ex in a cult, what to do?? has anyone come across a group called the CEG?

[abundance]

My ds' father and I are separated, and he appears to be involved in a very controlling religious group called the CEG (Centro Estudios Gnosticos). He got involved while I was pregnant and I became aware that they were very controlling when they insisted that he miss the birth of our child, which he very much wanted to be present at, in order to attend their very expensive conference. They told him it would cost £500, and then in the end persuaded him to give them £1000. Also they told him he only needed 4 hours sleep - anything more was due to his emotional 'issues'. Other weird things that I"ve picked up on include the dictum 'pain is good' in regard to a baby with teething issues!! Also they made him stop being a vegetarian! Apparently they believe that people are saved by secret knowledge, that you have to separate yourself from your inner self and stop listening to your head (always a handy instruction if you want to brainwash people) Obviously what he does is entirely his business, but I am really worried that he will affect our son. Two of his friends (all 3 of them Old Etonians) have given up their careers I gather to teach gnosticism and I'm worried that he will too. I just wish I knew more about what I am dealing with! what should I do to protect my son?

How frightening!

No real advice, but bumpign this for you.

Well I apparently know more about gnosticism than this group do

AFAIK Gnostics ARE vegetarians so why would they make him stop?

they do sound very controlling esp by making him miss the birth ( have i understood correctly?) do you think that maybe they got more of a hold because he was very aware and possibly frightened by his new responsibilities? am not siding with anyone, am just remembering what it was like for dp when dd was born.

i don't really know anything about gnosticism - perhaps you can google it?

how are you feeling today?

stg will email you soon x

It wasn't so much that they made him miss the birth, more that they told him he 'had to be in control of his life' and that the conference was vital for his spiritual growth etc. Personally I think they made him miss the birth, by controlling him.

What are AFAIK gnostics? There are so many different versions, which was why I was wondering if anyone knew about these specific ones. These ones believe that pork gives them impure thoughts but they must eat meat because they need the fire energy that comes with it. All I can say is that I spent a week in Parma living off parma ham and no impure thoughts followed it...

Anyway, I suppose what I'm terrified about is that he'll teach my ds his strange beliefs. He is in many ways a lovely man, so it's hard to judge whether I'm overreacting or not.

Any thoughts?

How old is he (your ex dh) if you don't mind me asking?

have you told him how you feel about it all?

abundance, AFAIK is shorthand for "as far as I know".

thanks for that! thought they were another kind of gnostic. doh. there are so many kinds though. they were run by a couple called Ernesto Baron and Cloris, and then Ernesto Baron is alleged to have met an Italian woman who was actually a reincarnation of Jesus Christ, so obviously he divorced Cloris and then she ran off and set up her own cult!

Can you see why I'm worried?!

They also allegedly believe that for a man to be enlightened he has to have sex with a woman but mustn't have an orgasm (the man as well as the woman!) That's according to Cesnur.org - a very respected Italian research body.

Most bizarrely of all, Mary Poppins' author was influenced by Samael Aun Weor, the founder of modern gnosticism!

But the real question for me is how to prevent my son being overly influenced by them.

I don't think gnosticism in itself is of concern (although it's a bit hard) but what these people are doing with it.

The best thing you can do for your ds is give him a strong belief of his own of some kind.

Is gnosticism really not a problem? The essence of gnosticism is that Satan created the world and that we have to transcend it and indeed all matter to become light. Only a few enlightened people with secret knowledge are saved. That creates a situation where people feel detached from themselves, from their bodies and from the real world, which means that they cannot truly live or relate deeply to others. I think it takes people away from their true selves. The element of having a few enlightened people who are saved makes people arrogant. It's a destructive set of beliefs.

do you have your own faith? do you go to church or does ds go to church school?

being sensibly educated about faith in an environment where questions are openly answered might be of help

how old is your ds

abundance, you are right that gnosticism is not a positive belief, but I'd still be more concerned about the cultish aspect of the crowd that this man is in with. Someone following gnosticism on their own is far less worrying than an organised bunch of people making money out of it.

"The essence of gnosticism is that Satan created the world and that we have to transcend it and indeed all matter to become light"

Again, not in any form of gnosticism I am aware of.

In answer to your questions... ds is 2 years and 8 months old. We are practising Catholics but local RC school no great shakes so planning to send him to secular state school instead. But yes, I think the only solution other than miracles is to thoroughly teach my ds Catholic doctrine and keep questioning my ex as to what he believes in the hope that he will start to think about it rationally.

In a bizarre twist, my ex apparently took ds to Catholic Church on Sunday! My ex also missed a ceg meeting to see the Casino Royale film. Normally he attends ceg two evenings a week plus 3 hours learning Spanish a week in order to understand his guru (!)

St George, what do you know re modern gnostics? (as opposed t ancient ones)

anyone know anything else about ceg gnostics?

I am so sorry it seems like a cult, I was in one for a week, because my ex was there, my ex is now leaving 5 years of abuse and suffering for him, we met nearly 2 years ago and our relationship was me him and the cult , there was no space for the 2 of us we had fights because of my believes his believes and the brainwashing, I can only say that what worked for me was being supportive, I stopped trying to show him, I started to listen and love him the way he feels, I am patient. Cult leaders tell people they are wrong, tell them to not approach friends family, I realised that if i would continue challenging his believes hard, not give him space to feel and think I would be another cult . People who are in cults are generally looking for acceptance, they lack love and self confidence they feel lost, the only think that we can do is giving them that , trust them! they know! and love them they deserve feel compassion it could be one of us.