I came across this guy on Facebook; a page called Fundies Say The Darndest Things had an excerpt from his website, and man, what a website it is: At first glance I wondered if they had the link wrong -- this guy looked like some sort of wanna-be rock star/conspiracy theorist. Keep scrolling down and you'll see all sorts of buggy things. Apparently the numerology of his birth name eq
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Helen Newman, that is an excellent journal entry. I would like to see this information in the listing of cults and groups on the main part of this site. Good for you for getting out, and for spreading the word. Sounds like an awful place.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Ack! I had typed out a good response, then when I tried to post it I had to log in again. The whole post was lost. Well, I had thanked you Sandman for alerting us to this one. I tried watching a video then had to shut it off after about 2 minutes when I realized my prefrontal cortex was about to self-lobotomize. Reptile kings/gods? Well, every day I hear something new. That would be tod
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

It's a PDF file that requires downloading onto my computer. No thanks. I'm not overly fond of either candidate but I think the people who prefer Obama, do so for quite a variety of reasons that has nothing to do with hypnosis.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Haha! Thanks for posting this zeuzor! A cult I can actually swallow. ;)
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I think these are very funny! I'm not Mormon so I'm not offended, but I bet even some of the Mormons I do know would like a couple of those.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Sigh. More fear-based "teachings". Learn with us and you will receive protection from Satan! If you do not do this work you are giving in to Satan! Yeah, yeah, yeah. The evangelistic churches beat them to that one. That's old hat. Funny, the "leader" makes reference to the Golden Dawn, and the Hermetic Order in which he studied for 16 years. Aleister Crowl
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I love the "Rick Ross Flame Awards". :) Rick Ross must be incredibly thick-skinned. This site and forum have been an incredible public service for many people who are trying to sort out their minds after being in cults, or who are dealing with loved ones who have joined them. RR didn't have to set this up and maintain it, but he does. It is a calming voice of reason and I
Forum: Hate Groups

Horrible, Nettie. And an excellent example of their type of thinking. My condolences to you regarding your friend. What a terrible situation.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Maybe this isn't related but I also have 419-style spam in my Private Messages. Hmph.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Nettie, I love this! If I know anyone wanting to get into this crap, I'll refer them to this thread. (Sorry I can't "play", I can't think of anything that you haven't covered!) Thanks for doing this!
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Thanks very much for these guidelines, Hope. I have seen this kind of thing a lot and it has made me leery of many "natural" practitioners. ( I do know some good ones who aren't into the brainwashing thing, but this thread isn't about the ones I *do* like). I also had a woman try very very hard to sell me Nikken products, those "wellness" products that cure eve
Forum: Abusive and Controlling Relationships

This woman is some new age Oracle of Delphi? I wish I could remember exactly what I read about those oracles... But what I do remember is, the temple was built over some natural source of gas. This is what I can't recall exactly. Was it methane maybe? Anyway, these young women would be stuck in this room, with this gas seeping all over the place, and they would begin to hallucinate
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Daytripper: Often when people try to break away from an abusive person, especially a parent, they find themselves disappointed that the person continues to act the way they do. Your mother is what she is and right now SHE is not changing, you are. Anybody who tries to insist that you reconcile with your mother so early in the game needs to have their head shaken! Possible contact shouldn�
Forum: Abusive and Controlling Relationships

I'm sorry for your terrible experience, rickety. You're in the right place. Coercion and mind control are also issues covered on this board, as well as abusive relationships. These are not necessarily marriages only; your relationship to your mentor would also fit into this category. Read lots on here, keep posting and hang in there.
Forum: Abusive and Controlling Relationships

There are groups of people on the internet called "scambaiters". They reply to these scam letters with false identities and bizarre requests, making these scammers jump through all sorts of hoops and leading them on ad nauseum. A good site is: 419eaters.com The Letters Archive and Forum has some great details of what they did and how they did it. One scammer claimed he was dying
Forum: Multi Level Marketing and Commercial Schemes

Sallie, that would be hysterically funny if it were not true. This almost sounds like "National Lampoon Does Channelling" -- not a real film but if it were your post would be a direct quote. I'm sorry to hear about your family and I do hope they come to their senses, sooner than later. About channelling: Let's just say, just for the heck of this post, that it's true
Forum: Coercive Persuasion and Undue Influence

Thanks, Myownwill and Anticult for the personal anecdotes about this sect. I am interested in Buddhism in a casual sense (I can't see myself actually joining any religion anymore, at least not at this point) and would hate to waste time on stuff like the Soka Gakkai. Yet it's probably something I would have checked out at some point, as these flaky groups tend to make good publicity f
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteON2 LF RR is paid up, acquitted, and quite forgivable. Can't say the same for his enemies. Also, RR was quite young in the 70's but the same people who drag up his youthful escapades today are not young and are doing much worse things against humanity than RR could have even dreamt of doing. Those idiots need to grab a brain, do a little self-monitoring/reflection and hide t
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

*yawn* All this stuff is on this very website as well. Rick Ross makes no secret of his past. (1974 indeed. If he were so "evil" wouldn't his CV have more recent entries?...) He still garners more respect from people who have benefitted from his site and his work, than any LGAT leader ever will. LGATs may dazzle but Rick Ross can bring you down to earth and put both your
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

An article in this month's Scientific American Mind is about false recovered memories and Multiple Personality Disorder. The statistics in the article (I didn't check the online version all the way through but they are in the magazine itself) about the mental and emotional decline of patients in therapy, where they have been convinced of their split personalities and "satanic
Forum: Clergy and Therapy Abuse

Quote: The purposes of the Order are to bring together its approximately 100 monks, and 125 lay ministers and congregations into one harmonious branch of the sangha, and to assure to the public that the teachings and practices offered by our priests and lay ministers remain true to the Dharma Transmitted to her (Reverend Kennett). Is it usual Buddhist practice for a spiritual leader, in this
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Malcolm Westly WREST said: Post Script: (Have you been able to use the Private Message function at all our newly formatted RR forum...??? I've completely emptied my mail "tray" to be still informed that it's "100 %" full!!! and hence unavailable for use...!) If I may butt into this conversation: I have been trying to PM someone on here since this new b
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

What always surprises me is that people are willing to go on TV with their dirty laundry. Never ceases to amaze me. If I went on any show like that, or Maury or whatever, I would have to spend the rest of my life walking around with a bag over my head. A therapist in your post makes a good point, that if there are mental illness issues then a licensed therapist is a wiser choice than an untr
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

... Now it's The Opus! www.TheOpusMovie.com Another version of The Secret only with some sort of musical reference. Same cast of characters including "Dr." Joe Vitale. Coming to a theatre near you in 2008! Talk about advance promo.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hey, now you can buy some bent metal that, quote: "... clears and releases energetic blockages..." It is apparently a "...powerful spiritual tool..." and so on. It looks to be a pendant. It looks nice but I don't see how it'll clear my blockages. The website is: www.akaija.com This is not a cult. Just another way to suck money out of you under false pretens
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

From www.believermag.com: QuoteIn 1989, a man named Chuck Palahniuk enrolled in a Landmark Forum workshop. He was twenty-six years old and, like many of his co-participants, struggling with his life and what to do with it. Despite his lack of vocational direction, Palahniuk had no problem navigating his way to the closest exit after the first forty-five minutes of the workshop, repelled by the
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Vic-Luc wrote: QuoteSame thing with the writer of the novel, 'Fight Club,' Fight Club was written by Chuck Palahniuk, who, as far as I know, would walk into a place like Landmark with a suitcase full of rubber body parts and dump them in front of the facilitators during some especially touchy-feely part of the seminar. He would then say something like, "This is what is l
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I Googled "Mafu" and came up with a whack of sites about cults and skeptics, and one "Mafu" site, presumably the official one. Torres' squared jaw and pronounced muscles on her arms suggest either male hormones or steroids, for whatever reason. I have seen old videos of her -- for as long as I could stand them, anyway -- and although she was never deli
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I wasn't part of Thieme's group but was a member of a Christian cult for a few years when I was young. Leaving and questioning does leave one with an empty space; we conduct our lives based on what we know to be correct, and when that knowledge is shaken it is tough to know what to do. I spent the rest of my life examining religions (all) and spirituality, and philosophy even, to
Forum: Destructive Churches