Nxivm is a secret self-help group that is being accused of being a cult that is holding
some of it's members in a sex slavery ring run by former 'Smallville' actress Allison
Mack.
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A few people are speaking out against a secret sex cult hiding inside a popular self-help
program.
Sarah Edmonson left Nxivm after she was unwittingly initiated into a sorority run by a top official
of the company, Laura Salzman.
Edmonson was told that a select group of women inside the Nxivm program were coming together
to be a force of good.
"To gain admission, they were required to give their recruiter - or "master," as she
was called - naked photographs or other compromising material and were warned that such 'collateral'
might be publicly released if the group's existence were disclosed," reports the New
York Times.
Sarah was told she would get a small tattoo as part of the initiation.
Instead, she was told to undress and lie on a massage table, while three others restrained
her legs and shoulders.
Salzman instructed them to say, "Master, please brand me, it would be an honor."
For almost 30 minutes, Salzman used a cauterizing device to brand a symbol on Edmonson's pelvis.
What the heck is happening here?
Nxivm, also know as Executive Success Programs, was founded in 1998 by boy-genius Keith Raniere.
The program had many high-profile followers.
These include Sheila Johnson, cofounder of Black Entertainment Television, a former U.S.
surgeon general, a chief executive of Enron, the heirs of the Seagram's fortune, and two
children of former presidents of Mexico.
Keith Raniere's intelligence as a young man was remarkable.
The Albany Times-Union reports Raniere mastered calculus by age 12 and exhausted the public-school's
curriculum.
At age 16, he enrolled in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and earned bachelor's degrees in
biology, physics and math, with minors in philosophy and psychology.
Keith's incredible intellect propelled him to his first successes.
Raniere's first company, Consumer's Buyline, sold everything from groceries, appliances,
and vacations at deep discounts, but Raniere closed the company after investigators discovered
that it was a pyramid scheme.
Sometime after Consumer's Buyline, Raniere and a business partner started Nxivm.
In nearly 30 years, the Nxivm program and Executive Success Programs now have chapters
around the country, Canada and Mexico, offering workshop seminars that offer people a way
to overcome emotional and psychological barriers.
But a lot of people are calling Nxivm a cult.
In 2003, Forbes Magazine's cover story on Nxivm was headlined, "Cult of Personality,"
referring to Keith and his followers.
The article reports Raniere runs "a cult-like program aimed at breaking down his subjects
psychologically, separating them from their families and inducting them into a bizarre
world of messianic pretensions, idiosyncratic language and ritualistic practices."
One former follower even said, "I think it's a cult."
I mean, calling it a cult?
That's a pretty heavy accusation.
You have to meet some certain guideline to be a cult.
According to cult expert Rick A. Ross, all cults typically have a charismatic leader
who becomes an object of worship, a formal system of removing a followers identity, and
the economic or sexual exploitation of followers.
Is this really what is going on at the self-help seminar?
According to Forbes, "Students pay up to $10,000 for five days of lectures and intense emotional
probing in daily 13-hour cram sessions.
They remove their shoes for class, learn obscure handshakes and wear patented colored sashes
in dozens of different variations that signify rank in the organization."
Okay?
Keith also calls himself, "Vanguard," and he's achieved a mythical status among his
followers.
Keith as "Vanguard" became so revered, followers would reportedly greet him with a kiss on
the mouth.
Yeah, so it sounds like a cult.
But Nvixm's influence has continued to grow.
By 2012, Nxivm boasted a followership of over 10,000 people world-wide.
Keith Raniere also started to dress like a cross between Jesus, Steve Jobs, and Jared
Leto...
Those closest to Keith paint a very different picture than this identity of the "Vanguard."
In federal court, a former girlfriend described Raniere as "a compulsive gambler, a sex addict
with bizarre desires and needs, and a con man that specializes in Ponzi schemes."
However, the story of Nxivm took a dark turn most recently.
The New York Times reports that this secret sorority inside Nxivm was sold to followers
as a force for good, one that could grow into a network that could influence events like
elections.
According to inside sources, "The sisterhood would comprise [of] circles, each led by a
'master' who would recruit six 'slaves,' according to two women.
In time, they would recruit slaves of their own."
Sex slavery and a Ponzi scheme!
That is multiple levels of messed up.
Last week, actress Catherine Oxenberg met with prosecutors in the New York Attorney
General's office claiming her daughter India is being held by this group.
And, another actress is said to be a recruiter for this secret society.
Allison Mack, who played Chloe on Smallville, is a Nxivm follower.
Mack is an open advocate of Keith Raniere's teachings, and the two have worked together
on projects and Nxivm matters since 2013.
Insider sources allege that Mack introduced the masochistic elements to Raniere's secret
harem.
Insider reports claim that the symbol branded onto members on initiation contains both Keith
Raniere's and Allison Mack's initials.
So, what the heck is going on here?
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