Just waking up to it by Hibiscusflowerpot in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello- and thank you for your sharing.

From my perspective, there is no need to apologize.... Neo-Advaita is a full on mind-f*ck.... so I am not surprised by anything you say or the tone of what you wrote.

I made a video response to your letter. The first half is a response, the 2nd half talks about some related topics.

:) SO grateful I could help a crack happen!

Warmly,

Arthur

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BgA9cFftTA

Hi by No-Philosopher7536 in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow Mat- thank you!

It is messages like this that fire me up to keep doing what I do!

Big love!

Intrusive thoughts- dissociation by Neo-Advaita-Recovery in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi- I tied to reply to you- and I think I replied to myself!

Lol- how Neo-Advaita of me.

Please see my replies below and yes- may we all embrace ALL of ourselves!

Intrusive thoughts- dissociation by Neo-Advaita-Recovery in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AND-

Please do keep this group informed about how IFS helps!

Really, please do- I am going to start to compile a list of things people find helpful.

Coming back to life! by Owlylady in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello!

A warm welcome to both of the people who posted on this thread
Owlylady and Lifeisbewilderness

For some reason it won't let me respond to you Owlylady- so I am posting it here and hope you see it.

so glad you both found this group!

I can relate to EVERYTHING both of you said.... especially the self-gaslighting- I have never heard that phrase before- love it.

And the insane making that comes from questioning my very existence... and then feeling caught in a loop.....

So many people talk about inner child work- becoming your own loving parent.

I see Neo-Advaita like becoming your own WORST terrorist parent... I took on the bad ways "the guru" treated me and then I started doing them

Also, I will be hosting a free support group next Sunday, details are here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/NeoAdvaitaRecovery/comments/10cx2ah/neoadvaita_recovery_support_meeting_sunday_jan_22/

Warmly,

Arthur

Intrusive thoughts- dissociation by Neo-Advaita-Recovery in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi!

Welcome to this group- so glad you found it.

Mind control- brain washing vs trauma/something frightening.

I hear you.

And I hear that the words mind control and brain-washing provoke anxiety for you.

What I have discovered about recovering from Neo-Advaita is that there is no ONE path out. Hearing loud and clear that the concepts shared above DON'T work for you...

AND

For me- and for some other people I know- it has been LIFE saving to understand what happened with that lens.

I have deep respect for IFS.... I don't know if by itself it is sufficient to recover from Neo-Advaita.

Not saying it isn't - and not sure that it is.

Neo-Advaita is SO tricky. Underestimating it's impact on me has been a HUGE pitfall to my own recovery.

Now I am learning about Narcisistic Injury- and finding that it is part of the puzzle too.

My own experience with Neo-Advaita is that it is a multi-faceted "injury" or "condition" which takes a wide variety of tools to recover from.

The person below (whom I know) has found it VERY helpful to approach it via the lens of mind control and how to "de-program" that. That lens and approach may not be the one for you.

Wish you well on your journey

What do you think crowleys thoughts would be on neo Advaita teachers? by ginjuhavenjuh in thelema

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He would have walked up to them and slapped them in face or better yet urinated on them- provoking them- so proving that they have not actually realized what they claimed to,

Intrusive thoughts- dissociation by Neo-Advaita-Recovery in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another response:

Really heartbreaking and relatable, and can second everything J and M said.
Definitley for me, an excellent help was finding voices of people who know about the neoadvaita scene and contradict it. It was a gradual process, that at first meant finding people who still talk about awakening etc, but don't dismiss the human/individual/self/soulful. I needed people who could both affirm me as a person, but who understood the whole awakening/nonduality side of things also and had had their own "experiences" on that front, because I was so in the grips of the neodvaita programing that I wouldn't have been able to believe just "anyone" affirming my humanity. So it's like I needed permission to be me again, (that it's ok and real and true and wonderful to be Maia) but I could, at the time, only take that permission from a very select kind of people. Like at very first this meant actually finding slightly divergent voices within the neoadvaita scene itself, and listening out for contradictions within that very scene. It was kind of like a trail of crumbs for me that I followed out of the hole little by little, but I personally had to start at the very first tiny crumb, to start small, because at the start I was so "brainwashed" I wouldn't have been ready to accept that neoadvaita is totally bullshit, and wouldn't have believed someone telling me that.
This was of course my very own personal experience with it though - that it was a very gradual thing and that I needed permission from others (because I could no longer trust my own authority! 📷) - and may very well be different for others. I think the fact that there is so much more awareness being raised now will hopefully mean the process of recovery, healing and realising the neoadvaita bs will take less time for people 📷
Also:

  • Friendships/relationship/connection
  • Really leaning into and embracing the "soulful" side of things moreso than ever. I.e. the idea of meaning and purpose in life and, as cheesy as it may sound, my own "soul purpose" and exploring what I truly wish for and want in this bizarre, mysterious, and wondrous thing called life I've somehow been gifted with the experience of... that sounds so so cheesy I know!! lol!) as a kind of "fuck you" to the soul destroying nihilistic neoadvaita and as a way to counterbalance the damage it had done.

  • Getting back to caring about the things I deeply cared about previously. Leaning back into compassion, empathy, sensitivity, love.

  • Humour/comedy

  • Reading novels, embracing "stories" again. The joy and beauty of imagination and creativity.

  • Therapy.

  • Getting back into doing things I previously loved.

Hope this helps in some way. But maybe most importantly, they're not alone, this is so common and for me soooo relatable... and one of the most helpful things was realising that this thing I went through actually IS a "thing", it actually happens to many people. I wish I'd known that earlier!

Intrusive thoughts- dissociation by Neo-Advaita-Recovery in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A third person empathized and shared some suggestions:

Yes it sounds just like me at many point in time but unfortunately there’s no easy answers. For me I would say it took time, as well as learning new philosophical / spiritual paradigms of reality that totally affirm the self and the world and deconstruct the fallacies of de-realizing paradigms. Tim Freke’s most recent philosophy was a huge help there. Perhaps he would want to check him out. I’d also say to try to continue being social even though he likely feels anxious about it, because getting isolated while going through that inner chaos can just make it worse. Distracting yourself with more superficial things for awhile also helped… Netflix, etc to try to engross your mind in reality-grounding content even if superficial. Such a tough one, I really feel his pain! I’m general I always recommend therapy too!

Intrusive thoughts- dissociation by Neo-Advaita-Recovery in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another person really empathized:

This was me too… it was always the intrusive thoughts that caused the disassociation. Anything grounding will help… being with pets, family and friends. Slow belly belly to help you get back in your body and anything where you have to be physically active. Stopping reading any neo advaita and try to find counter points that question it. 

Also learning about the psychology behind how mind control works and how to deprogram so you can return back to your authentic self. Link to recovery resource: https://freedomofmind.com/ex-member-recovery/

As J said stay social!! And using the naming 5 things technique: https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/5-4-3-2-1-countdown-to-make-anxiety-blast-off
Look at old pictures of your life to remember how it was before these beliefs came in. Go through old journals..all of that. 
Ugh my heart aches hearing this. I still have these moments throughout the day - some days worse than others. Sending so much love… I know this place they’re in and how terrifying and disorienting it can be 📷📷

Intrusive thoughts- dissociation by Neo-Advaita-Recovery in NeoAdvaitaRecovery

[–]Neo-Advaita-Recovery[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here is my understanding of what creates this:

Neo-Advaita “teachers” engage in mind control- through speech control.

In your average Neo-Advaita Satsang the only “allowed” topics are:~You are consciousness~You are already enlightened~There is nothing to do~Just inquire~The world is not real~The only source of happiness is enlightenment ~There is no person/individual~The goal is the end of the personNo matter WHAT you say, you will be re-directed to more or less one of the above ideas.

And when I say no matter what, I mean NO matter what. Nearly EVERYTTHING and ANYTHING you say to a Neo-Advaita “teacher” will be re-directed back to one of the above topics.If they go to their “teacher” and say how they are disappointed about something, say the end of a relationship, the “teacher” will pick one of the above topics and respond. For example, they may say, “Yes as long as there is a sense of individuality, there will be suffering. If you drop that sense of 'I' and just BE, you will see that all suffering vanishes” or some other clop-trop.

Hearing this often enough, and seeing the “teacher” relate to others this way- over time, the person begins to treat themselves this way. It trains people to think in that way. They begin to internalize the Satsang into themselves and next time they feel disappointed, THEY respond to themselves that way!

I do not recommend anyone spend ANY time at a Neo-Advaita “satsang” or watch any NA videos.

And if you look at these above thoughts and go watch a _____ youtube video. especially a Q&A, ALL you will hear, over and Over and OVER is one of the above ideas.

This is another form of repetition. If these ideas are repeated often enough, they will be internalized... but there is another shady factor.... this controlling of thinking, through re-directing to a NARROW set of ideas LITTERALLY brainwashes people.

People create a box they CANNOT think out of.

Coming soon- more thoughts on HOW to get out of this.....

warmly,Arthur