Mental Cleanse - Juice Fasting for Katie

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So how did we wind up on a foodless meditative retreat?

A few weeks ago, Anneliese announced that she was going to L.A. for the conference; she was a big Byron Katie fan. I knew nothing about Katie, but promptly invited myself along. Why not?

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I'm hungry. Bring on the juice," I jot a while later. When we talked by phone a few days earlier we agreed to do the juice fast for as long as we could. The event Web site explained that participants would be given a "12 oz. goblet of complimentary juice (organic whenever possible)" three times a day, as well as an endless supply of hot herbal tea and "pure spring water." I initially packed a bottle of merlot and a jumbo bag of pretzels in my carry-on bag, but then decided that this approach was less than admirable. I was already regretting that decision.

"Me, too! When do we get the goblet?" scribbles Anneliese. "Do you think there will there be a stampede?"

When Katie breaks for "lunch" at 1 p.m., we follow the masses to a nearby room where tuxedo-clad waiters pour bright magenta and grass-green mystery liquids into tall glasses. We ponder aloud which one we should choose before realizing that most of the people in front of us are walking away clutching a glass in each hand. Score! We both snag a pink and a green.

Back in our room, we slowly suck down the liquid between bouts of nonstop chatter. I snap photos as we pose artfully with the juice, which is surprisingly palatable. Time flies, and soon we're back in the conference room, listening to Katie query a woman who believes that if she were thin, she'd be "good enough."

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"Excuse me, that isn't coffee in your Starbucks cup, is it?" I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see a spritely gray-haired woman wearing a staff badge hovering behind me.

"Actually, it is," I mutter, swallowing the words with a swig of fresh, foamy latte.

"You'll understand if I ask you to remove it from the room, won't you? Some of the people here who are fasting find the smell disturbing."

"Oh, of course," I stammer, though I'm sure I'm not the only culprit.

I'm attending a conference where most of the 300-plus participants are on a juice fast, but it's hard to believe that the dozens of attendees I've seen carrying the familiar white cups haven't experienced a weak moment like mine. The only beverages permitted here are juice, water and tea.

My best friend, sitting beside me, suppresses a giggle as she hands over her cup. I shuffle, head down, out of the conference room. I'd known that finding inner peace was not going to be easy. But did it have to happen without caffeine?

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A juicy breakthrough
In our room, we slowly drink the broth and discuss the day's events. A few minutes after I've drained every last drop, I make a crucial mistake: I spot the room service menu across the room and devour it as though it's a porn mag starring Brad Pitt circa his “Thelma and Louise” days. Anneliese can't resist, either. The riveting descriptions of each item — the salt-encrusted baked potato, the farmers market pizza loaded with tomatoes and mushrooms and onions, even a simple side salad — quicken my pulse. Our resolve dissolves, and it's only day one. Pizza — and our mutual thwarting of the rules — has never tasted so good.

Eventually, Anneliese and I settle into a nice rhythm of juicing for breakfast and lunch, and then ordering room service for dinner. On our final day, after being called out on our coffee habit, we decide to play hooky. Manhattan Beach beckons.

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To see if there are any cult characteristics, I used a cult checklist and found 6 of 15 that could be applicable, so it is not technically “a cult” but appears to have some of the characteristics of a cult, I would say maybe 10% cult during small events and possibly up to 35% cult during the large events. I chose these as possibly applicable:

The group displays unquestioning commitment to its leader. (-) This seems to be true for a percentage of people in the group, probably like 80% I would guess (?). When one attends an event usually there is an overall thought-form of acceptance and even adulation or reverence for The Work.

Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged. (-) There are some comments online to the effect that this has happened at the longer $5000 workshops, when people question The Work itself it doesn’t really go over that well. One example: “Someone I know who was recently at the “Certification” workshop told me that one of the workshop participants did a “worksheet”, that’s one of tools of The Work, on Katie asking her to stop talking about all the money that the TurnAround Houses will be making.” ( link to article [guruphiliac.blogspot.com])

Mind-altering practices (-) This doesn’t happen at the smaller events and talks, but 3 days of fasting done at the longer workshops is definitely mind altering and potentially harmful. It can produce extreme physical weakness, emotional melt-downs, and changes in thinking processes, and is definitely not healthy for everyone. Also an exhausting schedule can create mind alterations.

The leader is not accountable to any authorities (-) Byron Katie is the last stop.

The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary (-) Not as bad as other groups but this applies to the extreme aspects of the longer workshops – fasting, extreme schedule, and probably others I do not know about.

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southdakotaboy
Posts 39
novice
March 31st, 2011, 11:06 am #164
Understanding the context is in fact the key to understanding the school. That is why its so important to imbed the law of secrecy into the students. If they start comparing notes and mapping out the sequence of each exercise then they will see the patterns and understand how they were manipulated. The fog will lift and the truth will be known. BK's power imbalance will disappear. This is what is happening on CNN Live, the trial of James Ray.
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southdakotaboy
Posts 39
novice
March 31st, 2011, 2:14 pm #165
An example of orchestrating emotions at the Vision Quest came from one of James Ray's employees. As a witness she explained how, after a long period of enforced silence, enforced fasting and isolation, on queue when breakfast and the lifting of the silence was announced by James, the music was turned up and a celebration was started.

How did this make the students feel towards James? How did this make the students feel about the strangers standing next to them. All artificially induced.

Was this a reflection of what BK did every night when the singing and dancing was the final exercise?

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southdakotaboy
Posts 39
novice
April 1st, 2011, 6:40 pm #166

Similarities between James Ray and Byron Katie.

Both were voted the most Narcissistic Guru of 2010. male / female
Both can cure all your problems.
Both have strict no-refunds policy.
Both have you sign no liability contracts that disclaim all that they promised you.
Both have a strict rule of secrecy.
Both love bomb when you arrive and when you leave. Gift bags, group pictures, etc...
Both separate you from loved ones and friends.
Both eliminate phone use and computers.
Both have rules of silence.
Both staff with free labor.
Both Put every one on a low protein, vegetarian diet.
Both surprise with the next exercise.
Both make long fasting a key exercise. Food depravation.
Both commonly have students vomiting.
Both use public confessions over a microphone.
Both take away IDs and money, then send people out onto the streets begging for food.
Both preach about "truth".
Both use mystical stories. Walking trance.
Both used music to set the moods.
Both use the long hours tactic and then assign home work. Sleep depravation.
Both use sequential exercises to maximize effects.
Both urged every one to get what they came for.
Both traumatized and then love bombed. pressure / release
Both had every one make public commitments to the group.

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southdakotaboy
Posts 39
novice
April 1st, 2011, 10:23 pm #167
Not to forget:

Both had Oprah promote their Magical Thinking.
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southdakotaboy
Posts 39
novice
April 4th, 2011, 12:39 pm #168
Byron Katie and James Arthur Ray have the same leadership structure.

Cult Leadership Structure

There is no cult without a powerful, charismatic leader. A charismatic leader has the uncanny ability to get people to follow him unquestioningly. The phrase "cult of personality" refers to this type of group dynamic. Cult members are devoted to the leader, not to the leader's ideas. The leader has complete control over his followers--there is no questioning of his decisions, and he is accountable to no one within the group.

You can see the trouble this causes the members by watching the trial of James Ray on CNN live. Why would anyone promote Byron Katie to our children? O thats right, because Byron Katie told them to. She wants to open a new niche in the new age market. Get the children and the mom will come along. Once you have her in the room you separate her from the child and presto change o. Mystic magic will take place and a revenue stream will materialize for BK.
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