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Amity
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16 Apr 2015, 7:45 am

Recently I have been considering self knowledge, "becoming who you are", and accepting that sometimes there isn't a reason.
It seems that there are people who will capitalise on the lack of explanation for existence, by providing a semi structured path to self knowledge/enlightenment/bliss etc. Lonely people could be easier to attract.

What concerns me is how can someone differentiate between the newer *spiritual groups and avoid those influenced by a corrupt/business/political model? Or can any spiritual/religious/secular organisation exist without these influences?

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality



Janissy
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16 Apr 2015, 9:37 am

Amity wrote:
What concerns me is how can someone differentiate between the newer *spiritual groups and avoid those influenced by a corrupt/business/political model? Or can any spiritual/religious/secular organisation exist without these influences?

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality


My advice is to look for escalating costs that pop up unexpectedly. An honest group will spell out what they charge to you in advance so you can decide whether to buy it or not.

Here's a hypothetical honest group vs. a hypothetical corrupt group:

"Our spiritual guidance classes cost 20$/session." vs. "Our spiritual guidance classes cost 20$ for the first session" (but they don't tell you that the price jumps after one class)

"The reading materials we will cover are X,Y and Z. They are available from us at a cost of 10$ per book or you may buy them elsewhere" vs "reading materials will be announced during class and must be purchased during class" (to prevent you from buying them cheaper elsewhere)

"The spiritual retreat hike through National Park X costs 50$ which will includes transportation from our base, entrance fees to the park and a lunch." vs "The spiritual retreat hike through National Park X costs 40$" (which at first seems cheaper but then you discover that it includes nothing and you will be hit with the transportation fee, the entrance fee and a lunch fee unless you brought your own lunch or go without).

I haven't done a spiritual group thing myself but the honest (straighforward cost) vs. corrupt (hidden cost you discover too late) model seems to apply to a lot of organizations. As a tourist I found it pretty prevalent with tour expeditions. Some would give you an itemized list up front (admission,transportation,food) but some would offer an alluringly low price and you would discover (while already underway) the escalating costs of various things that they never told you about up front. I learned to avoid the "sweet deals" in favor of the itemized and averagely expensive ones.

Although I've done tour groups, not spiritual groups, I am suspecting that the business models are similar. Both are catering to a market of people somewhat out of their element (either geographically or spiritually) and the corrupt ones count on peoples' discombobulation to be able to tack on all sorts of hidden fees.

Scientology is probably the most infamous corrupt spiritual group. And they do follow the "sweet deal followed by escalating costs" corrupt model. The sweet deal is a free personality assessment followed by escalating costs if you do anything with the assessment results beyond running out the door and never looking back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_as_a_business

By contrast, here is what looks to me to be an honest spiritual group based on their upfront itemization.

http://sfbuddhistcenter.org/program/introclassesmeditation.shtml

Scientology says "free free free" until you actually start learning anything about them. The San Francisco Buddhist Center just tells you course prices and tells you the amount of time you can expect to spend there and what will be covered. Itemization vs mystery.



ASPartOfMe
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16 Apr 2015, 10:21 am

Self knowledge industry does not need to be positive. Autism Speaks is an example of mostly negative self knowledge industry. While some "neurodiverse" authors might have written material for profit IMHO it is some individuals working separate and not an industry.


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16 Apr 2015, 10:47 am

I believe other people could influence you in knowing yourself....but that the true burden of self-knowledge lies in the individual him/herself.

I wouldn't rely on the credo of ideologies which preach that they have access to the "path" to self-knowledge. Some practitioners of these ideologies create entities which either border on cult status--or are frank cults themselves.

YOU are the one who must create the path, with secondary input from others.

Don't follow another person or people blindly, especially those who feel they have THE "answer."



Amity
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16 Apr 2015, 12:46 pm

Thanks for the explanations, It's interesting to consider AS as part of the self knowledge industry, I had not drawn that parallel, but would it be any different? They have a global initiative, no competition and a demand in 'underserved nations'.
I'm not considering joining any groups, but still wondered how to differentiate between them, Itemization vs mystery works quite well and I believe that people with 'The' answer have their own agenda.



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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17 Apr 2015, 12:14 am

Amity wrote:
Recently I have been considering self knowledge, "becoming who you are", and accepting that sometimes there isn't a reason.
It seems that there are people who will capitalise on the lack of explanation for existence, by providing a semi structured path to self knowledge/enlightenment/bliss etc. Lonely people could be easier to attract.

What concerns me is how can someone differentiate between the newer *spiritual groups and avoid those influenced by a corrupt/business/political model? Or can any spiritual/religious/secular organisation exist without these influences?

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality

One good way is to start your own group.



Amity
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17 Apr 2015, 11:53 am

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
One good way is to start your own group.


Oh no thanks, I don't want to start any spiritual/etc groups, even if I did, it would still be open to the same negative influences. If managed correctly a nonprofit organisation could work, using a robust strategy for transparency and accountability, but it could still be influenced by corruption. Ethical policies and procedures could reduce the likelihood of this happening, but they would have to be followed and dedicated staff retained to implement them.