ABOUT CULTWISE

Cults are a fascinating subject perhaps because no-one seems to agree on what they are, or the main reasons underlying why people get involved, from the viewpoint of those who get drawn in, those who look in from the outside, or those running them.

Certainly it can be hard to leave a cultic situation, partly because people find it hard to accept they may need to re-assess some things in their life. Even if they do realise something has to change, it's hard to achieve that without outside help or information.

Concerned family and friends need the right kind of information and approach for themselves and for the person in the situation. These days the Internet is a useful starting point and books are available.

Try to steer clear of anyone who is dogmatic or tries to lay down the law on one way of perceiving or proceeding. Sometimes people who have been involved in a bad experience think they also know what is right for others - which can feel too much like being in a cult or being abused again.

Keep in contact with the person who has become involved in a cult if you can and be generally supportive, without pressurising them to change before they are ready. It can take a long while.

On this and the following pages are extracts from other websites and you can follow up on links shown with the articles or in the Links section.

If anyone's work is mentioned here and they prefer it not to be, or to have it amended, just get in touch via the Comments.

Inclusion of any ideas does not necessarily mean we are in agreement but that the subject matter and nature of the work may have value.

Some of the articles may not go far enough; some may go too far. They are included for possible usefulness. If any ideas make you feel uncomfortable or uneasy, ignore them and choose what feels better.

The Blog is in its early stages but there may be something of interest to you or you can add your own comments and information. The placement of articles may be altered when information is added.

TemZone

DOC MATRIX - CULTS & GROUPS

GROUPS and CULTS by Doc Matrix

If you sought some kind of spiritual or pastoral help perhaps that was through a well-known religion.

Or it could from what some people think of as a cult type of group.

People naturally have different needs and experiences - What suits one person may not suit another and may even be harmful.

ONLY YOU can decide what's best for you at a particular time

IF someone approaches you at a time when you are vulnerable

IF they are offering TOO MUCH friendship 'out of the Blue'

IF there is A RUSH about it

DOC says Just Be Careful
Take your Time
Don't Feel Pressurised
Step Back if You Need to!
Important Decisions can WAIT

ONE Person can be almost like a Cult just by themselves!

A GROUP can quite easily set up a Scene for YOU to walk into


Things - and People, are not always what they seem:
There may be a hidden agenda, camouflage or trick to abuse your desire to help or to be accepted

There can be a double standards or double-binds

LOOK at what's really being asked or expected of you -SEE how your concerns are dealt with


BEAR IN MIND THAT -

YOU have a right to know where your Money goes

YOU are entitled to proper Rest, Food & Friends

YOU are entitled to CHANGE your Mind or LEAVE

It can take an Instant to get drawn in but YEARS to get away - CULTS KNOW THAT

Cults Indoctrinate People AND People CAN Protect themselves with some Knowledge

Get some help from Friends or Family


Dissing has become a part of life, whether that means discounting someone, disrespecting, discrediting, disregarding, dismissing; or being rude or unsupportive.

It is a way of Scapegoating. You know the saying 'You are either for us or against us'? Groups often exclude someone - anyone - to suit the majority, as if they feel better to leave someone in the cold. It happens in families too!

It helps to see the dynamic for what it is, see if there's a reason, and if you can do anything about it for the time being.

This is why it is good to have an ally, a 'friend in court' to see some of it from your point of view. You don't need a specialist, just someone to back you up and give emotional support.

Perhaps now you know why groups serve that purpose for the members.

And how cults play on people's need to belong, not feel excluded, and feel a sense of meaning and place. Those are natural needs and they can be exploited, for money - or just for kicks.

CULT INFORMATION

People working in this field may have different opinions and approaches, so take on board what is useful - and leave the rest:

Cult Dynamics article at http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/cultdyn.htm

'Cults & Families' by Doni Whitsett & Stephen A Kent. Download http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~skent/cults.html

Cults & Sects Bibliography booklist http://www.robibrad.demon.co.uk/bibcult.htm

http://www.freedomofmind.com Steven Hassan's website, author 'Combatting Cult Mind Control'; 'Releasing the Bonds'

http://www.rickross.com Signs that a group might be a 'cult' and how to get out of one. Book List on page http://www.rickross.com/reference/books/reading_list.html

International Cultic Studies Association - How cults operate and their effects: http://www.icsahome.com

FECRIS European site, worldwide links: http://www.fecris.org

Cults, Sects & Heresies free course http://eomtc.com/cults/

Social Identity Theory - Insights into groups & cult behaviours

BOOKS and ARTICLES

'Bully in Sight' by Tim Field (workplace bullying)

'Cults, Secret Sects & Radical Religions' by Robert Schroeder

'Gangland Today' by James Morton

'Gangs' by Tony Thompson

'Individuals, Groups & Organizations Beneath the Surface'
by Lionel F. Stapley

'Misunderstanding Cults' by Benjamin Zablocki & Thomas Robbins

'Organisations, Anxieties & Defences' ed. R.D. Hinshelwood
& Marco Cheisa

Out of Character Behaviour website http://toukanalia.blogspot.com

'Pointed Observations' by Kevin R D Shepherd

'Profiling the Criminal Mind' by Robert Girod Sr
(included as it discusses group pressures, cult crimes, etc.)

'Programmed to Kill' by David McGowan

'Recovery from Cults' by Michael D Longone

'Scapegoating, Abuse & One-upmanship' article HERE

'Secret Societies & Psychological Warfare' by Michael A Hoffman II

'Snapping' by Flo Conway & Jim Siegelman

'Sinister Forces Book Three: The Manson Secret' by Peter Levenda

Social Dynamics of Cult Ritual Abuse click HERE

'Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right' by Sara Diamond

'The Complex' by John Duignan

'The Cult Files' by Chris Mikul

'The Dark Gods' by Anthony Roberts & Geoff Gilbertson

'The Dilbert Principle' by Scott Adams

'The Mafia' by Claire Sterling

'The Neurotic Organization' by Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
& Danny Miller

'The Occult Tradition' by David S Katz

'The Secret World of Cults' by Jean Ritchie

'Today's Destructive Cults & Movements' by Rev. Lawrence J Gesy

'Understanding Organizations' by Charles Handy

'Working Across the Gap: The Practice of Social Science in Organisations' by Lisl Klein

People have a need to be A PART of what is going on
around them, other People and so on,
and to keep themselves APART too

And it can lead us into Trouble!

It's important to REALLY THINK for YOURSELF!

LINKS

Useful information to follow up - choose from below:

Cult Information Centre, London: www.cultinformation.org.uk

FECRIS European site with worldwide links: www.fecris.org

www.freedomofmind.com Steven Hassan's website, author of 'Combatting Cult Mind Control: Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults" (1988) and 'Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves' (2000).

ICSA - International Cultic Studies Association: Site with much useful information on how cults operate and their effects: www.icsahome.com

www.rickross.com Primary signs that a group might be a 'cult' and how to get out of one.
Book List on page www.rickross.com/reference/books/reading_list.html

'Cults and Families' by Doni Whitsett & Stephen A Kent: overview of cult-related issues: families in cults, parental roles, impact cult leaders have on families, destruction of family intimacy, child abuse, impact on cognitive, psychological and moral development, health issues. Download from www.arts.ualberta.ca/~skent/cults.html

Cult Dynamics article at www.skeptictank.org/hs/cultdyn.htm

Cults, Sects & Heresies free downloadable course http://eomtc.com/cults/ (donations appreciated)

Cults & Sects Bibliography booklist www.robibrad.demon.co.uk/bibcult.htm

Groups, Cults, Indoctrination, Exiting click HERE

'The Secret World of Cults: Inside the Sects That Take Over Lives' by Jean Ritchie
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-World-Cults-Religion-Exposed/dp/020716990X

Abuse Network Survivor Aid Links - TANSAL: http://tansal.50megs.com

Bullying, Harassment, Domestic Violence, Coercive relationships information HERE

Human Rights, Miscarriages of Justice (UK) HERE

Out of Character Behaviour website at Toukanalia http://toukanalia.blogspot.com

'Scapegoating, Abuse & One-upmanship' article HERE

Social Dynamics of Cult Ritual Abuse click HERE

'Social Engineering, Pretexting, Memes' HERE

Social Identity Theory provides useful insights into groups and cult-like behaviours

'The Stepford Wives' from Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stepford_Wives

Trance, cults and behaviours at http://trance.edu

Unseen Aspects of Behaviour Blog at http://unseenaspects.blogspot.com

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Aangirfan Blog http://aangirfan.blogspot.com

Aangirfan Links to News sources http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2006/11/links.html


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