-
I got a call yesterday from a girl who I have not heard from in about a year. Her and I have been friends for years. Met on the job.
A little background on her....she grew up a very sheltered life in a suburb of Mexico city. Very clueless and naive to the world around her. She was very shy and didn't have a bad bone in her because she hasn't been exposed to the world. She moved here to live with her grandmother and its been a culture shock. She was 20 and never even kissed a boy and believed it should be on your wedding day....shes been taken advantage of and walked on a lot.....this is just to give you an idea how naive and innocent she is/was.
Her phone call was different then any phone call I have ever had with her....very bubbly and outgoing. Totally not how I remembered her....then the conversation steered towards how great she's doing and how she's a new person because of these self help training courses she's been taking.....then started the sales pitch.....
The place is called MITT (Mastery In Transformational Training)....its the Los Angeles branch of LifeSpring that was purchased by a hairdresser. Turns out its a full blown CULT. Its very expensive to join and classes range from $500 to $2400 and you are mentally abused if you do not continue the courses. Also, you are extremely pressured into recruiting others. It has ruined marriages where one is a member and the other refuses to join....there is a lot of other stuff this place is known for, but you can read up yourself.
Do a Google search for MITT LifeSpring (http://www.google.com/search?source=...ITT+LifeSpring) and see what I am talking about. Just read some of the posts on the cult education forum.
So now I am on this mission to save my friend from this. She is completely clueless to what she's in for. This is going to be a very delicate situation, but I need to be stern and to the point with her and give her blatant facts that she cannot avoid. Once I do convince her its a terrible thing to be involved with, it is going to be a very exhausting process to rid this people out of her life because they will harass her and guilt trip her into continuing.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to succeed with this, let me know. This cults leaders should be thrown in jail for the shit they do.
-
Easy..sign her up on HB...and let nature takes its course:D
-
In the late 80's my wackjob sister was all about Life Spring! To this day she is still in there cult! She goes in for a BullS-it tune up every couple of months and still tries to get people to do it.....
Stay away very far away!!!!
Just my .02
-
It is going to take more than just one friend to get her out, and she is going to need to want to get out, too.
This needs to be planned.
She needs to be on board. Ya can't make ths happen if she doesn't.
Then, change address, change cell number, and maybe change job.
She is never alone for the duration of the extraction, perhaps months.
Moving her into a gated community is a good start. It isn't perfect, but the lines of demarcation regarding trespass become very clear.
The first time the headhunters show up( and they will probably find her) and jam her to return, pay up, etc., there needs to be at least one support witness present to counter the push, and ID the headhunter (name, license plate, etc.) Then you go to the cops, document the headhunt, and try like hell to get a TRO filed against the headhunter, the managment of the group, and the company itself to stay away/no contact.
Getting folks back to earth after they have been into this is a long, difficult process. Gather the resources, get the plan, and have at it. Best of luck.
-
I had an employee whose parents were fully involved with the Piecemakers cult here in Costa Mesa. He was fully fuqed up, meth addict (recovering, supposedly) Tried to be the good guy and help him out with a job and do whatever I could for him....all for nothing, waste of effort with the kid.
Good luck with your friend but unless you have a lot invested in the friendship, I'd let it go. Just IMO.
-
So I take it the only reason she called was to get you to join too.
She'll call again when she wants out.
-
So I take it the only reason she called was to get you to join too.
I thought that was pretty obvious.....girls only call when they want something (a ride somewhere, help moving, free meal/drinks/night out, ass, etc)...in this case it was something off the charts. I didnt agree to it, but told her I would look into it. My first instinct it was a piramid scheme, thats why I was hesitant.
im going to compose an email with facts and testimonies about MITT....it will be short and brief....if she doesnt buy it, then its her loss, but the first words out of my mouth when she comes crying is "I told you so".
This isnt the first time ive dealt with this... Heres 2 other stories....
First one:
I met this girl on a blind double date when I was about 20....she was smokin hot and had a great time....really hit it off....but later found out she had a BF...no big deal.....about 6 months later she calls me out of the blue wanting to go out on a date. I agree and she says she has to go to a work meeting real quick then we will go out for coffee....and she even offered to drive :idea: ....so she picks me up and takes me to this huge house in newport....about 10 kids living there all under 20....all talking about thier cars....none were under $75k....I was directed to follow them upstairs to this room..there was about 3 other guys with me......sat us down and the sales pitch began...SUCKER!....total piramid scheme...$500 to join and you had to recruit 4 people in 30 days or you were gone and so was your money......i was PISSED...i sat there with my arms crossed and didnt say a word...she didnt even have the nerve to be in the room.....I couldnt even just leave cuz she drove.......we left and went to this coffee shop....i didnt even look at her or say a word to her...she knew i was pissed.....then she had the nerve to ask me "so are you interested??!" i said "are you F'n kidding me! youre a shallow bitch. youre the idiot who got sucked into this, im not letting you suck me into it too!....I never spoke to or saw her again.
Second Story:
I was about 22 and I met this girl off the internet....hit it off...couple of days into the relationship i find out shes a church goin girl....no biggie....but then I find out its a little more involved.....bible study twice a week....church services twice a week and a "date night" one night a week where a group of kids from the church all go out together.......the more i found out about this church...it just got worse and worse.....at least she didnt have the nerve to get me to join...never asked.....but she kept me a secret from everyone....
So she opens up one day and starts telling me about this place in detail...turns out she had only been going for a couple of weeks before she met me........the place was a full blown religious cult......she missed bible study one night to go to her brothers high school graduation...the next day she got several calls concerning where she was.....when she told them, she got the same answer from everyone, including the priest: "next time, get permission from the church before you make that descision again"....WTF?!
also, the priest would suggest who she should date within the church...if she didnt date him, that was disrespecting the priest and you were called out durring services....if you didnt donate a certain percentage of your income, you were called out in front of everyone......also, the priest would have 1 on 1's with the girls asking them personal stuff like if they have impure thoughts or masterbate...and ask them about their sex life in detail.
so she wrote them a polite email saying she didnt agree with their conduct and wouldnt be attending anymore.....the phone calls, emails and visits were very persistant from these people to where she had to call the cops on them at 3am because the were banging on her bedroom window demanding her to come out and leave with her.
I later looked up this cult...I cant remember the name of it....but I read that they have several counts of kidnapping charged to them....Also, parents had lost complete contact with them. When the parents would not agree with their kids going to this church, the kids were told by the church that their parents are the devil and they should run away from home and live with another church member.....WTF!?
I remember recently watching something on the history channel about cults....they said there are cult removal services out there....basicly, you hire these people to kidnap your family members from these cults and they take them off to secluded areas and confine them and cleanse them....pretty crazy documentry on cults.
anyways....enough typing....thanks for the insight and advice. I will let you guys know how it goes.
