In Shepherd's Clothing

Dear Hope, I attended a bodywork retreat with a well-known mentor, and we were asked to sign an agreement not to share any information for literally hundreds of years. After the exercises and activities we had to submit journals about our experiences with his new methods. We would also sit and have group discussions about what we were learning. Several months later, I bought my mentor's newest book and it contains all of the things we talked about and I am pretty sure there are actually large sections of my journal in there. Some sections also felt like deja vu so I pulled one of my favourite books off the shelf and it's almost word for word the same thing.  I feel like I should say something, but I don't even know if I am allowed to discuss my own experience. I Am Pretty Sure My Mentor Steals Work Dear IAPSSMSW, Thank you for your letter. Understanding Intellectual Property (IP) can be tricky sometimes. in·tel·lec·tu·al prop·er·ty noun LAW a work

Dear Hope, I have taken countless yoga classes in the past 15 years and there have been a couple of times my instructors touched my breasts and genitals or aligned their bodies against mine and kind of squeezed or rubbed me, like a "dry hump." I saw that they were adjusting the men in a similar way, but without grabbing their junk or rubbing against them.  I'm an instructor now and I would never dream of touching any of my male or female students without their permission, and while I admit sometimes it happens by accident and I have had to apologize for some awkward moments, I have yet to make an adjustment that actually required I put my hand directly and intentionally on the money spots or "dry hump" them into position.  Karen Rain with accused yogi Phattabi Jois I had a girlfriend that ended up in a romantic relationship with one of our teachers who had gotten in good with a couple of celebrities and a major sports team. She was convinced that she

Dear Hope, I got involved with a group when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I went to the first meeting because a friend of mine had been there and he seemed so excited and happy afterwards. He spoke differently and I felt like I wanted to know whatever it was that he knew. He wouldn't tell me - he said I had to experience it to understand - so I went to the first meeting, which was free. It was weird but I was so curious about what else they had to offer that I signed up for the first class. 2 years, thousands of dollars, and countless personal development classes later, I had no money, no family, and no friends left, and instead of enlightened I was lost. I don't believe I was stupid or vulnerable - I signed up because I was searching for something different, to enrich my life and give me a sense of purpose. I could just as easily have signed up for an art class or gone to a psychologist or taken up mind-altering drugs, but I chose a path of new age personal gr

Welcome to my blog. I am still getting organized here so please forgive me. Thinking I had stumbled onto the genesis of a New Religious Movement (NRM) I first wanted to explore its origins and operating structure to understand the current paradigm. While it turned out not to be a religious group, there were so many stories that rolled in I couldn't correlate the data fast enough so I am breaking it into bite-sized pieces. To protect their desire to tell their own stories in their own way (and me from accidentally giving free advertising out) this blog will explore common themes in current research on coercive groups from a sometimes sociological, sometimes anthropological, and sometimes humorous personal perspective. The content will get more academic as we go on, but just to kick it off here's the answer to the first question: How do I start a cult? This video demonstrates a number of the commonly used tactics employed by coercive groups - perhaps you recognize some o