Red Flags -A DiffiCULT Decision

 

How do you know that you have joined a cult?

RED FLAGS.


There is a really good reason they are called red flags-  they are attention-grabbing. They are triggers. They are calling up feelings of discomfort in an effort to jar us awake. The definition of ego as used in psychology is the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.

Red flags may derive from boundaries being pushed, things not jiving with our understanding of how life works or even past traumas. Red Flags ping our instincts and alert us to danger. We can even be so sensitive that we may have a red flag just from contradictions in the things people are telling us. They are our inborn protection screaming ALARM, ALARM!!!

People can be victims of mental danger as well as physical danger. Manipulation. It is a covert and subtle way of gaining power over people. It is meant to bypass your inner protection impulse. A skilled hustler can even slide information gathering by without your being aware you are being worked over. Swindlers come in many forms and are often quite good at their craft. Well meaning individuals confess weaknesses all the time. Trust in the wrong hands opens you up to exploitation.

 Scientology is perfect example as it is thought to be the largest cult in the world currently. Despite intelligence people still, get roped in. The camouflage seemingly weak, works. Complacency becomes the biggest enemy as trust is built. The initial hooks seem to match your own beliefs. Soon the bait and switch is taking place but you don't even realize that the manipulator's words do not match their intentions or their actions.


These are the words that are used to delude unsuspecting people into Scientology:
 “What is true is what is true for you. No one has any right to force data on you and command you to believe it or else. "If it is not true for you, it isn’t true. Think your own way through things, accept what is true for you, discard the rest. There is nothing unhappier than one who tries to live in a chaos of lies.” Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, by L. Ron Hubbard (the founder and leader of Scientology) published in 1950


The initial groundwork of trust is established in a lovely freedom speech. Scientology then begins to dig in and find what the potential recruit needs. What sent them out searching? They obviously need something because here they are on the doorstep. Scientology then uses a device to "diagnose" a shortcoming in the recruit. These could be anything- anxiety, depression, loneliness, grief, etc. Even without a device, a cult can use this same method. A simple chat is capable of divulging the potential to be exploited. Many manipulators use non-medical therapy/counsel/healings as their doorways.

 The whole aim of this E-meter demonstration is to find a person's "ruin," or weakness, and exploit it.  After all, in order to sell someone a solution, one first has to convince him that there is a problem.(http://thedianeticsscam.weebly.com/dianetics-part-4-common-recruiting-methods.html)

 Now the recruiter knows exactly what their cult must deliver to make you a member.

“Once the person is aware of the ruin, you bring about an understanding that Scientology can handle the condition,” Hubbard writes. “It’s at the right moment on this step that one . . . directs him to the service that will best handle what he needs to be handled.”(http://www.businessinsider.com/going-clear-excerpt-2015-3)

The cult I accidentally found myself in was not Scientology but Kundalini. I am shocked at the similarities. In yoga the issues to be worked on are ego, self-limiting beliefs, speaking your truth, not judging, spiritual enlightenment. Unfortunately, the spiritual world is full of confusing terms that can mislead one into harsh self-judgment. We must use critical thinking to distinguish between needless judgement that separates and discernment. Discernment which is the cognitive ability of a person to distinguish what is appropriate or inappropriate.  With discernment, we make good choices for ourselves, and for the good of others.

I compare this Kundalini quote to the Scientology pamphlet quote above:

"One of the things we are most afraid of is our own excellence; this can be because of the coping mechanisms /survival patterns we have used to get thru life, Hey, they helped us survive this long, how bad can they be? but they are limiting us. This training asks people to confront their perceptions/beliefs/ideas and if they are true and in alignment with THEIR highest consciousness they will grow stronger, but if their perceptions/beliefs or ideas are inhibiting them from growing into the best version of themselves they will be confronted!" -Simran

RED FLAG: This quote comes from a teacher of the Kundalini of Yogi Buhjan. She married a 27-year-old man at the age of 16 simply because Yogi Buhjan told her. She went on to tell our class that the only time she wasn't fasting, at that same Yogi's direction, was when she was pregnant or breastfeeding. Then there was her comment that her kids asked her if she was still happy she gave all her money to Yogi Buhjan. Plainly with any discernment the quote of Kundalini's ability to strengthen intelligent perceptions does not support the real life events she has divulged. This woman has been controlled, exploited and deluded. She uses no self-preservation nor has she lived her truth. Why would she allow this to happen? Her values were manipulated. She switched her self-preservation to the preservation of her belief system and her mentor. we imagine a drooling zombie but she is what brainwashed looks like. Now ask yourself have you ever switched your self-preservation to the preservation of your yoga belief system? Have you traded your beliefs for those of your mentor?

Yoga is sold as a secular tool. The truth is that yoga practices are not at all secular to the American definition of secular. Secular is defined as: denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis-without dogma.

On page 83 of Kundalini's The Aquarian Teacher Level 1 Instructor Yoga Manual, of the 3HO Kundalini School,  you will find the "Tratakum Meditation."

The instructions begin with "Even a glace from the eyes of a holy man can cure mental and physical imbalances." RED FLAG: Kundalini is not supposed to be a religion yet Yogi Buhjan is plainly called a holy man. Is there any way to be a secular holy man?

The page goes on to lay out the instructions for the meditation. (I have shortened the list here but the jest is still easily understood.)

Get the full page picture of the Master Yogi on page 83.

Darken the room

Light candles in front of the picture.

Look into his eyes from 15 minutes to 4 hours. (recommended 31 minutes)

Do this for 40 days and see what happens.

Red Flag: This would be inappropriate material from any American teacher. This by parameters of the English language is worship. I challenge you to think of a situation where you might be asked to do this with the picture of any person in America, even a preacher. Is it safe to assume there is a bit of indulgent ego involved in the meditation? Ego by common definition is
a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance.

Contradictions are RED FLAGS of deception.

For me the red flags were obvious. Despite these and plenty other, people will fall into and stay in the trap.

 The truth will not be found inside the fishbowl. Sometimes distance is necessary for clarity. Get a trusted, neutral opinion. Research! You have a world of information at your fingertips!
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/us/yogi-bhajan-75-boss-of-worlds-spiritual-and-capitalistic-dies.html

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-hassan/the-disturbing-mainstream_b_667026.html

 http://www.wackoworldofyogibhajan.net/

https://cultnews.com/category/3ho/