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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Complementary Therapies & Traditional Medicine > Aromatherapy

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  #1  
Old 27-03-2017, 02:30 AM
RedEmbers RedEmbers is offline
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aromatherapy cults

I recently went to a couple of those essential oil groups affiliated with one of those large multi national essential oil mobs.

I grew up in a cult... and I gotta say - with complete certainty that those large MLM essential oil groups certainly feel like cults to me.
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  #2  
Old 28-03-2017, 02:00 PM
Lepus
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Hello RedEmbers,

I never heard of this type of cult before. Is there anything sinister behind these large groups?

Blessed be,
Lepus
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  #3  
Old 28-03-2017, 08:24 PM
RedEmbers RedEmbers is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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Hi.

Sorry, I realise now that I did not elaborate very much.

Nothing really sinister. They operate for profit and with a multi level marketing (pyramid scheme) model.

Alot of people on the bottom of the pyramid invest their money as "distributers" or "wellness advocates". Typically in MLM's these people see little or no return in their investments into the company. The few people at the top of the pyramid make a lot of money.

This reminds me of the cult that I grew up in. We were poor financially already and worse still because the ministers of the cult pressured all its members to tithe weekly. Tithing was performed in a group where every member could see each other's contribution and the pressure to tithe was enormous.

The ministers at the top oc this church (or should I say corporation) were rich while the church members were often poor and struggling.

Another thing with these MLM companies is that they claim to have secret and patented knowledge which is only available to paying members through their club.

They use emotional manipulation to create "group think"... this is like hypnosis where members start to only believe the story they have been told by the group.

There are so many aspects of these groups feel predatory to me.
Many of the things listed in this article sum up what the tactics essential oil MLM's use.

http://kaylafioravanti.com/twelve-signs-cult/
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  #4  
Old 01-04-2017, 05:47 PM
Lepus
Posts: n/a
 
Hello RedEmbers,

Quote:
Originally Posted by RedEmbers
Hi.

Sorry, I realise now that I did not elaborate very much.

Nothing really sinister. They operate for profit and with a multi level marketing (pyramid scheme) model.

This is similar to the working class or social group. There is the poor, middle, and upper class and of course the elite that controls most of the wealth. We contribute to the top percent or 1% that controls half of the world's wealth.

Quote:
Alot of people on the bottom of the pyramid invest their money as "distributers" or "wellness advocates". Typically in MLM's these people see little or no return in their investments into the company. The few people at the top of the pyramid make a lot of money.

These people are led to believe that they're doing it for a "good cause," like some of the charitable organizations and such. I heard the money doesn't go to the intended cause and rather into the pockets who runs the organization.

Quote:
This reminds me of the cult that I grew up in. We were poor financially already and worse still because the ministers of the cult pressured all its members to tithe weekly. Tithing was performed in a group where every member could see each other's contribution and the pressure to tithe was enormous.

The ministers at the top oc this church (or should I say corporation) were rich while the church members were often poor and struggling.

That's terrible. Have you branched off from this church? Have they been exposed to the community?

Quote:
Another thing with these MLM companies is that they claim to have secret and patented knowledge which is only available to paying members through their club.

They use emotional manipulation to create "group think"... this is like hypnosis where members start to only believe the story they have been told by the group.

There are so many aspects of these groups feel predatory to me.
Many of the things listed in this article sum up what the tactics essential oil MLM's use.

http://kaylafioravanti.com/twelve-signs-cult/

I'll check out the link. Thanks!

Blessed be,
Lepus
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  #5  
Old 02-04-2017, 08:44 PM
RedEmbers RedEmbers is offline
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Yes, I am out of that church now. I was able to leave as a late teenager.
The church was exposed shortly before I left and their model started to fall apart.
Some members were unhappy as they liked the model so they branched off to create their own.
Funnily enough the main organisation became quite liberal. I'm not sure if anyone ever recived an apology though, some people's lives and families were greatly affected.

Fortunately or unfortunately this experience made me quite a skeptical person.
It is a blessing and a curse as I don't trust organisations easily and I am very sensitive to the mass hypnosis organisations may emply.
Unfortunately I also think that on some level this may have affected my trust in communities overall... I am very community focused but quite wary as well.

I still love aromatherapy though! If anything my experiences with these particular aromatherapy groups has encouraged me to dig deeper beyond the party message and do my own research.
It's also encouraged me to have a better look at the companies I am supporting.

I actually found some great local and organic operator's who do not operate as MLM's... so there is no obligation, no pressure and no manipulation.
And it feels great to support local as well and reduce those carbon miles
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  #6  
Old 19-05-2017, 04:10 AM
Shivani Devi Shivani Devi is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RedEmbers
I recently went to a couple of those essential oil groups affiliated with one of those large multi national essential oil mobs.

I grew up in a cult... and I gotta say - with complete certainty that those large MLM essential oil groups certainly feel like cults to me.
I recently went to one of these..."free aromatherapy workshop" it said on the flyer in my letterbox...so I thought "cool beans, I'll go...I may actually learn something".

Turns out, all it was, was a distribution chain, similar to Avon, Amway, or Tupperware on the scout to recruit salespeople to work at commission in the large shopping malls. *sigh*

I ended up just buying an essential oil locket, like one of these, with 5 insertable disks:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Stainless... ktkbM8GDlmPOw

I paid $30 for it, but noticed after that they were half that price on eBay *sighs more*

Suffice to say, the 'cult leader' wasn't impressed when I started using all the essential oils she presented for 'smelling purposes' to infuse all these felt pads with different aromas for my own use...serves them right...

The bottles of oil ranged from $40- $80 each with a spiel that the reason they were so expensive is because they are 'quality assured' by the company, which means absolutely nothing.

I could buy the same essential oils, which smelled the same for much cheaper than that.

The only thing that I learned through the whole process, is that I have a very strong liking and affinity for Copal/Copaiba oil...they hard a very hard time removing that one from my nostril holes...

It must have something to do with the fact I loved smelling tincture of benzoin as a kid...copal oil smelled similar, but a bit sweeter.

That was it. They never indoctrinated me into their little cult and I have experienced nothing like this since that time, many years ago, I attended a Herbalife 'sales camp' because my boyfriend at the time was a Herbalife rep...turns out when I didn't want to sell Herbalife, I got dumped.

Well, that was short-lived.

The many and various ways products and methods people will use to get gullible people to part with their money is infinite and never-ending. It almost feels like a cult, doesn't it?
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  #7  
Old 26-10-2017, 04:04 AM
Serenifly Serenifly is offline
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yes I was part of one of these MLM's and now I'm going through certification for Aromatheraphy I think its complete ** what my old company made me claim, with zero education behind me.

Sure they're good oils, but good oils can be found anywhere. you should NOT be ingesting oils. my gosh. and using unsafe oils on kids... it is like a cult and from being a sales person so much pressure to shove expensive oils down peoples throats! I hated it ... hated it!

I love essential oils though, which is why I am becoming a certified aromatherapist now :) that is a good thing that came out of it I suppose!
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  #8  
Old 26-10-2017, 04:09 AM
Serenifly Serenifly is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 345
  Serenifly's Avatar
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shivani Devi
I recently went to one of these..."free aromatherapy workshop" it said on the flyer in my letterbox...so I thought "cool beans, I'll go...I may actually learn something".

Turns out, all it was, was a distribution chain, similar to Avon, Amway, or Tupperware on the scout to recruit salespeople to work at commission in the large shopping malls. *sigh*

I ended up just buying an essential oil locket, like one of these, with 5 insertable disks:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Stainless... ktkbM8GDlmPOw

I paid $30 for it, but noticed after that they were half that price on eBay *sighs more*

Suffice to say, the 'cult leader' wasn't impressed when I started using all the essential oils she presented for 'smelling purposes' to infuse all these felt pads with different aromas for my own use...serves them right...

The bottles of oil ranged from $40- $80 each with a spiel that the reason they were so expensive is because they are 'quality assured' by the company, which means absolutely nothing.

I could buy the same essential oils, which smelled the same for much cheaper than that.

The only thing that I learned through the whole process, is that I have a very strong liking and affinity for Copal/Copaiba oil...they hard a very hard time removing that one from my nostril holes...

It must have something to do with the fact I loved smelling tincture of benzoin as a kid...copal oil smelled similar, but a bit sweeter.

That was it. They never indoctrinated me into their little cult and I have experienced nothing like this since that time, many years ago, I attended a Herbalife 'sales camp' because my boyfriend at the time was a Herbalife rep...turns out when I didn't want to sell Herbalife, I got dumped.

Well, that was short-lived.

The many and various ways products and methods people will use to get gullible people to part with their money is infinite and never-ending. It almost feels like a cult, doesn't it?

omg every inch of this made me laugh haha thank you!

Did you see the herbal life doc on Netlix? shocking!
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