Master Path - Gary Olsen

[Anticult7]

Found this on F.A.C.T..net. Appears to be written by Margaret Thaler Singer

Perfectly fits Gary Olsen and his Cult Masterpath

Common Properties of Potentially Destructive and Dangerous Cults

The cult is authoritarian in its power structure. The leader is regarded as the supreme authority. He or she may delegate certain power to a few subordinates for the purpose of seeing that members adhere to the leader's wishes and roles. There is no appeal outside of his or her system to greater systems of justice. For example, if a school teacher
feels unjustly treated by a principal, appeals can be made. In a cult, the leader claims to have the only and final ruling on all matters.

The cult's leaders tend to be charismatic, determined, and
domineering. They persuade followers to drop their families, jobs, careers, and friends to follow them. They (not the individual) then take over control of their followers' possessions, money, lives.

The cult's leaders are self-appointed, messianic persons who claim to have a special mission in life. For example, the flying saucer cult leaders claim that people from outer space have commissioned them to lead people to special places to await a space ship.

The cult's leaders center the veneration of members upon themselves. Priests, rabbis, ministers, democratic leaders, and leaders of genuinely altruistic movements keep the veneration of adherents focused on God, abstract principles, and group purposes. Cult leaders, in contrast, keep the focus of love, devotion, and allegiance on themselves.

The cult tends to be totalitarian in its control of the behavior of its members. Cults are likely to dictate in great detail what members wear, eat, when and where they work, sleep, and bathe-as well as what to believe, think, and say.

The cult tends to have a double set of ethics. Members are urged to be open and honest within the group, and confess all to the leaders. On the other hand, they are encouraged to deceive and manipulate outsiders or nonmembers. Established religions teach members to be honest and truthful to all, and to abide by one set of ethics.

The cult has basically only two purposes, recruiting new members and fund-raising. Established religions and altruistic movements may also recruit and raise funds. However, their sole purpose is not to grow larger; such groups have the goals to better the lives of their members
and mankind in general. The cults may claim to make social
contributions, but in actuality these remain mere claims, or gestures. Their focus is always dominated by recruiting new members and fund-raising.

The cult appears to be innovative and exclusive. The leader claims to be breaking with tradition, offering something novel, and instituting the only viable system for change that will solve life's problems or the world's ills. While claiming this, the cult then surreptitiously uses systems of psychological coercion on its members to inhibit their
ability to examine the actual validity of the claims of the leader and the cult.

Read More about Margaret Thaler Singer

We Strongly recommend that you read the Influence Continuum

Continuum of Influence and Persuasion

Is someone trying to unethically influence you?
Continuum of Influence and Persuasion
Danger of Cults is Growing. [September 18, 1998]
Coercive Mind Control tactics, a short overview
What is mind control?
How does mind control work?
Q & A on mind control
Mind control and religion
Warning signs of a destructive cult
How to determine if a group is a destructive cult.
Excerpts from "Cults in Our Midst," by Dr. Margaret Singer .
Mind Control Exists
"How I healed the psychological injuries from my abuse in a cult" by Lawrence Wollersheim
We Strongly recommend that you read the CODE OF ETHICS FOR SPIRITUAL GUIDES

 

[Zeeker]

Common Properties of Potentially Destructive and Dangerous Cults

The cult is authoritarian in its power structure. The leader is regarded as the supreme authority. He or she may delegate certain power to a few subordinates for the purpose of seeing that members adhere to the leader's wishes and roles. There is no appeal outside of his or her system to greater systems of justice. For example, if a school teacher feels unjustly treated by a principal, appeals can be made. In a cult, the leader claims to have the only and final ruling on all matters.

The cult's leaders tend to be charismatic, determined, and domineering. They persuade followers to drop their families, jobs, careers, and friends to follow them.

The cult's leaders are self-appointed, messianic persons who claim to have a special mission in life.

The cult's leaders center the veneration of members upon themselves.

The cult tends to be totalitarian in its control of the behavior of its members.

The cult tends to have a double set of ethics. Members are urged to be open and honest within the group, and confess all to the leaders. On the other hand, they are encouraged to deceive and manipulate outsiders or nonmembers.

The cult has basically only two purposes, recruiting new members and fund-raising.

The cult appears to be innovative and exclusive. The leader claims to be breaking with tradition, offering something novel, and instituting the only viable system for change that will solve life's problems or the world's ills. While claiming this, the cult then surreptitiously uses systems of psychological coercion on its members to inhibit their ability to examine the actual validity of the claims of the leader and the cult.

Great referral Anticult. :clap

I would also mention insidious aspect to it all: that you are mislead on a hidden agenda of subservience and disempowerment, that you never come realize until you have well and truly come out of that “space”. That you are “hypnotized”, in every sense of the word!

 

[Zeeker]

I'm hoping that happy_chela or any other current MP chela out there can help me by answering this question. Why is Gary Olsen Married?

Gary probably enjoys indulging in his favorite things JudasKiss. Just as any other natural and carnal human, like most of the rest of us.

I remember reading some Sant Mat material where it emphasized that all relationships will lead you to inevitable pain and suffering. That there is only one true purpose to life: to find God. Most of us can probably relate to the pain that can come from our intimate relationships with others. However, these Masters omit to mention that the most rewarding experience in life can be to connect with another person on the Physical, emotional and spiritual levels. That, despite emotional and spiritual aspects, life on Earth is primarily a physical experience.

I gather Gary’s ideal of God-realization embraces being celibate and to see garji between your eyes 24/7, hence your question JudasKiss? :faint:

P.S. I came across some hacker research where they found, by trial and error, that the most common, and guessable, password is “*****” followed by “qwerty”. Goes to show that there are plenty of forgetful cat lovers about, and what comes to their mind instantaneously.

 

[Violet Jones]

I remember reading some Sant Mat material where it emphasized that all relationships will lead you to inevitable pain and suffering. That there is only one true purpose to life: to find God. Most of us can probably relate to the pain that can come from our intimate relationships with others. However, these Masters omit to mention that the most rewarding experience in life can be to connect with another person on the Physical, emotional and spiritual levels. That, despite emotional and spiritual aspects, life on Earth is primarily a physical experience.

True. That whole idea of "the only true love is the love for the master" apparently applies to everyone except Gary (the guru) and whoever he marries or "bonds" with. Do as I say and not as I do, right?

Looking at it without the distorted MP lens, the suggestion that marriage and meaningful relationships are to be avoided in order to be fully devoted to the "master"...doesn't seem spiritually sound at all. Everyone on earth has a soul that is the essence of God. Connecting with these other souls in every way is sort of the whole point of being here.

Joy states in her lecture "God is Manifest in the Master" that:

Joyce Olsen:
"God is not present in this world. God can only be contacted through one of it’s Sons."

Um, no. We are all God. And we are all present in this world.

I gather Gary’s ideal of God-realization embraces being celibate and to see garji between your eyes 24/7, hence your question JudasKiss? :faint:

From what I've gathered in the books and tapes, I think chelas are allowed to screw whoever they want. They just have to make sure it doesn't mean anything. Because once the person you're screwing becomes important to you, the "master" is being neglected.

Yes, according to Gary, God is whiny and needy and doesn't want you to find any meaningful love elsewhere (even though he IS everywhere and in everyone).

P.S. I came across some hacker research where they found, by trial and error, that the most common, and guessable, password is “*****” followed by “qwerty”. Goes to show that there are plenty of forgetful cat lovers about, and what comes to their mind instantaneously.

I wonder how many forgetful rooster lovers there are in comparison.

 

[FR33MASON]

I personally have great reservations towards any religion that requires a membership. Especially one you have to pay for.
I can never figure out how people can show such attachment to physical issues when dealing with spiritual matters and not see the hypocrisy.
That goes the same with any religion to which a collection or dues or even a formal free membership is concerned.
I wonder if the concept of membership or collections and fees occur in the spiritual world(s)

 

[Anticult7]

Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year!

 

[zizzer]

I have followed the David Lane thread up to the present moment and briefly reviewed thetruth.seeker which I will go back and read throroughly this week. I have no "axe to grind", merely ego and sanity to restore and maintain. The doctrine of MasterPath as it is taught will sorely promote a questioning of one's reality albeit not in a good way. I much prefer reality and realism really and only want to warn those who may be questioning this path. These issues about plagiarism have prompted me to review the last text I bought as an MP chela; MasterPath Volume II 2009. The glossary has most certainly changed and there are words in the definitions that can no longer be followed up on in the index. I will paraphrase;

Vigyan -(in glossary)- Motor currents within the pingala vein...right side of the sushumna; pull one toward intellectual descriptions of truth vs realization of truth.
There is nothing in the index or anything I can find in the text describing the pingala or the sushumna.

Prana -(in glossary)- vital force; vital air; manifestations of the five elements....upon the physical body. Motor currents within the ida vein.....
No reference in the book to the ida vein.

Practicing the Presence of the Master - (in glossary) - Spiritual exercise of consciously giving one's attention to the Master and experiencing the Invisible Power and undeniable Presence in one's consciousness; facilitates the recognition and realization that the Shabda Master dwells within...
If MP can escape plagiarsm by changing Shabd to Shabda and satsangis to sat sang then I can leave one or two words out here and there and still get the message across. So now he is the Invisible Power or the form??

Simran -(glossary) first phase of spiritual practice...deep,purposeful remembrance in sweet anticipation...repetition of the secret word and Practicing the Presence......remembering the Master as one's spiritual Ideal; facilitates all stages of Guru Bhakti; from the root word "smar" (rememberance) sanskrit.
So is the Guru visible or still invisible at this point?

Dhyan - (glossary) - Second phase of spiritual exercise......devotional love for the Master..experienced by reading contemplation, fixing Master's Presence within the eye center...contemplating the form of the Master with surrender, love, humility...perfected simran..graces one with bahan.... Now the Form of Gary Olsen comes into being but that is all. Is this when you buy the picture????

Elements -(glossary) -The prakriti energies consolidated into coarse matter and form...earth, water, air, fire,ether...each new element added a new body is given...tattwas in Sanskrit.
No definition or index to prakriti. In the glossary Tattwas included subtle expression of elements touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight.

Upon reading some of this text in the 2009 version, I came to realize parts of the source of my confusion. The instruction of the text has changed dramatically. For those who have been studying 12 years or more it's like well you have been studying this, but now this has all changed and practice will be done this way. Forget whatever you have been learning about MP concepts and tennants. It seems as if they have changed the old teachings to curcumscribe to the unpopularity of the old concepts. Again, going deeper into these new teachings spawns only more confusion and doubt for me. The text now seems to be written more in third person. Who is this third person?

In the chapter "Whom Do We Worship" there are 25 qualifications listed that will assist the chela in recognizing a perfect master. This looks like it has been changed a great deal too. I am not interested in comparing this chapter to old books and discourses, but maybe someone else out there would like the research. :cold: Happy New Year

 

[Anticult7]

So are the 'Ahem' principles and spiritual practices now easier? Shorter? More watered down? Entirely different?

Is smoking marijuana now an acceptable spiritual practice for others besides Olsen and his wife? (couldn't resist

Zizzer says, "Upon reading some of this text in the 2009 version, I came to realize parts of the source of my confusion. The instruction of the text has changed dramatically. For those who have been studying 12 years or more it's like well you have been studying this, but now this has all changed and practice will be done this way. Forget whatever you have been learning about MP concepts and tennants. It seems as if they have changed the old teachings to curcumscribe to the unpopularity of the old concepts. Again, going deeper into these new teachings spawns only more confusion and doubt for me. The text now seems to be written more in third person. Who is this third person?"

 

[zizzer]

So are the 'Ahem' principles and spiritual practices now easier? Shorter? More watered down? Entirely different?

Is smoking marijuana now an acceptable spiritual practice for others besides Olsen and his wife? (couldn't resist

I think that most of the new book was clearly not written by Gary Olsen and he has admitted that the higher initiates are participating more in the writings and probably reading and reporting on the initiate reports also. From what I have read the writers seem to be avoiding Sant Mat terminology at the cost of clarity. I don't know what is meant by "watered down", but I do find it equally as stupid and egotistical as the old discourses.

I clearly remember Gary condoning drinking and the smoking of the marijuana in moderation, but it was not to be used for contemplation. Gary is completely against what he calls the hard drugs and pretends that he cannot ever pronounce them. At the same time he talks about the use of Hashish in certain cloisters in India for Upia. Upia sort of means getting higha and having conversations about God, Anami or whatever you want to call the Great Being lor Non-Being. Maybe Gary does not allow drinking or smoking of the pot now. I wouldn't know.

I had trouble not smoking weed/hashish or drinking alcohol the whole time that I was on the path. Since being off the path I have no use for weed or alcohol. I do not drink very much or smoke any marijuana anymore. I have not been offered any hashish since I have been off the path. I probably would not smoke it since I am not covered by the Sat Guru anymore and I could get busted.

 

[Anticult7]

That term "higher initiates" is just so goofy and lame. Do they have more stripes like in the military? I'm guessing they just gave more of their autonomy away and now are just more brainwashed. According to citi-data the upia nonsense only came out in his seminars after he was outed as being a pothead himself. One has to wonder why someone who claims to be God incarnate has to self medicate with MJ. Ram Das claims he witnessed his guru taking a whole handful of very strong LSD just to demonstrate that the stuff wouldn't affect him at all. Maybe Olsen could demonstrate this too. Maybe he could put it on one of his hokey Youtube videos. I'm guessing steam would come out of his ears before his brain turned to goo.

So you had to stay loaded to stay on the path?? That's amazing. How do you explain that? Needed to medicate in order to swallow the BS? Do tell

Yeah that being "covered" by Olsen was talked about on citi-data too. Apparently a guy who flew Olsen and his wife around on the guys own dime was killed in a plane crash. One has to wonder why God INCARNATE would let his own private pilot die that way.

I think that most of the new book was clearly not written by Gary Olsen and he has admitted that the higher initiates are participating more in the writings and probably reading and reporting on the initiate reports also. From what I have read the writers seem to be avoiding Sant Mat terminology at the cost of clarity. I don't know what is meant by "watered down", but I do find it equally as stupid and egotistical as the old discourses.

I clearly remember Gary condoning drinking and the smoking of the marijuana in moderation, but it was not to be used for contemplation. Gary is completely against what he calls the hard drugs and pretends that he cannot ever pronounce them. At the same time he talks about the use of Hashish in certain cloisters in India for Upia. Upia sort of means getting higha and having conversations about God, Anami or whatever you want to call the Great Being lor Non-Being. Maybe Gary does not allow drinking or smoking of the pot now. I wouldn't know.

I had trouble not smoking weed/hashish or drinking alcohol the whole time that I was on the path. Since being off the path I have no use for weed or alcohol. I do not drink very much or smoke any marijuana anymore. I have not been offered any hashish since I have been off the path. I probably would not smoke it since I am not covered by the Sat Guru anymore and I could get busted.

 

[zizzer]

Anti cult7, I saw Ram Das in San Fran. '87' I think. He said he took LSD on a yearly basis just to see what level he had reached in his enlightenment. He said it sitll affected him a little. I guess you know, if you take LSD enough it only affects you a little and can get very boring. Now with your information I understand what he was measuring against. I wonder if this had anything to do with his stroke? Sorry for getting off topic. Just a silly aside really. Wonder if Gary ever took LSD. He says not but, active duty in Viet Nam..surely he was tempted. :sorry1:

 

[Anticult7]

I hear that not only was there a lot of smoking pot in Viet Nam but also heroin. Anyone who claims not to know the names of hard drugs in our culture is FOS. While I don't know if Olsen took LSD or not, your phrase "he says not" is laughable about Olsen because even when caught with his plagiarizing pants down (plagiarizing for 20 years!), he put out such lame excuses ( AKA lies) on David Lane's blog it would be hard to believe anything that came out of Olsen's mouth.
Hopefully David Lane didn't buy Olsen's totally disingenuous excuse for plagiarizing and will come out with phase 2 of his Olsen expose.

Anti cult7, I saw Ram Das in San Fran. '87' I think. He said he took LSD on a yearly basis just to see what level he had reached in his enlightenment. He said it sitll affected him a little. I guess you know, if you take LSD enough it only affects you a little and can get very boring. Now with your information I understand what he was measuring against. I wonder if this had anything to do with his stroke? Sorry for getting off topic. Just a silly aside really. Wonder if Gary ever took LSD. He says not but, active duty in Viet Nam..surely he was tempted. :sorry1:

 

[Anticult7]

Main Page - Dickipedia - A Wiki of Dicks

 

[Fandango]

The Skeptics Society Forum • View topic - MasterPath, anybody?

 

[zizzer]

Fandango, what RU doing? is this a new link? Don't see a lot of credibility so far. Good luck with that.

 

[zizzer]

Yeah...Gary Olsen the All American Guru wins the Dickipedia award for 2011. Let's do a bio first.

 

[Anticult7]

Zizzer,

Unfortunately Dickipedia doesn't allow us to write or edit bios yet. Gary Olsen surely qualifies for the Hall of Fame of Wiki Dicks though :yes:

If you'd like to go back and forth I think we can write a good Dickipedia Bio for Olsen. Cherry picking from citi-data forum, here and many other places would be easy. Our biggest challenge would be editing it down to some reasonable length.

I doubt we would do as good a job as Violet though. Where is Violet when we need her ?

Yeah...Gary Olsen the All American Guru wins the Dickipedia award for 2011. Let's do a bio first.

 

[Zeeker]

Listing a description of Gary as a “dick” is a petty and pointless exercise, to me. You can recite almost anyone’s selected measures and portray them as a dick (just review the “dicks” listed in Dickipedia).

I would describe Gary as a very smart, but knowingly “rotten”, individual who has devised a system (albeit fundamentally reproduced), that insidious directs unsuspecting “seekers” under his “spell”, primarily designed to meet his own narcissistic needs. Anyone of some intelligence, with an opened mind (take note chelas), and sufficient interest, can read through the material we have been discussing and come to their own conclusions in that vein. :rainbow1:

 

[Violet Jones]

Zizzer,

Unfortunately Dickipedia doesn't allow us to write or edit bios yet. Gary Olsen surely qualifies for the Hall of Fame of Wiki Dicks though :yes:

If you'd like to go back and forth I think we can write a good Dickipedia Bio for Olsen. Cherry picking from citi-data forum, here and many other places would be easy. Our biggest challenge would be editing it down to some reasonable length.

I doubt we would do as good a job as Violet though. Where is Violet when we need her ?

Here I am! Thanks Anticult7, that's such a nice compliment. But I probably don't have sufficient information to write a bio on Gary. His childhood and young adulthood are periods that should probably be covered, at least briefly. And we don't have a lot of information about how he developed into his dickhood. But you never know, there could be places and people available to consult about those early years.

While I agree with Zeeker that such an exercise could be sort of petty and pointless, I also think that the more places Gary Olsen and MasterPath are referenced online, the better. Like for instance the link Fandango just posted...any website where some public opinion can be found, and exposure to the less-than-flattering aspects of Gary/MP are available, it could lead a "seeker" or MP newbie to keep looking for more.

Some of the web forum posts and comments elsewhere even reference and link to the City-Data thread and the thread here on RF. So, really any mentions online could lead a potential joiner to more substantive discussion. I think it's a good thing.

 

[Anticult7]

Violet,

Interesting. Someone sent me a private email and said that Gary Olsen grew up in Detroit Lakes, Minn. and that he did have a police record there. Usually those records, unless sealed, are available for a fee.

Here I am! Thanks Anticult7, that's such a nice compliment. But I probably don't have sufficient information to write a bio on Gary. His childhood and young adulthood are periods that should probably be covered, at least briefly. And we don't have a lot of information about how he developed into his dickhood. But you never know, there could be places and people available to consult about those early years.

While I agree with Zeeker that such an exercise could be sort of petty and pointless, I also think that the more places Gary Olsen and MasterPath are referenced online, the better. Like for instance the link Fandango just posted...any website where some public opinion can be found, and exposure to the less-than-flattering aspects of Gary/MP are available, it could lead a "seeker" or MP newbie to keep looking for more.

Some of the web forum posts and comments elsewhere even reference and link to the City-Data thread and the thread here on RF. So, really any mentions online could lead a potential joiner to more substantive discussion. I think it's a good thing.