Centralized Operations and Mental Control
"Only within the collective field can an individual's life discover its position, value, and completeness." — A phrase fabricated by Deng Haipeng to lure trainees into closed training for easier mental manipulation.
"You can't form cliques. If you dare to form one, God will operate on you." — Another line fabricated by Deng Haipeng to prevent trainees from communicating with each other, ensuring his lies remained unchallenged.
Inside the Training Sessions
Under the guise of "centralized operations," Deng Haipeng imposed strict confinement on trainees.
They were forbidden from leaving freely or contacting the outside world.
Any trainee who voiced dissent or violated his rules was subjected to public criticism by the group.
Deng Haipeng also introduced a practice called "Reality Combat Exercises," where trainees were made to recite his teachings verbatim.
This reinforced daily learning and ensured they internalized his "soul molding" ideology — a key method of psychological control.
He even published an internal booklet titled The Caller, containing excerpts from his lectures. Only volunteers and higher-level members could access this material.
After becoming a volunteer, members had to follow a rigid weekly routine known as the "Six Practices," which included daily meditation sharing, daily summaries, weekly summaries, attending local trainee salons, helping others with personal healing cases, and more.
Did Deng Haipeng's "soul healing" actually work? Xu Min recalled that AFang, a trainee from Shenzhen, initially joined to seek relief from depression.
However, instead of healing, AFang's condition worsened, eventually leading to a complete mental breakdown.
Trainees Kneeling and Weeping During Training Sessions
Many volunteers were highly educated. For example, core member Li Wei, a Master’s Graduate in Science, admitted he himself initially doubted Deng Haipeng’s teachings but gradually succumbed to the brainwashing.
Li Wei, originally an atheist, was drawn in by Deng Haipeng’s rhetoric about the source of the universe.
Deng Haipeng’s persuasive skill lay in linking everyday occurrences to divine intervention.
For example, when a venue was initially unavailable due to COVID-19 restrictions, Deng Haipeng insisted, “Keep preparing. God will operate.”
By coincidence, the venue reopened in time, and Deng credited this to divine intervention.
This further reinforced the belief that “listening to Deng Haipeng was equivalent to listening to God.”
Reflecting on it now, Li Wei realized the venue reopened simply because pandemic restrictions were relaxed nationwide, it was pure coincidence.
Chen Tianjia, the leading cult researcher at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained that “spiritual cultivation” techniques are diverse, involving methods like massage, herbal remedies, dance, and chanting.
However, many Western spiritual cultivation groups evolved into criminal organizations, using group dynamics for psychological abuse and financial exploitation through mental control.
Chen emphasized that these so-called training programs constitute a cultural hodgepodge, combining foreign mind-body-spirit movements, local occultism, misappropriated religious concepts, and even extraterrestrial cult elements.
They primarily promote "apocalyptic doctrines," coercing followers to "awaken," "ascend," seek a new "messiah," and pursue salvation through accessing so-called "higher dimensions" to attain a "superior self."
Their operational models integrate pyramid schemes, franchise systems, and tiered marketing tactics. In essence, these programs represent modern superstition advocating neo-theism, which mentally manipulates individuals, facilitates financial fraud and sexual exploitation, and jeopardizes national political, cultural, and social security.
