taste-makers of the 1960s. The fascinating thing is how certain science fiction (eg Robert Heinlein) and fantasy writers (Tolkien, Castaneda, HP Lovecraft) inspired various groups and commune movements. According to Lachman Rob
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

'Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology' by Lilienfeld, Lynn and Lohr discusses many of these issues, including use of psychotherapy on the talk show circuit, use of untested, controversial methods that have not been adequately tested in double blind research, and various problems that come up with alternative and new age therapies propagated by charismatic individuals and cot
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

'creating more tolerance for his behavior' (paraphrase) is termed 'grooming' by police and mental health professionals who study persons who commit boundary violation. The agent often figures out what type of person he or she is attracted to, often these people are already vulnerable and off-balance. Its not unusual for child molesters to single out children already in tr
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Professor Janja Lalich has a new book 'Bounded Choice' on the way decision making patterns are affected when one is in high demand groups. She examined Heaven's Gate in great detail, and because she is a sociologist, paid close attention to the social context at the time the group began and as it developed over the years. Lalich was also in a political cult that hoped to change
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

1) To get a take on how the leader might have gotten started (this is just a hunch), get and read 'Prophetic Charisma' by Len Oakes, who is a clinical psychologist and researcher in Australia. Dr. Oakes was once in a group led by a charismatic leader and if you can locate him (use Google) he may be able to offer you some pointers. His book may help you de-mystify the leader. Anoth
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

a friend has list on her refrigerator of various signs that one is making progress. My favorite is: 'You lose interest in the games of domination and submission on offer in various theatres of cruelty.'
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

lets not get too hard on each other. QuoteShall we not get back to the issue at hand, your less than spirited defense of gurus and all the ignoble platitudes that they have been hurling upon mankind for centuries? Dervish has given a spirited support to the RR.com board, contributed lots of helpful information, and wants people to have necessary information for informed decisions and that le
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Key thing is to ask,'Is this group likely help or hinder my spiritual practice and outside relationships/interests? And will this group give me the maturity needed to tell when, some day I may be ready to leave this group and graduate?' A group that is just right for you may hamper someone else, regardless of its lineage. One of the best things available written for people trying
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

Some groups may take on characteristics of psychotherapy cults. A leader may be charismatic, even helpful in some important ways, but not have formal training as a psychotherapist--or the person may once have received formal training, taken and passed coursework on ethics and boundary issues, yet be unable to apply such knowledge to running his or her groups. If teacher and students are trapp
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

Abusive Secretive Groups--Recurring Problems/Pitfalls There are legions of small groups. Some last for decades. The leader may have a shady past. He or she may pretend to teach from one tradition (eg present themselves as a Hindu guru) while actually using material from a completely different source (Gurdjieff, or commercial trance methods such as NLP). If a teacher pretends to teach fr
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

(Note: These are guesses and hunches from a layman. This material is not intended to replace psychotherapy with a mental health professional. If any of this does seem useful, share this with your psychotherapist if working with one. And---do feel free to suggest additional reading material--including journal articles.) Small Group Dynamics and Pitfalls-General Overview **(This material is s
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

a very good overview on how to evaluate any group or teacher The remarkable readiness we have to experience amazing things, and then attribute them to an external source (these last two may generate annoy pop up ads. Just close the junk and keep reading) finally, this article on one of the Google groups discusses what can happen if people are encouraged to become dependan
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Dr. Len Oakes wrote a book entitled 'Prophetic Charisma' in which he interviewed 20 charismatic leaders of groups. Its highly readable, and well worth the extra price for a rush order from amazon.com, because it will give you helpful pointers on these leaders' life trajectories, mannerisms and the kinds of questions to ask during your interviews. If you contact him privately (yo
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Do a search on Factnet.org at the message board. Someone posted some material there. The main source of info about Maharishi's TM group is www.trancenet.org Read their information about the physical effects produced by TM. Then see if people practicing the Art of Living's meditation techniques are free of these problems or are reporting similar reactions. There is a helpful boo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

here on this thread. If anyone has found additional books or articles that have been helpful, please list them. Thats how the message board grows!
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

Members are quite happy to share online material/URLs when these are available. If they do not, it may be that the article in question is only available by subscription.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Entire article is worth reading. See if it rings any bells. One thing that can trigger depersonalization in some people is--use of marijuana.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

on this thread.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

1) The message board at www.factnet.org 2) Go to Google, click the 'groups' tab and that enables you to search all the Google listserves. Sometimes material shows up on listserves earlier than anywhere else.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

To learn how very easily 'experiences of sound and light' can be induced in seeking, receptive persons, go here: To learn more about the Divine LIght Mission (Maharaji's organization) go here:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It may not be the topic (BDSM) thats the problem but that chat rooms are a way to feel connected without the complexity or messiness of real, face to face relationships. In cyberspace, people can construct masks, fictional identities, hide behind them. If someone really gets obsessed with this stuff their social skills can wither or (in the case of young persona) fail to develop. Best
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

Despite being called 'The Work' Byron Katie's material apparently has no tie to Fourth Way/Gurdjieff work. Only way to tell if a group or teacher is helpful or not is to look at long term effects reported by former participants and friends, relatives and family members of participants. A group or teacher that are helpful will foster autonomy and students will not feel pressured
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

These are general recommendations--like items of clothing in a store. They dont directly describe your former group but try them on as you would try out clothing in a store and see if any of this 'fits' 1) Prophetic Charisma by Len Oakes He surveyed 20 charismatic leaders and described their psychology. They all had a remarkable similar inner landscape and surprisingly similar life
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

It can get intense around here. Pace yourself. You live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, so take advantage of that.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Dear Ioanan: There are probably lots of different answers to your question. I am not a mental health professional, so test what I say against your observations. Our friends at pokrov.org may be able to guide you toward additional reading matter. There is an excellent book entitled 'Prophetic Charisma' by Len Oakes in which Oakes described how he interviewed 20 charismatic leaders
Forum: Destructive Churches