A person shared a story with me.

According to the rumor, there is a spiritual seminar that broadens the scope of the original offer and seeks consent. For example, they advertise by saying they will teach spiritual techniques, but during the seminar, they obtain consent for subsequent activities and have participants sign documents. This is cleverly done because they do not mention such things at the time of the advertisement, but after participants apply and pay, they receive a document called "consent," which vaguely states something like "I will perform the assigned tasks." At this point, even though the specifics are unknown, participants are required to sign the consent form before going to the venue. Since they have already paid and the cancellation deadline is approaching, they have no time to think about it. Even if they want to cancel, the cancellation fee is significant, and the vague description on the consent form does not provide a clear reason for cancellation. In this way, they obtain a preliminary consent. There are seminars that create a situation where it is difficult to escape and then obtain consent.

After arriving at the venue, participants are told that they are not seminar attendees but "disciples," which confuses them. Furthermore, the tone of the instructors becomes increasingly strict, creating a master-disciple dynamic. The instructors' expressions become stern, and some participants are even on the verge of tears. They are forced into a situation where they cannot disagree, even though they were not asked to become disciples, and they are treated with a dismissive attitude by the instructors. The instructors make arbitrary demands, and when participants (who are supposedly disciples) object, they are told in a harsh tone to "not make excuses." This caused the venue to become chaotic.

In addition, participants are assigned unknown "assignments." Initially, these seem like simple tasks, but participants are expected to provide unpaid service. In such cases, it is important to be aware that a common mind control technique is to start with simple tasks and then gradually impose unreasonable demands. Participants may end up becoming slaves who cannot refuse.

Despite this, it is said that they also mention something like "you can quit anytime." However, the fact that they create a difficult situation and obtain consent beforehand, both verbally and in writing during the seminar, suggests that they do not trust the participants, even though they claim they are disciples. This person felt that the organization lacked credibility and sincerity.

The organization claims to be promoting spiritual growth and a peaceful world, but because they lack sincerity at their core, it is unlikely that they will achieve those goals, this person said.

This is like a deception, and it would be better if they simply stated the same things in advance and allowed individuals to consent before participating in the activities. Instead, they create a situation where it is difficult to refuse and then obtain consent, which is like a deceptive sales tactic. Contracts made in situations where it is difficult to escape are usually invalid. The instructors seemed to believe that the consent was valid.

This is mind control, and simply put, it is a seminar to create slaves.

Despite this, some organizations in the spiritual industry engage in such aggressive sales tactics that deprive others of their freedom.

At the same time, they often criticize and ridicule other spiritual organizations while ignoring their own flaws. Organizations that belittle other organizations are often not very reputable. They claim to be teaching ancient wisdom, but there are many books available on these topics even in modern times, so it is surprising that so many people still blindly believe the outdated rhetoric.

If they were truly teaching teachings passed down from ancient times, it would be sufficient to simply teach those teachings. If they were truly exceptional, they would not need to resort to elaborate performances or belittling others. Because the instructors behave in this way, some students are influenced by this sense of superiority and start to adopt an attitude of boasting about how great they are compared to other organizations.

Those who have studied spirituality to some extent should realize that such a sense of superiority is inappropriate, but for some reason, they are oblivious to their own ego when belittling other organizations. In my experience, when I have seen organizations that belittle other organizations, it is often a sign that the organization is heading in the wrong direction or is already in that state.