The following discussion focuses on various, supposed warning signals, and rules of thumb which were listed in an earlier posting by a participant in this list. The numbered items below re-state those so-called warning signals, and the sections marked Comment which follow them are my responses to those points.

1.) Charismatic leadership. The more valid the leader, the more difficult it is to distinguish him or her from the group.

Comment: The foregoing is far too vague and inherently flawed to be a useful warning sign. There is a difference between the capacity of spiritual authoritativeness to attract, and the capacity of charisma to attract, and the latter is often confused with, and mistaken for, the former.

The spirit is attracted to beings of authentic spirituality, while the unredeemed nafs and confused heart are often attracted to charisma. Quite frequently, seekers cannot discern the difference between the two.

Furthermore, whether one likes it or not, there are significant differences between an authentic mystical guide and the other people who attend the circle of that guide. Experience, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, insight, realization, spiritual station, and spititual etiquette all constitute significant differences between a true mystic master and the vast majority of those who are seeking assistance from that individual.

Even with respect to matters of humility, modesty, sincerity, spiritual connection, aspiration, and intention, there tend to be huge differences. A true teacher may never think about such differences or try to draw other people's attention to such matters, but these distinctions do exist, and precisely because of these differences other people seek out genuine teachers for spiritual guidance.

Sometimes, people mistake a spiritual guide's humility and modesty concerning himself or herself, or the tendency of an authentic teacher to prefer others to herself or himself, as being signs that, in spiritual matters, the teacher is no different than the rest of us, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are determinate reasons why a mystical guide is a mystical guide and seekers are seekers.

2.) Promises of supernatural or other attractive powers.

Comment: While it is true that an authentic spiritual teacher will not dangle the promise of supernatural or attractive powers in front of seekers as an inducement for them to join the circle (or in any other way, either), the reverse is not necessarily equally true - that is, just because someone doesn't tempt one with such things, doesn't make them an authentic teacher.

Clever spiritual charlatans have all kinds of techniques for re-framing issues and misdirecting attention away from what is actually going on. For instance, such individuals never have to sully their hands with these kinds of issues because they get third party proxies to stand in for them and broadcast the so-called `teacher's amazing powers, abilities, and alleged exercises of 'wondrous deeds' while, simultaneously, giving the so-called teacher plausible deniability as he seeks to distance himself or herself -- with impressive displays of modesty and humility, no doubt -- from all of this `embarrassing' talk of supernatural powers.

This whole matter is further complicated by the fact that authentic spiritual lineages and teachers do, on occasion, talk about the 'wondrous deeds' of great spiritual personalities within one's own spiritual lineage or in other such lineagess well as relate various miracles of the Prophets. So, although any individual who seeks to discuss his or her own alleged spiritual powers may be a warning sign with respect to the presence of spiritual abuse, many spiritual charlatans - especially in the West - are often clever enough to re-frame such discussions in ways that take attention away from their making such claims, even as they make these kinds of claim for the spiritual lineage.

The foregoing matter is complicated yet again by the fact that, on occasion, some authentic mystical teachers do come into states and conditions which are loci of manifestation for Divine eruptions, so to speak, into the midst of everyday life. The supernatural is witnessed, and powers are exhibited, by the Will of God, on such occasions, and all of this is part of the lore of the mystical tradition.

Knowing the foregoing, such things can be counterfeited by those who wish to deceive. Indeed, at the very heart of spiritual inauthenticity is the capacity of charlatans to learn how to mimic the authentic, and, thereby, confuse people.

3.) Promises of secrets to be attained in the future, if one is patient in conforming to the order.

Comment: No authentic mystical lineage makes a promise of attainment concerning such secrets because, ultimately, everything depends on Divine Decree and Aspiration in relation to such issues. Notwithstanding the foregoing disclaimer, in fact, every authentic spiritual lineage alludes to those secrets - sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly - which are veiled by Divinity and only disclosed, through spiritual unveiling, when Divinity, and if Divinity, deems this to be appropriate.

Once again, a clever spiritual fraud does not have to make any promises concerning such secrets, because all authentic mystical traditions and teachers agree that such secrets exist. If one wishes to access, God willing, the mysteries inherent in one's being and the purpose of one's life, then, one needs to follow the Path and undergo spiritual suluk or mystical journeying . If one wishes to realize, God willing, one's capacity for loving Divinity, then, there are stations and states which precede and guard such secrets. If one wishes to experience, God willing, the conditions of Divine absorption and Divine subsistence, then, one will have to die to oneself before one dies - otherwise these secrets and mysteries will never be known ... at least not in this life.

The very nature of the mystical revolves about the mysteries which are hidden from ordinary perception and understanding. The very nature of a `Way' or `Path' or `Deen' is that it leads one somewhere - in terms of knowledge and understanding - where one is not presently.

Spiritual frauds do not have to deal in promises. They can restrict themselves to `if-then' conditionals ... if a person follows the Path, then, God willing, one gains access to certain dimensions of what is normally secret and hidden, and in doing so, they become virtually indistinguishable from authentic teachers when one looks at such things superficially.

One of the essential difference between authentic and inauthentic mystical guides is that the former are rooted in the kind of spiritual support, protection, assistance, guidance, and Grace which, God willing, makes mystical ascent possible, while inauthentic teachers are not so rooted, and, because the mystical path tends to be a life-long endeavor, in many instances, a person's life may be wasted before discovering - if he or she discovers this at all -- that the person in whom one has invested one's trust all these years is unconnected with anything which can benefit the individual with respect to realizing the purpose and nature of the spiritual path.

In fact, the very nature of the mysteries, secrets, and length of struggle which are associated with the mystical journey are all vulnerable to the manipulations and re-framings of a spiritual fraud. If nothing, in particular, happens, in the way of spiritual experiences, then, one just needs to be patient and work harder, and if, on the other hand, some sort of anomalous experience occurs - even if not of a mystical nature - then, the fraudulent teacher can point to such experiences as signs that confirm the student is on the `correct' path.

4.) Asking for money.

Comment: Once again, spiritual frauds almost never `ask' for money. The nature of a good con is to induce people to give away willingly that which is desired without ever appearing to ask for it.

Or, one can use charity as covers for accumulating money, material goods, property, and so on. Alternatively, one can appear to be supporting various charitable causes, or the building of schools, centers, and so on, while using these projects to further extend one's power and sphere of influence. One also can use charitable fronts to support fraudulent and even terrorist activities.

As far as giving people financial statements in relation to the way in which money is being spent is concerned, there are a variety of potential problems. For instance, there are all kinds of accounting devices which can be used to hide and disguise the manner in which money is actually being spent and used. Furthermore, there are rarely any or many people associated with such groups who have the expertise to be able to understand what is truly going on with respect to finances, or have the time necessary to validate such statements, or have access to the information necessary to verify such statements.

5.) Selling a great variety of books and other material, giving costly seminars.

Comment: There is nothing necessarily wrong with selling books and other materials in order to underwrite various expenses associated with the work of a spiritual circle. The problems arise when buying such things is established as a prerequisite to mystical guidance, or as a necessary component to spiritual instruction, or when the running of such a business gets in the way of keeping spiritual goals clearly in focus.

In addition, charging for seminars - whether costly or otherwise - which are used to teach people about mystical practices, or that are used as a medium for spiritual instruction, or which place some sort of monetary price on the receiving of spiritual instruction, have never been a part of authentic mystical traditions. Indeed, every aspect of the relationship between a spiritual guide and a seeker should be capable of being conducted entirely independently of monetary considerations, and a mureed should never have to pay anything whatsoever in order to gain access to a spiritual guide (naturally, if a seeker lives at some distance from her or his teacher, then, transportation costs do enter into the picture, but this has nothing to do with having to pay money in order to, say, go on a retreat with a mystic master.

6. Emphasis on dress and paraphernalia.

Comment: This rule is so vague that it dissipates into nothingness. What is meant by "emphasis", or "dress" or "paraphernalia"?

If someone emphasizes the importance of modesty in relation to clothing, is this giving undue emphasis to matters of clothing? If someone dresses in such a way that he or she does so without consideration for the sensibilities of others, is this a breach of adab or spiritual etiquette?

Moreover, as intriguing as the idea of mystical paraphernalia sounds, one really has no idea what it means. There are a lot of inauthentic groups referring to themselves as mystical or spiritual, but I don't believe that any of them deal in "paraphernalia" or emphasize it, so, may one conclude that the absence of such emphasis is a sign such groups are authentic and one may feel safe going back into their waters?

7.) Requiring obedience and submission to a leader.

Comment: There may be some individuals who are behind the times and have an antiquated, overtly authoritarian approach which demands -- in rigorous, exacting ways - obedience and submission to an alleged mystic master by seekers. However, such individuals are out of touch with modern developments in psychology, hypnosis, sociology, communication, NLP, political science, cognitive dissonance, chrono-dynamics, and learning theory.

One never has to ask for, or demand, that which people can be induced to give up voluntarily. If one person feels that he or she loves another individual, the former person does not necessarily feel controlled when there are things which such a person knows will please the object of one's affection and, therefore, the seeker engages in such activities without even having to be asked, and the one who is giving is happy, if not thrilled, to do so.

There are so many ways to induce compliance, control, obedience, disinformation, and submission in people without ever doing anything to indicate that there are authoritarian agendas in place. The worst form of submission and regulation is that which is entirely invisible to the person being controlled, and inauthentic `guides' have become very adept at re-framing contexts, intentions, purposes, events, and activities so that the attention of people is mis-directed away from the authoritarian character of what is going on.

Especially important in this regard is the manner in which the format and flow of information is controlled by spiritual frauds. Information is used to confuse, perplex, frustrate, tire, misdirect, and undermine seekers. Indeed, seekers are pummeled into submission by the abusive misuse of information so that, eventually, the people who are being abused do not even understand how the format and flow of information is being used to subjugate them and keep them entangled in the web of deceit.

8.) Requiring or fostering a certain degree of separation from family and associates.

Comment: Society, communities, families, relationships, and organizations, tend to be steeped in such dysfunctional arrangements these days, it becomes very difficult to differentiate between those individuals who are using the vulnerabilities that arise out of this context of chaos as a means of exploitation, and those who are sincerely trying to seek viable ways of healing and resolution with respect to the problems that have engulfed us, both individually and collectively. To argue that someone needs to straighten out one's life and that, for a time, struggling to accomplish this may require a person to be apart from the usual flow of life, is a form of reasoning which may be employed both by authentic and inauthentic teachers.

What constitutes a reasonable time for this, really depends on the individual, circumstances, aspirations, problems, needs, and the like. If someone recommends that a person enter a treatment program for 30 days or six months before trying to resume life under `normal' circumstances, is this fostering separation from family and friends?

The answer to the foregoing question is contextual. It cannot be answered in the abstract or using rules of thumb or generalizations. Everything depends on the individual, the family, the circumstances, the problems, and the nature of the treatment program.

What is meant by "fostering a certain degree of separation from family and associates"? Public schools and colleges require a certain degree of such separation? As do: day care, hospitalization, summer camp, reading, work, television, the Internet, and the military.

Are all of the foregoing giving warning signs that one is dealing with some form of inauthentic spirituality? Are one's family and associates always in agreement with what is either best for us or with what a person may believe is best for herself or himself? Who is right, and who is wrong?

The realm of doubt, uncertainty, and lacunae which is at the heart of the foregoing questions indicate that trying to determine what constitutes justifiable and legitimate instances of `fostering a degree of separateness' is a very complex issue. Spiritual frauds use the degrees of looseness that are inherent in these problems and questions to misdirect and misguide people. Authentic spiritual guides use that looseness to help heal people, God willing.

Distinguishing which is which is a huge problem sometimes, and, consequently, trying to claim that this issue of `fostering a certain degree of separateness' with respect to family and associates, constitutes a good rule of thumb for recognizing the presence of spiritual abuse seems to gloss over the inherent complexity of such situations, and, as such, is not very helpful as it stands - that is, a great deal of elaboration is required for one to begin to understand the pros, cons, and unanswered questions of such a rule of thumb.

None of the foregoing rules of thumbs that are being offered to help people recognize the potential presence of spiritually abusive situations - either individually or collectively - are really all that helpful. They tend to be overly simplistic, reductionistic, frequently irrelevant, excessively vague, and/or capable of being easily countered by even reasonably intelligent spiritual frauds.

More importantly, perhaps, the list of warning signs noted and commented on in the foregoing, tend to focus on specific, narrowly, rigidly characterized behaviors, as opposed to the real issue of spiritual abuse - namely, the presence or absence of authentic mystical teacehrs in the context of legitimate mystical traditions. The foregoing behaviors are at best `effects' of, or arise from, the presence of spiritually inauthentic individuals and/or groups.

Spiritual charlatans are very adaptable individuals. They are always introducing new wrinkles to old themes of exploitation and manipulation. Therefore, trying to rely on a set of static, unidimensional rules or warning signs as a means of identifying spiritual frauds is likely to get people in trouble, rather than help them avoid it, because spiritual frauds are able to present and frame themselves in ways such that all of the aforementioned warning signs can be subverted or avoided altogether. As a result, an unsuspecting person can have a handy reference card of such warning signs in her or his pocket, check the 8 items, note that none are present and feel safe in proceeding further, not realizing they are just about to become dinner for some spiritually challenged shark.