Wow.
I just heard about "LGAT" & "Human Potential Movement" and realized I got sucked into similar groups several times. They are extraordinarily dangerous, and most 'leaders' are likely narcissists, psychopaths, and the like. AKA, they love to victim blame the real victims.
Its all the same. They have a leader that is extremely charismatic and manipulative, which the victims praise and adore more than anyone else. They preach of enlightenment (oh right, you just have to pay x0000s of dollars to get this secret realized), a utopian future, "transformation" through weird yoga or transcendental meditation or similar things, they are attractive to weak minded people seeking meaning and answers in life, and a better world.
They all, in my experience, endorse victim blaming. Just like Byron Katie, Ekhart Tolle, Rainiere, PhDs in psych who pretend to be educating people on dark triad disordered people, spiritual 'gurus' that lurk in your hometown, etc.
Usually they attract unknowing, young and compassionate folks who are often just out of abuse and still trauma-bonded or the like. Still somewhat blame themselves for the abuse, and are confused. They are seeking self-development, truth, and meaning in life. Of-course, the victim isn't at all responsible for the abuser's actions, nor are they responsible for changing the abuser.
I'd like to give you an example of a cultish group I was in for a period about 4 years ago.
One cultish group I got manipulated by taught us that there was something wrong with the victims, something about us we had to change, in order to make the abusers feel better. Exactly what abusers do to their victims. Abusers make victims think that the abuse is their fault, that something is fundamentally wrong with them, and that they hold the key, the only key, to make things better. The 'leader' was re-traumatizing indivduals over an hours long period, where they were pressured to re-living their worst traumas and then forced them to admit their anger towards the abuser is holding the abuser back, and is hurtful, and that the abuser is actually the victim, thus victim-blaming them in disguise. Further, he (the leader) claimed that all abusers were in pain BECAUSE the victims had believed they were abused and had anger towards them, so he reinforced that we are actually the abusers, not the other way around. Huge guilt tripping. It worked, even on me at the time. This method is called brainwashing, and it works because it exploits our vulnerabilities, makes us more vulnerable by putting us through the trauma all over again, and then tricks us into thinking its our fault. It happened so slowly, and I was already very vulnerable and still being abused by some people, so I fell for it. They offer utopian dreams. A way to cure the evil in the world.
In another cult-like group I was in, which was practicing in my university, there was the same kind of manipulative, cruel victim blaming, combined with sexual abuse, verbal abuse, and emotional abuse of other kinds. They used a brainwashing technique that was similar to transcendental meditation and yoga. They all run along the same lines, I think. Its just in these groups, the victim-blaming aspect is very well disguised.
I agree, @bakkagirl, that LGAT and similar movements are just like 'abusive domestic' relationships, just on a more global scale, affecting more victims. These cults are brainwashing their victims into thinking the SAME THINGS that domestic abusers use. The leaders, from my perspective, are usually or probably always narcissists and psychopaths. They feed off of being 'all knowing' special leaders. All in all, at the end of it, it comes down to blaming the victim.
sashah
I just heard about "LGAT" & "Human Potential Movement" and realized I got sucked into similar groups several times. They are extraordinarily dangerous, and most 'leaders' are likely narcissists, psychopaths, and the like. AKA, they love to victim blame the real victims.
Its all the same. They have a leader that is extremely charismatic and manipulative, which the victims praise and adore more than anyone else. They preach of enlightenment (oh right, you just have to pay x0000s of dollars to get this secret realized), a utopian future, "transformation" through weird yoga or transcendental meditation or similar things, they are attractive to weak minded people seeking meaning and answers in life, and a better world.
They all, in my experience, endorse victim blaming. Just like Byron Katie, Ekhart Tolle, Rainiere, PhDs in psych who pretend to be educating people on dark triad disordered people, spiritual 'gurus' that lurk in your hometown, etc.
Usually they attract unknowing, young and compassionate folks who are often just out of abuse and still trauma-bonded or the like. Still somewhat blame themselves for the abuse, and are confused. They are seeking self-development, truth, and meaning in life. Of-course, the victim isn't at all responsible for the abuser's actions, nor are they responsible for changing the abuser.
I'd like to give you an example of a cultish group I was in for a period about 4 years ago.
One cultish group I got manipulated by taught us that there was something wrong with the victims, something about us we had to change, in order to make the abusers feel better. Exactly what abusers do to their victims. Abusers make victims think that the abuse is their fault, that something is fundamentally wrong with them, and that they hold the key, the only key, to make things better. The 'leader' was re-traumatizing indivduals over an hours long period, where they were pressured to re-living their worst traumas and then forced them to admit their anger towards the abuser is holding the abuser back, and is hurtful, and that the abuser is actually the victim, thus victim-blaming them in disguise. Further, he (the leader) claimed that all abusers were in pain BECAUSE the victims had believed they were abused and had anger towards them, so he reinforced that we are actually the abusers, not the other way around. Huge guilt tripping. It worked, even on me at the time. This method is called brainwashing, and it works because it exploits our vulnerabilities, makes us more vulnerable by putting us through the trauma all over again, and then tricks us into thinking its our fault. It happened so slowly, and I was already very vulnerable and still being abused by some people, so I fell for it. They offer utopian dreams. A way to cure the evil in the world.
In another cult-like group I was in, which was practicing in my university, there was the same kind of manipulative, cruel victim blaming, combined with sexual abuse, verbal abuse, and emotional abuse of other kinds. They used a brainwashing technique that was similar to transcendental meditation and yoga. They all run along the same lines, I think. Its just in these groups, the victim-blaming aspect is very well disguised.
I agree, @bakkagirl, that LGAT and similar movements are just like 'abusive domestic' relationships, just on a more global scale, affecting more victims. These cults are brainwashing their victims into thinking the SAME THINGS that domestic abusers use. The leaders, from my perspective, are usually or probably always narcissists and psychopaths. They feed off of being 'all knowing' special leaders. All in all, at the end of it, it comes down to blaming the victim.
sashah