Propaganda + Counterpropaganda != Truth, or even Fact

One of the difficulties related to finding information about New Religious Movements (NRM, the politically correct term for organizations that may or may not be cults) is that the web is rife with propaganda and counter-propaganda from cults, cult members and anti-cult activists.

Is "apostate" testimony reliable? Can any statements from NRM members be taken at face value? Are the "true believers" aware of the methods and mechanics of manipulation used by their religious or corporate leaders?

There is a simple way of cutting through the crap: disclosure. This is sadly lacking at BKI. The School is "staffed" by volunteers. Qualification consists of previous attendance at the School. Many of these people have long histories of associations with groups that are widely regarded as cults. Some have spent their entire adult lives with some religious charismatic or other.

Cult apologists can be found on the anti-cult forums trying to inject uncertainty into discussions about allegations against NRMs. Sometimes they are outed and, after a few protestations, temporarily disappear. Eventually "new" apologists pop up.

On the other hand, the anti-cult crusaders can be violently dismissive of anyone who appears to have received any kind of benefit from an NRM or an LGAT. The difficulty with this militant approach is that the teachings do contain kernels of truth.

One way of interpreting the Work is as a mechanism for revealing and reclaiming your projections about the world. It's easy to see how this could provide entry into honest and beneficial self-examination. However, if I suggest to you that "You should own your projections" the advice is prima facie preposterous. The language at the School is "I invite you to question that", but the sense is the same and the upshot is that no objections to the School are valid.

So who to trust on the wild web? Well, I can't tell you one way or the other. And of course all of these people have their various agendas. Here's some of what I've read (be sure to read the comments in the blog posts):

1. Some back-and-forth about Katie promoters on the web in the comments here: http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/2008/04/cosmic-connie-scoops-ny-times-again.html
   
   
2. A summary of the School (including a detailed comment from an insider): http://guruphiliac.blogspot.com/2008/02/byron-katie-is-either-going-to.html
   
   
3. A BKI insider complains about Katie's focus on money:
   http://guruphiliac.blogspot.com/2008/04/byron-katie-poisoned-by-success.html
   
   
4. A discussion (500+ posts!) on an anti-cult forum:
   http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?12,12906,page=1
   
   
5. Another long thread on rickross.com:
   http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?4,9147,page=1

Things Katie won't tell you

1. The Work, when used to deal with personal trauma, is in essence the NLP method called "Change Personal History". Katie uses the methods of Ericksonian Hypnosis and Large Group Awareness Training to effect "the Work". These methods include the use of hypnosis and patterned language to override the objections of your conscious mind.
   
   Further documentation of these methods can be found in the book Cults in Our Midst by Dr. Margaret Singer.
   
   
2. When you arrive at the School, you will receive a curiously spacey, somewhat high welcome from the staff. This might feel somewhat creepy and offputting and is in fact part of a concerted plan. See the Wikipedia entry on Love Bombing.
   
   
3. Also, on arrival at the School, after you have paid the nonrefundable course fee, the staff will ask that you sign a legal disclaimer absolving Byron Katie, the staff and BKI of any responsibility for the consequences of the activities there.
   
   
4. Part of the protocol at the School is that any complaints, objections or issues you have with any of the "exercises" or directives will be reframed as your personal psychological difficulty. Katie will, at times, invite criticism from the participants, and appear to "take it in" calmly. This is in fact a setup for a demonstration of the Work: the critical person will be asked to "turn it around" in front of the group.
   
   
5. One of Katie's hypnotic reference phrases is "The Work is new in the world". This is ironic in light of the fact that the School uses several tried-and-tested mechanisms of social control common to LGATs and religious institutions. This "generic" account of a Large Group Awareness Training is shockingly similar in both generalities and particulars to the School for the Work.
   
   These methods include "meditation, neurolinguistic programming, biofeedback, self-hypnosis, bizarre relaxation techniques, mind control, body touching, yoga, trance inductions, visualization, and in some cases, intense confrontational sessions akin to the "attack" therapy methods that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s." [Wikipedia]
   
   The objection that Katie/BKI simply happened on effective interpersonal methods is somewhat hard to swallow given that all of these methods (and more) are used in the School for the Work. This suggests instead that the School is a very carefully engineered LGAT.
   
   
6. "The Work" may have radical effects on your relationships, your ability to test reality and your mind and your body. Several participants have separated from their spouses or partners upon leaving the School. BKI disclaims any responsibility for these consequences and will, in fact, tell you that "the universe is friendly" and suggest that any consequences of the School or the Work are ultimately for your benefit.
   
   
7. Neither Katie nor the staff have licenses to practice psychotherapy or hypnosis. (A note: some staff members are in fact psychotherapists, but when they are not in their official work roles, they don't operate under the constraints or responsibilities of their licenses.) The staff are unpaid (in fact, they too, pay a "tuition fee" to attend the School).
   
   Why is this important? There is a tendency among New Age radicals to dismiss Western psychotherapy as hopelessly backward and ineffective. The difference is that licensed therapists are accountable to both the state and their clients under formal rules and responsibilities. Katie and BKI make every effort to insulate themselves from legal liability (although the contracts that participants sign are probably illegal and unenforceable).
   
   If in fact the Work is an effective method (and by now, I very much doubt that it confers long-term benefit), a responsible way to offer it would be within the protective structure of licensed therapy.
   
   The School for the Work is blatantly advertised towards those with psychological difficulties (in particular, depression, stress and anger) and plainly makes psychotherapeutic claims. But neither Katie nor BKI are willing to be responsible for the effects of the Work or the methods used at the School.
   
   
8. When you arrive at the School, you will be asked to surrender your cell phone and accept strict limits on the amount of contact with the outside world. This is presented as "voluntary" or "an invitation".
   
   
9. The staff and Katie take the stance that the lack of disclosure and nonrefundable fee are for the participants' own benefit. Any complaints along these lines will be folded back into the Work.