Warning

*WARNING SIGNS OF AN UNHEALTHY SPIRITUAL GOUP*

“* Craving for followers; seductive recruiting strategies or heavy-handed proselytizing or conversion (including “love bombing,” showering prospective recruits with friendly, but strategic, attention)…

* Intimidating indoctrination procedures that psychologically break a person down so that s/he can be rebuilt according to the group’s ideal of a docile, unquestioning, compliant member.

* Expensive entry fees or initiations. In fact, the less the group has to do with money, the better… Beware groups that demand from members much or all of their assets.

* A hidden agenda that becomes known to a group member only after s/he is heavily invested in membership. In a healthy spiritual group, completely informed consent is standard policy.

* Excessive demands on the time and energy of the group members… In a healthy group, members’ donation of their time and energy are a voluntary gift, not compelled.

* Trapping or holding onto members. People should be able to leave the group at any time for any reason without fear of damnation, reprisal, scorn, or being pursued or shunned by members.

* Theological thought control. Members should be free to worship Divinity under whatever Name and Form they so choose, short of harming or grossly offending others.

* Cultivation in members any attitude of childish dependency upon exploitative, authoritarian leaders who require absolute, exclusive devotion… A leader may teach that we need to lose egocentricity and selfish desires, but will always articulate an empowering view that Spirit is within.

* Chronic group feeling of righteous anger, revenge, turmoil, anxiety, shame, guilt, self-pity, fear, despair, mindless euphoria, ego-excitement, adrenaline rushes, self-inflated fervor or futuristic anticipation. Authentic spiritual movements are permeated by a deep feeling of genuine love, kindness, peace, freedom, bliss, ease of being, spontaneity, focus on the present situation and trust in God.

* Flat affect. Excessively automatic, robot-like behavior. Radically de-automatized behavior (produced via sleep deprivation or sensory overload) that breaks down normal, responsible functioning.

* Crusading agenda to save the world or convert all souls to “the true way.” A healthy spirituality emphasizes service to one’s fellow beings and the world at large.

* Proud feeling of being the chosen people, of possessing the exclusive truth or means of salvation, or being superior to those outside the group. Dysfunctional groups chronically emphasize the differences between group members and outsiders, instead of the essential oneness we all share.

* A chronic need to find and persistently maintain enemies inside or outside the group. In healthy spirituality, the leader and group promote empathy, compassion, respect, and seeing the Divine in all beings: “Love thy neighbor” and “love thy enemy” (who is therefore no longer “the enemy”).

* Paranoia—either delusions of grandeur by the leader or group, or self-pitying feelings of being persecuted and misunderstood by outsiders. Healthy, continuing contact and discussion with people outside the group will usually prevent any persecution and misunderstanding that might arise.

* Turning members into watched objects who have no privacy in their solitary behavior or relationships with others. Manipulative system of rewards and punishments.

* Ganging up on members to criticize or coerce them; to violate their own sense of conscience or autonomy. Frequent testing of members for loyalty, commitment, or obedience.

* Preventing contact with outsiders, ex-members, and even certain fellow members of the dysfunctional group. Breaking up couples and families to gain power over individuals and prevent coalitions that could more effectively criticize unsound, corrupt leadership.

* Blind obedience to harmful or unwise directives from on high. In healthy groups, the leader(s) needs to test the disciple, but this is done within the overall context of genuine love, trust, and emotional safety.

* Hoarding of money, power or prestige by anyone— corruption and intrigue are not far behind. Beware lavish accommodations and lifestyle for leader and close assistants, while everyone else is reduced to inferior living standards. Beware the presence of sycophantic subordinates.

* Double standard of behavior for leader(s) and members. Spiritual leaders should maintain high moral standards and exemplary virtuous behavior. Beware any rationalizations given to excuse the leader’s unvirtuous behavior. If the leader doesn’t have an inspiring, healthy, positively transforming effect on students, promoting qualities of mature and balanced spirituality, the students would do best to leave.

* Reinforcing or excusing unethical behaviors (killing, injuring, lying, stealing, plagiarism, bribing, gossiping, sexual misconduct). Also: Inflexible ethical rules that keep people stuck on lower levels of moral development. Watch out for “an eye-for-an-eye” or “the ends justify the means.”

* Suppression of dissent, doubt, critical thinking, sincere questions, discussion or independent judgment. Healthy spirituality also challenges one to develop the conscience to its utmost through ongoing learning and maturation.

* Irrational or magical thinking. Among healthy, empowering groups, supra-rational thinking and use of paradox is fine. By contrast, in unhealthy groups, there appears to be very little rationality anywhere in their attitudes and behavior, and the group dynamics are rife with dysfunctional thinking.

* Anti-scientific thinking. Healthy persons and groups can constructively express criticism of reductionist scientism and limitations in the current scientific paradigm. But dysfunctional groups frequently emphasize pre-scientific, mythical thinking and bizarre, unverifiable claims.

* An obsession with health and wealth on the material plane. Healthy groups promote authentic spiritual growth and transpersonal stages.

* Emphasis on quirky, flaky, untested ideas. Scary apocalypse-thinking, battleground mentality, or construing of events or souls in excessively “Good” vs. “Evil.” In a healthy spiritual group, the human being is seen realistically as a fallible human whose source and true identity is Infinite Spirit.

* Intellectual parochialism or isolation from other worldviews;; prevention of studying sacred texts from other traditions or visiting other genuine spiritual masters. A healthy spiritual group is open to spiritual truth from whatever source, and knows how to distinguish wise from unwise teachings.

* Orwellian double-speak Codewords or buzzwords. Adopting new names and titles for members can also be suspect, especially when it is done to create insider group-dynamics.

* Beware enforcement of conformity in apparel and external behavior. These are not, in themselves, negative things, but, like new names for members, can be part of an overall unhealthy strategy to amplify insider/outsider dichotomies, destroy autonomy and insure compliance.

* Fascination with secrets or occult teachings and practices that promote an insider-outsider split. Beware any series of initiations that stratify or magical rituals for empowering egoic aims.

* Excessive fascination with altered states instead of community service and work for justice

* Beware exploitation of sex in any form. Every person has the right to refrain from sexual activity as s/he sees fit, without any kind of pressure.

* Legalistic obsession with myriad rules. The group needs to be flexible, adaptable, and open to changes in guidelines and policies to better serve the members and society.

* Obsession with invisible or other-worldly entities or forces other than God which undermines authentic realization of the transcendent/immanent Spirit, the one Divine Self of us all.”

~ adapted from Timothy Conway, Ph.D. © Copyright 1997 / 2007

Image ~ Jesus teaches the people by the sea, Tissot