Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2009, Page 66
taken part in an intensive self-help course called Turning Point —run by People
Knowhow—that involved psychological regression techniques and emotional stress. Just
before she jumped from a window in her office building, Rebekah Lawrence became
emotional, child-like, and aggressive, and took off all of her clothes. The coroner found that
she killed herself solely because she developed a psychosis brought on by the course she
had begun a few days earlier. Lawrence‘s sister says of such courses: ―They help some
people but they kill people, and, naturally, I‘d like to see that stopped [by regulation].‖ I‘m
not angry, because they didn‘t mean to do it. It‘s just unqualified people doing damaging
things to people‘s minds.
In 1963, two disenchanted Scientologists, Mary Ann MacLean, a former call girl from
Glasgow, and Robert DeGrimston, an Englishman of noble birth, founded The Process
Church of the Final Judgment, which made unauthorized use of Scientology founder L.
Ron Hubbard‘s e-meter to identify and exorcise compulsions and complexes. Mick Jagger
―flirted‖ with the Process, which may have influenced some of his songs. DeGrimston was
the ―front man‖ of the group MacLean ―called the shots‖ in this ―matriarchal cult.‖ A former
Process editor says the two— she is deceased, he now works for Verizon—exploited church
members for personal gain. Some former members admitted at a recent conference that the
church was a con, but added that some of the best years of their lives were spent living in
Process communities and selling magazines in the snow. The ex-editor denied the popular
misconception that the Process directly influenced Charles Manson. He said Scientology
spread the rumor after the Manson Family murders because MacLean and DeGrimston were
apostates. A book on the group has recently been published: Love Sex Fear Death: The
Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment.
A lawsuit against Radiant Life Church claims that leader Tony Cunningham made church
members honor him giving him money and paying for his vacations. Members of other
churches in the area complain about similar demands, but other congregants say that the
believe they must submit to their spiritual leader, saying it‘s ―biblical.‖
Iranian Raëlian leader Negar Azizmoradi has fled the country, to Turkey, fearing for her
life, after publicly declaring that there is no god and explaining basic Raëlian beliefs. A
Raëlian spokesman said that Iranian government officials have contacted Azizmoradi‘s
family, in Canada, threatening to make trouble for them, and Azizmoradi, if they don‘t cease
all media activity.
James Ray, who promoted his New Age ideas in two visits to the Oprah Winfrey TV show in
2007, is being investigated in connection with the deaths of three people and the
hospitalization of dozens more who took part in a ―faux‖ Indian sweat lodge event during a
―spiritual warrior weekend‖ in Sedona, AZ, in October. Participants paid $10,000 each to
attend the event, run by Ray, ―a handsome, charismatic prophet of profit.‖ Winfrey has
―passionately promoted all manner of unified field theories of health, wealth, and spiritual
renewal on her television program, in her magazine, and on her web site.‖
Christine B. Whelan (Washington Post, 10/25/09) believes Ray and the sweat lodge incident
are part of a phenomenon, several decades old now, during which ―motivational gurus have
sampled from cognitive behavioral therapies and incorporated increasingly exotic spiritual
practices, building their brands and holding the attention of their audiences by claiming
skills that, for most, are well beyond their field of expertise.‖
Ray‘s seminar, ―Harmonic Wealth‖—part of his ―Journey or Power‖ series—aims to transform
the individual‘s sell-limiting beliefs and enable him or her to ―attract‖ the life they want. Like
other leaders of personal transformation seminars, Ray tries to push people beyond their
perceived limits. Said one participant:‖ He brings in business, he brings in quantum physics,
he brings in the law of attraction, he brings in spirituality, religion, different philosophies,
esoteric traditions,‖ and ―puts it together in really interesting ways.‖ The personal
taken part in an intensive self-help course called Turning Point —run by People
Knowhow—that involved psychological regression techniques and emotional stress. Just
before she jumped from a window in her office building, Rebekah Lawrence became
emotional, child-like, and aggressive, and took off all of her clothes. The coroner found that
she killed herself solely because she developed a psychosis brought on by the course she
had begun a few days earlier. Lawrence‘s sister says of such courses: ―They help some
people but they kill people, and, naturally, I‘d like to see that stopped [by regulation].‖ I‘m
not angry, because they didn‘t mean to do it. It‘s just unqualified people doing damaging
things to people‘s minds.
In 1963, two disenchanted Scientologists, Mary Ann MacLean, a former call girl from
Glasgow, and Robert DeGrimston, an Englishman of noble birth, founded The Process
Church of the Final Judgment, which made unauthorized use of Scientology founder L.
Ron Hubbard‘s e-meter to identify and exorcise compulsions and complexes. Mick Jagger
―flirted‖ with the Process, which may have influenced some of his songs. DeGrimston was
the ―front man‖ of the group MacLean ―called the shots‖ in this ―matriarchal cult.‖ A former
Process editor says the two— she is deceased, he now works for Verizon—exploited church
members for personal gain. Some former members admitted at a recent conference that the
church was a con, but added that some of the best years of their lives were spent living in
Process communities and selling magazines in the snow. The ex-editor denied the popular
misconception that the Process directly influenced Charles Manson. He said Scientology
spread the rumor after the Manson Family murders because MacLean and DeGrimston were
apostates. A book on the group has recently been published: Love Sex Fear Death: The
Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment.
A lawsuit against Radiant Life Church claims that leader Tony Cunningham made church
members honor him giving him money and paying for his vacations. Members of other
churches in the area complain about similar demands, but other congregants say that the
believe they must submit to their spiritual leader, saying it‘s ―biblical.‖
Iranian Raëlian leader Negar Azizmoradi has fled the country, to Turkey, fearing for her
life, after publicly declaring that there is no god and explaining basic Raëlian beliefs. A
Raëlian spokesman said that Iranian government officials have contacted Azizmoradi‘s
family, in Canada, threatening to make trouble for them, and Azizmoradi, if they don‘t cease
all media activity.
James Ray, who promoted his New Age ideas in two visits to the Oprah Winfrey TV show in
2007, is being investigated in connection with the deaths of three people and the
hospitalization of dozens more who took part in a ―faux‖ Indian sweat lodge event during a
―spiritual warrior weekend‖ in Sedona, AZ, in October. Participants paid $10,000 each to
attend the event, run by Ray, ―a handsome, charismatic prophet of profit.‖ Winfrey has
―passionately promoted all manner of unified field theories of health, wealth, and spiritual
renewal on her television program, in her magazine, and on her web site.‖
Christine B. Whelan (Washington Post, 10/25/09) believes Ray and the sweat lodge incident
are part of a phenomenon, several decades old now, during which ―motivational gurus have
sampled from cognitive behavioral therapies and incorporated increasingly exotic spiritual
practices, building their brands and holding the attention of their audiences by claiming
skills that, for most, are well beyond their field of expertise.‖
Ray‘s seminar, ―Harmonic Wealth‖—part of his ―Journey or Power‖ series—aims to transform
the individual‘s sell-limiting beliefs and enable him or her to ―attract‖ the life they want. Like
other leaders of personal transformation seminars, Ray tries to push people beyond their
perceived limits. Said one participant:‖ He brings in business, he brings in quantum physics,
he brings in the law of attraction, he brings in spirituality, religion, different philosophies,
esoteric traditions,‖ and ―puts it together in really interesting ways.‖ The personal
