Am amazed Starbucks coffee made it big in Sweden. Their coffee is OK by American standards. But it isnt nearly as good as the Swedish method coffee my mother made us for breakfast every morning. Mom used ordinary Folgers brand coffee, but used the method taught to her by her Swedish grandmother--egg coffee, open kettle method. What resulted from Mom's following Great Grandma�
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Note this material is from an essay written for those interested in Hindu doctrines of nonduality. But some of the material applies to Buddhist practitioners as well. The essay lists nine areas of misunderstanding common when Hindu Advaita and Buddhist forms of nonduality are misinterpreted. This is a very small excerpt. The author of the essay is Mr Timothy Conway. QuoteBuddha, Nâ
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

One can assess a teacher by the behavior of his or her students. Courteous and kind teachers foster courteous and kind behavior in students. Real Dharma teachers dont feel any need for protection and dont feel any need to ask students to defend them. Courteous and kind teachers encourage students to behave kindly toward all, including toward those who are NOT followers of that teacher an
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Neo-Advaita or Pseudo-Advaita and Real Advaita-Nonduality —Traps and Pitfalls in the “Neo-Advaita” or “Pseudo-Advaita” form of Advaita (Nondual) Spirituality —and discussions of Indian sage Papaji (HWL Poonja), German neo-advaita teacher Karl Renz, and others —and a discussion of money-charging and Advaita spirituality —and a conversation on Advaita instruction in the West Cop
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

From another part of the Mahayana Buddhist World--Soto Zen How Do You Know You are Practicing Correctly? This story was from Zen teacher Uchiyama Roshi, telling of a man who wanted to practice Zen meditation. He apparently said nothing about wanting his family to share his practice. But he wanted to know how to tell whether he was doing his Zen practice correctly when at home: Quote &q
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Historically, the French government has been alert to anything or anyone that starts functioning as the equivalent of a state-within-the-state. It goes back to the centuries when French monarchs sought to limit the power of barons who controlled enough property and troops to thwart royal authority---and, later, after the Revolution, republican government authority. In the 16th century Franc
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Point #4 is especially pertinent. And the graphics are terrific.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hey SK, are you trying to get yourself booted off of RR.com so you can get promoted within your organization? You sound just like the other types who show up here.
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

This entire discussion thread includes a discussion of the LEC disclaimer form mentioned by Anticult. The situation referred to happened August 24 2008--so its recent. My husband lost his job b/c he would not do the LANDMARK FORUM The intense public criticism SeanK refers to is from people whose lives are being disrupted. That's far beyond 'criticism'. Its bearing witn
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Three things saved me from doing EST when pressured to do so by the head of our graduate school program (in 1981 the impropriety of a powerholder doing such proslytization was not yet understood) 1) I was so busy doing my f--ing assigned schoolwork that the last thing I wanted was to lose an entire weekend to doing EST. 2) People were not yet living on credit. So my classmates and I didnt
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Here is smalll quotatin from a form issued by a very typical LGAT. The entire thing can be read by accessing the URL. ; Note that they refer to bipolar: QuoteWhile it is ultimately your choice, OUR ADVISORS STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU SHOULD NOT PARTICIPATE in the Program if you: (a) have a personal or family history of bi-polar affective disorder (manic-depressive disorder), schizop
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

If J. arranges to get himself banned from RR.com, its worth asking whether this might actually add to his prestige or give him promotion within whaterver group he hangs out with. So far we have had no one comfirm that any group has ever encouraged or required them to misbehave on RR.com as a condition for entry or promotion. Such a person could even brag in LGAT circles about elicited X
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Before Joining any Group--Aspiring Artists Should Take Care to Protect Their Own Intellectual Property - Both Present and Future A really good thing to say to someone you care about who is hell bent on going off to join a questionable group is: "If you get ill or stressed out and need a place to recover and some chicken soup, feel free to call me and I will pick you up." That
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

According to the accounts given in the Greek Scriptures, Jesus didnt make anyone sign disclaimers. (Ha. Can you imagine how valuable one of those would be if a copy turned up amongst the Oxyrrhynchus papyi--and could be authenticated//?) Instead, going by the canonical gospel narratives, Jesus warned his Jewish followers that if they got involved with him, their families would reject them (
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

To repeat an earlier remark made in the context of Anticult describing franchising and disclaimers: NO GENUINE GIRL PAL (or Best Buddy) WILL EVER MAKE YOU SIGN THE KIND OF DISCLAIMER FORM THAT ANTICULT HAS MENTIONED ABOVE. People who wanna hang onto their power are the ones who do that. They are not your 'friends', no matter how good an act they do of seeming cozy and egalit
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Georg Feurstein was involved with Adi Da and wrote a book Holy Madness in two editions after leaving Da. The first edition was published in the very early 1990s and the second edition was published in 2007 or 2008. Feurstein seems to take the stance that allegedly enlightened gurus as enlightened beings, behave in paradoxical ways and that their behavior cannot be judged by conventional sta
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Years ago in an anthropology class, the teacher told us something that went like this (paraphrase from hazy memory): 'If you arrive to make first contact with a society that has not yet dealt with strangers, the first people willing to contact you are probably not fully members of that society. For some reason they may be marginal. They may even be considered trouble makers or have gr
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

One this bit about levels and ascended masters sounds like its derived from Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy teachings. Many other entrepreneurs/euses borrowed from Blavatsky's system to cook up their own--Elizabeth Claire Prophet (Church Universal and Triumphant), Paul Brunton (more obscure), etc. This sounds like classic bait and switch. At first its all about healing and friendship
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

On this thread there is an article where I played Scrabble and raised the possibility that one of the names used in AMORC might have been derived from a much older source than AMORC..namely Mme Blatvatsky's Theosophy--and all that was done was to take the material and change the names a bit. If you are recovering, one thing to try might be to go to the reference to the dictionary of t
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

Quotearound page 88, Michael Beckwith is telling tall tales of meeting with a Shaman named Baba in Ghana Africa. He says that these Shaman can shapeshift, (shamanic shapeshifting) and literally change their physical form. Baba an 80 year old man, changed himself into a woman, and his voice came out of a tree, telling Beckwith he was going to be involved in bringing "world peace".
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

A person named 'nirmal' made a number of posts. Go to the upper right hand corner of the RR.com message board window and find the search button. Inside, you can do an author search. Put nirmal in the author search window and then select 'all forums' and 'all dates' in the relevant slots. That search will give you a list of the posts nirmal has made, some o
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

You may be able to find some information if you correspond here. Elias, the webmaster, is very well informed. Registration for this site is free. C
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

12 step groups are like sea faring ships. Theyre OK The problem is barnacles and borer worms that hitch onto the ship's hull. Eventually, this can drag the ship and borer worms can cause water to leak in and the ship to founder. Unless the ship is brought periodically into dry dock and scraped, parasitic damage to the hull can accumulate. By itself, 12 step has a lot of time test
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteThe Work is not a substitute for the treatment of mental health or medical conditions and is undertaken at your own risk. Okay. Who even wants to admit one has a mental health condition? Who even wants to admit they need to go to a physician? To do that means admitting 1) You have a problem you cant take care of via your own resources--and lots of us hate to admit this.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Someone actually tried to get me involved with BKs stuff. She approached me after I was fragile, following some disclosures I made that shook me up a bit. This had been during an Alanon group meeting. Alanon is a 12 step group for those affected by alcohol abuse in the family. I stayed courteous and replied that I already use tools provided by licensed mental health professionals and know h
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Alan Watts ended up as an alcoholic and married and dumped a series of wives, and left them with children to raise. He was a terrific writer, but could not live out Zen in his private life. One of the Buddhist precepts is to forbid abuse of sexuality and another of the grave precepts warns against darkening mind and body of self and other with intoxicants. Watts was one of the early gene
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Dear QD: This is something to do in private. Dont share it on the board as you dont want to give anyone information that can be used against you. In private, examine that word, 'arrogant.' Ask yourself if anyone in your life ever used that word to shame you and knock you down. Then select the image of your own choice to contain and remove that person from your life.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

If you ever feel shamed, burdened or just weirded out from any sort of PM you get from someone, send a copy to Mr Ross. You are not obligated to keep a secret for anyone if you are being made to feel confused or unsafe within the PM system. The PM function is meant for support and encouragement, not as a venue for bullying. And do not allow anyone to con you into feeling afraid to com
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteIn her first forty-three years, she had known wealth and power, lost and regained more than once, but she was bitter and self-destructive, and her family watched helplessly as she raged against life and her own being. Her second husband, Paul, suffered four heart attacks as he struggled to keep the family together and look after his wife, who clung to him in her despair and yet could off
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Call it rumour or whatever you want. But put Byron Katies name in one slot on google and do plastic surgery or face lift in the exact phrase slot and though she doenst officially confirm it, it has certainly been mentioned and she has not seen fit to deny it. But let us not distract this from the way her facilitators and those taking the Work have to sign (or mouse click away) thier rights
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"