New age fraud and critical thinking

torsprings

New Blood
T
Joined
Feb 20, 2013
Messages
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Hi all I've been lurking for a year and thought I would join the forum.
I have experience of being taken in by New Age fraud and how easy it is follow cult behaviour. I lived in Glastonbury UK for five years, dropped out and became very new age. I learnt Reiki and 'qualified' and got Reiki I and Reiki II. I also learnt other 'energy' healing things about chakras and auras. I followed a guru. At the time it all seemed quite reasonable and I was swept along with it. I then started to question things and realise most of the New agers were either vulnerable or carried away with their own egos. Some of the things I had learnt were so ridiculous ( Reiki distance healing, sending Reiki into the future or the past, putting Reiki into objects :eek: ) that I then questioned everything.
I realised it was all a load of bull and moved out of Glastonbury.
I am now a critical thinker and much happier with the reality of life.
( The guru has now founded an ashram in Glastonbury which ticks all the cult boxes )
Can't believe I was so gullible !
 
Welcome to the forum, torsprings. :)

It's always a pleasure to see someone moving into the light of fact and knowledge. Many of us here have wallowed in nonsense as well (mine was the religion of my youth) so we understand your journey and recognize the path can be lonely but ultimately so rewarding.

Glad to have you aboard, and that you've decided to start posting!
 
I have my Reiki I level too. :)

I think with all of my woo-related experiences and beliefs in my past, I salvaged a few of the really good things I learned and then junked the rest.

It is sad about Glastonbury, it is a gorgeous town, it is just a shame about the hippys.
 
Glastonbury is a lovely place the tor well worth a visit.

I spent time checking out the new age/paranormal/ufo stuff for 10 years between 20 and 30 and came to the conclusion after many discussions with so called "experts" it was a pile of poo all of it and bordering on the fraudulent is some cases.
 
Well done, torsprings! Are you aware of the JREF's podcast CONsequence? In it, we try to interview people who have had experiences like yours. It sounds like your story would make a fascinating episode if you would like to be interviewed. (You don't have to use your real name on the podcast if you don't desire to).

Email Brian Thompson at brian@randi.org, he is the producer and host of the podcast.
 
torsprings said:
Can't believe I was so gullible !
Click to expand...

Well, you're human. We can fall for all kinds of silly things. Instead of feeling bad about being gullible, feel good that you figured out it was bunk and were willing to admit it to yourself!
 
I am a master of rakey. It's similar to reiki but is used to organize mostly organic material lying around my lawn. I think we all make errors in thinking. Hopefully we learn and move on.
 
Hi Torsprings, don't be too hard on yourself. It takes a lot of strength and courage to accept that you were wrong and do something about it. By doing so, you're a far better, and wiser, human being than any new-age 'guru' will ever be.
 
Welcome Torsprings!

I was a massage therapist for a couple of years in my mid-twenties. I was always the type of person who questioned things, but being surrounded by new age types for several years (I did massage at a yoga center) really cemented my feelings about critical thinking and how important it is to me.

There was a reiki 'master' in town who ran classes. The basic class was open to all (who could pay for it) but the advanced classes were invite only to those that had 'the gift'. Guess what percentage of students had 'the gift'? If you guessed "every person that could pay the fee for advanced classes", you'd be right!
 
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Max_mang said:
Guess what percentage of students had 'the gift'? If you guessed "every person that could pay the fee for advanced classes", you'd be right!
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And here I was going to guess "all those whom the reiki master found sexually attractive." Wrong scam I guess.

And yes, welcome torsprings! I went through a similar process, though my delusion of choice was out-of-body experiences. Congrats on realizing you had bet on the wrong horse and adjusting your life accordingly.
 
Welcome to the forum and glad to see you're courageous and honest!
 
Dogdoctor said:
I am a master of rakey. It's similar to reiki but is used to organize mostly organic material lying around my lawn. I think we all make errors in thinking. Hopefully we learn and move on.
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I myself do rakey as well, but I use the cyclone rakey it sucks even better than rakei.
 
:) Welcome to the forum torsprings and congratulations.I'm glad your eyes were opened , now you can get on with Life looking from a different angle...Best wishes to you..BMM :)
 
Tatyana said:
I have my Reiki I level too. :)

I think with all of my woo-related experiences and beliefs in my past, I salvaged a few of the really good things I learned and then junked the rest.

It is sad about Glastonbury, it is a gorgeous town, it is just a shame about the hippys.
Click to expand...

Very true.
 
krelnik said:
Well done, torsprings! Are you aware of the JREF's podcast CONsequence? In it, we try to interview people who have had experiences like yours. It sounds like your story would make a fascinating episode if you would like to be interviewed. (You don't have to use your real name on the podcast if you don't desire to).

Email Brian Thompson at brian@randi.org, he is the producer and host of the podcast.
Click to expand...

Might just do that. Thanks for the email.
 
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