JB writes: “I am curious as to your position on the use of “essential Oils”. I have a friend who is the mother of six beautiful children. I am concerned over her habitual use and reliance on these oils. . . .”
An Anonymous writer asks: “I have a Protestant friend who is very interested in the writings/teachings of Fr. Richard Rohr. I’m afraid my friend may be getting wrong ideas about our Church. I don’t know why I have a strange feeling about this Priest, when I really know next to nothing about what he teaches. Do you know if his writings are orthodox and loyal to the Magesterium? Am I completely off-base, or should my friend be warned about Fr. Rohr?”
K asks: “Can you please tell me if the Manquehue Movement (began in Chile, lectio divina, communities) is an acceptable Catholic movement? I am looking at a highschool for my children, where the Benedictine monks promote this. Thank you so much!”
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
An explosive new report by The New York Times documents two more defectors from the Church of Scientology who say they were routinely abused by the cult and its leaders.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A man who claimed to use his psychic abilities to predict the stock market and guide investors has been charged with securities fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
EW writes: “I am writing for information about a gift that I received from some Catholic women friends. I have heard them talk about the practice of Reiki and Healing Touch. They are involved with it in the hospital settings. They call it a prayer blanket and they are hand-made from cloth material. It is 17” x 17”, the back and front are beautifully quilted. In the front is a centered cross. The prayer blanket comes with a prayer blessing for the one that places it on the part of the body that needs prayer. I heard a priest in his homily that Catholic school children made prayer blankets and sent them to the missions for a school project. Does this have anything to do with the New Age?”
ST writes: “With all the new age classes;{yoga, tai chi, pilates), and martial arts;(tai chi, karate), and SWAT taking place at the YMCA and any health club I’ve looked into, I avoid going to them even to ride a stationary bike or walk on the treadmill. People think I’m crazy, but I don’t want to be in an environment that will put my soul in danger. That is most important. I was told by a priest that as long as I don’t participate in these classes, that it would be OK to work out in these facilities. I’m not feeling that he is correct. What do you think?”
I would have to agree with the priest. Unless you are directly involved in these practices, you would not be harmed by them. This is especially true if you go to these gyms with the proper spiritual protection in place (praying for protection such as the St. Michael prayer, wearing your scapular or a blessed medal, etc.).
But having said all that, this whole situation still makes me want to scream – and this is why.
Don’t all of these fitness trends derive from eastern religions? Then why, in a politically correct culture that is always so careful not to push their religion on others, do they cram this stuff down our throats in every fitness center on the block? If these fitness concepts were based on faith in Jesus Christ, they’d be tripping over themselves in their haste to get the programs thrown out.
This is just another example of a dirty little double standard that Christians need to confront whenever they see it.
For instance, I just saw an article praising the benefits of tai chi in a Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine! Then there’s Dr. Oz’s book – You, Staying Young – that exalts either yoga or tai chi on every other page. This stuff is everywhere!
The time has come for Christians to fight back through 1) prayer and 2) writing polite letters that turn the tables on these establishments and let them know how dissatisfied we are that their organization/publication, etc. is foisting religion on people under the guise of health and fitness. (This is especially true for the YMCA – the Young Men’s Christian Association!!)
We might also point out that there is absolutely no reason to promote yoga, tai chi, pilates, etc. because there are many non-religion based alternatives available. And these alternatives are not based on the balancing of ”universal life force energy” that is not scientifically supported. Established fitness programs are based on science and are a much healthier choice.
However, if an establishment insists on offering these programs (and they will because they’re big sellers), they should at least provide full disclosure to participants by letting them know about their links to religion.
Another option will be to stop patronizing these organizations – but be sure to send them a letter and let them know why you left.
However, don’t be surprised or even disappointed if they continue to promote their yoga, tai chi and SWAT classes. The point is to at least make them squirm a little. If we have no right to “push our religion off on others” neither do they!
SC writes: “My sister, a confirmed Catholic and the godmother of my daughter, attended a Landmark Forum last weekend in Cincinnati. She was “invited” by her boyfriend. After looking at a website on cults and watching a video that a French TV station did on this group, I do believe that it is a cult. It has been around for awhile, but seems to have really hit the Midwest. I looked on your New Age blog but couldn’t find an entry on this particular group. I told her it is anti-Christian and at the very least, she will be out of a lot of money. She has already signed up for more weekends, and asked me why I thought it was anti-Christian. What could be wrong with trying to make your relationships better with family and friends, she says? She is a smart woman and so is the boyfriend - I can’t understand how they could be drawn to something which is such a scam.”
SC has good reason to be concerned – but she needn’t be surprised that someone as intelligent and gifted as her sister could be lured into one of these self-help scams.
According to experts such as Dr. Margaret Singer, Fr. William Kent Butner, Rick Ross, and others, most people who become involved in what are referred to as “white collar cults,” are above average in intelligence, are mentally healthy with normal social skills for their age and tend toward high ideals and a commitment toward making the world better. Even though different seminars recruit different kinds of people, a typical “hook” is to find people who are in the midst of a major change in their lives (divorce, new job, mid-life crisis, etc.). While typical cult converts tend to be people in their late teens and early twenties, in the case of white collar cults, a disproportionate number of attendees are older and female.
Landmark, the program SC’s sister has become involved in, has a long history of problems. It is classified as a “possible cult” in France and The Cult Awareness and Information Center in Australia has listed Landmark among “psychotherapy cults.”
There have been numerous articles written in professional medical journals about the dangers of Landmark (formerly known as est and Forum) which you can read here: http://www.rickross.com/reference/landmark/landmark22.html
For example, the Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology [990; 58(1): 99-108], published a study of participants in Landmark compared with non-participating peers and found that participants were significantly more distressed then peer and normative samples.
Cult Expert Rick Ross has devoted an entire web page to educating the public about Landmark. This page includes court documents pertaining to litigation against Landmark, labor violations, personal testimonies, and a variety of news reports. See http://www.rickross.com/groups/landmark.html
For those who are unfamiliar with all this, Landmark descended from the original New Age self-help seminar known as est (Latin for “it is”).
Est was founded by Werner Erhard (not his real name), a former used car salesman who worked his way into a vice presidency at Parents magazine. He became heavily involved in the New Age and Zen Buddhism, and attended some of the earliest group awareness seminars taking place in the New Age retreat known as Esalen in Big Sur, California from where the modern human potential movement originated.
Erhard claims to have had a vision in 1971 while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge that led to the development of est.
Based on Eastern beliefs and teachings from the Church of Scientology, est is what psychologists call a large group awareness training program. It’s a hodgepodge of philosophies ranging from existential philosophy, motivational psychology, Maxwell Maltz’s Pscho-cybernetics, Zen Buddhism, Alan Watts, Freud, Abraham Maslow, L. Ron Hubbard, Hinduism, Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, P.T. Barnum, and just about anyone else who appealed to him at the time.
Erhard promised participants that his program would “empower” them to “produce effective action.” He would enable them to “produce new ways of working.” He would transform the basis of their communication. They would be able “to cause life instead of just living it.”
Est adopted, in part, the Zen master approach, which is often abusive, profane, demeaning and authoritarian, and is most famously known for the extraordinary bladder control expected of those in est training as shown in the 1978 Burt Reynolds movie, Semi-Tough.
Before Erhard left the country in 1991, more than 700,000 people had undergone his training programs and he was worth $45 million. Now known as Landmark, a multitude of other programs have spun-off of est, such as the popular Lifespring, many of which employ the same techniques.
The biggest problem with these seminars is that they are often promoted as ways to help improve self-motivation, leadership skills, or workplace performance, which lures people into them who would not otherwise participate.
However, once the attendees arrive, they quickly discover the truth.
“The usual function of these seminars, which is not advertised, is to break down the identity and world view of the participants, and replace it with a new paradigm for reality and self-identity based on the philosophies belonging to the founders of these programs,” writes Marcia Montenegro, founder of the New Age research organization known as Christian Answers for the New Age. “In effect, it is mind re-reprogramming.”
This mind-reprogramming is accomplished through a variety of mind-altering techniques such as deep relaxation, guided imagery, and visualization.
Trance-induction techniques are also employed and involve closed-eye exercises, a form of guided imagery, and the “dyad”, which is the pairing off of participants who are told to stare into each other’s eyes for several minutes at a time. During these “trances” trainers may encourage participants to recall their most powerful memories as a way of conquering their past, something that can cause dangerous psychotic episodes in fragile individuals.
“The trainers usually get you to think of all your most powerful memories, under the guise of somehow conquering your past,” says Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California at Berkley and a leading expert on human potential groups.
Dr. Singer has counseled more than 50 workshop graduates, some of whom attempted suicide in the aftermath of a program. “A trained professional knows when someone should not be put under stress,” she said. “And these people have absolutely no training outside the group.”
This blog has documented similar tragedies associated with another one of these programs known as The Turning Point (see http://lhla.org/newage/?p=8 ).
Because of how many of these programs exist (and how often they change their names after a slew of lawsuits and other bad publicity), it’s important to learn how to recognize them. Marcia Montenegro lists the following warning signs on her website:
• The organization’s leadership or past participants refuse to share the contents of the seminar beforehand
• You are required to sign a “hold harmless” agreement which protects the organization from legal action should you be harmed by the program
• The organization uses hyper language offering self-transformation
• Strong sales-type techniques are used to get you to participate
• The organization portrays its critics as ignorant, evil, or influenced by Satan
• The organization dissuades you from evaluating the teachings and methods yourself
• The organization discourages or discounts criticism from participants or others
• Promises are made to redesign your view of your self and reality
• Past participants exhibit an elitist attitude toward those who have not participated
• Past participants are pressured to recruit
For all of the above reasons, Christians should never become involved in any of these programs because they often seek to destroy the Judeo-Christian worldview and replace it with a New Age version.
This is why the Pontifical document, Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life, condemns the human potential movement, of which Landmark is a part, calling it “the clearest example of the conviction that humans are divine, or contain a divine spark within themselves.”
Send your New Age questions to newage@lhla.org
MD asks: “What is your opinion of Cenacles, and the Marian Movement of Priests?”
AE writes about a “chiropractor” that she and her father have been seeing in California, a suspected illegal immigrant using the name Javier Lozano. They know little about the man except that he is married, goes to Mass weekly, works as a plumber during the day, and will accept only donations for his services. I will let AE describe what this “healer” does when she visits him.