Posted on 07/14/2013 8:50:49 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Roy Masters, founder and director, was born Reuben Obermeister to a Jewish family in London, England. At age 15 he worked at his uncle's diamond-cutting factory in Brighton after his father died.
As a young boy he became interested in hypnotism. He added to his hypnotism techniques after studying African witchdoctor rites during his apprenticeship at South African diamond mines when he was 18.
He came to America in 1949, at age 21, to lecture on diamonds. He legally changed his name to Roy Masters in 1954 (yet never acquired American citizenship) and eventually became a professional hypnotist claiming he could "save people by teaching them self-sufficiency meditative hypnosis."
The American Medical Association pressed charges against him for practicing medicine without a license. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He likens this "persecution" to the persecution Jesus suffered.
He is a self-described "Christian mystic" combining Eastern mysticism and Gnosticism with Christian jargon, yoga, hypnotism and self-help principles.
As with other Eastern-oriented cults, The Foundation of Human Understanding teaches that God is both personal and impersonal, advocating an almost pantheistic God.
In lieu of dependence on Jesus Christ for salvation, Masters teaches dependence on his meditation techniques. He teaches that mankind is inherently good, thus there is no need for salvation or a savior.
All problems man encounters can be resolved through self effort.
"No form of outer assistance can substitute for inner direction. Direction must come always from within. Moved by the spirit of intuition, we move without excitement, effort or strain. The more we exercise our dependency upon the Within, the stronger this relationship becomes, and we know it to be Grace," (How To Keep Your Mind Well, p. 165, Foundation Press, 1971).
Though he claims to have been saved by the blood of Christ, he states that "one of the biggest curses in Christendom is the false idea that Jesus is God."
According to the late Dr. Walter Martin, the Foundation does not mention the Holy Spirit in any of its publications (The New Cults, p. 310).
Instead of relying on the Holy Spirit for comfort and guidance, followers are taught to rely on themselves (made possible through successful meditation).
During the meditative process, subjects are taught to surrender all disbelief and to relinquish control to Masters.
The Foundation of Human Understanding headquarters is in Los Angeles, California where Masters' self-help brand of religion is offered to an audience of 3 million people via his national radio program, "How Your Mind Can Keep You Well."
In 1982, about 2,000 disciples followed Masters to a 378-acre ranch in Oregon. He holds seminars and weekend retreats at the ranch and is currently establishing Evelyn Street School, a Foundation institute for kindergarten through 12th grade there.
In 1989, Masters claimed to have 150,000 people on his mailing list. Over 100,00 have purportedly participated in his courses. His meditation exercise is taught on three cassettes and a book for a total cost of $25.00.
Participants in his week-long seminars pay $1,200 and $50 for one-day seminars held across the country. Masters says he wants to be remembered in the same category as Moses, Jesus, the apostles, Buddha, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy.
....In lieu of dependence on Jesus Christ for salvation, Masters teaches dependence on his meditation techniques. He teaches that mankind is inherently good, thus there is no need for salvation or a savior. All problems man encounters can be resolved through self effort. "No form of outer assistance can substitute for inner direction. Direction must come always from within. Moved by the spirit of intuition, we move without excitement, effort or strain. The more we exercise our dependency upon the Within, the stronger this relationship becomes, and we know it to be Grace," (How To Keep Your Mind Well, p. 165, Foundation Press, 1971). Though he claims to have been saved by the blood of Christ, he states that "one of the biggest curses in Christendom is the false idea that Jesus is God"....
....Participants in his week-long seminars pay $1,200 and $50 for one-day seminars held across the country. Masters says he wants to be remembered in the same category as Moses, Jesus, the apostles, Buddha, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy.
What would Garner Ted Armstrong say?
Yup. Roy Masters. Cultist. A pied piper leading people to hell.
I’m often surprised to see that Roy Masters is still around. Back when I was in graduate school, I’d sometimes catch him late at night, after all the regular hosts (Rush, Beck, etc) had gone off the air. After Masters would come Coast to Coast with whoever was hosting it at the time...
This guy used to buy time on a Washington, DC area radio station (AM 730). One of the creepiest radio programs I’ve ever heard.
Did he have a falling out with his father?
” Masters says he wants to be remembered in the same category as Moses, Jesus, the apostles, Buddha, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. “
lol. Is that all?
He really is an odd duck. Sui generis. And veeeeery creepy.
I can’t imagine hanging out with the guy. He could be a cult leader, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in having a compound.
Or Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo, etc.
A few months ago an was posted on FR supporting Obermeister and which resulted in him being exposed as the deceiver he is, and how his disciples can be so devoted as to deny visible documentation against him.
See posts in thread here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2931985/posts?page=172#172
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2931985/posts?page=194#194
Funny you should be the one to point out the cultists...I don’t know the source of your screen name, but every time I see it, I think of it as a contraction of Marshall Applewhite and Heaven’s Gate :-)
See posts in thread here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2931985/posts?page=172#172 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2931985/posts?page=194#194
Interesting. Thanks for the links.
See post above, and now he has a new gimmick that sounds like his version of L. Ron Hubbard’s “E-Meter,” that of his “Cure Stress Device,” which he claims is “completely effortless - except for the 60 bucks he charge you for it - and “is widely praised and recommended by psychologists and psychiatrists across the United States.” Which should be enough to alarm the wise if true, but more likely it enables you to tell lies without feeling guilt.
The ranch home on Little Applegate Rd, just off the Little Applegate river (technically, we had river frontage: all of 25 feet) that the wife & I designed and built, except for the pro roofer, fireplace mason, and part of the hardwood floors/stairs, along with hired grunt-muscle as needed.
Finished it just in time to have a drug dealer buy 20 acres across the access road from us, and set up shop; Kirstie Ally, along with other undesirables, were also moving into close proximity. Sold it, and used the money to buy this 300+ acre ranch, with an apple tree growing next to the main gate.
I had online accounts as ApplegateRanch clear back in the early-mid 90s, when I had to sign on with 9,600K dialup.
Roy Master's "ranch" was around 30 or so miles away, near Grants Pass, so heard plenty about him in the local press, as well as having listened to some of his programs out of curiosity. Had a former Rashneeshi as a neighbor, as well, so also got that perspective.
Now, Warren Jeff's outfit has a "ranch" compound about 25 miles from us, but keep a low profile. Once in a great while, see some of the women shopping.
Ultimately Garner and his dad have gone to the Father, or at least elsewhere, and no doubt it is all sorted out.
Yes, for them, it is settled eternally, for good or bad. ,
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