Excellent Resource.....

http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/CofC.htm#summary

Thank you whatchamacallit ...

I found this chapter particularly enlightening....

Difficulties Facing Critical Ex-members...

In general, cults have a hierarchical or pyramid type of structure. At the lowest level, members are part-timers who are only partially committed to the group and are who are only lightly brainwashed. All the cult leadership really requires of this level is that members should speak well of the group and be generally positive. Members at this level have little power or influence, and are unlikely to be aware of the full range of the cult's teachings, knowledge of which is restricted to a trusted inner circle of committed, full-time members.
Members at a part-time level of commitment are less likely to be manipulated or abused to any significant extent, because achieving strong influence over a person really requires that they be exposed to a mind control environment on a more full-time basis. Mind control only works on a foundation of personal friendship and trust, and it takes time and effort to establish this foundation. Strong and intensive mind control is partly a one on one process, in which the controlee is assigned a personal mentor, a more senior and experienced member, who is willing to devote the patience and effort needed to coach the aspirant/controlee through the beliefs and practices of the group.
For this practical reason, therefore, intensive mind control is generally only applied to selected individuals who are perceived to be not only receptive, but who also have something that the group leadership wants. Sometimes this is money or sex, or it may be some practical or business skill which is desired by the group leadership in order to expand the group or to raise money. In some groups, the greater majority of members are not specially targeted, and are only relatively lightly brainwashed.
A person involved at a more superficial level may find it genuinely difficult to believe what goes on in some of the more committed levels of membership. Members who have not been specially targeted, and who have enjoyed the warmth and friendship of the group without having been exposed to its darker side, will tend to think well of the group, and may be puzzled by criticisms of it.
These positive and supportive members can be used as a public relations shield, to counter any allegations against the group, and to reassure new members. Individual critics can be simply outnumbered and their criticisms discredited.
Even if a member involved at a less committed level is not swayed by the general air of positivity, and does develop suspicions about the group, they are unlikely to have enough inside information about the group to be able to verify their suspicions, or to be in a position to effectively warn others of potential problems. Nevertheless, the mere suspicion that a group might be a cult can be enough to deter a person from becoming involved, and so it can still be worth making relevant criticisms and sowing the seeds of suspicion.
If a critic is an insider, someone who has been more deeply involved and who has enough inside knowledge about a cult to be able to make detailed criticisms, they will still be unable to prove anything (because of the subjective nature of personal belief in general, and the non-falsifiable nature of cult belief systems in particular). They will be unable to prove that the group used deception or misrepresentation in marketing the benefits of participating in group run courses and activities.
If an ex-member claims that they were subjected to brainwashing or mind-control techniques, not only is this again unprovable, but in the mind of the general public, it is tantamount to admitting that they are a gullible and easily led person whose opinions, consequently, can't be worth much. If an ex-member suffers from any mental disorientation or evident psychiatric symptoms, this is likely to further diminish their credibility as a reliable informant.
Additionally, dissatisfied members or other critics have great difficulty in disproving ad-hominem arguments, such as that they just have a personal axe to grind, that they are trying to find a scapegoat to excuse their own failure or deficiency, or that they are simply being subjective and emotional. Cults have a vested interest in challenging the personal credibility of their critics, and may cultivate academic researchers who attack the credibility and motives of ex-members [31].
In general, the public credibility of critical ex-cultists seems to be somewhere in between that of Estate Agents and flying saucer abductees.

From…. http://www.ex-cult.org/fwbo/CofC.htm#apostates

An excellent piece of writing David. Those not as involved have no idea of what happens to multitudes of very committed students.

Where are all the tens of thousands of people that have walked through the RSE doors that are no longer present and do not have a voice?

It is evaluated by 89% of people who attended the Beginning Retreats as the best week of their life. So what happens after the beginning?

After all it is the greatest breakthrough teaching in the whole world.

How can anyone reason that the teachings so benefit humanity on earth when the vast majority of those who have ever walked through the RSE doors are absent?

Christel,

It is also interesting to note that JZ Knights children have never attended RSE...
I have no recollection of her ever mentioning them during my time in RSE, My suspicion is... they have been paid up to shut up...also the so-called scientific studies purporting JZ is not a fraud? not one of those scientists returned to enroll in RSE.

I remember a feeling akin to liberation when I eventually surrendered my disbelief in "Ramtha"
It was as if all my social responsibilities could be thrown out the window...Daddy will be taking care of everything from here on.. Just so long as I was a good boy...paid my RSE dues and did my disciplines. there was even the promise that daddy will take care of my family if I did the great work.
It came as a rude awakening when a friend lost her daughter in an horrific accident.
I realize now that my ability to think and feel had been severely compromised...
it's called brainwashing... I had entered the narcissistic world of JZ Knights neighborhood camouflaged as enlightenment ...
after all.. An enlightened being is not a victim,
does not judge and is always forgiving,
A convenient philosophy for JZ Knight to expect from her devotees.