FreeNow, welcome..
I am not sure how you intended this:
"Do I think Ramtha is real? Yes. But, I'm not sure what his motives truly are. There are many paths to God I don't have to take this one."

here are my reactions:
Sure, Ramtha is just as real as JZ acting as Ramtha is real. Beyond that NO ONE has proven a thing. The sooner an ex-member grasps that reality, the sooner that person explodes the magical bubble of power and individuality projected onto Ramtha and the influence it had over them. So what is Ramtha? imo,
Wizard of Oz! Kermit! Batman! Howdy Doody!

I recall my exit from a similar cult in 1980 when I decided the same thing: "There are many paths to God I don't have to take this one." It was a freeing first step for me. The tough part came later, assessing the quality and reality of the cult path/pit I had entered for nearly 2 years and how much damage that deep belief caused in my psyche, my marriage [divorce], and my ability to trust information.

Like to hear more from you here......
Joe

Hi Joe, thanks for responding. I think that the entity that calls itself Ramtha is some kind of spirit but I have doubts as to if it is what it says it is.

For the past few weeks I have been attempting to find what it said was true and what isn't true. I came straight out of churchanity into RSE and I had never looked at anything outside of church. So now I am exploring other spiritual writing such as:

From Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama: "A genuine teacher never condems his student, no matter how bad the student may be. Instead, the teacher gently helps and corrects." It really upset me to hear that Ramtha would 'bring down' any of his students. Actually, yeah, it ****** me off.

Yeah, I have alot to learn and unlearn. I will spend time ready 'all' the posts and links provided. I am open to your knowledge but one step at a time.

Also, I was at the April 24th Q&A and I specifically heard IT say that we would know what it was saying was true because there would be a huge insect investation this late summer/fall. Ooops, no bugs!

Now, what do I do with all those CDs and DVDs?

FreeNow: one step at a time is good self-advice in recovery, only some steps are bigger than others.
fyi,
You quote Swami Rama who said many wonderful things. I recall being impressed with him in the early 1980s, but...his authoritarian behavior was questionable on many fronts. Then it came out, esp after he died:
"Controversy
Swami Rama has been the object of a controversy concerning cases of sexual misconduct , and was convicted in 1997 after his death "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Rama#_note-1
http://www.rickross.com/reference/swami_rama/swami_rama2.html

The lesson I learned from Sw Rama and other accomplished yogis who could demonstrate amazing powers of concentration and extraordinary somatic control is that yogic mastery does not produce virtuous conduct or enlightenment.

I love this site! Spend a little bit of time here and there reading posts whenever I'm hungry and I want to eat vegan pancakes with hot rasberries or chow down some pesto pasta and need some reading material to go with it. I've been learning a little bit each time and I'm gaining so much value from being here! To all the posters on this discussion board, Thanks for all your time and effort and sincere caring for others. There are so many things u could be doing with your time and u give it to people seeking information and support. Mwa!

Life is good, isn't it? Have a wonderful weekend!

Vegan Pride

Thanks for the information on Sw Rama Joe. Ya never know do you? Anyway I do believe I should have as much fun everyday as possible so I'm heading out now for the weekend to do just that. Have a great weekend all.

Joe posted, "The lesson I learned from Sw Rama and other accomplished yogis who could demonstrate amazing powers of concentration and extraordinary somatic control is that yogic mastery does not produce virtuous conduct or enlightenment."

Exactly.
This is the point that I've made when the topic of whether or not Ramthimher really exists or not, comes up. It doesn't matter (to me) if "Ramtha" is real or not. What matters is, "by their fruits ye shall know them", and the ACTIONS and WORDS of the "master teacher" don't express the evolved behaviors s/he has claimed as "masterly". When the teacher doesn't exhibit what s/he preaches, there's a rat nearby.

Quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Rama :


""""One of the common themes expressed in such books as Enlightenment Without God and Living with the Himalayan Masters is the ability of any person to achieve peace without the need for a structured religion. He was critical of the tendency for a yogi to use supernatural feats to demonstrate their enlightenment, arguing that these only demonstrated the ability to perform a feat.""""


It seems Swami Rama agreed with you, Joe. Doesn't sound like he 'embraced' his own teaching though...


Tree - nice to see you again