Is Lee Carroll's Kryon a cult?

[Acco40]

I have recently started dating a girl who is a believer of Kryon, a new-age “Religion?”.

Basically, I’ve looked into it enough to see that is somewhat ambitious in its attempt to pull together many seemingly seperate supernatural phenomena into an inflated explanation of the Earth (and people’s purposes) beyond the rules of known physics.

Personally, I’m an agnostic, so there’s no spiritual opinion here either way. But I find a lot of what I read to be far-flung.

Can someone more enlightened on the subject (for the good or the bad) tell me if I should run from this girl or not, and what I can expect from her if we get serious (pertaining to Kryon and her believe structure).

Is my girlfriend in a cult?

[Dreaming_of_Maria_Callas]

Kryon, eh? Wasn’t he the android from Red Dwarf?

UnuMondo

[Acco40]

Well, I don’t know if Kryon was in Red Dwarf but I’m sure red dwarfs are somehow involved in the whole thing.

But seriously, is anyone remotely informed on this?

[DeVena]

Well, from looking at the website - Kryon …

We have channeling, UFOs, angels, indigo children, and Atlantis.

Hmmmm, Yep I think it’s a cult.

[PatriotX]

CULTS

The group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.

The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

The group is preoccupied with making money.

Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

Mind-numbing techniques (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines) are used to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

The leadership dictates sometimes in great detail how members should think, act, and feel (for example: members must get permission from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, how to discipline children, and so forth).

The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and members (for example: the leader is considered the Messiah or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity).

The group has a polarized us- versus-them mentality, which causes conflict with the wider society.

The group’s leader is not accountable to any authorities (as are, for example, military commanders and ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream denominations).

The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group (for example: collecting money for bogus charities).

The leadership induces guilt feelings in members in order to control them.

Members’ subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family and friends, and to give up personal goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group.

Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group.

Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members

from http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm

Based on these criteria, I’d say no, it’s not a cult. It’s wacky, but not a cult.

I’ve read a little Kryon stuff. It’s mostly a cross between Dr. Pangloss’ “all for the best in the best of all possible worlds” sort of optimism and the “God works in mysterious ways” explanation of evil in the world.

One of the bits that I’d read insisted that like attracts like " just like two north poles of magnets." I didn’t have a chance to tell the author, a “channelled being”, that in magnetism, opposites attract. The “channelled being” is purported to have access to better science than we do. It just must not use it.

It’s mostly harmless standard new age fluff.

They say that we’ve made arrangements for all of the people who interact with in this life to interact with us the way that they do. We make “contracts” in our pre-life. Everyone who’s raped, tortured or what-have-you gets what they “contracted” for so it’s okay that it happens.

Pretty silly stuff, IMHO. YMMV

[norinew]

freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/help/someoneelse/concern.htm
I don’t think the question of whether it’s a “cult” is as important as whether it’s a destructive cult (BTW, according to Webster’s dictionary, a cult is “a method or form of religious worship”, so my Baha’i Faith is a cult, Christianity is a cult, etc.). This website lists things that might give clues as to whether this religion is destructive or not. I mean, UFO’s, indigo children and Atlantis seem pretty far-fetched to me, but I’m sure some of my beliefs seem pretty far-fetched to people who don’t believe in them. So, check out the site. If you think her religion is destructive, encourage her to get out! If not, then decide whether you can live with her belief in these things and go from there. Best of luck!

[slipster]

This may or may not count as a hijack:

The android on Red Dwarf was named Kryton. The name is a play on The Admirable Crichton, Sir James M. Barrie’s story of a butler who takes charge when he and the family for whom he works become shipwrecked.

[Some_Guy]

Actually, the accepted spelling of the character’s name is Kryten.

(No, I have nothing of substance to contribute.)

[Cat_Fight]

Homer Simpson: ‘…church, cult, cult, church, so we get bored somewhere else every Sunday’ "

Honestly. Who can tell the difference, these days? As long as she’s not hurting herself or others, are these beliefs any weirder than those of other religons? Weirder than speaking in tongues? Than communion? Than a briss?

[PatriotX]

Since you’re dating someone who enjoys believing these things, be warned that they harbor strong beliefs in “soul-mates.”

[Bongmaster]

Sigh…I wouldn’t last 5 minutes with her if she is a true believer of that crap. My disrespectiful attitude would shine right through the moment I started a conversation based on her religions beliefs. It never fails to amaze me what people are willing to invest their faith in for no good reason at all.

[knoffsinger9]

My MIL was telling me all about this on Saturday. She said she wants to send me a bunch of information. She said it has awakened her and said that nothing is going to happen the way she thought it would and that the bible is written in parables so it can’t be taken literally. I believe in God and the Bible so I don’t want to discredit this completely BUT she has been involved in some weird stuff in the past. I am also interested in hearing from anyone who has some knowledge on this and what it is.

[Isilder]

@Acco40

its attempt to pull together many seemingly seperate supernatural phenomena into an inflated explanation of the Earth (and people’s purposes) beyond the rules of known physics.

It is a cult, this is far more dangerous than the emotional crutch of your typical religion.
eg compare the cult status to L Ron Hubbard’s scientology… and how he created it.

[Atamasama]

Just an FYI, this is an almost 20-year-old zombie thread, so people you reply to probably won’t see it.

The specific person you replied to last visited the site in January 2004.

[lmpadron]

I know it has been a long time but… how the story ends? Are you still dating her? She became your wife? Had Kryon take over your soul?

P.S.
I just create an account to ask

[kenobi_65]

@lmpadron

How the story ends? Are you still dating her or not? She became your wife? Had Kryon take over your soul?

You may have to live with disappointment; the person who started this thread hasn’t posted here in 18 years.

(But, welcome to the SDMB!)

[lmpadron]

Jjjjj I know… I just read the full post and is like unfinished… so i asked for closure… of course i know in highly improbable i get a reply from the post author… just thougt it could be nice add some sense of humor to something we will never be habble to conclude.

[griffin1977]

I’d say yes. but as cults go it’s been twenty years since the OP and no mass suicides or sexual assault trials mentioned on their Wikipedia, so I guess could be worse?

[WOOKINPANUBv.2]

I’ve read four of the Kryon books; my brother was pretty into it at one time. I suppose it has cult like properties and some people will always take things too far, but I found the books uplifting and took from them some positive stuff and discarded the rest.