I am very grateful of this site. It's been useful in my recovery from "new-age" bunk and learn more about cults.
I took an "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction" course a while back. It was somewhat helpful, but lately I have been getting e-mails from my teacher about Don Miguel Ruiz spiritual sabbaticals. I didn't think much of them and deleted them. Now I have been thinking about it and wondering if this is possibly luring people into a cult.
She mentioned about 4 weeks into the course her admiration for Don Miguel Ruiz, that he is a "true master" and that just his presence alone can make one feel enlightened. There was a sense that she worships him. I have been getting e-mails about trips and sabbaticals.
One example was to go to Teotihuacan, MX to visit this "holy" land and gain enlightenment. The cost of the trip is well over $2000 a person. There is a good deal of what I think is Woo in the description of this trip, extravagant claims of raising vibrational energy, finding your true self, etc.
Ruiz is the author of "The Four Agreements", which I read at one time. It had a couple helpful points, but overall didn't find very interesting or useful.
A few things I am thinking after reading about shams like Eckhart Tolle, Mooji, Osho, etc...
1. Perhaps the teacher is using the MBSR class, which is at least somewhat based in scientific study of mindfulness techniques to recruit new people to Ruiz.
2. I am skeptical about her claims that you can feel enlightenment while standing next to someone. Perhaps she is under the delusion of a cult?
3. Does anyone have any more information about Ruiz?
I think this could be dangerous and taking advantage of the anxiety and depression in life that most people experience from time to time. People have rationally sought out mindfulness course and may experience some benefit, but I think spending thousands of dollars on courses and trips to "find your real self" is potentially destructive.
Is my new way of thinking too close minded?
(I do not endorse MBSR or Jon Kabat Zinn at all. At best it was nice to help me relax temporarily, but at least there is some science there and not a destructive cult. JKZ seems pretty reasonable and interesting most of the time.)
I took an "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction" course a while back. It was somewhat helpful, but lately I have been getting e-mails from my teacher about Don Miguel Ruiz spiritual sabbaticals. I didn't think much of them and deleted them. Now I have been thinking about it and wondering if this is possibly luring people into a cult.
She mentioned about 4 weeks into the course her admiration for Don Miguel Ruiz, that he is a "true master" and that just his presence alone can make one feel enlightened. There was a sense that she worships him. I have been getting e-mails about trips and sabbaticals.
One example was to go to Teotihuacan, MX to visit this "holy" land and gain enlightenment. The cost of the trip is well over $2000 a person. There is a good deal of what I think is Woo in the description of this trip, extravagant claims of raising vibrational energy, finding your true self, etc.
Ruiz is the author of "The Four Agreements", which I read at one time. It had a couple helpful points, but overall didn't find very interesting or useful.
A few things I am thinking after reading about shams like Eckhart Tolle, Mooji, Osho, etc...
1. Perhaps the teacher is using the MBSR class, which is at least somewhat based in scientific study of mindfulness techniques to recruit new people to Ruiz.
2. I am skeptical about her claims that you can feel enlightenment while standing next to someone. Perhaps she is under the delusion of a cult?
3. Does anyone have any more information about Ruiz?
I think this could be dangerous and taking advantage of the anxiety and depression in life that most people experience from time to time. People have rationally sought out mindfulness course and may experience some benefit, but I think spending thousands of dollars on courses and trips to "find your real self" is potentially destructive.
Is my new way of thinking too close minded?
(I do not endorse MBSR or Jon Kabat Zinn at all. At best it was nice to help me relax temporarily, but at least there is some science there and not a destructive cult. JKZ seems pretty reasonable and interesting most of the time.)