All of the eight points listed are very obvious in my group/relationship.
| 1 votes | | Most of the points are very obvious in my group/relationship.
| 0 votes | | Half of the points are obvious in my group/relationship.
| 0 votes | | Only 1 to 3 of the points are obvious in my group/relationship.
| 0 votes | | None of the points are obvious in my group/relationship.
| 0 votes | | Most of the points are somewhat true in my group/relationship but there's no need for concern.
| 0 votes | | I'd like to have more freedom but am afraid to leave my group/relationship.
| 0 votes | | I need help and am ready to begin the journey of freedom. Where should I go?
| 1 votes | | | Total: 2 voters. Total votes: 2. Max items per vote allowed: 8. |
FJRB
Administrator
Global user
Registered: 11-2006
Location: USA
Posts: 113
Karma: 0 (+0/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Got freedom of mind?
Got freedom of mind? How much? Look through the following list and see how well you can relate.
(Excerpt from "The Watchman Expositor" http://www.watchman.org/na/assist3.htm )
Wellspring writes "members of high-demand organizations often experience . . . the gradual narrowing of the thought life of the members. His or her life experiences, expectations of life are restricted and interaction with alternate ideas is reduced.
"When this tendency is combined with an intense belief system that emphasizes the benefits of life in heaven or a higher plane of existence, members are more easily influenced to radically commit themselves to behavior they would not otherwise choose, even to die" (p.1).
1. MILIEU CONTROL
Control of communication within the group environment resulting in significant degree of isolation from the surrounding society. When non-members are labeled as ignorant, unspiritual, satanic, etc., group members conclude that outsiders have nothing worthwhile to teach them. Thus members are unlikely to look outside the group for information, especially spiritual information. Milieu control includes other techniques to restrict members' contact with the outside world and to be able to make critical, rational judgments about information: [This includes] not only the individual's communication with the outside, . . . but also . . . his communication with himself . . . Having experienced the impact of what they consider to be an ultimate truth, . . . they consider it their duty to create an environment containing no more and no less than this 'truth.' [The group member] is deprived of the combination of external information and inner reflection which anyone requires to test the realities of his environment and to maintain a measure of identity separate from it. . ."
2. MYSTICAL MANIPULATION
The claim of divine authority or spiritual advancement that allows the leader to reinterpret events as he or she wishes, or make prophecies or pronouncements at will, all for the purpose of controlling group members. "Ideological totalists. . . are impelled by a special kind of mystique which not only justifies such manipulations, but makes them mandatory... They are the agents 'chosen' (by history, by God, or by some other supernatural force) to carry out the 'mystical imperative,' the pursuit of which must supersede all considerations of decency or of immediate human welfare. Similarly, any thought or action which questions the higher purpose is considered to be stimulated by a lower purpose, to be backward, selfish, and petty in the face of the great overriding mission." "One is asked to accept these manipulations on a basis of trust (or faith). . . When trust gives way to mistrust. . . the higher purpose cannot serve as adequate emotional sustenance . . .feeling himself unable to escape from forces more powerful than himself, he subordinates everything to adapting himself to them. He becomes sensitive to all kinds of cues."
3. DEMAND FOR PURITY
Members are constantly exhorted to strive for perfection. Consequently, guilt and shame are common and powerful control devices. "The experiential world is sharply divided into the pure and the impure, into the absolutely good and the absolutely evil. The good and the pure are of course those ideas, feelings, and actions which are consistent with the totalist ideology and policy; anything else is apt to be relegated to the bad and the impure . . . The philosophical assumption underlying this demand is that absolute purity . . . is attainable. . .. By defining and manipulating the criteria of purity, and then by conducting an all-out war upon impurity, the ideological totalists create a narrow world of guilt and shame. This is perpetuated by an ethos of continuous reform, a demand that one strive permanently and painfully for something which not only does not exist but is in fact alien to the human condition. . .. Each person is made vulnerable through his profound inner sensitivities to his own limitations and to his unfulfilled potential. . .[i.e.,] his existential guilt. . . He must also look upon his impurities as originating from outside influences."
4. THE CULT OF CONFESSION
Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed, either privately to a personal monitor or publicly to the group at large. "Confession is the demand that one confess to crimes one has not committed, to sinfulness that is artificially induced, in the name of a cure that is arbitrarily imposed." "In totalist hands, confession becomes a means of exploiting, rather than offering solace for, these vulnerabilities. . . The assumption underlying total exposure... is the environment's claim to total ownership of each individual self within it. . ..[T]he cult of confession makes it virtually impossible to attain a reasonable balance between worth and humility."
5. THE "SACRED SCIENCE"
The doctrine of the group is considered the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or disputing. The leader of the group is likewise above criticism as the spokesperson for God on earth. "An aura of sacredness around its basic dogma, holding it out as an ultimate moral vision for the ordering of human existence. This sacredness is evident in the prohibition (whether or not explicit) against the questioning of basic assumptions." "While thus transcending ordinary concerns of logic, however, the milieu at the same time makes an exaggerated claim of airtight logic, of absolute 'scientific' precision. . . the man who dares to criticize it, or to harbor even unspoken alternative ideas, becomes not only immoral and irreverent, but also 'unscientific." "At the level of the individual, the totalist sacred science can offer much comfort and security."
6. LOADING THE LANGUAGE
The group develops a jargon in many ways unique to itself, often non-understandable to outsiders. This jargon consists of numerous words and phases which the members understand (or think they do), but which really act to dull one's ability to engage in critical thinking. "The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed. These become the start and finish of any ideological analysis."
7. DOCTRINE OVER PERSON
The personal experiences of the group members are subordinated to the "Truth" held by the group-apparently contrary experiences must be denied or re-interpreted to fit the doctrine of the group. The doctrine is always more important than the individual. "Another characteristic feature of ideological totalism: the subordination of human experience to the claims of doctrine. . . Consequently, past historical events are retrospectively altered, wholly rewritten, or ignored, to make them consistent with the doctrinal logic. . . the demand that character and identity be reshaped, not in accordance with one's special nature or potentialities, but rather to fit the rigid contours of the doctrinal mold."
8. DISPENSING OF EXISTENCE
The group arrogates to itself the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. Usually held non-literally, this means that those outside the group are unspiritual, worldly, satanic, "unconscious," or whatever, and that they must be converted to the ideas of the group or they will be lost. If they refuse to join the group, then they must be rejected by the group members, even if they are family members. "For the individual, the polar emotional conflict is the ultimate existential one of 'being versus nothingness.' He is likely to be drawn to a conversion experience, which he sees as the only means of attaining a path of existence for the future. . . The totalist environment . . . thus stimulates in everyone a fear of extinction or annihilation. . . A person can overcome this fear and find. . .'confirmation,' not in his individual relationships, but only from the fount of all existence, the totalist Organization. Existence comes to depend upon creed (I believe, therefore I am), upon submission (I obey, therefore I am) and beyond these, upon a sense of total merger with the ideological movement."
Tragically, the deaths in Rancho Santa Fe, illustrate dispensing of existence literally. It appears that all these processes were present to one degree or another in the group now known as Heaven's Gate. The personality and critical thinking of the victims was systematically eroded by the environment and attitudes established by the leader. "You're right Mr. Applewhite, suicide is the wrong word for what happened in that rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe. The right word is murder."
The most seductive evil is when a leader comes across as being very nice, peaceful, genuine and friendly, who seems to be a sincere believer in high-minded and lofty ideals. But the means don't justify the end. In Heaven's Gate, these weren't people who pulled any triggers. They just masterminded a mental state that coerced everyone else to murder themselves.
© Copyright 2000 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Last edited by FJRB, 2/12/2007, 7:50 am
---
Solely in the service of Yeshua Ha'Mashiach,
Renee
|
|
2/12/2007, 7:47 am
|
Send Email to FJRB
Send PM to FJRB
Blog
|
FJRB
Administrator
Global user
Registered: 11-2006
Location: USA
Posts: 113
Karma: 0 (+0/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Important questions to ask yourself. Re: Got freedom of mind?
I have found the following questions to be very important in evaluating the groups I used to be involved in:
Questions to Help the Assessment Process
1.
Who is the leader?
What are his/her background and qualifications?
Have you relied solely on trust that all of the information you were given is true or have you done independent investigation?
Do you feel pressure to accept and not question at all?
Is it possible that there are misrepresentations or falsehoods?
Is there external corroboration for extraordinary claims of accomplishment or are they simply his/her say-so?
If "miracles" have been performed, can they be replicated under open observation or even under scientific conditions?
Are there other explanations for the "miracles," such as magic tricks, hypnosis, etc.?
If there is a former leader or member, have you sought him or her out to hear for yourself critical information? If not, are you afraid to trust your ability to discern the truthfulness of what you learn?
If you find yourself saying that you don't care if there are major deceptions, ask yourself if you knew this information before you became involved, would you have even bothered to make a commitment of time and money?
2.
Are there exclusive claims made to wisdom, knowledge, love, and truth? If so, the burden of proof is on the leader to demonstrate his or her superiority, not on members to disprove it. A truly "developed" spiritual being exudes love, compassion, and humility. Any person who claims to be "superior" but does not practice what they preach is of questionable character. There is never incongruency between words and deeds. A person who uses fear and phobia indoctrination to control followers demonstrates insecurity and lack of spiritual maturity.
3.
Is total submission and obedience required? Any relationship that demands giving up one's personal integrity and conscience is dangerous and leads to totalitarianism. Be wary of those who advocate "the ends justify the means," especially when it clearly serves their own self-interest. Also, make sure that your desire "to believe" doesn't simply activate the common psychological defense mechanisms: denial, rationalization, justification, and wishful thinking. If a doctrine is true or a person is truly spiritually advanced, they will stand up to the scrutiny of objective evaluation. If they do not prove themselves, they are probably not worthy of your commitment and devotion.
4.
Does he/ she have a criminal record, a legacy of allegations against him/her or a history of misconduct? If there are allegations of misconduct against the leader, the responsible follower must seek out the negative information and the sources of that information to evaluate the truth. If a leader claims to be celibate and allegations are made that the leader engaged in inappropriate sex, this is an extreme violation of integrity. It must be investigated vigorously. It is never appropriate for teachers, therapists, or spiritual masters to take advantage of a power differential over followers. This is especially true in the area of sexuality. It is grossly unethical to engage in sexual relations with someone who has placed their trust in as a teacher/advisor/master. Many followers are incredibly vulnerable to this and unable to resist sexual intimacy. Anyone should be able to say "no."
Is he or she a "trust bandit," stealing hearts, souls, minds, bodies, and pocketbooks for his or her own ends?
5.
Does the leader demonstrate psychological problems and awareness of their existence?
Does the leader have addictions to power, drugs, alcohol, sex, even television or shopping?
Does the leader have emotional outbursts?
Does the leader physically abuse followers?
Does the leader drive expensive cars and wear expensive clothes while extolling the virtues of renunciation?
Does the leader financially exploit followers by expecting them to live in poverty while he or she indulges in luxury?
Is the group or leader's driveway habitually filled with luxury cars while ordinary people find him or her inaccessible and unreachable?
Does the leader ever encourage deception or use deception as a "technique" to trick followers into so-called correct thinking and understanding?
Codependent behavior by a spiritual teacher should be a warning sign of danger. Codependency includes: obsessively trying to control others; allowing people to hurt and use them; lack of clear boundaries; being reactive, not proactive; tunnel visioned; obsessive worrying and denial; expectations of perfection and suppression of human needs. (Beattie, Beyond Codependency, Harper/Hazelden, 1989)
6.
Are questions and doubts permitted within the organization?
A healthy spiritual environment must engage individual followers at
their level of experience and should encourage them to feel and think and therefore question their beliefs and exercise good decision-making. In this way, the follower can investigate, discriminate, and test the dogma and the environment they are being asked to accept, between what his or her personal issues are and what might be an unhealthy environment. If intense pressure is used to dissuade people who wish to talk with former members or critics, it is a clear sign of information control. Controlling information is one of the most essential components of mind control.
7.
Is the organization open or closed?
Are there organizational secrets?
Are there "in" groups and "out" groups?
Are there restricted teachings for initiates only?
Are there secret texts and publications "for your eyes only"?
Is there real financial accountability?
If a group says that you can look at its accounting records, does it actually provide access?
The only way to know is to ask to see the records. If you are afraid to ask, what does this say about the atmosphere of the group?
8.
What structural checks and balances exist within the organization to prevent abuse of power?
Are there divisive sectarian biases, even in the name of interdenominational ecumenicism and universality?
Is there an independent "ethics"committee to challenge and change policies of the group?
If there are abuses or injustices, what structure exists to correct them?
Can anyone legitimately question the actions of the leader without threat of emotional withdraw or fear of expulsion to "hell"?
Do the rich and powerful get preferential treatment?
Are "indulgences" (spiritual pardons) sold?
Is there a "code of silence" against unethical behavior of leaders?
The above may be found at: http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/responsibility/complete.htm
Last edited by FJRB, 10/7/2007, 4:18 am
---
Solely in the service of Yeshua Ha'Mashiach,
Renee
|
|
10/6/2007, 5:05 am
|
Send Email to FJRB
Send PM to FJRB
Blog
|
FJRB
Administrator
Global user
Registered: 11-2006
Location: USA
Posts: 113
Karma: 0 (+0/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Got freedom of mind?
If anyone would like to help in rescuing someone from a mind-control group, please go to http://www.freedomofmind.com
There is a really good video at this site:
http://www.freedomofmind.com/stevehassan/steve-hassan-on-the-strategic-interaction-approach-2003/
---
Solely in the service of Yeshua Ha'Mashiach,
Renee
|
|
6/17/2008, 4:14 am
|
Send Email to FJRB
Send PM to FJRB
Blog
|
BLN
Moderator
Global user
Registered: 01-2009
Posts: 5
Karma: 4 (+4/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Got freedom of mind?
I would like to recommend Stephen Martin's book "The Heresy of Mind Control." It is available free online in pdf: http://recognizeheresy.com/Documents/the_heresy_of_mind_control.pdf
Stephen Martin works in Wellspring retreat and has Master degree in theology. He used Robert Jay Lifton's Eight Criteria for the Thought Reform and used the Bible to prove that mind control techniques used in abusive churches are not biblical. He points to many distortions of the Bible verses made by abusive church leaders and reveals what they really mean. In my opinion, the subject of this book can also be defined as freedom in Christ v. bonds in abusive churches.
His book is a very good combination of psychology and Christian theology.
|
|
1/12/2009, 10:58 pm
|
Send Email to BLN
Send PM to BLN
|
Add a reply
Link to us
- Blogs
- Hall of Honour
- Chat
|
You are not logged in (login)
Board's time is: 11/28/2009, 3:50 pm
|
|
|
