Manipulation in a Cult

Manipulation in a cult is quite simple once you know how a cult works. In principle all cults work in the same way. Lets peal away the “Cause” “Work” or however the Grand Vision is called and sheet light on the naked ugly mechanics. Lets see what keep this machinery going and what is necessary to oil all the necessary parts to keep a cult working.

Group Manipulation

Let’s start with the cult engine. He is the center of the cult and  directly or indirectly connected to all his members. In the case of Ruth her Cult leader was Michael Guen. After the indoctrination everybody was encouraged to take acupuncture sessions. In these sessions the members are encourages to share everything in there live all in the name of the “character work”. Because members trust Michael Guen they would freely share anything including very personal detail live, there sex live, there problems at work or with other members of the group or with there partners. This weekly sessions give Michael Guen a weekly snapshot of everything happening in his cult and all the members.  He than could use this information to carefully inject suggestions in his members in order to change their behavior. All behavior changes have one goal:  on the end they created to make the members more dependent on him to give him power over there money or to exploit them for sex. On the end it is all a power play.

Here is simple example: Ruth planned to move in with me. Michael Guen did know already that I had big concern about the group. Ruth shared my concern with Olga another group member. Olga was than sharing with Michael that Ruth is going to move in with me. Michael saw how he was losing more and more influence over Ruth and he decided to have Olga to write a letter to Ruth to discourage here from moving in with me because she would give up “the work”. Than in the next Women group meeting he encourage other group members to to bring up that point again. Other members were influenced in their one on one sessions as well and joined in and shared the same concerns which made Ruth change here mind and called off to move in with me.

So let’s summarize. The cult leader is encouraging his members to share personal very private information and feelings about them self or other cult members. He/She claims that this is necessary in order to work on “your issues”. He is using this information to reinforce his power and to keep members depended on him to exploit them for money or sex. The cult leader appears like he can read thoughts because he is getting either indirect or directly all information about the members of the group.

Very simple but effective…

~Karl

Photo Credit:  Victor Nuno via Flickr