Psychic addiction, its similarity to BKism & how to break it

for concern over cult-related damage, institutional abuse & psychological problems.
  • Message
  • Author
User avatar

ex-l

ex-BK

  • Posts: 10661
  • Joined: 07 Apr 2006

Psychic addiction, its similarity to BKism & how to break it

Post01 Sep 2014

These are just some thoughts I have been having on "psychic addiction", its similarity to BKism, & how to break the cycles of it. I am consider two forms of psychic addiction;
    Firstly, mental, spiritual or psychic forms of addiction, and
    Secondly, addiction to psychics or spiritualists like the Brahma Kumaris.
This is not intended as an exhaustive model but more 'work in progress' to which I welcome others view, opinions and suggestions ... I was just reading other individuals' experiences, here;"I Am Addicted to Psychicsme too" and elsewhere, and thought how similar they could be to BKs' and ex-BKs' experiences.

I have always admitted that some individual do actually have strong psychic experiences through doing Brahma Kumaris meditation and associating with them. That is true. What I disagree with is about the source and nature, and that they are necessary "good". I don't think they are. As I stated recently in another topic, I think they and the BK "dealers" encourage addiction and addictive pattern in adherents that are very similar in experience and nature to substance or drug abuse.

They encourage a kind of psychic or spiritualist dependency, rather then the liberation they promise, and psychic dependency, or dependence on psychic or spiritualist mediums is a well know and discussed phenomenon again closely relating to Brahma Kumarism as BKism is a psychic or spiritualist cult. It is a cult based on spiritualism, or the mediumcy of the allegedly deceased and other spirits ... and it's core patterns are very similar to traditional psychic abuse which generally traps individuals, keeping their addicted in order to exploit them for money, on the basis of predictions and assurances that never come true.

I've always said that it I was an evil spirit that wanted to entrap humanity, I would not come wearing a red cloak with a tail and horns being nasty. No, I would appear to you as an Angel of Light, apparently high minded and noble, I would tell you 9 truths ... and then on the 10th, I would lie to you and trap you and by that own your soul. I would start to set you to experience difficulties, and then appear to be the one who could save you from those difficulties. I seemingly offer you everything I had for free, and then gradually turn the screws until you were giving me everything you had and asking for more and more as the only way out ... and, I tell you, by doing so I'd be able to entrap a fair sized proportion of the population. I'd predict things no one could disprove or prove and when they failed, I distract you with another even bigger prediction and ensure it would happen ... if only you gave more.

And that is, exactly what is going on in BKism.

But there is something in the meditation that is like or triggers drug-like reactions in the spirit/brain. Some kind of "spiritual injection" we don't quite understand ... and that is a term the god spirit of the BKs has literally used.

Psychic dependency is a dependency on psychic or spiritualist mediums; "fortune readers", psychic call lines or spiritualist churches and centres, that many individuals suffer from. Generally they do so at vulnerable times in their lives, e.g. after a death, during periods of lovelessness or loneliness, illness or confusion.

Again, all basically identical in experience to many or most BKs' adherence, e.g. I remember reading Neville Hodgkinson story about his becoming hooked after an illness that threatened his life and made him question it.

Commentators on psychic dependency consider it generally happens when individuals feeling overwhelmed by life and the world around them, when they don't know where to turn, what to do or what life is all about. They seek spiritual promises and guidance.

Good and intuitive advice can be helpful when you need to make a decision. However, it becomes problematic when you feel as though you cannot make any decision without running it by a psychic. Within the BKWSU, replace "psychic" with "Senior Sister" or "sister-in-charge". BKism is based on psychic mediumship of various forms, mostly the trance mediumship or channeling of spirits, but many BK Sisters will claim to have, or claim the Dadis have, intuitive powers to receive direct guidance from god or their deceased founder and enjoy playing guru or guide to other BKs, generally newcomers or vulnerable individuals despite for a "sign" or help.

BKism even goes further to encourage an infantile dependency on the senior Sisters and their "Shrimat" rather than learning to trust one's own intuitions or accumulated experience which they portray as Maya-like, unreliable "manmat", or the advice of others, especially non-BK others, even if they are experts, e.g. doctors, therapists, other religionists, non-BK family. The individual become completely separated from the non-BK world.

A common thread in psychic dependency is that the adherents lose a lot of money, even their properties, to the mediums they become addicted upon.

So too BKism.

Addicts chasing psychic after psychic for validation or consolations similar to how some BKs seek advice or meetings with their Dadis and look to the Murlis for mystical answers to their problems ... they are actually taught to believe that their Baba is speaking to them personally via stream of consciousness rambles original spoken to a group of 50 or so old ladies 50 years ago! Typically, psychic addicts become trapped in cycles of "just going back for one more reading" and actually being exploited based on their fears, fears with BKism even exaggerate in individuals' minds during "just one more year of BKism".

It is said reputable therapists, psychics or gurus all share the same principles, they will never make decisions for you. BK leaders will even play on this, posing BKism as "your choice" ... however, having previously limited down the number of possible choices you might be able to make based on fear or hypnotic suggestion (brainwashing).


One hook, addictive psychics exploit is individuals desire to wanting to know the purpose or outcome of life.

BKism, with its 'back of a postcard' sized philosophy, answer ... or rather plugs ... these questions;
    Who am I?
    Who is God?
    What is the purpose of life?
    Why do bad things happen to me?
    How can I make them stop?
The Seven Day course essentially answers ... or plugs ... them all. And leads you directly to the BKWSU cash register.

People developing psychic dependency generally consider that the worst thing is not knowing and they have a craving to know ... to be sure. And, I would add, a small percentage have a craving to be seen as the deliverer of knowing too ... a guru complex which the psychologically narcissistic (a technical term) are immediately attracted to as it feeds their egos and gives power over others.
User avatar

ex-l

ex-BK

  • Posts: 10661
  • Joined: 07 Apr 2006

Re: Psychic addiction, its similarity to BKism & how to brea

Post01 Sep 2014

Baba gives BKs not just "knowledge" but "Supreme Knowledge", he makes BKs the "Master Oceans of Knowledge" ... even if said "knowledge" would fit on the back of an postcard and be memorised by child or uneducated little old lady. His "university" gives "Unlimited Knowledge™", other (real) universities only give limited knowledge ... etc etc etc. Give Lekhraj Kirpalani his due, he did not become a multi-millionaire by his 40s without being a good salesperson and being a good salesperson, involves a lot of flattery of women.

People seek psychics or spiritualists generally when they are in a crisis, they want someone to tell them that everything is going to be okay, and that we are making the right decisions.  This brings them comfort.

Psychics or spiritualists generally hook people when they are in that state of mind wanting to outcome of events so that they can be emotionally prepared for them. In the case of the BKs, or Om Mandli, its 'mind plugs' they call "The Knowledge" happened at a time when there was great instability and upheaval in their world, e.g. WWII and Partition, even the challenges of modernity to their feudal, cloistered world in Hyderabad.

At the root of every psychic dependency is an issue that is unresolved and will likely always remain unresolved ... what is happening in the world around me, when will it all end, when will I be free, how will I become free?".

The BKs and their god spirit keeps their adherents have kept their adherents hooked on a world that is about to be Destroyed in "two to three years" (... to quote leader Sister Jayanti Kirpalani 30 years ago) for decades, exploited them for money and free labour and encouraged them to destroy their families and lives.

I am not giving you a complete answer here, this is merely the beginning of discussion point out how similar the two states; of psychic dependency and BK adherence are. Individuals for whom BKism or BK meditation does not trigger these powerful drug-like experience remain completely mystified. Indeed, many even keep sticking around and coming back to the BKs just to experience them but never do. I met individuals who spent many years and gave much of their lives to the BKWSU who admit later they never experience anything. (Incidentally, the BKs have even prepared answers for that too ... "it's your karma, the fruit of your Bhakti or lack their off; experiences mean nothing, do more Yoga to purify yourself" etc).


So how do you break the chains or cycles of psychic dependency?

I would say, the first step is by learning to recognise our addictive natures and when they kicks in.

And then not allowing it to happen ... find tricks or strategies to weaken and then break the habit, e.g. replacing it with weaker hits or going off and doing other grounding activities such as sport, sex, singing, dancing, charity work whatever, learn new skills ... anything to get you out of your pointless, addictive loop.

Many or all people suffer these, you see them a simple examples in individuals who have to read their horoscope every day ... for the BKs, the Murli becomes their daily horoscope.

Or as I would call it, their Daily Horrorscope.

In truth it's a pretty boring and awful piece of literature, and we know now faked up, re-written, editing out and manipulated. If you need "thoughts for the day" find other more universal, practical and inspiring sources for them, e.g find a great individual you would like to be and read and learn from their thoughts. Or chose a more beautiful poetic one.

Secondly, I would say just accept that life is extremely random and troublesome by nature, and difficult to control or predict. And stop trying. Just accept that there are somethings you will never know and can never know.

Set yourself targets like a body builder in a gym ... stop going to the centre or talking about BK for one week ... one month ... 6 months. Completely cut it out of your life and tell the BK drug pushing center-in-charge to stop trying to supplying you. Don't see or speak to any other addicts who will try and convince you to get back on their drug.

Make non-BK friends, speak to your non-BK family or community members; or go and see a therapist, counsellor or join a support group (just be aware that these too can become addictive to an addictive personality type!)

Learn to do nothing at all, think about nothing and just appreciate simple, beautiful nature things instead. Make yourself sleep a lot if you have to every time life becomes too stressful or you worry too much. Just lie down, put a pillow over your head to block out noises and relax.

Alternatively, learn to keep yourself business on other things and replace unhealthy addictions with more healthy ones. unhealthy friends or BK addicts with healthy normal ones. Join some other group.

When addictive flushes happen, hot or even cold baths or showers also work well ... to make you sleep or wake you up and bring you back into your body and the present. There's nothing like a cold shower to quickly changing your mood.

Try speaking to that addictive part of you, ask it why it is like that, try and talk some sense back into it. Console or discipline it like a child.

And, lastly ... always remember "everything changes". It always does and it always will. Even in the darkest moments as you de-toxicify yourself, always remember that nothing can stay the same ... things will get better. You'll feel like you are in the pit of hell, and then tomorrow you'll wake up and it will be gone.

Learn to change your life but just chaining things, it's that simple. You won't change the world, you cannot change the world, but you can change yourself and your immediate environment.

The only thing I think I would avoid though, as an ex-BK, is meditational practises. It's just too easy to drift back off into floating BK style of meditations ... personally, and in the experience of other ex-BKs, I have found the habit ... and that is all it is in both meanings of the word ... too strong to break.

What I needed were things to bring me back to earth and to be more real, practical and grounded.

Return to Abuse & Recovery

cron