View Full Version : "Large Group Awareness Training"
(..on the subject of mental/emotional health - this could fit in "personal growth and spirituality" as well, but I don't want to bury the active conversations there now and this can fit here too)
Six Danger Signs of Harmful LGAT's
So, you're on the outside looking in. Someone you know has attended a human potential seminar and when he/she returns you notice some changes - changes that you are not comfortable with.
Should you be concerned? What do you need to look out for?
Take a look at some of the points below. If some of these things look familiar to you, don't hestitate to read up more on them. There is a wealth of information on the subject, much of which can be found from the links provided, or else by doing a simple Google seach.
But even before I get there, I want to say a few things. If you recognize that someone close to you has been involved in a group using cult-like practices, DON'T rush in crying "Cult, Cult" or "Brainwashing!" Please read this article on coping strategies from Rick Ross first.
You may save yourself a lot of pain, and it may help you put together a constructive plan to help the person close to you.
A couple of things I have noticed for myself:
Often people who have been on these courses are told not to say what goes on there because this will spoil the experience for others who might want to do them in the future. Rubbish! This is a means of not revealing what happens on these courses. If it was known, I would suggest that many people would choose not to do them.
Another thing I have seen is that people who have been on such courses are also very vague about them when questioned. This is a Red Flag. Beware! Some people I have spoken to have had problems remembering what happened on these courses. A number of factors play into this such as confusion, lack of sleep, lack of food, and in some cases (which occur far too often) dissociation. Dissociation happens to people when they are put under extreme stress - this is how the body protects itself from that extreme stress.
The following warnings signs were posted by Chris Mathe, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology. He has worked as a trainer, facilitator, consultant, executive coach, and senior-level manager for over twenty years. I believe the six points he makes are very useful:
1. Radical change in personality or behavior.
Change is normal with any religious, philosophical, political, or social "conversion," but the key here is the word "radical."
Has the person gone from being a quiet introvert to being an outgoing extrovert? Has he or she suddenly begun talking about new ideas or using new words or expressions such as the drift, enlightenment, getting it, holistic, human potential, resonance, transformation, transpersonal, transcendental, life force, etc.
2. Severe depression or anxiety.
These symptoms can be indicators of post traumatic stress disorder, sometimes experienced by participants in New Age seminars.
These disorders can be triggered by negative episodes undergone during sessions of guided imagery or past-life regression often included as part of such seminars.
Both depression and anxiety are often accompanied by an inability to concentrate, chronic distraction, and inappropriate emotional response.
3. Confusion about reality, values, or knowledge.
Since Large Group Awareness Training and Human Potential Seminars are designed to "transform" the way one views and relates to the world, as well as to the tasks at hand, the transformational process can result in a disjuncture between the individual and everything else that makes it difficult to determine what is real, valuable, or true.
The insistence that "we create our own reality" can, when inculcated by means of hypnotic or assaultive techniques, cause one to suffer psychotic episodes.
4. Diminishing or loss of critical thinking skills.
The basic Eastern-mystical concept of the unity of all things includes as one of its corollaries that there are no distinctions between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, good and evil.
In fact, Eastern/New Age teaching generally attempts to invalidate Aristotelian logic in toto, so that "A" can also be "not-A."
This, if carried to the "logical" conclusion, makes nonsense out of language, and meaningful communication becomes impossible.
A typical New Age statement is, "That may be your reality, but it's not my reality."
5. Sudden onset of a series of physical ailments.
As Margaret Singer and Richard Ofshe have found in this article, radical thought reform programs can cause a variety of physical as well as psychological problems.
These include strokes, heart attacks, ulcers, stomach problems, increased pain related to periods for women, and lowered resistance to communicable diseases.
People need to be alert to these as they can be signs of psychological distress brought on by these types of training programs.
6. Marital or other relationship discord.
Seemingly normal "spats" between spouses, siblings, partners, or parents and children can be precipitated by attendance at a New Age (or other) seminar or program.
The radical transformation or conversion that often occurs frequently produces a fanatic out of the convert, whether the conversion is to New Age thinking or Christian fundamentalism.
Unconverted relatives normally find it difficult to endure the religious/metaphysical obsessions of the fanatic.
People should be prepared to inquire discreetly of the employee who is experiencing such discord at home to find out if the cause may be of this nature.
From: http://lgattruth.blogspot.com/2006/11/six-danger-signs-of-harmful-lgats.html
While mainstream spirituality seems to easily recognize the harm within mainstream religiosity, it often overlooks dangers within it's own grouping.
There is a great deal of positive gain in developing awareness and shedding rigidness. To pour jello in no mold can be equally as damaging.
Amie
Just completed Byron Katie's 9 Day School (March '09). I am disappointed to report that the information on Rick Ross's site is accurate...and, if anything, understated. I would sum the experience up by saying Katie used a two-by-four when a teaspoon would have done the job.
I think the fast was closer to 48 hours than to 36. There was no warning there; we were shepherded into the silent meal tent as usual after the silent morning walk (around the unlovely blocks nearest the hotel, across the street from LAX. Think: broken pavement, parking garages, and other hotels) to find water, lemons, and blank Worksheets. This went on for meal after meal for two days, culminating in a picnic at the end of the "homeless" field trip. By the time we took that field trip to Santa Monica and Venice Beach to consort with the homeless, those of us who had gone along with the fast were hungry, rather weak, frustrated, and pitiful...in other words, we fit right in and were grateful for any food the vagrants offered. It was the surprise factor that made these exercises cult-like. We were rarely told anything about what was to happen next. This was deliberate and, apparently designed to engender lots of strong emotions that we would then be able to "do the Work" on.
That field trip was advertised as one of several. There were no others, however. Nothing was ever explained. This seemed to be a matter of policy; we were taught not to use the concepts of "but" or "because" or to explain things to anyone. Exercises that might have been meaningful if I had known what was coming and prepared mentally, agreed to the experience, were usually presented in a tricky or sneaky fashion. We were an "all-volunteer" army full of conscripts, draftees, and the pressed. As an example, this exercise: we were given about 15 minutes to pick up some wrapping paper and ribbon (cheap and paltry, at that), go to our rooms, and bring back our most beloved possession, wrapped. We were told not to expect to ever see it again. This was on day eight in the morning. So completely had some participants given up their will, they wrapped their ID, credit cards, money, and often plane reservation confirmation information to put in the box. Several gave up wedding bands, expensive watches, family heirloom jewelry, and that sort of thing. I am told that, at the end, the items were put out and anyone who wanted to could recover their belongings, but few did so.
Many of the participants were Repeaters (recidivists) and knew what to expect. A surprising number had never spent any time doing the Work before. One person said a friend of a friend said they should come to The School, so they did. Katie seemed surprised by the number of novices and had to change the curriculum to cover more basic concepts in the first two days, forcing a rushed atmosphere in the last days. In the Money segment, it became clear that a fairly large proportion of the class came from privilege and entitlement backgrounds. Certainly, in those cases, it begged the question what kind of person pops out $5000.00 in this economy to devote 9 days to a program they know almost nothing about? Did parents and relatives send them hoping for a miracle? Many were obviously Bliss Ninnies flocking to the next Spiritual Hit.
I am exhausted. It was amazingly stressful, although I had thought we were going to lose much of our stress at The School. I'll post more later on the Surrenders, the Staff behavior, and Katie's behavior. Right now, I'm still trying to regain my equilibrium and de-tox from the experience. The days began at 7:00 a.m. and often ended after 9:00. All meals were to be taken with the group, eating only what was provided and nothing in between (and fasting, when they did not provide food, of course). The food was tailored to vegans, raw foodists, and vegetarians. Usually either egg or plain baked white bland fish was offered sometime in the day, but the overall protein content was insufficient. No salt, sugar, or strong flavorings that might have made the dishes more palatable were used or available. The typical meal was salad with only oil or miso dressing, fresh and plain steamed vegetables, tofu in some form, brown rice, quinoa, fresh fruit. It sounds, as I write, so much better than it was; day after day of the same foods, recycled usually into another tasteless dish, eaten in enforced silence...it was demoralizing and dehumanizing. Apparently, as with so many other features of The School, we were to learn that we really did not need food to taste good or familiar or interesting. This is feature of The School was especially unfortunate in the current national climate, I think. To reduce our carbon footprint, many of us are considering moving toward more local food, less animal protein, etc., in hopes of healing or slowing the destruction of our habitat. Really interesting, delicious vegetarian recipes are amply available and some of us carnivores might have been seduced by tasty vegetarian menus at The School to proceed along the same lines back home. Instead, I am longing for salmon, tuna, shrimp (all of which could have been offered within a lacto-ovo-fish regime), salt, garlic, etc. And...dare I say it?... ribs!
We were told to give up our supplements, medications we did not need (CMA: "If you are prescribed a medication, you must take it" And, yet, many gave up their prescribed medications anyway, apparently hoping to be so purified by The Work that they would not need them), make-up, jewelry and other apparel enhancements (some people appeared to wear the same clothes for days at a time), exercise, and all our other "addictions." In my observation, addiction to The School and The Work were meant to replace all else.
The boot-camp tactics and mentality, the pressure to conform to total thought and behavior requirements, and many other features seemed very cult-like to me. I would not hesitate to say The School is a cult experience. And I'm sad for that, since I think The Work is a very useful tool for self-help. Something seems to be going very wrong in BKI and The School. All things arise, organize, and disintegrate. The School is on the down slope in my opinion. More later.
http://guruphiliac.lefora.com/2009/03/23/byron-katies-school-for-the-work-march-09/
This person is very descriptive as he/she goes on:
There was a failure to engage another person...EXCEPT when The Work was in progress. Doing The Work with Staff was a crazy-making experience. They might not make eye-contact at any other point in nine days, but they were entirely present while doing The Work. They opened up and became real people while doing The Work on themselves. They might insist on a big hug at the end. Then, next time you saw them, they would usually look past you like you weren't there.
From another person in that thread who had attended one of Katie's seminars:
"guru," so it sounds like you were coming from a spiritual seeking approach.
When Katie talks about how she perceives reality, I'm hearing it as, roughly, "here is how a woman lives whose time perception mechanism has turned off and who has lost her sense of identity(*)." I'm not hearing her words as a message, a philosophy or as "enlightenment" or as spiritual. So perhaps I am less inclined to look to her for any answers. I just like her questions, and they're always the same, so I don't need her to be the asker :-). In fact, my understanding has gone in the opposite direction: I'm now wondering if "enlightenment" in the non-dual sense isn't just a state of bliss/oneness that happens when a few select individuals in history have had their language centers disrupted. Maybe the non-dual experience--as attractive as it may be--has no spiritual component at all and is just the result of a brain glitch.
(*) More bluntly: whose brain centers controlling such functions operate differently or don't operate. Read Jill Bolte Taylor's book, "My Stroke of Insight" and you'll hear all the same experiences Katie describes -- living in a frozen set of "now"s, extreme bliss, a sense of non-identification with the body and identification with everyone and everything, etc. Only Taylor chalks it up to the trauma caused to a specific brain region during her stroke.
What I like about this conversation, is that they aren't seeking to destroy her. They acknowledge the benefits (just like I do). However, they don't deny some observable 'flags' just because they benefited.
I've been doing a lot of reading over at The Ross Institute Archives for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements (http://www.rickross.com) and I plan to read more. I saw a lot of stuff written by accredited folks (PhD's).
The experiences that people share having had with Katie, align with behaviors and techniques within "Large Group Awareness Training" (:"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Group_Awareness_Training") which "refers to activities usually offered by groups linked with the "human potential movement" (http://www.rickross.com/sg_hpotential.html).
The correlation doesn't mean that she exacts the same level of damage, or that she intends to. If you read over everything, there seeems to be a general consensus that she is genuine. The point in bringing any of this up is not to bash her or the work.
I think that some of the "mind control" type methods, and the leaders who do take advantage of "group think" aren't limited to "new age" type groups. A ton of folks, including me, clearly recognize control tactics used by religious organizations.
This is about further raising awareness concerning all methods of control that are used. Also, just like there can be negative consequences to thoughtlessly following "fundamentalistic" directions, so can there be negative consequences in the direction of spirituality.
For example, what type of results would come of not engaging anyone unless they used "The Work"? What natural human tendencies are being used?
Amie
Laren
08-18-2011, 05:20 AM
the thing is.....and i could give a "rat's ass" about LGAT workshops.....but for everyone that goes to one and writes about a "bad experience" you can find hundreds who have gone and had incredible experiences that has opened their world to a different way of perceiving things. I know 8 family members / people who have gone to these type of workshops.....and of the 8; 6 have had life changing perceptual shifts. Two had "ok" experiences. None have had psychotic epsisodes. The whole psychotic episode thing is just speculation as far as i can tell; i was hoping for more "fact" rather than speculation. But either way, i really don't care. My point was not whether LARGE group awarness training programs are harmful. My point is that developing awareness whether we call it the "aware ego" or "that which is beyond the ego" is a helpful tool; not so we "dissociate" from emotions; but so that we dont get "sucked" into the emotion (reactive living) VS. watching, observing, feeling; allowing, loving, embracing the emotion/feelings (responding to it). It's the difference between urinating and believing "i am a urinator", vs. urinating and knowing "i am one that urinates", lol.
but either way; i'm done with this conversation as i will continue to embrace "me" from a place of awareness/self love. and i don't believe one has to "go to a large group" to do this; and i do see "red flags" if that is the message...."if u don't...you will never be healed". B.S.
Laren,
The first list of "danger signs" were written by a PhD. I don't see that we are disagreeing on a single point. Just today I recommended Katie's book "Loving What Is". My intent was only to raise awareness that more spiritual stuff is capable of creating negative consequences. Your comment, "I'm done with this conversation as I will continue.." sounds like you are taking this as if I'm trying to talk you out of something. Of course, it can easily be my own mistake in perception so I'm asking - is that how you have been taking my intent?
Amie
PS - Where's the rat's ass you owe me? :-)
Laren
08-18-2011, 05:22 PM
Amie, on a thread back a few; you said something to the effect of "laren if you are ready for a fight; i'm ready for ya, not scared of u"......i realize that was somewhat of a joke; but it was so oddly put into that thread.....it felt like to me "a sort of joke" but also a "jab". So truthfully; re: LGA stuff...i don't give a rats ass, you can have that argument as one "chalked up for u". that's where that came from.
I was 100%, not "somewhat" attempting to be playful in an effort to communicate that I wasn't being seriously combative at all. I thought that the absurdity of the whole 'put your dukes' up mentality would be recognized. I apologize for my error. I don't want your chalked up points, thanks. They sting.
Laren
08-18-2011, 05:59 PM
I was 100%, not "somewhat" attempting to be playful in an effort to communicate that I wasn't being seriously combative at all. I thought that the absurdity of the whole 'put your dukes' up mentality would be recognized. I apologize for my error. I don't want your chalked up points, thanks. They sting.
I apologize too, beyond that......i am in a pissy mood anyway.....my right eye is all screwed up again...lost central vision....and i saw specialist yesterday.....got the "yup, it's way worse this time; but nothing we can do but let time see if it heals; caused by stress...try to get rid of stress in your life, exercise lightly, stop caffeine; and it might get better. ". frustrates me.....like that is something i'll just go drink a can of, "anti stress" drink. anyway; and now trying to quit coffeee. dang; i love coffee. anyway; i withdraw the "chalk one up". that wasn't called for.
There was no love lost, even when you were under my skin, LOL! How's that for what appears to be becoming a seasoned friendship! ..as much as it can be "virtually" that is! I guess brothers and sisters have spats, heh!
But damnit! I love coffee too and that just sucks! What you're dealing with about your eye is only compounded by the bs, huh?! What happened to your eye anyway? Or, what is wrong with it? Genetic? Injury?...
Amie
Laren
08-18-2011, 06:04 PM
http://www.cushings-help.com/csr.htm
What have you done before that helps you to feel a lighter load?
That's really awful btw Laren, I'm so sorry!
Laren
08-18-2011, 07:29 PM
What have you done before that helps you to feel a lighter load?
temporarily suppression/repression is about the best to get me through "temporarily".....but really the question might be what have i not tried. i've tried prayer, christianity, universalism, preterism, new age, breath work, mental processing, emotional processing, a gazillion self help books; tapping, isochronic beats, binural beats, dyanmic meditation, meditation, exercise, ativan, ambien, zoloft, herbs, antioxidants, drinking, jesus, accupressure, massagge, reiki, small awareness group seminars, etc........i've tried changing the external environment, my internal mind, law of attraction etc. LOL
truth is........it's all exhausting and i'm still stressed out and now my body is breaking down too. oh yay.
Paige
08-18-2011, 10:20 PM
So sorry to hear that, Laren. Wish I could offer something that would actually help.
Interesting conversation ...
I was part of a Christian cult ... came in as a participant, and then became part of the "inner circle" (aka clergy couple), and yeah ... there's much in the way of manipulative mind-control going on behind the scenes ... exacerbated by a pastor who was a psychologist who worked at St. Elizabeth's hospital (mental hospital with Hinckley is incarcerated).
Then I was part of one of those "large group awareness" encounters ... again, first, as a participant, and then groomed to take over the thing ... which fell apart as soon as they realized that I was a "Universalist" and compounded when they discovered I was also a dreaded "preterist".
Whew - spared..!
Anyway, yeah, I see, saw, and experienced those red flags ... I'm also familiar with Amway ... MLM's in general ... and in fact, I tend to see all flavors of Christianity as being part of the "cult mindset" ... using fear, guilt, shame, group-think, peer-pressure, persecution (common enemy) complexes to "bond", isolation from "others", exclusivity ("we are the special/chosen ones"), etc. Rampant stuff ...
Now, I do have to say that the woman from whom those articles are taken, is a bit (ok, a LOT) on the far side of this cult-watching thing ... she was a Mormon, and then a Jehovah's Witness ... and she would be up in arms over what is discussed here, on T/G, as well.
All that said, I have derived much help from Byron Katie's books, and videos ... I have not attended one of her training seminars ... and I've come to believe that I don't NEED anything outside of me, but I do NOT equate her work, nor "Eastern" focused spirituality, along the same lines as the cults that are being exposed on that website ...
I'm a little surprised that so much is being painted with such a broad brush ... really surprised, actually.
But ... for those who still feel a wee bit incomplete, I offer this:
http://www.mothertree.com/home/images/ratsass-full.gif
Laren ... I am visualizing, FEELing, and celebrating, the full and total restoration of your eye ... thanking God/Presence/Universe for that benevolent outcome even NOW...!
Laren
08-19-2011, 09:33 AM
temporarily suppression/repression is about the best to get me through "temporarily".....but really the question might be what have i not tried. i've tried prayer, christianity, universalism, preterism, new age, breath work, mental processing, emotional processing, a gazillion self help books; tapping, isochronic beats, binural beats, dyanmic meditation, meditation, exercise, ativan, ambien, zoloft, herbs, antioxidants, drinking, jesus, accupressure, massagge, reiki, small awareness group seminars, etc........i've tried changing the external environment, my internal mind, law of attraction etc. LOL
truth is........it's all exhausting and i'm still stressed out and now my body is breaking down too. oh yay.
from an online book i am reading....hit home with me today...in the heart...
CHAPTER 3: HUMILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
It is humbling to discover that
In all my explorations
I have found nothing new about Truth.
When I first entered the field of healing I did so on the back of some ideas that sounded right and convincing, but that actually led me astray. Most of these ideas came out of The New Age Movement. At first I too fancied myself as a New-Ager. That was until I realized that the truths that actually worked for me were the age-old ones. In all my explorations of consciousness I have found nothing new about Truth.
For example, I spent many years trying to heal myself. I first certified as a Swedish Massage Therapist and then as a Reiki Master. In between I immersed myself in studying Aromatherapy, Color Therapy, Sound Therapy and Polarity. I was fanatical about collecting any information that would empower me as a self-healer. I loved Reiki because it enabled me to lay my hands on my own body. This passion for self-healing wasn’t born out of vanity; I was motivated by a very acute and debilitating ailment. Yet no matter what I studied and how devoutly I applied the knowledge, nothing in my life experience really changed. It was only after I was introduced to consciously connected breathing that I realized I had been barking up the wrong tree.
During my fifth or sixth consciously connected breathing session I had an experience in which I touched the immortal perfection of my own being. I came face to face with the truth that I, as I AM, am unchangeable. As a result of this profound insight I integrated something very powerful: I realized that what I AM always has been and always will be and that there was nothing broken and nothing that needed to be fixed. Trying to heal my Self was in fact a misguided intention and had therefore been an inappropriate use of my time and energy. In that moment I integrated that it was my experience that I was having difficulty with, not what I AM. In other words, I integrated that I was not my experience, that it was more accurate to say that I was having an experience. It then became crystal clear that what had inspired me to enter the world of healing was not that ‘I’ was uncomfortable, but that I was having an uncomfortable experience. From that moment onward I re-focused my intentions and began working on changing my experience and from that moment balance began to re-enter my life.
Knowing that I was not my experience also opened the doors to self-forgiveness and compassion; two essential ingredients to having a beautiful and joyous life. I no longer judged myself based on the experience I was having. Instead I began to teach myself how to compassionately step back from my experience so that I could commence the re-balancing of my physical, mental and emotional circumstances from a point of inherent innocence. Understanding that everyone else was also having an experience, as opposed to being his or her experience, enabled me to begin opening my heart and having greater compassion for everyone around me.
Another New Age truth that sabotaged me was the one that declares that we create our own reality. At first I loved this idea because it sounded so self-empowering. That was until I attempted to apply it in my own life. Working with the understanding that thought and emotion creates, I literally transformed myself into a list of walking-talking positive affirmations. But no matter how much I mentally and emotionally affirmed the reality that I wanted to exist in, the universe continually found some way to add stuff to my experience that I hadn’t requested. There was also tons of stuff in my experience that I wouldn’t even have thought about requesting! At first I blamed my unconscious mind for sabotaging me and did everything I could to get this seemingly resistant part of my being to play ball. Fortunately I was relieved of this endeavor after an integration that took place whilst sitting on a sheltered porch and having a rainy-day conversation with a couple of friends. Our chatter went something like this:
“This rain makes me want to curl up in bed with hot chocolate and a video…”
“Not me, I get melancholy and feel inspired to write soppy poems about lost love.”
“Well, it draws me outside. I feel the urge to take a long walk and watch the colors reflected in the puddles.”
In the silence that ensued I considered the fact that maybe all three of us had been responsible for creating the rain that fell upon the ground all around us. Maybe the whole city had. Maybe the whole of humanity was involved in creating a shared experience. Or maybe not. What was certain though was that we were all having our own experience of a reality that was seemingly unfolding with or without us and that our own experiences differed not in content but in quality.
If we choose to entertain the idea that we create our own reality then we must take into account the manifestation of detail of the construction of the chairs and tables of any room we walk into. We must also oversee the manifestation of the type of cutlery we use in a restaurant right down to the detail of its weight, design and its dimensions. This would include the species of pot plants in the buss station that we are briefly walking through and the nutrient and water content of the soil they were in. Which human, New Ager or not, has the time or inclination to determine the content and exact appearance of such intricate detail in every aspect of their moment by moment reality?
It became obvious to me on that rainy day afternoon that when we say that ‘we create our own reality’ that we are not being literal about the actual physical details of our experience. We do not determine the brand of perfume worn by the woman who stamps our visa as we briefly pass through a foreign airport terminal. To say this would be the height of arrogance and the depths of delusion. Therefore what is it we really mean when we say we create our own reality?
On this human level I do not entertain the idea that I literally create my own reality. I simply cannot be that arrogant, although I can accept that my identity when I am completely merged with what I call God does. But here, as I walk through my human experience, I choose to be as real as I can about what part of the experience I am responsible for. I am definitely not responsible for the shape and velocity of each raindrop in a passing storm, nor the precise location and intensity at which it chooses to disintegrate upon the earth. Those who sincerely believe they literally create their reality are saying that they are. I cannot join them in the present state of my human experience and simultaneously retain my integrity.
Instead I choose to accept that, whilst having this human experience, there is something much bigger than what I am aware of, something divinely intelligent that is continually flowing in and out and all around my life experience. I choose to call this “bigger thing” God’s Will. I choose to embrace it by acknowledging our shared inner presence. On some level I can accept that I am completely One with this Divine Intelligence, but I do not see the need to take responsibility for all of It while I am only privy to such a small part of It. This would be pre-mature. Instead I prefer to humbly take a step back from the idea that I literally create my own reality and instead place my attention on and align my intention with what God has placed within my grasp right now.
I prefer to embrace the understanding that there is a Divine Blueprint that is flowing gracefully all around me. In each moment It has already taken care of details such as the precise construction of the chair in the restaurant, the species of pot plants in the bus terminal and the brand of the woman’s perfume I smell as I briefly pass through the Chicago Airport security checkpoint. By allowing for this Divine Blueprint to unfold beyond my conscious awareness I am simultaneously embracing the idea that your presence is part of its unfolding and that you are therefore a co-creator of my personal life experience. Of course the Oneness of this awesome plan is a reality that I intend to awaken too, but at my present human level this is an experience that I am only participating in as a co-creator – not as the only creator.
So what is my honest and very real part in all of this right now? It is this: it is one of my truths that I create my own experience of this unfolding Divine Blueprint. And I meet my own experience of it by taking responsibility for the quality of every experience I have.
Is this moment a problem or is it a challenge?
Is it an obstacle or an opportunity?
Is it happening to sabotage me or to humble my arrogance?
Answering questions like these defines the quality of every experience I have. Choosing to answer questions like these is my choice to be responsible for the part of the Divine Blueprint that is within my potential to affect.
My life experience is like a big physical, mental and emotional river that’s flowing all around me. I am awash in It. If I choose to swim upstream I will not have as comfortable an experience as if I allow myself to flow within Its currents. But no matter what, I will go where the river intends. Simple choices in each passing moment are what determine the quality of my life experience. These I can make from my human level of awareness. Yes, on some level I accept that I AM God. But for the moment I prefer to be exactly where I am NOW: God being human. This approach is honest and real and keeps my feet firmly on the ground that I came here to walk upon.
So for now I prefer to say that I am responsible for the quality of all my experiences, rather than saying that ‘I create my own reality’. In this human world I share my reality with many other co-creators and I am responsible for the quality of all the experiences I have with them. But I am certainly not responsible for the quality of their experiences. Rather than being responsible for the experiences of others I prefer to use my intent to open myself up to understanding what the Will of God is for me, and then doing my best to work in tune with that. This is quite enough to keep me on my toes without having to take on the responsibility for the whole …uh…whatever it is?
Also, as far as I am concerned there is no ‘New Age’. There is just HERE and NOW and what really works HERE and NOW always has and always will. For example, a healthy dose of humility has always led to a greater understanding of God’s Blueprint. Nothing will ever change that.
Paige
08-19-2011, 10:01 AM
That really spoke to me, Laren. Very nice way of putting it, if you ask me...
I'm a little surprised that so much is being painted with such a broad brush ... really surprised, actually.
What is being painted with a broad brush and by whom?
Amie
Laren,
I like the way what you shared words it as well. Balance like that tends to yield positive results.
I'm also very happy that you find some relief via a temporary sort of objective stillness. Some relief, even temporary, is way better than no relief!
Amie
What is being painted with a broad brush and by whom?
Amie
Byron Katie, all things labeled "new age" being deemed to be a cult ... by the cult-expose woman ...
what I AM always has been and always will be and that there was nothing broken and nothing that needed to be fixed. Trying to heal my Self was in fact a misguided intention and had therefore been an inappropriate use of my time and energy.
Ok ... I'm STILL crying at work ... SO many emotions!
And I'm also uberly grateful that I do NOT have to waste time not money to become a Reiki master, or a Swedish massage therapist ... and don't have to sit on a hillside, wearing Depends, pretending to be a guru ... unLESS that will be my abundance manifestation opportunity ... LOL!
(do Depends come in thong-style?)
Truly, I LOVE these articles ...!
Now, I do have to say that the woman from whom those articles are taken, is a bit (ok, a LOT) on the far side of this cult-watching thing ... she was a Mormon, and then a Jehovah's Witness ... and she would be up in arms over what is discussed here, on T/G, as well.
Well then I'm surprised that you're surprised! lol! But - I don't mean that in a "*gasp* I can't believe Dena" kind of way, lol! I'm thinking of the quote, "One looking for flaws leaves too little for construction" and how you describe that woman. (She having gone in looking for flaws..) Is she one of the people I quoted?
All that said, I have derived much help from Byron Katie's books, and videos ... I have not attended one of her training seminars ... and I've come to believe that I don't NEED anything outside of me, but I do NOT equate her work, nor "Eastern" focused spirituality, along the same lines as the cults that are being exposed on that website ...
Like I told Laren (I think), I recommended her book to a friend just Friday. But you (and most if not all of the people here) know that I've even facilitated "The Work" and recommend her all of the time.
I think that the tools offered by Katie can be used to the extreme, and I think that Katie's own behavior reflects an internal disconnect. I think that extreme cases are demonstrative, in other words, of some of those "danger signs" way back at post #1.
I hear ya when you say that woman's perception is chalked up with bias (assuming she's the one I quoted). I know someone that is pretty negative about women and I'm not sure that I'd engage him unless I had to and something like that might explain her experience. At the same time, if they treat everyone like that (not acknowledging or connecting outside of the work), that concerns me.
Amie
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