Twistedminds.com

Motto: "Stop watching documentaries about MISA, we'll tell you about them!" - ATMAN

After the page twistedmedia.org, intended to host reactions to the avalanche of podcasts and documentaries published after November 28, 2023, which have as their subject the activities within the ATMAN federation, the organization has also created a YouTube channel (TwistedMediaExposed) on which a first video titled 

”Investigation or Audience Manipulation?” (video) has already been posted.

● quote: When encountering a documentary like this, the natural reaction is to focus on the accusations themselves. Are they true? Are they false? But in this analysis, I approached the documentary from a slightly different angle. My quick question concerning Twisted Yoga will be what narrative techniques are used to shape the viewers's understanding of the story? Because sometimes the most important aspect of a documentary is not only the facts it presents, but the way in which those facts are organized into a narrative. And once we begin to look at the documentary from this perspective, some interesting patterns begin to appear. 

comments: Unbelievable: after he begins, correctly showing what the natural attitude with which a documentary should be viewed is - namely, to discern between true and false, which is actually the fundamental attitude that any conscious being in this world should have - the "analyst" suddenly derails and announces that he will approach the documentary from a slightly different angle: not from the angle that he himself proclaims as the natural one, but from another, which can only be UNNATURAL! And it is as obvious as possible that the person in question does not realize in the slightest that he is sabotaging himself! We do not know if the person appearing on the screen is the very author of this exposition, because he stumbles while reading, as if he were reading something that was written by someone else and placed in front of him. In a previous article, related to the topic of the present one, a strange fact was revealed: although the page twistedmedia.org is written in English, the message that accompanied the announcement of the opening of this new page, sent on the MISA groups, specified that the page was created "together with several colleagues from the course (both from Romania and abroad)", which indicates a Romanian source.

But why doesn't the author of the report look at the documentary with a natural attitude, focusing on the accusations? Simply, because they are not convenient for those from MISA/ATMAN! If the statements were favorable to them, then they would have highlighted them and focused only on them and not on anything else that would have distracted attention. But since the statements are unfavorable to them, then "it is necessary" that attention be directed in other directions.

”My quick question will be what narrative techniques are used to shape the viewers's understanding.”  But can one know if the understanding is “shaped” without watching the documentary first? Logically not! “Shaping”, “organizing facts”, “patterns” and generally manipulation only exist if there are untruths or if the real facts are taken out of context. Obviously, analyzing how manipulation is done first of all involves presenting the facts, which is not done at all in this presentation. But SOMEONE watched the film first and decided that it was not good to analyze the facts and bring them to the attention of the followers, so they had to be hidden. But isn't hiding the facts itself a method of manipulation? Of course it is, especially since it allows the  manipulation to continue and expand! If you hide the facts, you can say anything afterwards!

”Sometimes the most important aspect of a documentary is not only the facts it presents, but the way in which those facts are organized.” People with natural reactions, as the "analyst" said at the beginning, are only interested in facts, whether they are true or false. That's why you watch a documentary, to document yourself! Who watches a documentary to "organize the facts"? Only professional film critics or those who are looking for ways to divert attention from the facts. ”And once we begin to look at the documentary from this perspective, some interesting patterns begin to appear.”. Once you put on your horse glasses, obviously the perspective changes, you only see in the direction desired by those interested in patterns. Obviously, the distraction of attention follows, which is done according to the "sepia" method, spitting clouds of ink (in this case clouds of words, behind which the sepia hides.

● quote: To understand how this story is constructed, we can look at two things. First - the techniques used to build the narrative, and second - the things that disappear from the story. In other words, the story is shaped not only by what the viewer is shown, but also by what is quietly left out. 

So far we have looked at how the documentary shapes perception through what it shows. But storytelling works in another way as well. It also works through what isn't shown. What we see shapes our understanding, but what we don't see shapes it just as much. One example concerns whose voices we hear in the documentary. The narrative relies on testimonies from former participants who describe their experiences in negative terms. But what viewers rarely hear are the voices of people who remain actively involved in the spiritual practices. This absence is striking because the community includes thousands of participants across many countries who continue to practice these teachings voluntarily. Their perspective is largely missing from the story. At this point, we might ask ourselves a simple question: if we want to understand a community, is it enough to hear only the voices of those who left it, and more specifically those few who left it and who, because of one or another reason, ended up turning against it? Or do we also need to listen to the people who remain there and who experience the same practices in a completely different way? 

comments: ”The story is shaped [...] also by what is quietly left out.” But who shows what is quietly left out? Obviously not the documentary, because it cannot show something that it does not contain! Then who? Precisely the author of the analysis - whoever that is! And now he can say anything, even without any connection to the facts in the documentary, and it becomes obvious that "what is quietly left out" represents exactly the opposite version of the facts from the documentary, favorable to MISA, told by those from MISA themselves. This is how facts are introduced into a film that does not mention anything about them.

The voices of those remaining in MISA are not heard primarily because they do not speak. Simple students were warned not to give statements in the absence of those from the MISA Press office, under the pretext that their words could be misinterpreted. Of course, there is also the reason that they could also get away with what they should not (although the MISA leadership expose itself whenever they open their mouths!). In any case, the students are bound by a vow of silence and cannot say anything about what really happens inside the group. But even the Press Office has not appeared in filmed statements in recent years, but only sends mechanical press releases.

Regarding the accounts of the current members, they should be related to what happened in Paris. But how many of them witnessed these events? The men have nothing to say, because they were not invited by the guru to the sexual initiation, while their girlfriends hide from them the fact that they were at the guru's initiation, being bound by vow! In any case, MISA avoids any kind of statements to the point and seeks to change the subject, to divert attention to the opposite side, so it would be absolutely ridiculous if, as a response to what was stated in the film, students appeared declaring how wonderful they feel in the school, with no connection to what is presented in the documentary.

● quote: Let me briefly mention a few of the techniques that appear repeatedly in the documentary.  The first is what we might call emotional framing. Already in the opening minutes, the viewer is prepared to expect that something dark and disturbing will be revealed. The tone, the music, the editing, and the choice of testimonies all contribute to this impression. Together, they create a feeling that we are about to uncover a hidden scandal. And once this emotional frame has been established, everything that follows tends to be interpreted through it. [...] Throughout Twisted Yoga, the music carries a heavy almost anxious tone. 

Even when people speak about positive experiences in the yoga school, that same music is there in the background. It keeps reinforcing the feeling that something is wrong. And without ever saying it directly, the images and the music together guide how we feel about what we are seeing. They quietly suggest what is true and what is not, who we should trust and who we should be afraid of.

comment: ”The viewer is prepared to expect that something dark and disturbing will be revealed”. Well, that's exactly what's going to be revealed: something dark and disturbing! The music has to be in keeping with what's being exposed! What kind of music was he going to play, choirs of angels? Blaming the oppressive music, the author suggests that, for the sake of accurate information, soothing music be played. That would be convenient for MISA, but it wouldn't be in keeping with the subject of the film, which would constitute manipulation, but in the other direction! Smoooth!

● quote: The second technique could be called negative reframing. Many participants in the yoga tradition describe their practices in positive terms. They speak about meditation, discipline, and spiritual transformation. These are experiences that practitioners themselves understand as meaningful elements of a spiritual path. In the documentary, however, these same experiences are often interpreted in a very different way. Practices that practitioners see as spiritual methods are presented instead as mechanisms of influence or control. In other words, the meaning of the practices is not explained from the inside. Instead, their meaning is redefined into something negative from the outside. 

Another form of omission concerns spiritual context. Many of the ideas and practices discussed in the documentary belong to longstanding spiritual traditions. Concepts such as devotion, spiritual aspiration, surrender of the ego or transfiguration appear in many traditions around the world. But when these ideas are presented without their broader cultural and spiritual context, they can easily appear strange or disturbing. A practice that makes sense within a specific spiritual framework may look bizarre when presented in isolation. And this isn't neutral reporting, but a form of persuasion, a form that is actively cultivated in this documentary. 

comments: This is exactly what the documentary is about: people who sign up for MISA/ATMAN classes thinking they are regular yoga classes, as they are presented to the public, but have negative experiences related to bizarre practices that have nothing to do with yoga. It is natural that the perception is different.

ATMAN itself claims to be "unique” through ”the synthesis of all that is godly inspired and fundamental in the known authentic spiritual traditions", it claims to be "the highest and most powerful divine flame on this planet and start a true spiritual revolution which will take place on the planetary level”, and has even registered some techniques as its own trademarks, therefore invented by MISA (resonance, spirals, sexual continence) and has published non-existent (fake) books for inoculating urine consumption between partners. MISA branches have been expelled from all international yoga federations, because they do not practice yoga. The concept of karma yoga is reinterpreted as work exclusively for the benefit of the organization. The vow of initiatory secrecy is distorted as a vow to keep the activities secret, which sounds like a self-curse, being an unprecedented form of mind control. Consecration becomes a way of renouncing free will. Initiation into tantric love, normally performed in loving couples, is transformed into a pretext for the guru to have sexual acts with the female followers.

● quote: A third technique operates through imagery. Because twisted yoga is a visual medium, images play a powerful role in shaping perception. Interviews with former members are usually filmed in warm and comfortable settings with soft lighting and calm environments. The viewer naturally feels that these are the trustworthy voices. Scenes connected with the yoga school often look very different. Buildings are shown behind fences or gates and rooms appear dark or mysterious. In many scenes, the faces of practitioners are blurred. And this may have been done for legal reasons, but it also creates a distancing effect. The people practicing yoga appear less as recognizable individuals and more as anonymous figures within the mysterious collective. 

comments: This is what the MISA buildings actually look like, surrounded by high metal or textile fences, grounds covered with tarpaulins and camouflage nets, so that nothing can be seen or filmed. In a report from the Czech Republic on the topic of video chats there, neighbors describe the presence of the MISA people:

"We found everything strange because this is not how neighbors in the area behave. To cover their fence with textile material up to a height of two meters and, at the same time, to cover the area around the pool. They were the kind of people who were hiding", one of the neighbors told a reporter. (video, min1:sec57) They are hiding and they still complain that they are presented as having something to hide! It has always been the custom in the media to blur the faces of those who are not related to the articles in the photos.

”Interviews with former members are usually filmed in warm and comfortable settings”. On the other hand, we have no way of knowing in what environment the current members would have appeared, because they avoid appearing in front of the cameras in such a context, so there is no comparison anyway! But nevertheless they still complain that they don't appear in the film!

● quote: Another visual detail appears in the frequent use of scenes showing people all dressed in similar clothes performing yoga movements in synchronized ways, in a semi-dark environment empty of color and life. These images are not actually from our yoga school. They have been created for illustrative purposes and they are not representative of how yoga is practiced in our community or the environments in which we do it. Interestingly, these scenes appear in the first episode precisely when the former members describe their initial positive experiences in the school. The way I read these images is that they subtly modify and even undermine the message of those positive experiences. While the words speak about discovery and inspiration, the images suggest orchestration and conformity rather than individual choice and freedom.

comment: It is true that the images in the film showing yoga sessions are not characteristic for MISA yoga classes. This is not how the class sessions are conducted in the gym. However, in the MISA gyms, too, people practice synchronously, through sessions guided by instructors, not everyone does what they want and when they want. But what about the meditations in spirals that last for hours, during which you cannot leave the spirals? I propose that MISA broadcast images from Tantra retreats, from games of overcoming sexual boundaries (video). Do those respect individual freedom? Do the body checks at the entrance to secret activities, to prevent recording, respect individual freedom? What about the vows of secrecy at these activities? What about the request for photos in a swimsuit when registering for various activities?

● quote: A third form of omission concerns what can be called knowledge filtering. Over the past decades, a considerable amount of academic research has been conducted on new spiritual movements and on the yoga tradition discussed in the documentary. Scholars have studied how such communities function, why people join them, and how participants interpret their experiences. Several studies have been done by renowned academic researchers and commissioned investigators focusing specifically on our yoga school. There is also a long academic debate about theories of psychological manipulation. But this research is almost entirely absent from the documentary. Why? Because that research consistently questions the assumptions behind Twisted Yoga about MISA, ATMAN and so on. When this kind of research is left out, people watching are misled. They end up thinking they are seeing the whole truth when they are really seeing only one side of the story. 

comment: Bullshit! What do office "researchers" have to do with yoga, which is a practice or with what goes on secretly inside the sects they defend in total ignorance? What kind of objectivity can these so-called researchers have who refer to the statements of the victims (whom they call "apostates") as "cloak-and-dagger story"? Are their croak-and-swagger stories more believable? Recently, "master" Introvigne, in an article about this documentary, confused (intentionally or not) the statements of some victims, reaching some false conclusions. More precisely, he wrote about Ashleigh Freckleton that ”she fully understood the initiation would be erotic in nature: “I was completely intrigued by the possibility that I could have a deeply spiritual experience in lovemaking”,  she says.” Actually, it wasn't Ashleigh who said that, it was Miranda, at the moment min12:sec12 of the second episode of the documentary. Ashleigh was the only one who did not know that it would be a sexual initiation and, because this fact contradicts Introvigne's claims that all the female MISA students knew that they were going to Bivolaru for sexual initiation (source 1, source 2) and therefore everything was consensual, he made this "confusion" to hide Ashleigh's real statement.

● quote: When we step back from this particular documentary, we begin to see that it isn't a isolated case. Similar narrative patterns appear in other media productions about spiritual communities. In each case, the structure tends to be similar. First, a spiritual community is introduced through dramatic, often positive testimonies, then its practices are reinterpreted as a form of influence or control and finally the story culminates in a narrative of exposure. One consequence of this media climate is that many practitioners become reluctant to speak with journalists. They fear that their words will be taken out of context or placed within a narrative that changes their meaning. Ironically, this silence is sometimes interpreted as further evidence that something must be hidden. 

comments: Narrative models about sects are naturally similar, because the same thing happens in all of them: at first they seem like one thing and later they turn into something completely different! The beginning is always positive, and that is precisely why the seeker joins the group, then upon contact with the inner circle he notices the deviation from the initial idea. The generous ideas at the beginning are actually bait. In reality, those on the inside never intended to respect them, their goal has always been completely different. Adherents have the feeling that their words are distorted by those on the outside, but they do not realize that from the outside reality is seen upside down from how they perceive it. The fear of speaking is the fear of the “enemy outside” (“demons”), planted by the leaders, but it is also the fear of the leaders, who could declare them enemies (demonic) if they do not declare “what is right”. However, at MISA, followers are prohibited from making statements before they are selected and approved by the leaders.

● quote: So why does all this matter? It matters because simplified narratives make genuine understanding difficult. Spiritual traditions are complex. They often involve unusual practices and unfamiliar concepts. They deserve careful examination and open debate. But meaningful understanding becomes difficult when the story is reduced to a single interpretive framework. For the individuals involved, the consequences can also be very real. People who simply practice meditation or yoga may suddenly discover that their spiritual path is portrayed in the media as evidence of manipulation. For those who have built an important part of their lives around these practices, this can be deeply unsettling. 

comment: The followers' disturbance when faced with the reflection of their practices in the media or in society is real, but it is not caused by the external environment, but precisely by the inverted image of reality in their minds. They are the ones who are wrong, not those on the outside. Proof is that the international yoga community itself denounces the perverted practices within the ATMAN group, while the group's leaders declare that the school is unique in the world. Sometimes the shock comes from the impression that, within the group, the follower is living a lie, an impression that he often refuses to accept and automatically rejects, because that is how he is mentally programmed. But deep down, he feels that he has lived a lie, that he has missed his life, and that is disturbing.

● quote: Imagine that someone made a documentary about the profession, for example, teachers, doctors, or engineers, and constructed the entire story almost exclusively from interviews with people who had not only left that profession because of negative experiences, but somehow also turned against it. Or imagine a film about marriage based only on interviews with people who had gone through painful divorces. We would probably feel that something important was missing from that picture. Understanding any human activity requires hearing more than one side of the story. Understanding a spiritual community is no different. 

comments: The author of the analysis is cunning! By analogy with an entire profession or the institution of marriage, he identifies the practice of MISA with yoga as a whole, which is false. The practice of MISA has very little to do with yoga, which is why reporting negative experiences at MISA does not affect the entire practice of yoga. It is a problem of image for the moment, but when people understand that this is not yoga, the yoga community as a whole will once again expel MISA from its area (this time from a moral point of view, since the actual expulsion occurred in 2008). The author is also mistaken in terms of quantitative assessment. He has the false impression that only a few have left and turned against MISA, very few compared to those who remained. But in reality, as has been shown here, the number of those who once attended MISA classes and then left is greater than those who remianed. Of course, not all of them had abusive experiences, but they were not happy either, since they left the group. Significant is the case of former student Andrea from Sweden, who declares in the documentary that the yoga school was her life, that the first meeting with Bivolaru was an experience that fulfilled her, then she withdrew because she had a child to whom she dedicated herself completely. Here is what she declares in episode 3 of the series:

Andrea: Everything I did was very much connected with the school. It was my life for quite a few years. And then I started to date people outside of the school, and met somebody and had a child, so my focus shifted. I was quite disappointed, because there wasn't so much understanding, that life with a small child requires huge amounts of dedication and energy. And I felt very much left behind. I was dedicating myself wholeheartedly to motherhood. And a friend of mine called me and said, "Look, you know, there are some things that I would like to share with you." So my friend came one evening and sat on the sofa, and began to give me accounts of women having really awful experiences. For me, I went in because I wanted to. Like, I really, really wanted it. So I never felt that I had to do anything against my own will. It was 100% my choice. But at the same time, there was a huge underlying pressure for a lot of people to do things against themselves, and against their will and against their boundaries. Because there wasn't really that safety to say ”actually I don't want to do this!”

Ziggy, another dedicated practitioner, also left the school when he found out about Ashleigh's awful experience and then that of his ex-girlfriend. He didn't feel abused in the group either, but when he heard about all these terrible experiences, he didn't hesitate to leave the cult. How will those who are still inside act when they find out all this? The men will ask their girlfriends (directly or with their eyes): "Were you also at Grieg?"

The women who weren't will firmly answer "NO", the discussion will end here and both will continue their journey within the cult. Among the women who participated in the ”initiation”, most of them will deny because they are under vow, but their denial will be "half-hearted", because the truth in them will also be there. If their lovers have at least a little empathy, they will understand the truth beyond denial and will be touched in their souls. Of course, there will be many men who will be delighted to have "initiated" girlfriends and they will be proud of this.

But the other women who were at the "initiation" will respond by silence, because they cannot admit being bound by vow, but they cannot lie either, violating the moral rule of truth. Men with a minimum of intelligence would immediately understand that the answer is "YES", because if she had not been to the guru, she would have said the truth from the start, very firmly: "NO!"

The above also applies to any discussions between female classmates that start with the same question:  "have you been to Grieg?" or "have you heard of anyone who has been?" Of course, the main issue is not whether or not someone has been to Grieg, but whether or not they have been abused. This is what the French investigation is about. In any case, all those who will hide the truth should know that they are morally responsible both for the women who have fallen, and especially for those who will fall victim later, as well as for the men they keep in the dark with their denial or silence.

reporter: Do you think he's a criminal guilty of those crimes? 

Andrea: Yes, in my system. And also the story's complicated. But ultimately the responsibility lies… with him. 

● quote: A more honest conversation about spiritual communities would require a different approach. It would mean listening to a wider range of voices, including those of practitioners who remain actively involved. It would mean presenting spiritual teachings within their broader cultural and historical context. And it would mean acknowledging the academic research that already exist on these topics. Such an approach might produce less dramatic storytelling, but it would come closer to the real goal of journalism, helping people understand a complex and often complicated world. If we don't understand what we are looking at, if we don't see the full context, then our judgments will rest on very weak foundation. And when the foundation is weak, even strong conclusions can be completely false. 

comments: Those from MISA/ATMAN would like less dramatic productions, possibly the media to simply take over their shows on MisaTV, where everything is divine and smells of incense! The problem is that Bivolaru's room smelled of sex. "Recognizing academic research" also means taking over the idyllic image painted by Introvigne, Fautre & Co, who showed their face by rejecting the "apostates'" narratives a priori and embracing the MISA versions without reservations. But until then, all media productions from Finland, USA, Germany, UK,  Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, created by journalists who set out to investigate the MISA/ATMAN case, all came to the same conclusion: CULT!

In conclusion, although this video claims to be a response to the documentary "Twisted Yoga", in reality it avoids analyzing it in detail and refers to the productions critical of MISA in general, as if trying to kill all birds with one stone, once and for all. However, avoiding the details of the documentary and trying to change the subject to something more general, betrays the fear of its revelations, as well as the lack of counterarguments. After all, as former students, we know from our own experience that what is exposed in this documentary is real, as do some who were students until recently and who woke up when they found out what the terrible reality is. But beyond all personal opinions and debates, the only thing that matters is the truth, supported by evidence that is beyond any doubt.

I have shown the arguments against this video exposure which, in some respects, is self-defeating. Its author probably imagines that he has delivered a great propaganda blow, but he forgets that the moment he declares that all the mass media is distorted, he includes himself along all MISA media channels, for they are not the only exception on the planet. However, these aspects presented are not understood by the followers who continue to remain with the cult, and this can be seen from the comments accompanying the YouTube video. In reality, this video analyzed here is created just for them and cannot be accepted by normal people, because it evades questions and generalizes. But a favorite saying of Bivolaru, obviously modified by him, is also valid for them: "Sometimes people stumble over the truth, but only fools get up immediately and walk on indifferently."

For these completely blind followers, here is a set of questions they should naturally ask themselves, especially since they were selected so as not to depend on the victims' statements in the documentary, statements that they reject from the start because "the documentary is distorted":

- how do you explain that Bivolaru settled in France, the only country that has legislation regarding abuse in cults?

- how do you explain that Bivolaru returned to France, even though he had been arrested there and then extradited?

- how do you explain that Bivolaru was arrested in France, although he always claimed that he was in Sweden?

- how do you explain that Bivolaru admitted some aspects of the acts he is accused of, such as: women brought in with their eyes covered, having sexual acts with them, withholding documents and phones, the existence of bowls of urine?

- how do you explain that these aspects had been declared by the victims long before they were found in the investigation?

- how do you explain that only women were brought to Bivolaru?

- how did these women come into contact with him or how did they reach him, since both his physical and electronic addresses were secret, because he was hiding them from the police?

- how do you interpret Miranda's statement after the "sexual initiation", which was also presented on MisaTV? (audio, min21:sec52)

- how do you explain the acceptance of "sexual initiation" by "unprepared", hesitant women (who then reported him to the police), given the obligation to perform  consecration and to perceive an affirmative response to consecration?

- how do you explain the renewal of the pre-trial detention order every four months, each time by a different court, given that over two years have already passed since the arrest?

- how do you explain Sweden's withdrawal of political asylum previously granted to Bivolaru?

- how do you explain that, despite so many question marks, some regarding the violation of moral principles by Gregorian Bivolaru himself, you still trust him and MISA?