Whoa.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Some behind the scenes nastiness has been alluded to and I want to allude to it a little more. A number of us have discussed it privately. Certain people seem to fancy themselves as having a great reputation and also seem to have become paranoid that their reputation may have become tarnished. Is it true? (All of a sudden I am appreciating that question. How about that.) Following
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Yeah, I'm so glad I found that post again. Question4truth was quite a "voice in the wilderness" back in early 2005. I find it so comforting to know I'm not the only one who has felt something is very "off" regarding The Work. Here are some things Question4truth said which really hit home for me: - I'm not sure if I said that the abuse shouldn'
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I've just discovered an important post about Byron Katie/The Work which was published on RR's message board back in 2005. It's from someone called "question4truth". Here it is: Quotequestion4truthI decided to join this messege board to get help and feedback for myself related to Byron Katie's and The Work. If there is anyone who has had experience with her, or w
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Well I've just discovered an important post about Byron Katie/The Work which was published on RR's message board back in 2005. It's from someone called "question4truth". Here it is: Quotequestion4truthI decided to join this messege board to get help and feedback for myself related to Byron Katie's and The Work. If there is anyone who has had experience with her,
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Good idea :-) Someone's been telling me about another resource for consumers: [Ripoff Report]
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotesolea13Some other disturbing aspects from the blog linked by helpme above: The writer talks about a blog post titled 'Grateful for Incest'. This title disturbed so many readers that she had to change it. In fact, she describes herself very bluntly as an incest survivor. Being 'grateful for incest' is something that Byron Katie encourages in incest victims by the proces
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I'd like to say something about the concept of Freedom of Speech. This message board is one powerful venue for it. If people are at all fearful of speaking up about involvement in troublesome groups, they might be comforted that at least in this forum, they are well-protected. Rick made the following announcement nearly a year ago: QuoterrmoderatorThe Ross Institute message board has
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteChristaAm I the last person to know that Sashen's wife, Lena Phoenix, is the author of the book The Heart of a Cult? It's a novel that's based on her personal experiences in at least one cult. I had a real WTF?!? moment whan I discovered that. I wonder if she posts here? Link to site: Yeah, that's really something. I actually read her book last year. I didn't
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotesolea13Helpme - I just read that blog you linked to above (Kabbalistic Marriage). The whole thing actually seems to be a pretty good example of all the things these 'turnarounds' do to people as has been described on this thread. The writer describes the intense & painful thought process she went through when the man she felt 'so married to' suddenly stops comunica
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

An addendum to my previous post... I've found a blog entry referencing Steven Sashen's "Quantum Wealth". At one point the person says: "I overwhelmed him with the Quantum Wealth worksheet on Sunday." The person does a "turnaround" on that thought: "I overwhelmed myself with the Quantum Wealth worksheet on Sunday." Hmmm. [Sha
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Steven Sashen's website home page has at times said the following: QuoteLast on the list, but first in my heart are "The Work" and Integrated Kabbalistic Healing. Of all the transformative things I've done that affected my life, these are the only two that demonstrably changed it. The Work and IKH make up a significant part of Quantum Wealth. I like to say that The Work le
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteThe AnticultAnd who has been the #1 internet apologetics poster for Byron Katie, outside of the BK websites, where analysis of Byron Katie is banned? Probably RandomStu Stuart Resnick, he's posted more than anyone about it. Stephen Mitchell probably asked him to do so, as they thought he could disrupt the analysis of Byron Katie, with his so-called Zen confusion tactics from the hypo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteThe AnticultOMG, did you read this ditty linked above, posted by Steven Sashen? FYI, that blog entry from The Macho Response is copied from Steven Sashen's "Anti-Guru Blog": [The day I stopped nodding my head]
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Previous posts about the head cock/tilt: [http://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?12,12906,59528#msg-59528] [http://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?12,12906,66859#msg-66859] Also, a YouTube video of Byron Katie with some head tilting going on: [Byron Katie - About Cancer]
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteJay CruiseI did find one article from six months ago where he discusses his practice and zen teacher in some detail yet doesn't name either. The teacher is japanese and was not deceased at the time of writing. I don't know Helpme if you found out anymore about Zendo (Kyudo) in Boulder, Colorado but founder Kanjuro Shibata XX is Japanese and currently not deceased. It seems highly l
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Once upon a time, Steven Sashen claimed the following on his website: "I am a former Curriculum Director for The School for The Work of Byron Katie and taught with Katie at the school." The above can be found at www.archive.org - at the "Wayback Machine" prompt, type "sashen.com/thework.htm" and hit "enter". A similar statement appears on the curr
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteConcernsWow I don't know why people criticize Oprah I like her she is just an interviewer and entertainer I don't run my life by what is on her show. Of course you are entitled to your opinion. But as Sallie pointed out above, Oprah is showcasing a number of people who could be considered snake oil salesmen. (Er, salespeople.) And she has a lot of influence on at least some of
Forum: Celebrities associated with "cult-like" groups

Great article, thanks for posting this.
Forum: Multi Level Marketing and Commercial Schemes

QuoteThe AnticultThe Byron Katie internal Thought Police snitch-line is now open for business. The "Open Forum" at The Institute For The Work site continues to be closed. Janaki's information remains online. When my brother was a detective, he occasionally worked with informants. Sometimes they were a big pain in the ass, but it was worth working with them because they ofte
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Corboy, FYI, your mailbox is full! H
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteConcernsHi everyone My situation may be different to most here. I have never been involved in any cult but a member of my family is heading down that path and I am concerned. Is there any support group for family members of those involved? Thanks Hi, I know there are groups around for relatives/friends of cult members. It depends on where you're located. Here's one exam
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I'd like to say a thing or two about "working" with facilitators of Byron Katie's Work. I will not name any names here. I have already mentioned working with at least one facilitator. There may have been others I've had dealings with. I don't feel comfortable saying more about that at this time. The thing is, I am not the only one who has had problems with fa
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Corboy, thanks for the excellent post. So much food for thought... I'll pick out one thing you said: "One cannot accomplish that task by using word games to confuse the mind into supressing and disowning what one has experienced." I am reminded of the sad case of Rochelle Laudenslager, former facilitator of The Work, now behind bars. [Murder Suspect Claimed Self-Help P
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In a recent Guruphiliac blog entry, "What Enlightenment" Reignites, someone took Stuart Resnick, aka RandomStu, to task for some of his online behavior. Jody/Guruphiliac defended Stu, saying, "To be honest, I find these criticisms of Stuart totally lame. The only reason I'm posting them is because it provides Stuart more contrast from which to make his points." I&#
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteMeadowI just found out that within the BK circles the word is going around that some crazy lady from Europe is spreading lies about Katie. Yikes! If that's true (is it true?), then I wonder who started the rumor? I'd like to do a turnaround on the thought, "Some crazy lady from Europe is spreading lies about Katie". Turnaround: Some crazy lady in America is sprea
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Charlie Hayes has gone back on his word. Earlier this year he stated: "So for this New Year I have removed the 130+ videos from YouTube. I refuse to feed this addiction! I shall for the most part let those who want to play guru continue to constantly express this in more, different and better ways on YouTube. I for ONE have had enough already!" As of today, he has a bunch of
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteCruzQuoteThe Anticultby the way, there appears to have some dissent in the now closed Open Forum at the Institute For The Work website? Questions about the cockroach story, questions about the books being copied from other books, etc. So they closed the Open Forum. Bye bye freedom of thought, and open discussion. An interesting bit of information came up, regarding Byron Katie’s no longe
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteshaktiGuruphiliac: Human, has flaws. However, does not deserve to be lumped in with Random Stu. He does not always see the flaws in some of the groups he DOESN'T attack. However, unlike Stu, he doesn't continually attack cult survivors for their weakness and doesn't dismiss the notion of mind control in the manner that Stu does. He is about supporting cult survivors, not attac
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

From a look at his website this morning, it seems that Steven Sashen is still distancing himself from "The Work". I say "it seems" because I don't know for sure. After all, one can still find references to him doing The Work at various places online. For example: [http://www.alternativesmagazine.com/36/sashen.html] [http://www.templepriestess.com/Health%20&%
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"