Monday, June 4, 2007

Check your ego at the door: The only way to see the way out of eckankar

The ego shouldn't be underestimated in its power to keep you in a state of inertia when it comes to eckankar. I speak from experience. If you can check your ego at the door you'll have a better chance at seeing eckankar for what it is and finding your way out.

The problem is that the longer you're in something, eckankar included, you start to form your identity around your belief system. Your ego can keep you from undoing this to the point wherein you can't divorce yourself even from something that is bad for you. It even becomes near impossible to think clearly enough to ask yourself "Am I still a truth seeker, or am I now just blinded by my own beliefs to the point wherein I can't be objective?" Which is it for you?

The hardest thing for most people is to question eckankar once they've committed to it, especially after a number of years. You've got too much invested — friendships, habits, ways of thinking, belief systems and even part of your personal lexicon. Your identity becomes attached to these ideas that are adopted as your own. Thus, you can be a part of a big lie and self deception because your ego just won't let go. You're too close to the problem to recognize it. You become entirely defensive. You defend the lies, the plagiarisms, the accusations, the contradictions and the injustices of eckanar as if they are all an attack on you personally. In the long run this is bad for you because you are being controlled by two forces: 1. the eckankar organization and 2. your own set of beliefs.

To see eckankar for what it is, you have to be open-minded. Maybe this was your state of mind before you entered into eckankar, but believe me when I say that if you're still in it, you're no longer open-minded. You may think you are, but you are not. You're brainwashed. I know I was and everyone I knew in eckankar was the same way. You believe that Paul Twitchell was a spiritual man and you overlooked his plagiarisms, contradictions and lies. Why would you surrender your common sense and critical thinking? When things got scary or went wrong, you would Hu inside your head. When you dreamed you thought it was "real." You believe the eck masters are real beings. You believe you are the cause of your own problems. It's all crazy and without foundation.

Unless you understand more about psychology, you are the victim of your own ego and abberations of your mind.

To look at the truth about eckankar, including the good and the bad, you have to check your ego at the door. This is way too much for many people to do. But if you're brave and open-minded and are really a truth seeker, you'll do it for your own good and the good of others. If not, you'll continue to be in denial and to live a lie. It's your own choice.

34 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you very much for your posting. I can tell you really understand the entrapment of Eckankar. All of us recovering eckist need to hear others understand. Thanks again.

Punam said...

I have been contemplating joining eckankar recently.. kindly let me know if i can contact you. There are some questions that maybe you could answer..

Finder said...

I agree that the ego should not be underestimated. Yet what is it that estimates the power of ego, if not the ego? :-o

What does it tell you that this author still appears in a state of inertia about Eckankar(though in an attack Eckankar and try to dissuade people mode) 40+ years later...?

While I agree with some of what (s)he says because it is
the same with most _all_ kinds of relationships,
and sympathize with his/her plight,
I learned on day one of my exposure to Eckankar that one ought to prove things for one's self through your own personal experiences rather than use Paul Twitchell's or anyone's words or experiences and accept them as if they are your own spiritual truth. That still holds true for me today.

Victim Consciousness(I was controlled, manipulated, taken advantage of, not responsible for my actions[causes] and the karmic reactions[problems], etc.) never suited me.
Your mileage may vary. ;-)

If aspects of Eckankar do not work for you at first blush,
just learn from the ones that do.
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is a symptom of not checking one's "ego at the door".
You do not have to become a member to gain invaluable spiritual insights.

This person assuming they can speak as an authority for members of Eckankar is what?
Seems to me to be an egotistic red flag of not being open-minded.

Regarding HU which has been in use for thousands of years, is thus not something exclusive to Eckankar, and can be way more than just "inside your head", try it and see if it is "real" for you.

While this person's experience is valid for them, it is not true for everyone. In the highest spiritual sense I can perceive, each person creates their own reality.


The Truth About Eckankar?
The Whole Truth
Or for a less comprehensive but free version:
Dialog Here

If you're curious and open-minded, visit an Eckankar Center and meet real Eckists.

If you think or feel you are not curious, ask yourself why you are here in the first place :-¿

:-)

Finder said...


Spiritual Dialog Project

Unknown said...

Need more info please struck in a void did the HU chant for a minute it helped clear myself of clutter
Thanks
Jenny

Unknown said...

Hang in there eckist and former eckist, what waits for you in liberation of soul will keep you awe struck 24/7 and when you reread all the material once again it will take on a whole new meaning with your new consciousness, you will know and you will be, being 24/7 is all that its cracked up to be, and don't give up.

lagachette said...

Eckankar and any other 'ways of bettering yourself' are just steps to knowing who you are. Discover, adopt,learn, leave, become wiser and more fulfilled. this is my life and I feel truly priviledged to have learned what is my path.

lagachette said...
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lagachette said...
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Finder said...
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Finder said...

@ lagachette

It's wonderful that you have learned what your path is.

Others may need more than just bettering themselves and becoming wiser.

Self-Realization, consciously Knowing/experiencing yourself as Soul, is the path Eckankar points to. One doesn't have to join or leave Eckankar to Be that awareness.

Finder said...

@Todd

Yes, and while everyone has different experiences(eg not necessarily 24/7), I agree that there is always more to learn if you keep pursuing conscious expansion.

The truth is that the teachings of Eckankar are designed to be a customizable personal experiential path.

Unknown said...

Plagiarism is not the same thing worldwide. If someone can draw from that many sources more power to them.also there is no one set pat answer. Even the bible is the living word.

Unknown said...
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Classic Rock Video DJ said...

Teaching Groups and main Philosophy of the 69 KNOWN Authors Plagiarized by Paul Twitchell
WITH REFERENCE WEBSITE LINKS
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-M0yAR0UPhPSEZwV0d3VVRNLTg/view

@ Mary Jensen "Plagiarism is not the same thing worldwide."
Bullshit, plagiarism is plagiarism, and 90% of Twitchell's writings are VERBATIM copied texts.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-M0yAR0UPhPdzZTdGxkNjBTR1U&usp=sharing

@ Finder
"The truth is that the teachings of Eckankar are designed to be a customizable personal experiential path." - "Self-Realization, consciously Knowing/experiencing yourself as Soul, is the path Eckankar points to"
Bullshit - it is a convoluted distortion of lies, deception, manipulation, and a mishmash of stolen writings by others that sends people off the edge of sanity. Eckankar is a LIE from start to finish.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-M0yAR0UPhPSzVjakxZNUhoblE&usp=sharing

@ Todd Gambino
"Hang in there eckist and former eckist, what waits for you in liberation of soul will keep you awe struck 24/7..."
DELUSIONAL clap trap.

@ Unknown
"The Truth About Eckankar? The Whole Truth - Or for a less comprehensive but free version:
Dialog Here "
ABSOLUTE MYTHICAL delusional thinking by an incompetent fool in Doug Marman - AN APOLOGIST FOR LYING MANIPULATORS IN Twitchell, Klemp, Patti Simpson and Gail Twitchell.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.religion.eckankar/WrvLV2DAv_8/qkV6svDuAgAJ

@ Unknown
"Throwing the baby out with the bathwater"
THis is "patti simpson's" standard line about twitchell's writings.
What UNKNOWN and every other eckists cannot do, including Patti Simpson, is to tell another exactly which parts are the BABY and which parts are the stinking DIRTY BATH WATER - there's a reason for that - it is ALL BATH WATER - cherry picked 'ideas' thrown together into a mixed salad loaded with POISONOUS LIES and MANIPULATION by a nutter Narcissist called Paul Twitchell.

Finder said...

Henosis Sagebrush

This is so passe'it's been debunked so many times that anyone familiar with it doesn't care anymore.

Your anger and attacking the messengers is sad.

The multi-years in depth study below shows your 90% claim is unsupportable.

Finder said...
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Finder said...

Dragnet - Plagiarism Revisited 5-13-04

"All we know are the facts ma'am" - Sgt Joe Friday

About twenty-five years ago I read David Lane's "The Making of a Spiritual Movement". Like many that read it, for years I believed that his information and conclusions on the plagiarism issue were accurate.
Fast forward to early 1998 where I had been going back and forth with David on A.R.E. for more than a year. I was beginning to recognize that some of David's opinions, couched as facts, where exaggerations. What sparked a search for the unadulterated facts was when he said that 1/2 of The Far Country was plagiarized and that "was merely the tip of the iceberg." So I picked up the book, counted how many paragraphs there were and compared that to how many he listed in his book. It turned out that it was less than a 1/3, but he refused to back off from his "tip of the iceberg' claim, so I challenged him to put up all the paragraphs side by side with those from other's books.

The criteria for the 'Plagiarism Contest'(his term) is as follows:
"To be submitted in the Plagiarism Contest, comparison quotes must be posted here, or on the web, for all to see. No hearsay, suspicions, guesses, opinions, page numbers, or unsubstantiated claims can be
accepted in the total number of paragraphs."
"Every benefit of the doubt is given to David Lane and detractors. Numbers will be rounded off in their favor, and questionable paragraphs will always err on their side. Partial paragraphs and even one sentence quotes will be counted as a whole paragraph."

Many eagerly jumped in to help him. If it turned out that this was the "tip of the iceberg",(only 10%) then they would gleefully be able to cite thousands of paragraphs that could be documented as plagiarized.
Over three years later I did ballpark math on the totals as follows:
By my count there are about 1500 paragraphs in The Far Country. Most of Paul's other major books are about the same size. Of course the discourses and a few other things are smaller in size. To remove any doubt, by erring in the extreme for fairness, I decided to use his average writings as only 750 paragraphs.
According to David Lane, in his five years as ECK Master, Paul wrote about 60 manuscripts. Like many of David's claims I suspected that might be an exaggeration too, so I decided to again go to the extreme, to bend over backwards in using only 30 as the number he wrote. In effect, that would _double_ the percentage total.
At that time right around 100 paragraphs had been documented.(As of today, maybe 60 more have been documented) Assuming that David was accurate with the about 400 paragraph numbers he cited in his book, I decided to include those too, and came up with this:
750 paragraphs
X 30 works
-----------
22,500 paragraphs that Paul wrote.
500 ÷ 22,500 = 2.2%
However, recently Doug did what no one has bothered to do before. He actually checked the paragraph numbers David has given at the beginning of Chapter One, against the two Julian Johnson books David referred to. Out of the first 32 paragraphs that David identified as plagiarisms, only 20% of what David claimed actually showed plagiarisms!
Be that as it may, the 400+ that David claims in "The Far Country" have never be documented except as shown above. So if we add the 7(20%) from above, with the additional 60 more, here's what we get.

167 ÷ 22,500 = .7%
Less than 1% of what Paul wrote has been *proven* to be plagiarized!


Keep in mind that _all_ these figures have been skewed _in favor_ of plagiarism.will continue to imagine that vast amounts of what Paul Twitchell wrote was plagiarized.
Regardless, these are how the facts stand today.

Abbie said...

Dear eck member

For too long the real nature of eckankar and the eck experience for members has been mysterious.   That now changes.

You will find part of the key to understanding eckankar at the following website compiled from eck member experiences:

http://eckankarlawsuit.jimdo.com

More insights will be posted over the next year at the site.

Please note the site is written entirely within the right of freedom of religion protected by the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution.

Any replies please to:

eckankarlawsuit@gmx.com

Robbie

Finder said...

Over the decades, out of hundreds of thousands of people who have studied the Eckankar teachings, there are a rare few who's personal perceptions have led to grievances like this. None that I am aware of ever succeeded in lawsuits because, aside from chanting/spiritual exercises, Eckankar meets none of the criteria of cult characteristics. http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm

Unknown said...

I learned that religion is when we seek outside ourselves for salvation lets say. Spirituality is when we look with-in ourselves to discover our own divinity.

Finder said...

I agree Rik.

While Eckankar is registered as a non-profit religious organization for conducting business, to me it's most important teaching is that it is an individual path.. The books and talks are merely outward guides pointing inwards. Nothing outside ourselves gives Self-Realization. It must be recognized by one's true Self, Soul.

Classic Rock Video DJ said...

Finder said...December 2, 2016

"While Eckankar is registered as a non-profit religious organization for conducting business," ...... It is required to operate according to LAW in every jurisdiction in which it operates.

Your opinion about being an "individual path" is totally irrelevant and of zero consequence.

Classic Rock Video DJ said...

Finder said...March 25, 2016

"out of "hundreds of thousands of people" -- that's a complete total Fallacy

"None that I am aware of ever succeeded in lawsuits" ... You would not know!

"Eckankar meets none of the criteria of cult characteristics. http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm"

BS it does. And it is. Eckankar as an ORG is a fraud from day one. 1965 onwards. But especially under Klemp who himself is a gross repetitive liar and a fraud.

Classic Rock Video DJ said...

Finder said...December 28, 2015

"Henosis Sagebrush"

HA HA, well aren't you an immature little dickhead!

"Your anger and attacking the messengers is sad."

Hey Finder ... FUCK OFF! You're pathetic opinion is worthless.

"The multi-years in depth study below shows your 90% claim is unsupportable."

You wouldn't know. You never looked you LIAR!

-------------------------

Finder said..."Dragnet - Plagiarism Revisited 5-13-04 "

That's posted by RICH SMITH () to a.r.e. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.religion.eckankar

IT IS WRONG - IT IS SOPHISTRY - IT IS ILLOGICAL - IT IS NOT BASED ON REAL EVIDENCE BUT THE INSTEAD THE ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE AT THAT TIME AND THE EVIDENCE RICH SMITTH AND EVERYONE ELSE [ESPECIALLY DOUG MARMAN REFUSED TO EVEN LOOK AT OR ACKNOWLEDGE EXISTED BACK THEN OR TODAY] - IT IS FALSE - IT IS BULLSHIT BY A BIASED CULT-HEAD who also never bothered to LOOK FOR HIMSELF ...... EVER!

If you wish to believe in Eckankar, and if you wish to go promoting it online then you need to face reality that Truth exists separate to your BELIEFS and the LIES you have been fed about ECKANKAR's MYTHS

Living in denial is an option ... feel free to enjoy that but to expect others to submit to your version of falsehoods is insane.



Classic Rock Video DJ said...

Finder said...December 9, 2013
"The truth is that the teachings of Eckankar are designed to be a customizable personal experiential path."

Another total LIE .... Eckankar's myths and pseudo-psychology is dangerous.

Finder said...

Wild unsupported accusations, screaming, swearing and lashing out... wow, the DISmissive, all knowing Sage of divisiveness has spoken. :-| sad

My _experience_ is that the organization of Eckankar has never interfered in my individual path as I choose to live it, and that has not been caused, one way or the other,
by any " LAW".

"Truth exists separate to your BELIEFS" Exactly.
Beliefs pale with proof of an individual's personal experience. That's what I learned from Paul Twitchell and the teachings of Eckankar.

Vandami said...

Hello, i really want to ask some questions because i have plans of joining eckankar and wish for your help on these questions. My email is abdulai.abanga@gmail.com

Classic Rock Video DJ said...

Finder, get a life. You have no idea what you're talking about; and you have no idea how much total crap you think you learned from Paul twitchell and eckankar.

see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNc5osh-m2M&feature=gp-n-y&google_comment_id=z13dvjcj4zrpd3rsi22dt1maevukcbrg304

This is from a BELIEVER in Twitchell's "made up bullshit system" known as Eckankar

It's like this. Paul's seven main books are like spiritual adventures and spiritual roleplay. Most Eckists know and have known for 3-4 decades it's "not real". I can tell you of three dozen . Many will even discuss Darwin honestly because he initiated some of them in 1974,76 and 78... They all knew Ford Johnson for 20 years. They enjoy Pauls books like a little book club and treat it like roleplay. Some older high initiates knew back 1970 ! Rebezar uses half the writings of Julian and a few paragraphs from 50 other books by 10 others. Paul is creating the Tibetan monk experience in way that was more spiritual and updated without the dress code and celibacy and vegetarian life that goes with Indian Sikh Hindu ... Rebezar is also a combination of the Sikh gurus, based on Kirpal but with a backstory taken from Guru Nanek, and Paul placed himself as a sort of Dalai Lama of the spiritual worlds. Other Eck Master characters were created to add more life to the stories and make redundant descriptions of light and sound and God more readable to those who want the spiritual journey. The Eck Masters are like Hindu characters, figures to focus on while imagining that face of the God. They come from different countries and different centuries as symbolic idols of an invisible concept. He copied pages and passed them on to a few dozen people for five years as notes and study material and rewriting endless paragraphs about the nature of God wouldn't have made any difference to what was being said. In 1957-1964, Paul may have been among the first few hundred people to discover the Sikh and Hindu world, since hippies didn't do the guru thing until 1967. Lane didn't discover this until 1977 and it was only by chance ... No one else was going to have read any of that stuff, and biographies about unknown monks wouldn't have been interesting without a little color to the story. Klemp is all fluff just turning everything dream and metaphor story telling. He's a Christian preacher at heart, I believe. I just wish that he would have filled in a few more characters instead the same 12 usually being used. There's a whole world of spiritual fiction that could be incorporated by the many artists that are in this group. Eckankar didn't have a chance to come up with a more diverse mythology of characters but it could have been large scale like Zeus or whoever type mythology. Several women are stay at home wives that entertain themselves with tea parties and paint classes for fun. It's not a religion for anyone born after 1984 and its age group is more for 70s spiritual seekers that "get it". I've always imagined that their could have been at least seven Eck Masters between Rebezar and Paul, at 30-34 years each as Master, usually starting around age 35-40, and that they would probably have to be based on the groups of protestants that came on the first ten Pilgrim ships. Islam and Catholic have Angels, Hindus have representative concepts in their avatars , and so Eckankar is the same way (I prefer Vardankar myself in this decade, and Dhunami was pleasant )

Finder said...

My life is fine. In contrast, yours appears attached, angry, still playing the victim after _decades_. This rant means little to people who have been uplifted, gained more spiritual awareness and love, and are having personal experiences of their own. The spiritual wisdom in the books speaks for itself.

You can keep trying to discourage people who don't know any better.
You are welcome to your perceptions and reality.

http://www.startribune.com/new-age-religion-eckankar-makes-its-home-in-chanhassen/384356371/

http://www.eckankar.org/Masters/Peddar/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvecTKM_-wk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ighgl7aQYxk

Classic Rock Video DJ said...

Finder, get a life.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

Finder said...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc9N_g2NolA&list=PLC9D8BB3BFB666F83



Finder said...

The lives and experiences of Eckists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZAFB431-1g&list=PLC9D8BB3BFB666F83



Classic Rock Video DJ said...

HUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.......................