- Our motivation is simple. Get in, get it, get out and get on with your life. This is not a cult. This is an educational process to upgrade your mind. —
- By the literal definition of the word cult a cohesive social group devoted to the beliefs or practices that the surrounding population considers to be outside the mainstream. In terms of the literal definition of the word in the dictionary, Natural Spirituality is a cult but then by that definition so is Nike and Apple. However as with all popular opinions the issue is perception and not fact. To pay attention to facts is not what most people want to do because that requires they think and they would rather die than think. What people are trying to do is “feel” and the term cult is about a “feeling” rather than fact. The pop concept of cult is best defined as “A cult is a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g., isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of leaving it, etc.) designed to advance the goals of the group’s leaders to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community.” (West & Langone, 1986) Interestingly enough by this definition Islam, Christianity and Republicans are a cult. Natural Spirituality is the probably the only religion that cannot be defined in this way. Lets look at some of the core characteristics of a cult using the classic pop definition. From this definition we can distill the characteristics of a cult and examine Natural Spirituality under these parameters.
- * Cults are about the isolation of members (physical and/or psychological isolation) from society.
It is true that Natural Spirituality begins with a self-imposed period of isolation where you sit still and meditate. If you are familiar with the Buddhist meditation practice of Vipassana it is very similar. If you never separate yourself then you will never know yourself. All the ideas running around in your head aren’t even your ideas. You need to quiet the noise in your head if you are going to listen. The reason this process is there is because to understand Natural Spiritualit, you must first be able to know the difference between sensation and emotion. That isn't an intellectual kind of knowledge. You can only know that from experience. It consists of basically sitting, not talking and being still for 12 days. There is nothing mysterious about this process. It is a well documented process known all over the world and its benefits are very well known. See Vipassana in the wikipedia. This is only separation process. This is what is known as awakening. Once you awaken then you can learn the body of knowledge called Natural Spirituality. You go to classess just like becoming a doctor. There are lectures, lab, and you make observations, test your theory, etc. You apply what you learn of the body of knowledge and build a personal spiritual practice. This is how it works. THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES IT FOR YOU and you follow them. Although most people secretly want someone to make them or a father/mother figure to obey. We actually DO NOT do that. Even if it is for your own good. This is ADULT education. This i s not a fear based faith, believe or burn, convert or be condemned kind of thing. You have to choose this for yourself. You have to learn and apply the principles for yourself and by yourself. What we show you is how.
* Cults use deception in recruiting and/or fund raising.
Transparency is a core value of Natural Spirituality therefore you know what you are getting up front. All we offer is an education nothing more. We are not promising anything more. Think of it like learning Kung-Fu. It isn’t something someone can convince you of. You can’t recruit someone to learn Kung-Fu. Either you understand the benefits of owning that kind of knowledge and you seek it for yourself or you do not. No one can tell you if it is right for you. This is one of those things you have to choose for yourself. As for fund raising, we operate a little differently from your standard church. We don’t do collections, cake sales, missionary work or things like that. No one makes a living from Natural Spirituality. There are no salaries, expense accounts or anything like that. "All" and that means "ALL" of the tuition goes DIRECTLY into costs. We are a non-profit and we mean "not for profit". There is no recruiting and no fund raising. It just doesn't work that way. The "charity model" or the never-ending courses model is not our economic model. You paya tuition for your education. Education is not free. The teachers donate their time to teach you. Graduates often realize on their own that what they got from Natural Spirituality was invaluable and they give back so that others may benefit. We do not need to deceive anyone for there is nothing to gain. Our model is simple one price takes your from principles to practice.
- * Cults are about money and therapy cults are a pyramid scheme
We have no scheme. You are not required to recruit anyone. We do not sell pamphlets, books, beads or anything like that. We sell education. Education is not free. You wouldn't expect to go to college and not pay. You shouldn't expect to get the expertise and knowledge of others without paying for it. You are not entitled to anyone's ideas. It cost resources to provide you with a body of knowledge and it is unrealistic to expect that it should be provided at no cost. Churches are economic entities, the catholic church is the largest land owner in the world, charity is a billion dollar business, therefore if you believe religion is free you are mistaken. All we offer is education. Education is not free. Our educational products are a good value. You get Natural Spirituality from taking the One course. The One course is available for one price. One price takes you from principles to practice. Natural Spirituality is a quality of life product, it is not about money. Knowing it will not make you rich. If having the kind of knowledge that builds inter-personal and intra-personal skill is something that is worth investing in, because it contributes to the quality of your life, then Natural Spirituality is a body of knowledge that would be worth investing in. Natural Spirituality is NOT for everyone. It is for those who want a modern sensibility about human spirituality. It is for those who are willing to pay the price to get that kind of knowledge, both personally and financially. We are not a "feel good" institution. We are not a therapy cult. We are an educational institution. Natural Spirituality is a religon where all the church provides is an education and fellowship.
* Cults promote dependence of the members on the group.
The absolute opposite is true of Natural Spirituality. The objective of the training is independence. Natural Spirituality was forged for the love of liberty. You get it, you get it, you get out and get on with your life. Much like getting a degree at any college.
* Cults are absolute in their world view.
The only absolute truth is what something is not therefore there can be no absolute world-view. This is a simple fact. Natural Spirituality has no absolute anything because to conceive otherwise is illogical.
* Cults use mind altering techniques to stop normal critical thinking.
The opposite is true here. Critical thinking is a core requirement of Natural Spirituality. It is the part of Natural Spirituality most people have problems with because, as you will come to discover, most people don’t want to think and don't know how to actually think critically. Most people determine what they think by how they "feel". Natural Spirituality is not a "feeling" thing. It is a "thinking" thing. Most people are very actively looking for something or someone to "believe". Thinking is too much work and they don’t want to do that. They just want to believe and be saved and never have to think again. Most people just want to be happy and have fun and critical thinking and examining your beliefs is not fun. In fact examining your thought processes and your life is very painful. Eventually you learn to laugh but it gets a lot worse before it gets better. Natural Spirituality is something you need critical thinking skills for. Religion, Pop-science and Pop-culture is about believing. There is nothing wrong with playing the believing game (believe what you do not understand and do not want to understand what you believe). It’s just that "that" is not what Natural Spirituality is about. Natural Spirituality is a scholar's religion. You can’t get Natural Spirituality without critical thinking skills.
*Cults are about absolute devotion to charismatic or messianic leader who is self-appointed and has a special mission in life.
Natural Spiritualityhas no leader, no founder and there is no one to be devoted to. No more so than there is a leader of physics or that one can be devoted to the charismatic leader of biology. Natural Spirituality is a religion but it just doesn’t work that way.
* Cults instill a fear of leaving the group.
This is not a believe or you will "surely die" kind of religion. There is no god to fear, no punishment to be terrified of. You do not need forgiveness to learn Natural Spirituality because there is no one here to condemn you. Fear is not a part of Natural Spirituality. To quote the Sutra, “A Que is an avatar of liberty, fear is the enemy”. In fact in Natural Spirituality we have a saying to depart is to follow. You are expected to leave the so called group and go put your knowledge to work and prove it for yourself.
- As anyone can see, Natural Spirituality is not and cannot be, a cult.
Think of this body of knowledge more from an eastern perspective of a TAO or way of thinking, rather than the small minded western fear of everything not christian perspective. There is a larger world and there is another way, a modern way to think about it. Natural Spirtuality is a religion because it does what a religion should do. It gives you a means to grace, a way to effect change in your life and a sacred way to be in the world. It does this differently that conventional religion does. It has nothing to believe in. It is based on precepts that any rational person can observe. All it offers is an education in a unique body of knowledge. You pay to learn it because education is not free. This kind of education makes a contribution to the quality of your thinking and that affects the quality of your life. While it may be difficult for most people to comprehend that something new can come along. The simple fact is new ideas come along all the time. The world was once flat and now you cannot even imagine how anyone could have thought differently. Natural Spirituality is new and it is different from the ground up.
Natural Spirituality is not a cult
- Natural Spirituality is a choice that you make about how you are going to live your life. The quality of your life depends entirely on the quality of what you know, especially about yourself. You have to make a choice about what you are going to learn about yourself. This is a body of knowledge that teaches you to look at your experience of life differently. Instead of using a 6th century way to see the world and trying to live in 21st century, Natural Spirituality offers you an education that helps you to cultivate a modern sensibility about human spirituality. As with any body of knowledge, in order to learn it you have to have the humility to be taught, the perseverance to do the work and the courage to pay the price. No education in life is free. All knowledge has a price. All we are offering is an education in a unique body of knowledge that can help you transform your experience of life. Natural Spirituality is for those who have the courage to go their own way in life.
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| If you are trying to dismiss Natural Spirituality then you don't need a label to do that. You can just do so. No one is in charge of your thoughts. There are no thought police that will arrest you. There is no one to punish you if you don't agree with something. You don't need any justifications like labeling something a cult. Its ok to just disagree with a point of view. Disagreeing don't make you bad. However if you genuinely want to know something then you need to think. That means you have to listen and examine for yourself. We, the Que, like to think of Natural Spirituality as a cult of One. Natural Spirituality is about taking control of your experience of life and learning to lead yourself. There is only ONE charismatic leader to follow: You. Natural Spirituality is not about what anyone else thinks or believes. It is not about the government, religion, the world, the environment, the past or the future. It is about you, how you think and what you do. There is only one enemy: your own ignorance. Natural Spirituality has only one sin. The sin of ingratitude. If you think about it, ingratitude is the source of all of the bad feelings you have. Natural Spirituality has only one vice: ignorance. Ignorance is the source of all of human failings. Natural Spirituality has only one solution. Education is the cure for all of human failing, No savior, no god, no scripture will save you from your own ignorance. Natural Spirituality has only one virtue: humility. If you think about it the humility to learn from your own experience is the only obstacle in your way. Natural Spirituality has only one goal: to evolve. This means change is constant therefore to believe in and chase an absolute sense of the world is an exercise in futility. Natural Spirituality has only one commandment: thou shalt not commit idolatry. Don’t take things to seriously, appropriateness is the foundation of sanity. There is only one way to get Natural Spirituality and that is to make the necessary effort to realize it for yourself. There is only one course and it is appropriately called TheOne. TheOne has only one price. It is very reasonable but the price is not about money. You will always make more money. The price is giving up what you believe and learning to think for yourself. Natural Spirituality, by every measure of proof, is therefore a religion of one. To become Que you don’t join anything. Being Que is something you do. You choose to do something. You choose to get an education and then you practice what you learnt. You practice until you get it right and practice until you can’t get it wrong. That is how it works. If Natural Spirituality is a cult then it is a cult of one. |
