taken in part from:
http://www.windofchanges.org/Husbandsperspective.html

In studying descriptions of these types of leaders and the similarity in their basic behavior, I imagined that there must be an instruction manual distributed to certain personalities on “How to be a Cult Leader.” Over and over, I found descriptions of these groups and their leaders, each with similar characteristics: exclusive spiritual connections, grand mission to save the world, charisma, false humility, control of followers, sexual control and exploitation, need for money and luxury, exaggerated claims of enlightenment, mystical presence, claims to be the only source of evolution, and the practice of debunking all other forms of understanding.

Rather than being independent and above it all, the group leader exceedingly depends on the devotion of followers, and has little tolerance for deviation.
Complete with histrionic self-righteousness about “shams” and “charlatans” who would dare to criticize them, these warnings changed several times over the period of a few weeks, and then disappeared. This same intolerance for questioning and criticism, or exposure to the public, was established early in daily interactions with the GW group leaders and also in written information, such as: “Those who criticize this instrument simply do not have the imagination necessary to understand or comprehend the use of energy….they themselves are often great misusers of energy. So those who criticize this instrument are of small and mediocre minds….”

One of the theories about what makes these leaders operate, that mental health experts and cult educators have concluded, is that they are acting out on their followers, in the form of exploitation and subjugation, what they experienced in their own childhoods. In this way, they put on others what they loathe and seek to deny in themselves. (Shaw:2003). Instead, they claim to be “evolved” and perfect; claiming that while they need nothing, they are entitled to everything.

.........

In reading Robert J. Lifton’s landmark study of thought reform and the psychology of totalism, which became the benchmark for the study of high-control groups and cults when the first edition was published in 1959, I began to understand the dynamics in all such groups that are used to control the way people think. Lifton convincingly shows how subjects in his study, from all walks of life, became fervent believers as a result of subtle techniques that destroyed past beliefs, relationships, and sense of self, and instilled a reliance on the leader for truth and wisdom. In his study, Lifton identifies features common to these expressions of mind control. What astonished me was how these criteria applied to the very special group (or so I had thought) that I had been a part of – the Gentle Wind Project. Following are a few of the criteria used by Lifton to describe some universal characteristics of high-control groups and cults.



These characteristics provide helpful insights to understanding the complex human dynamics in these types of groups. Lifton points out that high-control groups change over time so that these characteristics may not be operative at the same time, and vary in emphasis according to the leaders’ whims. In this way, the group is always in flux, keeping followers off balance and attentive to sudden changes.

Milieu Control: The most basic feature of mind control in these groups is control of the environment and human communication.

Mystical Manipulation:Another example (one of hundreds) of extremely confusing “mystical” verbiage is when a “healing instrument” is described on the GW website as having “the complexity of high frequency temporal shifting matrixed with millions of predefined etheric modifications operating in a vertically and horizontally oriented polarization”

[ insert here from the ramtha site:
any number of "scientific explanations" for reality.]

The Demand for Purity:

The Cult of Confession:

The Sacred Science: All such groups maintain that their dogma is the only true way. Competing dogmas are “shams” or unenlightened.

Loading the Language, or the Language of Non-Thought: According to Lifton, high-control groups use language with thought-control clichés loaded with special, group-assigned meanings, easy to memorize, and repeated over and over in writing and conversation.

All of this jargon expresses the loaded language of the “sacred science.”

Dispensing of Existence: Being cut off from the group meant that one would cease to evolve spiritually, possibly become seriously ill, be “off track,” and generally have a meaningless life, or in Lifton’s words, the existential conflict of “being versus nothingness.” This became a powerful constraint on trying to have a life outside.

"they are acting out on their followers, in the form of exploitation and subjugation, what they experienced in their own childhoods. In this way, they put on others what they loathe and seek to deny in themselves"

one of my very first red flags of questioning was:
I never hear anything out of "r's" mouth
at all negative about the channel, yet
"he" berates the be-jeezus out of every
one else.
wth?
Not ONCE, did I hear ANYTHING remotely
about any of "her" deficiencies or flaws
(which we all have).

Tree-
This was my experience as well.
How could the "channel", still being
human, NOT have any flaws?!
Ramtha used to go on and on about James, and various people close to the "hub of the wheel" as he called it (which I later found out she uses information from friends, the staff , CNN , the internet, etc to garner her information).
I always thought it odd, the channel never
had any imperfections.

Have you seen her walk on water?
Heal the dead?
I hear she has a vile temper.
And how many times does one need to hear about being 20 years younger, SANS
face lifts??

20 years younger? Are you saying JZ thinks she looks 20 years younger than her age, I have only seen her in interviews on youtube etc but she looks like someone in her 60's to me. I would think she would like even older close up. She has that freaky facelift look (like Jocelyn Wildenstein)and those ridiculous hair extensions! Men would be fooled, they don't seem to be able to spot fake breasts, facelits, hair extensions but there wouldn't be too many women who would think JZ was in her 40's. I'm 45 and if you put me next to JZ she would look like my Mom.