Earlier Posts, Part 3
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To an American Sufi Scholar:
Salaam, I was interested to hear your recent remarks on the state of American Sufism on a podcast sponsored by Ibrahim Jaffe's group. I also found your audio interview with a couple of the other authors of your book. I read your entry in the book as well as that of PhD candidate on the Sufi farm. I was rather delighted at first blush to find scholastic interest in what I had surmised was mostly a detour of well off the main highway of Western Sufism. To be perfectly honest, my interest in the progress of American Sufism only persists to the extent that I have relatives and former friends still involved. I personally find most of it rather hierarchical and irrelevant to my own personal path. Not to speak of the plague of amateurs infecting whatever original integrity it might have had. Not to criticize anyone else, but as you may see, I have run the gauntlet with it all and am done. Though I wish any sincere seeker of any stripe more success that I may have ...
The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power
by Joel Kramer and Diana Alsted
"When abuses are publicly exposed, the leader either denies or justifies the behaviors by saying that 'enemies of the truth' or 'the forces of evil' are trying to subvert his true message. Core members of the group have a huge vested interest in believing him, as their identity is wrapped up in believing in his righteousness. Those who begin to doubt him at first become confused and depressed, and later feel betrayed and angry. The ways people deny and justify are similar: Since supposedly no one who is not enlightened can truly understand the motives of one who is, any criticism can be discounted as a limited perspective. Also, any behavior on the part of the guru, no matter how base, can be imputed to be some secret teaching or message that needs deciphering."
By holding gurus as perfect and thus beyond ordinary explanations, their presumed specialness can be used to justify anything. Some deeper, occult reason can always be ascribed to anything a guru does: The guru is said to take on the karma of others, and that is why his body has whatever problems it has.
People justify and rationalize in gurus what in others would be considered unacceptable because they have a huge emotional investment in believing their guru is both pure and right." (p.52)
"So disciples believe they are loved unconditionally, even though this love is conditional on continued surrender. Disciples in the throes of surrender feel they have given up their past, and do not, consciously at least, fear the future…Feeling totally cared for and accepted, at the universe's center, powerful, and seemingly unafraid of the future are all achieved at the price of giving one's power to another, thus remaining essentially a child." (p.56)
It is not unusual to be in an authoritarian relationship and not know it. In fact, knowing can interfere with surrender. Any of the following are strong indications of belonging to an authoritarian group:
1. No deviation from the party line is allowed. Anyone who has thoughts or feelings contrary to the accepted perspective is made to feel wrong or bad for having them.
2. Whatever the authority does is regarded as perfect or right. Thus behaviors that would be questioned in others are made to seem different and proper.
3. One trusts that the leader or others in the group know what's best.
4. It is difficult to communicate with anyone not in the group.
5. One finds oneself defending actions of the leader (or other members) without having firsthand knowledge of what occured.
6. At times one is confused and fearful without knowing why. This is a sign that doubts are being repressed." (p.57)
"Traditional gurus teach what they were taught. Most gurus' training is through example-watching their own guru. They learn to recognize, reinforce, and reward surrender, and to negate non-surrender. Aside from more tangible rewards, they reinforce devotion with attention and approval, and punish it by withdrawing them. Though some gurus say that doubts are healthy, they subtly punish them. Doubt is not the way to get into the inner circle." (p.62)
"People whose power is based on the surrender of others develop a repertoire of techniques for deflecting and undermining anything that questions or challenges their status, behavior, or beliefs. They ridicule or try to confuse people who ask challenging questons." (p.66)
"Is experiencing intense energy a sign of spirituality, or is the experience in the same vein as young ladies who swoon in the presence of rock stars?" (p.68)
"Gurus undercut reason as a path to understanding . When they do allow discursive inquiry, they often place the highest value on paradox. Paradox easily lends itself to mental manipulaton. No matter what position you take, you are always shown to be missing the point; the point being that the guru knows something you do not." (p.74)
Additional quotes from
The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power
by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad
"Now through media images, leaders of all sorts can charismatically control far more people than ever before, without having any personal connection with them." (p.43)
"Cults need a continuous stream of recruits and potential converts to reinforce the belief that they're "where it's at" - the vanguard of spirituality on the planet." (p.78)
"As long as the guru still sees the possibility of realizing his ambitions, the way he exercises power is through rewarding the enthusiasms of his followers with praise and positions in his hierarchy. He also whets and manipulates desire by offering 'carrots,' and promising that through him the disciples' desires will be realized, possibly even in this lifetime. The group itself becomes an echo of the guru, with the members filling each other's needs. Within the community there is a sense of both intimacy and potency, and a celebratory, party-like atmosphere often reigns. Everything seems perfect;everyone is moving along the appropriate spiritual path. The guru is relatively accessible, charming, even fun. All dreams are realizable - even wonderful possibilities beyond one's ken." (p.78)
"What most proselytizing groups face is how to sell their beliefs without appearing to do so. Recruiting is therefore always done in the name of helping or doing some kind of good…to care about others is to get them to join." (p.79)
"A particular form of seduction that the group participates in with those flirting with joining is similar to sexual conquest. The group pours an enormous amount of focused energy and attention into potential recruits until they surrender to the group's authority, which of course has the guru and his belief system at its center. When someone does surrender, everyone celebrates the new bonding. This is a bit like a new marriage, and for the recruit, it is the honeymoon phase. This lasts as long as it does, and then the focus of the group shifts elsewhere. (This also happens in romantic love, for after the conquest the wooer's interest and focus move somewhere else.) When the honeymoon is over, the new converts must shift roles - from being the wooed to being the wooer." (p.79)
"The glorification of work always involves improving the leader's property (the commune or ashram), increasing his wealth, or some grandiose project." (p.83)
"Since adulation from any one person eventually becomes boring, gurus do not need any specific disciple - they need lots of them. Gurus do give special attention to those with wealth and power." (p.89)
"…sex scandals go with the occupation of the guru because of its [the position's] emotional isolation and eventual boredom. Disciples are just there to serve and amuse the guru who, after all, gives them so much. The guru's temptation is exacerbated by the deep conditioning in many women to be attracted to men in power." (p.93)
"Because of the nature of the relationship which demands total surrender, gurus do exactly the opposite. They cultivate and reward transference, for a parental type of authority is at the very core of the guru's power over disciples. The power to name, arrange marriages, and dictate duties and behavior are ultimates in parental authority. To give someone the power to name or marry you is to profoundly accept their parental role in defining who you are. The ostensible motivation behind this has to do with an attempt to break the ties of the past so the person can become 'new'. A deeper reason is that this aids the guru in becoming the center of the person's emotional life, which facilitates surrender." (p.105)
More quotes from
The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power
by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad
"Successful gurus, rock stars, charismatic leaders of any sort, experience the intensity of adulation amplified beyond most people's ken. This can make ordinary relationships pale by comparison. Being the recipient of such adulation and devotion is exceedingly addictive. Here addiction is used in its loose sense to mean mechanically needing an on-going 'fix' of adulation to where it becomes the central focus of one's life. Adulation has powerful emotions for the sender as well, and can be easily mistaken for love. It is likewise addicting for the sender, as it is an easy route to feelings of passion." (p.112)
"Why would even the most realized of beings want people to become reliant on his wisdom instead of their own?" (p.108)
"The myriad scandals around SEX, MONEY, and POWER that have tainted so many gurus are not surprising, given the structural corruptibility of the role." (p.113)
"…The ex-disciples world has turned on its head: What the guru and group presented as unconditional love was conditional upon accepting their authority; the egoless guru was found to be on a manipulative, even crass, power trip. For people who surrendered totally to a guru and thus experienced passion more deeply than ever before, seeing "THE EMPORER WEARS NO CLOTHES" can be devastating. So it's no wonder people have tremendous resistance to anything that causes them to doubt the veracity of the authority." (p.152)
"The most extreme form of mental control occurs when the authority is trusted completely and becomes the center of one's identity. Sadly, society and parents insidiously put out messages from childhood on that others know what's best. Many people are deeply conditioned to expect and hope some outside agency, power or person will solve their problems. Letting go of expectations or even wanting this is difficult, partially because what one is left with is oneself and all of one's limitations." (p.154)
"True healing can be accelerated by understanding the deep mechanisms of what happened, and of authoritarian dynamics in general. Then people can be more confident they won't be taken in again." (p.154)
"There are three primary reasons why intelligent, educated people with stable backgrounds can be drawn into cults. First, there is a pervasive lack of awareness about cults and mind control. Even when cult issues are covered in the media, mind control is frequently ignored or at best misunderstood. I cant' tell you how many times I've been on a talk show where the host asks a cult member, "Are you brainwashed?" The cult member replies, "No, of course not." As if the cult member would actually say, "yes!" What the host fails to realize is that the mind-controlled member will not know that he has surrendered control until he is able to step away from the group and learn about cult recruitment and indoctrination."
ReplySteve Hassan - Releasing the Bonds, pg.86
Listen, I was in Sidi's cult for many years. Here's the deal.
Money,money,money. Go on their website. Look at how expensive the books are. And as a few people have already said, it's regurgitated new age nonsense. Only instead of Xenu it's Mohammed that has all these mystical powers.
Brainwashing. You must copy his $40 book by hand when you join. It's hundreds of pages long.
Brainwashing. It is a fact that they get together at Amina's house on Fridays and chant formulas written by Sidi. All night long. They literally stop at sunrise.
I can't comment on any sexual improprieties because I never witnessed or heard of any when I was with the group.
It's true that jaffe charges for cancer cures though.
Yes! You're right.
Behavioral-Control System Methods Used to Support a Behavioral-Control System
Induced dissociation and other altered states by putting person in mild form of trance (through chanting, repeating affirmations, extended periods of meditation or prayer, etc)
Assignment of monotonous tasks or repetitive activities, such as chanting or meditating, or cleaning or copying written materials or rote administrative work.
read the entire list and more at
cultresearch.org
Great example from the TODAY SHOW
February 20,2016
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxz4xr4cT5o
DR. DREW: excellent discussion
Replydrdrew.com/132/
(podcast #132)
Haha this is the same person over and over again pretending to be different people so to look like you have a following. Get a life
ReplyNope. I post anonymously because it isn't safe for me to do otherwise. Also have no interest in receiving backlash from beloveds trying to fix or save me.
Me too. Since you 'get it' and have the ability to cut through all the BS you help a lot of people. Many thanks.
I met Shaykh Ibrahim twice at the compound in Northern California. It struck me as a somewhat desperate place, in need of huge infusions of money to get it going, and I was not surprised to later hear that the Shaykh publicly admitted to mishandling funds for the group. I *was* surprised a few months later to receive a letter advertising a course by the shaykh on money management.
ReplyPersonally, I was somewhat put off by his personality, but I have problems with authority and try to allow for that. I was also involved with Scientology for about 4 years, one of them at the world headquarters where I could directly observe their techniques, and I did not see cult techniques in play at the ranch. However, two meetings is not enough to judge a teacher. I did correspond with one of the beloveds who was broke and desperate and had no place to live and no income. I felt for her, but I was not in a position to do more than pray for her.
I would close by reminding you of one of the most powerful epigrams in Sufism, which I have found to be completely true: A sincere student can turn a false teacher into a true teacher.
Hamza abdulQahhar an-Naqshbandi
CULT RECRUITING TECHNIQUES
ReplyHere are some key warning signs that may indicate a cult is trying to recruit you:
Hyped Meetings
Rather than explain to you what the group believes or what their program is up front, they will instead insist that you can only understand if you come to a group meeting. There everyone around you will seem so enthusiastic that you will start to think there is something wrong with you. They create an environment where you will feel uncomfortable and the only way to become comfortable is to join them. This is an application of controlled peer pressure.
Intense Unrelenting Pressure
They call repeatedly. Trick you into coming for only an hour and then lead you into a long study, meeting or talk. They have to keep the pressure on, otherwise you might snap out of the mind control environment they are trying to immerse you in.
THEY TELL YOU THAT THEY ARE NOT A CULT.
This is a preemptive strike against the warnings from friends and family members which they know will come. In fact, some cults go so far as to tell you that Satan will try and dissuade you by sending family members and friends to tell you it is a cult. When this tactic is used then often a warped form of logic occurs in the recruits' mind, the "agents of Satan" do come and tell them that it is a cult. So since the group predicted that would happen, the group therefore must be true! Basically if any group tells you that they are not a cult, or that some people call them a cult, then for goodness sake find out why!
WARNING SIGNS
(not all necessary)
Single charismatic leader.
People always seeming happy and enthusiastic.
Instant friends.
If you are told who you can or cannot talk to or associate with.
They hide what they teach.
Say they are the only TRUE group, or the best so why go anywhere else.
Hyped meetings, get you to meetings rather than share with you.
Experiential rather than logical.
Asking for money for the next level.
Saying that they have to make people pay for it because otherwise they will not appreciate it. This is of course a very silly reason, plenty of people are able to appreciate things which they did not pay for.
Cults know that if they can control your relationships then they can control you. Whether we like it or not we are all profoundly affected by those around us. When you first go to a cult they will practice "love bombing", where they arrange instant friends for you. It will seem wonderful, how could such a loving group be wrong? But you soon learn that if you ever disagree with them, or ever leave the cult then you will lose all your new "friends". This unspoken threat influences your actions in the cult. Things that normally would have made you complain will pass by silently because you don't want to be ostracized. Like an unhealthy relationship love is turned on and off to control.
Cults also try to cut you off from your friends and family because they hate others being able to influence you. A mind control cult will seek to maneuver your life so as to maximize your contact with cult members and minimize your contact with people outside the group, especially those who oppose your involvement.
REPORTING STRUCTURE
Everyone is encouraged to watch out for "struggling" brothers and sisters and report what they see to leadership. Cult leaders will then use this information to convince their members that they have a supernatural link, the trusting member does not suspect the very natural mechanism behind the supernatural revelations they are given.
TIME CONTROL
Mind control cults keep their members so busy with meetings and activities that they become too busy and too tired to think about their cult involvement.
Time control also helps the cult keep their members immersed in the manufactured cult environment.
And time control helps keep members away from friends and family.
Many posts and links by Moriarty at
sunniport.com/index.php?threads/cult-mind-control.11128/page-1
What is mind control?
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the detriment of the person being manipulated.
Such methods include:
-extensive control of information in order to limit alternatives from which members may make "choices";
-deception;
-group pressure;
-intense indoctrination into a belief system that denigrates independent critical thinking and considers the world outside the group to be threatening, evil, or gravely in error;
-an insistence that members' distress-much of which may consist of anxiety and guilt subtly induced by the group-can be relieved only by conforming to the group;
-physical and/or psychological debilitation through inadequate diet or fatigue;
-the induction of dissociative (trance-like) states (via the misuse of meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, and other exercises) in which attention is narrowed, suggestibility heightened, and independent critical thinking weakened;
-alternation of harshness/threats and leniency/love in order to effect compliance with the leadership's wishes;
-isolation from social supports;
-and pressured public confessions.
There appear to be three overlapping stages:
DECEPTION
Recruits are duped into believing that the group is benevolent and will enrich their lives by, for example, advancing their spirituality or increasing their self-esteem and security. As a result of this deception and the systematic use of highly manipulative techniques of influence, recruits come to commit themselves to the group's prescribed ways of thinking , feeling, and acting; in other words, they become members or converts.
DEPENDENCY
By gradually isolating members from outside influences, establishing unrealistically high and guilt-inducing expectations, punishing any expressions of "negativity", and denigrating independent, critical thinking, the group causes members to become extremely dependent on the group's compliance-oriented expressions of love and support.
DREAD
Once a state of dependency is firmly established, the group's control over members' thoughts, feelings, and behavior is strengthened by the members' growing dread of losing the group's psychological support, however much it may aim at ensuring their compliance with leadership's often debilitating demands.
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.
DECEPTION
ReplyA cult needs to recruit and operate using deception. Why?
Because if people knew their true practices and beliefs beforehand then they would not join. A cult needs to hide the truth from you until they think you are ready to accept it.
For example, imagine if the leader of Heavens Gate cult was open and honest about the group and had said to new recruits, "Join us, wear strange clothes, get castrated and then drink poison!" he would not have had many takers.
NO LEGITIMATE GROUP NEEDS TO LIE OR MISLEAD YOU ABOUT WHAT THEY PRACTICE OR BELIEVE.
A cult will have a slick well-rehearsed Public Relations front which hides what the group is really like. You will hear how they help the poor, or support research, or peace, or the environment. They will tell you how happy you will be in their group (and everyone will always seem very happy and enthusiastic). But you will not be told what life is really like in the group, nor what they really believe. These things will be introduced to you slowly, one at a time, so you will not notice the gradual change, until eventually you are practicing and believing things which at the start would have caused you to run a mile.
FEAR & INTIMIDATION
Cult leadership is feared. To disagree with leadership is the same as disagreeing with God. The cult leaders will claim to have direct authority from God to control almost all aspects of your life.
Guilt, Character Assassination and Breaking Sessions. Guilt will be used to control you. It's always your fault, you are always wrong, and so you must try harder! You will also be made to feel very guilty for disobeying any of the group's written or unwritten rules.
Character assassination is used to help create the guilt in you. Character assassination is a type of false reasoning used by people and groups who have no real arguments.
Character assassination is a sure sign of a cult.
CULT MEMBERS ARE USUALLY VERY FEARFUL OF DISOBEYING OR DISAGREEING IN ANYWAY WITH THEIR LEADERSHIP. HEALTHY ORGANIZATIONS HOWEVER ARE NOT THREATENEND BY OPENLY DEBATING ISSUES.
INFORMATION CONTROL
Those who control the information control the person. In a mind control cult any information opposing the cult is considered evil. Members are told not to read it or believe it. Only information supplied by the cult is true. Cults train their members to not even entertain the thought that any critical information about them could be true.
IF YOU ARE INSTRUCTED BY A GROUP NOT TO READ INFORMATION CRITICAL OF THE GROUP, THEN THAT IS A SIGN OF A CULT.
Common sense tells us that a person who does not consider all information may make an unbalanced decision. Filtering the information available or trying to discredit it not on the basis of how true it is, but rather on the basis of how it supports the party line, is a common control method used throughout history.
LEGITIMATE GROUPS HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM THEIR MEMBERS READING CRITICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THEM.
People in a mind control cult will also hide their true thoughts and feelings, and instead wear a mask which presents them as a perfect cult member. This mask is a defense against being reported to leadership and being punished for not measuring up (cult members never feel like they measure up to the cult's ideals, and yet believe the other members around them do, when in reality the others feel the same as them). Hence cult members are trained not only to deceive outsiders, but also to deceive their fellow cult members.
Is information you expected to be kept confidential reported to leadership? If so then it's a cult.
Remember, beware of a group who tells you or implies who you can and cannot see.
"How Cults Work"
All I can say on the issue is someone who was a . facilitator on the west coast for many energy healing workshops long ago told me Robert Jaffe was the most effective of the energy healers she ever worked with..before he found the Sufi path. Michael
Replyquackwatch.org
Advanced Energy Healing (Robert Jaffe Advanced Energy Healing): Alleged "journey" into "higher realms" of understanding whereby one supposedly connects with one's "divine self." Taught by Robert T. Jaffe, M.D., D.D., the method encompasses aura analysis, the Awareness Release Technique, clairvoyant diagnosis, "magnetic/radiatory healing," "soul merging," and "third eye awakening."
ncahf.org
National Council Against Health Fraud
Arizona Board of Medical Examiners
Robert Jaffe (who claims to be a clairvoyant physician) doing psychic telephone diagnoses.
"Eventually, and usually sooner rather than later, most cults expect members to devote increasing time, energy, and money or other resources to the professed goals of the group, stating or implying that a total commitment is required to reach some state such as "enlightenment." The form of that commitment will vary from group to group: more courses, more meditation, more quotas, more cult-related activities, more donations.
Cults tend to have a double set of ethics. Members are urged to be open and honest within the group and to confess all to the leader. At the same time, members are encouraged to deceive and manipulate nonmembers. In contrast, established religions and ethical groups teach members to be honest and truthful to all and to abide by one set of ethics. The overriding philosophy in cults, however, is that the ends justify the means, a view that allows cults to establish their own brand of morality, outside normal social bounds."
Cults In Our Midst - pgs. 9 & 10
Margaret Thaler Singer
I was a member of the organization for over 5 years. I was VERY active and spent an average of 90 days per year travelling to various meetings, classes, and retreats. I can definitely say for me, it was a cult and largely a scam. It was VERY difficult for me to leave and took about a year for me to become "de" brainwashed.
ReplyThank you for sharing your experience. I found it to be very helpful and am curious to know if there was anything in particular that caused you to leave the organization.
ReplyLeaving the Cult
ReplyBelief
Among the many influences that reinforce the difficulty a cult member has in just getting up and walking out, belief is probably the starting point. Your belief or sense of commitment is a very powerful force--whether that belief relates to a specific god or religion, a certain brand of politics, animal rights, living in the country and being free, your family, or the existence of magic. Being able to carry out their beliefs and act on their ideas is very appealing to people. It seems to be the normal human condition that we want to believe in something; we need beliefs that help us understand our universe.
In the world of cults, belief becomes the glue that binds the person to the group. You begin to go along with things, no matter what group you are in, because you believe in the group. You believe in the goals and in the people who are doing these things with you. You believe in the leader. You believe you are going to accomplish something.
In most cults, you are told that, in order to live out the group's belief, you must make certain changes in yourself. So you say, "Okay, I accept that. I believe this, I agree with it, and I'll make changes," and slowly those changes begin to have a radical effect on your thoughts and actions, though you are not highly conscious of this effect.
Decency and Loyalty
A second major influence that keeps people in cults is that most people are decent, honest beings. They want to do good, be altruistic, and achieve something in their lives. And they are loyal. Once most people make a commitment to something, they don't easily renege on that commitment.
So when you make a commitment to a group and it's a group you believe in fervently, it's very hard to go back. Later, when you begin to see things going on around you that you don't understand, you may say to yourself, "Well, I said I was going to do this, and I was told that it was going to be hard. Now, some of this doesn't seem right to me, but I said I would go along with it, and I made a commitment. I'll stay in a little bit longer." All this time, of course, the leadership and everyone else around you are telling you that you better go along with it--in either subtle or not-so-subtle terms.
The fact that people don't like to just stand up and say "I quit" is also significant. Rather than be quitters, they will stick with it and stick with it. The longer they do, the harder it is to get out, so not wanting to be a quitter becomes yet another element that keeps them in the cult.
Cults in Our Midst, Margaret Singer
pgs. 267-268
Authority Figures
Another major point of influence is that we're brought up to respect authority figures, leaders, people who are going to give us answers. We are told when we are young, and all through school, that there are answers and authorities. We are supposed to listen to the answers and look up to people who "know better."
So, when you are told not to question your cult, your rationale for doing as you are told is that doing otherwise would be disrespectful to the leader, who knows all. The leader knows better. The leader has the all-powerful answer. Your questions and doubts are discouraged.
**********
Because of the powerful combination of belief, loyalty, dependency, guilt, fear, peer pressure, lack of information, and fatigue, all of which probably have equal psychological weight, members do not readily leave cults. Decent, honorable people do not easily give up on commitments, and the cult environment is such that it makes leaving practically impossible.
Many cult members, especially those who remain at a low status within the group, endure a state of mental conflict and torment for years. Others rise in the cult hierarchy and are taught to perpetuate the manipulative system. They learn to fake miracles, fake cures, give false presentations on cult victories, and cover for the corrupt leader. Their role is to enforce obedience and dependency, and they learn to rationalize their own behavior as well as that of the leader. Despite knowing the falsehoods, they stay because of the status and power they enjoy. They also stay because they are trapped by the same influences as the others,.....
Cults in Our Midst, Margaret Singer
pg. 268 & 274
More!!!!!! I want more people to stand to what is right and strait. Give your stories so others won't feel stranded like I did when I stood up in my year 1 class and had to tell myself listen to the guide not them. We by now should know the difference. You have the books you need nothing else. Well maybe more time to READ. Don.t blame anyone but yourself for not seeing it with your own eye. I did. I am truly happy that I have taken hands with the late great Sidi. May he always rest in the arms of the one God called Allah.amin
ReplyWhat is there to leave?
ReplyLike you said, READ!!
Read the books that people have cited here.
Go to the links that people have provided and you'll find the answer to your question.
And if you can't, why not??
LEGITIMATE organizations will ALWAYS allow and encourage you to consider ALL information and make your own conclusions.
If not, that's a HUGE RED FLAG!!
EDUCATION is the key that unlocks the box.
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Obviously, disregard the previous irrelevant comment.
What is a Cult?
Reply"A cult is a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques or persuasion and control (e.g., isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgement, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of leaving it, etc.) designed to advance the goals of the group's leaders to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community." (West & Langone, 1986)
What Are Some Characteristics of a Cult?
- Authoritarian in their power structure
- Totalitarian in their control of the
behavior of their members
- Pyramidal structure
- Uses thought reform techniques
- Isolation of members (physical and/or psychological isolation)from society
- Uses deception in recruiting and/or fund raising
- Promotes dependence of the members on the group
- Totalitarian in their world view
- Uses mind altering techniques (chanting, meditation, hypnosis and various forms of repetitive actions) to stop normal critical thinking
- Appear exclusive and innovative
- Charismatic or messianic leader who is self-appointed and has a special mission in life
- Controls the flow of information
- Instills a fear of leaving the group
Signs that an organization may have cultish characteristics
The following individual signs do not necessarily imply there is a cult problem with an organization, but if many are evident at the same time it may indicate that such a problem does exist.
- Has there been strong pressure for me to join or to stay?
- Am I being pressured to recruit others?
- Are my doubts and questions discouraged, avoided, or even forbidden?
- If I'm critical of the group, am I told there's something wrong with me?
- Do I not have an opportunity to verify information provided by the group?
- Am I expected to reveal fears and secrets?
- Does the group's leadership dictate how I should act, think, or feel?
- Do I not get enough sleep now or have enough time to devote to outside pursuits and responsibilities?
- Am I made to feel fear or guilt when I don't do exactly as my leader or elders in the group told me?
- Have I lost my old friends?
- Have I missed important family occasions because I was encouraged to be with fellow group members instead or given an urgent task to complete?
- Is there a belief that the leader has special powers?
- Have I been promised things by the group that have yet to materialize?
- Was I told that joining was my only path to happiness, peace, God, or even prosperity?
Carol Giambalvo's Cult Information and Recovery
www.carolgiambalvo.com
SHADHILIYYA SUFI COMMUNITIES:
ReplySUFI SPIRITUAL HEALERS AND TEACHERS
UNIVERSITY OF SPIRITUAL HEALING AND SUFISM
MASTERS OF DIVINITY DEGREE?
Spiritual Safeguards
Unfortunately, there really are inauthentic, abusive and dangerous "spiritual" practices as well as immature, abusive or psychologically or morally deficient spiritual "ministers" and "spiritual" organizations. There are also individuals teaching in and running spiritual organizations who have never studied psychology or the psychological and spiritual guidelines for what is ethical and unethical spiritual influence/education.
The latter ones are in a sense just innocently uneducated or under-educated. Individuals who are not well educated on the psychological and spiritual guidelines for ethical and unethical influence can unwittingly become completely sincere, well-intentioned manipulated manipulators! They can unintentionally severely harm others because "that is what they have been taught to do by someone else, their Guru or someone in teaching authority" who did not fully understand the psychological and spiritual dangers of the techniques that they were using to influence, teach and change their students.
In addition to intentional abusive influence being used in some destructive cults today, there also are psychologically abusive and psychologically dangerous influence tactics being inadvertently used in many growing and mature religious organizations today. For the unaware spiritual seeker individuals or organizations found within any of the above potentially abusive influence categories can become the source of profound spiritual, psychological and physical betrayal and damage.
Common Properties of Potentially Destructive and Dangerous Cults
The cult is authoritarian in its power structure.
The leader is regarded as the supreme authority. He or she may delegate certain power to a few subordinates for the purpose of seeing that members adhere to the leader's wishes and roles. There is no appeal outside of his or her system to greater systems of justice.
The cult's leaders tend to be charismatic, determined, and domineering.
The cult's leaders are self-appointed, messianic persons who claim to have a special mission in life.
The cult's leaders center the veneration of members upon themselves.
The cult tends to be totalitarian in its control of the behavior of its members.
The cult tends to have a double set of ethics.
The cult has basically only two purposes, recruiting new members and fundraising.
The cult appears to be innovative and exclusive.
FACTnet.org
SPIRITUAL TEACHERS AND THE NARCISSISTIC WOUND
Thoughout history, great leaders and teachers have brought new ideas to the world, improving the quality of life and the overall consciousness of humanity in profound ways. For this reason, leaders and teachers are necessary for the forward movement of our world in all areas of life. Yet throughout this time, a small subgroup of the leaders, despite their profound knowledge and insight, has brought an equal measure of suffering and spiritual stagnation as a side effect to those they teach, often veiled by the illusion of spiritual or intellectual progress. The truly brilliant ones have veiled their agendas (which are often unconscious to them, never mind to their students) by 'dressing them up in white.' They present a body of spiritual 'truths' which ultimately utilize God to intimidate or control, or in the least proclaim their particular brand of spirituality as the highest or somehow most endeared by the Divine One.
This is called religious triumphalism, a phenomena that has brought more strife and world conflict than any other ideology or motivation. The theme of specialness prevails in many variations within this worldview, and those who teach from this place tend to have a few characteristic traits. These traits both reveal their true nature to a trained eye, and at the same time fuel the magnetic quality that attracts innocent and unwitting followers into the fold.
Yet thanks to the efforts of many who have first-hand experience with such leaders, the traits of such cults of personality are fairly definable. These qualities can be summed up into one simple psychodynamic pattern: the wound of narcissism.
The narcissistic wound has its origin in childhood events and parenting which set the child up to need an unnatural degree of external attention, accolade, encouragement and respect from those around him. His self-doubt is so profound that no amount of external attention is enough. Even the smallest amount of criticism must be exterminated in order for him to feel safe. Because there is no internalized sense of self-worth and value in the world, he must continuously seek out others to validate him. The result is fertile ground for leaders and teachers who require endless amounts of adoration and respect, who cannot tolerate dispute or difference of opinion, and who cannot bear the existence of someone who may not agree with them. In this scenario, all disagreeing individuals must either be converted or banished from the leader's psychological world. Feedback is seen as offensive and the teachings of the leader must be accepted without question.
continued at
www.usdusunveotesi.net
Dr. Jodi Shams Prinzivalli
is a psychotherapist, a conflict resolution specialist and a Board Certified Trauma Recovery Specialist.
I wonder why you failed to bring up the matter of your own involvement with Sidi?
I love you Sidi! thank you for helping me find God and my gifts in life.
ReplyYou didn't need Sidi or this organization to find God or your gifts in life. Take it from someone with firsthand experience and knowledge, spare your heart, your mind, and your wallet. As extremely difficult as it is, get out sooner rather than later. True spiritual teachers don't have websites exposing them and a trail of evidence revealing unethical and illegal activity.
Leaving a cult is a process that takes a long time. It takes a long time to free yourself from the brainwashing, and even when you are finished and through with them and recognize them for charlatans, many of the concepts and ideas that they teach you stick for a long time. Be patient with your son, your daughter, your husband or wife, your friend. Losing the cult in some ways is like mourning the death of a friend. Yes, it was a false illusion, but it represented friendship, spiritual growth, and bonding. Even if you know what these guys are, you are still sad to have lost what it pretended to be.
Replyhttp://ktown-survivors.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you for creating this blog and to those brave enough to post here. Would anyone be interested in creating a private forum where those of us recovering from this destructive cult could feel safe to discuss our experiences? I was in for more than a decade and rose to the inner circle, only to be horrified to discover all the rumors were true. I have been deeply traumatized and can’t sleep at night because of the flashbacks. Please, if you are considering this group, be extremely careful or you may just lose everything like I did.
ReplyA private forum would be very helpful. You are not alone.
Agreed. In the interim:
icsahome.com
refocus.org
(wonderful resources for recovery support)
ICSA's (International Cultic Studies Association) recovery workshop for former group members has taken place in Colorado for the past 25 years.
Attendees have given the workshop extremely high ratings year after year.
The facilitators, who have volunteered their time for many years, have decided that 2016 will be the last year for this workshop.
There is less than one week remaining to register for the workshop.
Recovery Workshop for Former Group Members
Colorado Springs, CO, July 29, 2016-July 31, 2016
www.icsahome.com/events/workshoprecovery
Victims of psychological coercion often struggle with the resulting symptoms for years. Depression, anxiety, fear, guilt, shame, and a host of other issues often plague survivors.
wellspringretreat.org
The new movie 'Holy Hell' is available for rent. Turns out inducing mystical experiences isn't limited to gurus who are "perfect human"s.
ReplyCNN airs HOLY HELL directed by Will Allen
#1 documentary on iTunes 10 days straight!!
A riveting journey inside the world of a master manipulator and those who followed him in search of The Truth.
Thanks for recommending!
cultnews.net
Watched 'Holy Hell'. Many parallels, remarkable.
https://groups.yahoo.com/exsscgroup
ReplyInitial access is moderated.
Postings not moderated.
Where did it go? Link doesn't work. Come back!
Descriptions of the powerful energy around Sidi and Jaffee do not prove they are healers or benevolent.
Remind yourselves of the close bond shared between mothers and children - that sixth sense mothers so often feel that their kid is in trouble and needs help -- and bang, it is true.
Or that felt vibe shared by very many identical twins.
And the rapport felt during a successful relationship between oneself and a compatible healer, or one's comrades on a sports team when you and your team mates seem to just share one mind among your many bodies and things just fall together and work in synchrony during a game. Ditto for rock bands, orchestras and dance companies.
So given these real life examples backed up by testimony from many famous persons, just recall the intensity developed and shared when a multitude of fuquari and murids gather, sharing the same spiritual path and focus their attention on the Pir or Sheikh.
People's subconscious minds probably become porous and a vast quantity of subconscious energy may well be donated to the Sheikh.
Many of us come to spiritual teachers because we have been harmed by abuses of power. And, when we are newbies we are shown only the very best side of the fellowship, and shown only the good energies.
People who are glum, doubtful and depleted, either leave or perhaps are given chores that keep them away from newbies -- new energy donors.
And, money is the tracer for psychological energy the way some inert dyes are used as tracers for radioactive compounds so they show up on X rays.
To understand a the true character of a person, a sheikh or a group, follow the money.
A major point: often we are recruited into a cult by someone we respect or love -- a close friend, or God forbid, an unethical psychotherapist who is a member.
ReplyWe trust our friends. Our friend may be a brand new member who knows only the good side of the cult. Or, our buddy herself or himself may be a potential recruit for a cult and is being groomed and flattered.
Our friends, once recruited, may be coaxed or tricked to tell their cult preceptors all about us.
I was on the receiving end of a situation where I had a friend who became member of a cult, who was led into the cult by her therapist, and through this friend, I got entangled with the therapist.
I did not know enough about the rules of engagement to understand that no ethical therapist allows to friends to be clients at the same time - there were enough good therapists in our area for the guy to refer me elsewhere. Two, no ethical therapist uses his her practice for recruitment purposes. That means no mention of personal religion, no pictures of the guru or sheikh in public in client areas. And, never, ever mention
to one client what is happening to one's other clients.
I later got evidence that a good number of the cult members consulted this person.
Turned into a big, stinkin mess.
If you or someone you love is entangled in a situation of this kind, PLEASE go and discuss this with an outside therapist and do not tell your own therapist what you are doing; you may be talked out of it.
No therapist no matter how "good" is worth going to if he or she is a slave to a guru, or Pir or Sheikh. Therapists who are slaves cannot teach you how to be free. Two, there is a risk the therapist may be blabbing about you to his or her cult superiors.
Get out. If you feel scared of doing this, it means you are scared of your therapist and you really do need to get out.
Do not have a final session with a compromised therapist. Tell them you have
a family emergency and just get away.
Get outside advice. Check your former therapist's state credential.
Dont consent to a final conversation over the phone. Send a letter. If you are harassed call the state licensing agency.
Dr. Robert J. Lifton's Eight Criteria for Thought Reform
Reply1. Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society at large.
"We control what you experience" AND how you experience it."
2. Mystic Manipulation. There is manipulation of experiences that appear spontaneous but in fact were planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority or spiritual advancement or some special gift or talent that will then allow the leader to reinterpret events, scripture, and experiences as he or she wishes.
"We'll make sure our system works for you" even if we have to fake it."
3. Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here.
"Only those good enough can get it."
4. Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members "sins," "attitudes," and "faults" are discussed and exploited by the leaders.
"We promise we won't use your past against you...really..."
5. Sacred Science. The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism.
"It's true because we say it's the Truth"
6. Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. The jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to the group's way of thinking.
"Our own special language helps you to think the way we want you to think."
7. Doctrine over person. Members' personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group.
"When your facts don't match our Truth, your facts are wrong."
8. Dispensing of existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted to the group's ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also. (Lifton, 1989)
"The Truth is worth more than life... especially an outsider's life."
What is Brain Washing? - Cult Education Institution Videos with Rick Alan Ross 5 - YouTube
ReplyI was a member of the community for many years. I never felt like it was a cult. I never gave that much money. Still I "moved up the ranks" and became a valued part of the community. Ultimately I left, because I felt like I became someone that I wasn't me. I didn't blame the community for that. I blamed myself. I have a tendency to do things to the extreme and I have trouble with moderation. I gladly jumped into the deep end. I don't regret my time on the sufi path and I certainly don't regret meeting Sidi. I admit it's hard to reconcile in my mind the allegations against him with the warm, kind, generous person I knew. I am a better person for having been in the community and I'm glad I left when I did. If there are people that were hurt and suffered at the hands of Sidi and Ibrahim then that is truly terrible. However, I never saw anything like that. What I saw what a very strict religious path that provided a structure for self-exploration. I learned a lot in my time there. Ultimately, it wasn't my path.
ReplyThere are typically positive elements to almost every cultic experience and it's important to acknowledge that. However, there are far better places to find them.
Educate yourself about cults so you don't fall into the trap of becoming what is commonly referred to as a 'cult-hopper'.
HOW TO IDENTIFY A CULT:
ReplySIX TIPS FROM AN EXPERT
The groups are secretive, exploitive and closed to outsiders - and they're still with us
04/29/17
CBS News
Up to 10,000 cults still exist today in the United States,
according to Steve Eichel, a recognized international cult expert and president of the International Cultic Studies Association. He outlined several ways to identify cults.
"Most cults are extremely small and very deliberately try to stay under the radar," Eichel told "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant. "Unless they commit a crime, unless they do something that draws attention to them--negative attention and criticism to them--we generally don't know about them."
Van Sant interviewed Eichel for his "48 Hours" report on the Austrailian cult The Family.
A discussion of The Family naturally raises the question of whether cults still exist in the United States. Many Americans, especially baby boomers, tend to think cults are a remnant of the 60's and 70's but that's not true, as Van Sant learned.
"As an American, when I think of cults in the United States I think of the Branch Davidians. The Waco situation. I think of Charles Manson," Van Sant said. "I think of just a handful of groups, 'cause those are the ones I've really heard of. You're telling me there's much more than that?"
"Certainly. And of course you haven't heard of them, and neither have I, for that matter, I don't keep track of all cults," Eichel replied. "Cultic groups tend to try very hard to remain secretive. They don't want a lot of notoriety or negative attention."
So what constitutes a cult?
Eichel lists several factors:
- "Beware of any kind of pressure. That's probably the single most important advice I can give anyone. Any kind of pressure to make a quick decision about becoming involved in any intensive kind of activity or organization."
- "Be wary of any leader who proclaims him or herself as having special powers or special insight. And, of course, divinity."
- "The group is closed, so in other words, although there may be outside followers, there's usually an inner circle that follows the leader without question, and that maintains a tremendous amount of secrecy."
- "The group uses deceptive means, typically, to recruit new members, and then once recruited will subject its members to an organized program of thought reform, or what most people refer to as brainwashing."
- "Typically cults also exploit their members....mostly financially. Within the group, they'll exploit members financially, psychologically, emotionally, and all too often, sexually."
- "A very important aspect of a cult is the idea that if you leave the cult, horrible things will happen to you. This is important, and it's important to realize. That people outside of a cult are potential members, so they're not looked upon as negatively as people inside the cult who then leave the cult."
Written by "48 Hours" producer Paul LaRosa. Watch "48 Hours:" The Family: A Cult Revealed"
http:www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-identify-a-cult-six-expert-tips/
Ibrahim Jaffe was my sister birgit`s husband - she died at stomach cancer in 2002 - he tried one day before my sister died to get 35000$ for his wonder medicine from our father - i probably know him better than everybody else - he uses my sister to get a lot of money from our father - HANDS OF FROM THIS CHARLATAN - he sells imaginary visions for a lot of money - THATS ALL HE CAN SOS
ReplyI am guessing you are Ingrid Deitjen? I did some googling and found your name so please don't get freaked out:
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/obituaries/birgit-jaffe/article_916977d6-d08e-5204-ada5-15283a647a57.html
Would really like to know more about these people since they have now tapped into the mainstream Muslim community and all this raises a lot of concerns.
I'm a former follower of Ash-Shadhiliyya under Sidi Muhammad. I was in it from 2000-2010.
ReplyThey totally love-bomb you in the beginning. Right away you have to buy Sidi's book and copy it by hand. You have to swear that Sidi is your father from now on and that you will spread peace and mercy.
Then the money grubbing starts. Books, CDs, retreats. All along my mental health was declining. Constantly reading and chanting Sidi's formulas made me actually feel like I was having a mystical experience, like there were no coincidences and that Sidi was sending us messages in ordinary events. When we were on retreat in MD, Sidi slaughtered a goat so we could make stew. He made a mistake and cut it wrong, so it was hard to watch and he had to cut its throat again. People were walking around saying that it was intentional; that Sidi was sending the fuqara a message about our lack of faith.
Like many on this thread, I was offered a wife by Sidi. She was a total lunatic! She and Sidi wanted us to get married within days of meeting. Fortunately it was a holiday weekend and we couldn't get a license! We had a ceremony but it wasn't legal.
This group is about MONEY. Every 5 minutes they need a check- even people that were sick had to pay for his prayers. If he prayed for us as a group, only those that wrote big checks ($200 and up) were allowed to put their hands on him during the prayer. They charge hundreds for the retreat- but that's just for the hotel. You are supposed to pay for food, a ride to the farm, class materials, etc. Also give a donation to Sidi. Also give him a sacrifice check (he allegedly would buy a ram and slaughter it in Palestine for you).
Sidi sells you a lot of unproven mystical bullshit and if you buy into it, then you'll believe anything and they then start to pull your puppet strings. Jaffee convinces us that we're sick and we hear it so much I actually began to feel like I had a sore throat and sore muscles!
I left the cult when a friend of mine gave me a book on Roman philosophy and NONE of my beliefs passed the logic test. My "marriage " had long ago fallen apart and the chick was on her 3rd arraigned husband.
No one tried to stop me from leaving or asked me why. But they still continued to send donation envelopes for years.
I was involved in this group from about 2010 to 2017. I can attest to the money grubbing. What was the straw that broke the camel’s back?
All what I can say is, I hope karma with get all of the people that are involved in this scam.
ReplyI spend $250 for each 30 minutes sessions, all what he did was talk gibberish for 15 min.
He takes advantage of sick peoples.
This person is nothing but a scammer. They are using the religion to make money. I pray to God that God will fill their body with disease.
Please people don’t get fooled by dr.Jaffe
There’s a lot to say about all that group I was with them for a while, they disrespect me after they took my money , and they wanted more and more and more.
If I had just read the reviews before, but I didn’t, so it’s my loss.
If you need healing just ask God, he’s with you and is free.
To me, the most ironic part is that this is NOT a Spiritual Path at all. It's mostly an invitation to confirm to a turgid collection of platitudes. And a few parlor tricks. Like the 'Majlis'. Don't know what the Majlis is? Not surprising. It got dropped from the curriculum. Probably because it was just too non-Islamic to enjoy widespread exposure, althought it was a very interesting method of communicating with the Jinn and Angelic Realms. By virtue of what would make any Western Spiritualist giddy with excitement!
ReplyMorevoer, it actually is destructice of the true spiritual impulse in people.
For many reassons, people seek God or a HIgher reason to live. In the case of this Order, one passes on the challenge to have a Spiritual Life in order to become a Worshipper of Another Man who has a spiritual life.
In other words...SHIRK. Shirk, defined as 'assigning Partners to God' could be applied to anyone who takes a Sufi Guide, regular Islamic Imam, or other Charasmatic Personality as God or a spokesperson for God. Rather than developing their own relationship with God, many Americans and Europeans equsted the adoption of everything from adopting different ways of dress and diet and hoping thewse changes will ammount to a personality change of sufficient strenght to permit a sort of spiritual rebirth.
It is to be noted that nobody has ever done anything bad enough to be ejected from Sidi's fuqara. Nor are any of the techniques promoted by Sidi ad nhis followers sufficient enough to make independent Spiritual Adherants of them. There is no 'Path' for the followers because there was never a Path for the Guide. His history, his foibles, the story of how he changed, all that is hidden. Somehow He, unlike us, gets to tell US what the Patriarchal, anthromorphised God he claims to represent wants of us. How is that liberating and not enslaving? If the Spiritual Life is mainly about imitating the Guide. How is that freedom?