Some resource sites for Native American Spirituality, written by Native Americans The moderators make it clear that the content is their opinion. But researchers may find helpful information here. Compare with other sources. On another website in an article entitled 'Plastic Medicine Men'(you will have to scroll down to find it there are additional articles.) Finally, a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

we have plenty of links about Landmark. Just go to the main menu on the RR.com homepage, look at the left sidebar, go to the 'groups database', then go to 'L' . Click 'L', and then click 'Landmark.' You'll find articles by research psychologists, mental health professionals and many, many reports from persons who have done Landmark. And this
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

But his wife (your sister) and teenaged daughters may be at risk. Adidam has quite a track record. At the very least, if your brother has a chance to visit the guru, his wife and daughters should stay away, for their own protection. Adidam moved to the south pacific in the early 1980s after he was forced to pay a legal settlement to women who had filed lawsuits after he'd molested them.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

There are academic anthropologists (Phil C Weigand and Jay Courtney Fikes) who would argue that it is highly questionable whether one can separate shamanism from specific culture. He writes: 'Americans lack the group learning process, or shared function (Fikes, 1978) of the Yaqui and Huichol.. 'New Age seminars occur within a stratified social system resembling those of India and
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Even when people do leave families to join Buddhist or Christian monastic orders, there is often a leave taking process, you say good bye to family and friends, give an explanation, a mourning ritual for them to go through with you. In mature spiritual practice, one works with and through existing relationships--you dont just abandon those relationships with no explanation, unless there is ve
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

First, no responsible spiritual teacher, healer or group would ever encourage someone to cut off ties to a spouse, friends and adult children as you describe your mother doing. You'll need to get additional information to determine whether it is standard practice in this group to encourage members to sever ties with family and friends. It may sometimes happen that a group may be OK, b
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

Kopp did the SELP training and worked as a volunteer for LEC. Kopp points out (at the end of the article) that the verbal material in LEC feels powerful and meaningful only when subjects stay within the atypical, tightly scripted physical and social setting engineered by LEC.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Started by a woman whose husband got involved with the Sterling set up. The thread got a huge number of views--it elicited a great deal of interest. If you read through the entire thread, around page 2 or 3, 'elena' one of our members quoted material from a former Landmark staffer, describing (with deep regret) what he did during his days as a Forum Leader. Read Drew Kopp
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

First, people know what RR.com is about when they come here. And they come here because they've chosen to--including those who disagree. No one kidnaps you and chains you to your computer terminal, puts a gun to your head and yells, 'Log on to culteducation.com!' Nope. We have 'www.culteducation.com' on our address bars because we've chosen to come here.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Thanks again to Concerned OZ for finding this! Invisible Bodies, the Disinherited, and the Production of Space in the Landmark Forum by Drew Kopp Kopp's 40 page paper is the mental equivalent of a triathlon--gruelling, but well worth it. At the end, he comments: 'I would contend that this is a fundamental inauthenticity of Landmark Education, to use its own term to describe
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Dont go nuts trying to analyse the semantics. It is like trying to calculate the number of digits in PI--you'll go on forever and never reach an end to it. If you consider Kopp's descriptions of the uncomfortable room arrangements, -you'll be able to spot similar layouts elsewhere and stay out of the room. THis is just my guess but from what Kopp has written and former part
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

who initiated him as a renunciate (sanyassi) monk in the early 1950s. Before, he'd been a Ramakrishna monk two years & was kicked out of his monastery for asking too many questions. Reading Bharati may piss you off and rub salt in your wounds, but despite his lousy 'bedside manner' the man is on your side, telling you the truth to the best of his ability--more than can b
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

They sponsor an event in San Francisco called the Saint Stupid's Day Parade, every April 1st. All you need to do to participate is be stupid in public. Its radical. There is NO way you can screw up. (In a cult, there are a million ways to screw up, so you're tense all the time) One person had a sign, 'Use a God, go to jail'. Another sign read, 'God bless
Forum: Hate Groups

The Room Arrangement Deserves Our Close Attention All of these are guesses, but are educated guesses based on material from persons who participated in Landmark. Concerned OZ and kittypaw have found the URL for a paper written by Drew Kopp a former LEC volunteer who had set up rooms for many such events and who wrote a scholarly analysis of the special features of the LEC seminar room set
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

The article 'A Hot Potato' analyses a common, dishonest mind game used by people who seek to avoid accountability for their bad behavior by twisting nonduality teachings. Most of us fall for this game, because we don’t even know how common it is. (Disclaimer: I found the 'Hot Potato' article very helpful. I have not read any of the other articles on the site
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It is called 'gaslighting' The term comes from the old days when rooms were lit using gaslight flames. I cannot remember the name of the movie or the exact details, but the scenario went like this: This husband decides to drive his wife crazy. He does so by covertly manipulating the physical environment. He turns down the gaslights, pretends he has not. Or at other times, he t
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

OZ wrote above: 'However, even knowing that the philosophy is misguided, it takes a much longer time for them to change their behaviours back to pre LE times. A classic is the learned behaviour of aggressiveness towards others which was formally backed up by not having any fear, (Saturday Night exercise)' Neurologists have identified a process called 'kindling.' The mor
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

(quote) Look for words and images that stimulate you to • remember personal experiences • generates strong emotional responses • create confusion* • seem illogical.* The purpose of such words or images is *to overload you either intellectually or to emotionally tire you* in such a way that you 'escape' to a fantasy or dream,
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

If you're punched in the face, they'll say its your fault if your nose bleeds. You're 'responsible' because your face was in the trajectory of the bully's fist. That the New Age bully *was responsible for throwing that punch in your direction* is totally ignored. Its the New Age version of the cardsharks aphorism: 'It is morally wrong to allow su
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

There is some superb new material posted on the Tantra Fraud thread. Wordgirl, Leopardgirl and survivors of Gentle Wind may be especially interested! Go to the most recent posts on the Tantra Fraud thread This article really stood out. I plan to copy it as a Word document for my home files. This article is excellent, too
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Wordgirl, Leopardgirl and survivors of Gentle Wind may be especially interested! Go to the most recent posts on the Tantra Fraud thread This article really stood out. I plan to copy it as a Word document for my home files. This article is excellent, too
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Its best to just screen your calls. Some LGAT alumni have reported that they were under pressure to bring in as many recruits as possible. So dont waste your energy. Let the phone take the calls, and if necessary change numbers.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

'my theory is that on one level it's very complex... but on another it's completely simple to just walk away.' Thats like saying that with just a little more awareness you can win at a game of marked cards, not knowing its a game of marked cards. They talk about freedom, but freedom is excluded in problematic LGATs. To use the concept by Janja Lalitch, its likely that a
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

that they know how to palm contact lenses. It may be possible to get a set of custom made mirrored contact lenses and then slip them in. Many of the seemingly magical tricks and miracles done by gurus are actually stage magic using slight-of-hand. If someone can roll their eyes back into their heads, with just the white showing, and if lights are angled just the right way, couldth that hav
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I first wondered about room set up when I attended a lecture given by an obscure group. This was a traditionalist Catholic group, so the lecture began with recitation of the rosary. All that chanting, combined with the dry atmosphere in the room was guaranteed to leave us feeling parched with thirst. The organizers had a tray with glasses of ice water available at break, and I guzzled that
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Tunno, while you monitor how your friend is doing, reading this material may help you identify what he’s going through. 1) ‘Post Landmark Concentration Syndrome’ 2) If you go to page 5 of this thread, look for posts by ‘nycupperes’. 'nycupperes' did a content analysis of personals ads from Landmark graduates and non-
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

'I am not a mental therapist but I do work with bodywork and healing.' Then, after being challenged, backtracked and said his wife was the one who did psychotherapy. If you're having trouble keeping the facts straight about what you and your wife do, how can we trust you to give an honest, accurate assessment of ISKON? And it is interesting that you've returned as soo
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

classic move is for characters of this kind to create lineages for themselves. And if someone claims time in India, we are apt to believe it--plus its hard to fact check what someone has done or where they've been while in India. She may or may not have been involved with the Maharishi. But if she was, Maharishi was one of the earliest and most successful of the export gurus. He targeted
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Brad Warner, author of Hardcore Zen, puts it something like this: If you hand your power over to a real teacher, he or she gives your power right back to you. Only a fake teacher will allow you to surrender your inner voice/authority to her. I am certain that your leader must have spent time with other groups and gurus, and learned her own bag of tricks. Many of these charismatic types
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

(Note: I am not a mental health professional. This advice is meant to supplement any work you do with a counselor and is not a substitute for professional guidance.) 1) Start writing this down. Examine the entire social context of this group and its leader. This will take some time, and you may have to update this as you gain new insights. Get a ring binder so you can insert pages, if you pref
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"