Readers Have Written
Despite the benevolent facade, David Hoffmeister's ACIM community, Living Miracles operates like a cult on many levels.
They are known to use coercive guilt tactics to extract money, houses, and retirement funds from followers, all in the name of Jesus.
They exert control over people's minds and relationships and persuade devotees to leave children and families behind.
David and his ministers fully encourage minimizing or even ceasing contact with loved ones. They discourage the study of any other teacher or teachings inside the cloisters of David's group.
Students are trained to progressively dehumanize family by seeing them as thoughts in the mind, rather than living, feeling, caring people.
To David and his cult, people are ultimately perceived as disposable objects or tools they can use and discard, once they've extracted all they can from them.
Too many who passed through David's cult went on to have psychotic breaks or ended up in psychiatric units from their involvement. David and his ministers continue to mess with vulnerable people's minds, believing they know best - yet they are not trauma informed, nor professionally trained mental health experts.
They remain clueless and ignorant in how to handle sometimes serious underlying issues, which are frequently dismissed as mystical experiences. They continue to believe deconstructing someone's entire sense of self will offer a permanent cure.
This often leads devotees to experience increasing levels of emotional numbness, suicidal ideation, ill health, depression, derealization, and C PTSD. It can take years to see the true nature of a cult and usually only upon deeper immersion to follow or start to experience coercive pressure to burn all bridges and give up all support (family, friends, children, jobs, hobbies, education, houses, financial savings, etc.)
An ex-living miracles minister just published an expose of his experience living, working for, and travelling alongside guru ACM teacher David Hoffmeister. You can order a copy on Amazon and the book is called: Finding Miracles: Escape from a Cult by Andrew LeCompte.
Renowned cult experts have endorsed the book, such as Robert Ross, Steven Hassan, and Sarah Edmondson.
The author begins by sharing his troubled childhood and search for healing. Around page 100 he begins to expose the dehumanizing, hierarchical, oppressive, and sometimes even illegal conduct of David and his cohorts alongside the love bombing, spiritual highs, and seeming initial breakthroughs.
Hofmeister's inner circle is expert in utilizing Course metaphysics to divinely justify any professional misconduct. They have a hugely disowned and suppressed shadow aspect, which they continue to bypass, deflect, and deny.
Possibly due to the enlightened spiritual teacher identities they've taken on and having made ACIM into the ultimate special idol, they seem to believe they are beyond reproach. Many of the ministers in this group are fundamentally mind-based in their attitude, and this means balancing elements required for grounded, integrated healing (such as empathy, warmth, and heart-based compassion) are often lacking.
Sadly, I feel this is because the leaders in this group have deeply buried unresolved trauma of their own. However, having chosen to accept ministerial roles of influence and responsibility, there should be a level of accountability for the years of immoral conduct that's caused many ex-Living Miracles students significant levels of harm.
It is worse. Andy was extremely measured in what he shared during the podcast interview.
What about all the young female students David Hoffmeister has slept with from all over the world during his many years as a traveling Mystic? His bedroom door was constantly revolving. Many of those young women came to David for ministerial and spiritual guidance in an attempt to heal past trauma. What kind of church minister takes sexual advantage of vulnerable new course students in that way?
David is masterful at using and discarding people as if they are tools and assets sent to him, for his taking.
I hope Andrew LeCompte’s interview on A Little Bit Culty, and his book Finding Miracles helps others avoid this cult, begin to speak up about their experiences, and know they are not alone if they also experienced anything similar.
I believe Andy also has a private group for anyone affected by Living Miracles and for any former ACIM students currently feeling shunned, isolated, or in a process of recovery, you can find him on Facebook.
The following link also helped me to make more sense of what I experienced, and I hope it may help others too.
Link to Andrew LeCompte’s podcast interview about his experiences inside David Hoffmeister’s Living Miracles ACIM Cult.
Links to Andy’s book in three versions: