03-19-2014, 08:21 PM
This list is very relevant if you're channeling entities or are in any spiritual belief system or group. It's important to see if you are being controlled or if you're learning a philosophy of love and acceptance. This is properly called Lifeton's Eight Criteria of Thought Reform from this website: http://www.exitsupportnetwork.com/artcls...lifton.htm
Quote:Survivors of high demand, totalistic groups most likely have had the following psychological themes used on them by their leaders. Awareness and education are the only weapons against the subtle recruitment tactics of a deceptive group. Don't be a target of exploitation and abuse under the guise of religion.
All or most of these must be present to consider a group destructive. When all are present at the same time in a group that stresses separation, and with intentions that are deliberately kept unknown to the recruit, ego destruction may be the result...
Milieu control. Control over the members' flow of information and social interaction. Members are taught to report those that break the rule, a practice that increases dependence on the leadership. They are sometimes told not to believe anything they see or hear reported by the media.
Members are told not to trust any material that is critical of the group
Members are not to get close to those who are outside the group, or associate with former members
When they write, speak or think, it is to reflect only the group's philosophy and not their own ideas or feelings.
Mystical Manipulation- "Members seek to provoke specific patterns of behavior and emotion in such a way that these will appear to have arisen spontaneously from within the environment."
"[Members] have a sense of higher purpose, of having directly perceived some imminent law of social development and of being themselves the vanguard of this development."
Demand for Purity - Unreasonable rules and unreachable standards are imposed upon the members. The critical, shaming essence of the cult environment is gradually internalized by the members, which builds lots of guilt and shame, further magnifying their dependence on the group.
Confession - Past and present behavior, undesirable feelings are to be confessed. However, the information gained about you can be used against you to make you feel more guilty, powerless, fearful and ultimately in need of the group and the leader's goodness.
Sacred Science - The teachings of the group are viewed as the ultimate, unquestionable truth. The group is above criticism, whose Truth should be applied to all humankind and anyone who disagrees or has alternative ideas is not only irreverent, but also unscientific.
Loading the Language - The group's language serves the purpose of constructing their thinking and shutting down critical thinking abilities. "Groupspeak" forces members to censor, edit and slow down spontaneous bursts of criticism or opposite ideas. Soon members find it easier to talk among themselves than with outsiders, who are given derogatory names
Doctrine Over Person - As members rewrite their own personal history or ignore it, they are simultaneously taught to interpret reality through the group concepts and ignore their own experiences and feelings as they occur. Members learn to fit themselves into the group's way of life and individuals are valued only as they conform to group doctrine.
Dispensing of Existence - The group's totalistic environment emphasizes that the members are part of an elite or special group. Outsiders are considered unworthy or unenlightened. This thinking leads to the thinking that their whole existence centers on being in the group. If you leave, you join nothingness.
What is a Destructive Group?
A destructive group is a highly manipulative group or organization which exploits its members and can cause emotional, financial and physical harm. It dictates, in an absolute manner, the behavior, thoughts and emotions of its followers. Coercion and manipulation techniques are used to transform the new recruit into a loyal, obedient and subservient member.
Destructive groups claim a special status, for themselves or their leader, that usually sets them in opposition to mainline society and/or the family.
Destructive groups conceal their real nature and goals from prospective members by adopting deceptive behavior in order to attract new recruits.