Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Seed Discussion Forum
The Seed-------Did Art Barker succeed?
Anonymous:
"all ya need is love ya, da da dada da ::bigsmilebounce:: ::bigsmilebounce:: ::bigsmilebounce::
Stripe:
I read these on the web, doing some searching on other subject matter related to my expereinces.
After The Seed I was lonely and confused, having dismissed all my longtime school friends as "druggies," etc. You guys know the rap. Anyway, I can see I was vulnerable and ripe for indoctrination into something.
I don't know which was worse, The Seed of 1973
or the Chrisitan church cult of 1975.
But both had these CULT recognized qualities:
1. Absolute authoritanrianism without meaningful accountability.
2. No tolerace for questions or critical inquiry.
3. No meaningful financial diclosure regarging budget or expenses - like a balance sheet. Where did all the money go?
4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe evil conspiracies and persecutions.
5. There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.
6. Former Members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a simialr pattern of grievances.
7. There are records, books, new articles or tv programs that documentthe abuses of/by the group/leaders.
8. Followers feel they can never be good enough.
9. The group/leader is always right.
10. The group/leader is the exlcusive means of knowing the truth or receiving validation; no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.
I got this list from another website that deals with religious and spritiual-based cults so some of you may recognize its origin.
I know The Seed was not a religious orgainizaiton, but the similarities between the general criteria of a "BAD" religious cult and The Seed are just too close to be ignored.
Really, regardless of whether it helped the drug addicted or not, how could any of us who were there NOT be able to see these similarities?
It's been a lot of years since most of us were there,so the look back might not be as painful as some of you may fear.
What do y'all think?
And to answer the question - Did Art Barker succeed? No. His cult imploded. But he still makes a nice living off the proceeds.
For those Seedlings who say The Seed was not a cult, you have to
marshall:
Hi stripe. You might also like this link:
Click Here
Excerpts from the link:
"The apparently loving unanimity of the group masks strict rules against private as well as public dissent. Questions are deflected; critical comments are met with smiling pleas of "no negativity," or some other "thought-terminating cliche," to use one of Lifton's terms.
Prospects and new members slide down a spiral of increasing dependence on the group. They are often encouraged or ordered to live with other group members. In many cases, they even work with other members. People outside the group are viewed as spiritually, psychologically, or socially inferior, or as impediments to the members' development. In order to "advance" at a satisfactory pace, members must spend long hours involved in various exercises deemed necessary by the group. In short, members spend more and more time with and under the direction of the group.
Although cult recruits may be vulnerable in various ways, cults are, nevertheless, strikingly successful in bringing about and maintaining substantial behavioral and psychological changes in members
Because dissent, doubt, and negativity are forbidden, members must project a facade of "happiness" and agreement while struggling to achieve the impossible. Those who fail to project the requisite facade (because, for example, they admit, usually with much guilt, to harboring doubts about the group) are attacked and punished, sometimes viciously. Those who persist in "failing through honesty" are, by one means or another, driven out of or ejected from the group.
Dr. Tim told clients that he was "more enlightened than Jesus...and had created the ultimate therapy, combining Freud, Zen, Kundalini yoga, and LSD." The latter, he said, was to "override their egos." No criticism or complaints were tolerated by Tim, as such indicated "being in your head," rather than "in your feelings."
Some, but not all, of the leaders widely promulgated the "getting out of your head" notion and, consequently, had followers drop technical or professional careers."----quotes from the link
[Admin note: I just edited for formatting]
Thom:
--- Quote ---On 2005-02-21 21:36:00, Stripe wrote:
I don't know which was worse, The Seed of 1973
or the Chrisitan church cult of 1975
"
--- End quote ---
Did you mean "Christian" church cult, as in a bad experience you might have had with a particular organization, or do you consider Christianity itself to be cultic?
Stripe:
The first. I know that all religious organizations are not cults. In this western society though, I see the "chrisitan" and "evangelical outreach" churches sometimes have these sub-programs that are very cultish in nature. Sure you can go to church on sumday AM, but for a person who really wants spiritual growth there's also adult bible study, couples and singles bible study, sunday night church, wednesday nights, mid-week counseling, amway sales clubs, retreats, etc. etc., etc.
For persons who were never drug addicts, I think the whole Seed experience makes them (me) so much more suseptible to cults and cult -like mind control.
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