Editing NXIVM (section)

== Beliefs and practices==
[[File:NXIVM influences.png|thumb|upright|NXIVM teachings drew upon diverse influences, including [[Ayn Rand]] ("parasites"), [[L. Ron Hubbard]] ("suppressives"), [[Milton Erickson]]'s hypnosis, [[Isaac Asimov]]'s science fiction, [[Rudolf Steiner]], [[Tony Robbins]], and [[neuro-linguistic programming]].<ref name="Forbes2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2019/05/15/keith-raniere-the-leader-of-the-nxivm-sex-cult/|title=When We Exposed Keith Raniere, The Leader Of The Nxivm 'Sex Cult' |first=Will|last=Yakowicz|website=Forbes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://frankreport.com/2015/12/24/did-asimov-inspire-raniere-to-be-the-mule/|title=Did Asimov inspire Raniere to be 'the mule'?|date=December 24, 2015|website=Frank Report}}</ref><ref name="TheProgram"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecut.com/2019/11/what-it-was-like-to-date-a-cult-leader.html|title=What It Was Like to Date a Cult Leader|first=Katie|last=Heaney|date=November 7, 2019|website=The Cut}}</ref> NXIVM incorporated elements of multi-level marketing and practices from [[judo]], with colored cloth for rank and bowing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://artvoice.com/2019/07/07/did-isaac-asimov-inspire-keith-raniere-to-be-the-mule/|title=Did Isaac Asimov Inspire Keith Raniere to be 'the Mule'?|first=Frank|last=Parlato |date=July 7, 2019|website=Artvoice}}</ref><ref name="TheProgram">{{cite book |title=The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of NXIVM |first1=Toni|last1=Natalie|first2=Chet|last2=Hardin|date=September 24, 2019 |publisher=Grand Central |url=https://www.amazon.com/Program-Inside-Keith-Raniere-NXIVM-ebook/dp/B07PCHJK2M|via=Amazon}}</ref>]]
A 2003 mission statement on the NXIVM website read as follows:<blockquote>NXIVM embodies a set of consistent and universal principles in which all humans can participate. These principles - apart from any mystical or religious notions - allow for life to persist and uphold a diversity of beliefs. By creating a new understanding, we can actualize our potential to live and work together and consequently bring human existence to a whole new level. Yet this cannot be done without first raising human awareness, fostering an ethical humanitarianism, and celebrating what it truly means to be human - and this is our mission.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2, 2003 |title=NXIVM |url=http://www.nxivm.com/mission_1024.php |access-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031002084336/http://www.nxivm.com/mission_1024.php |archive-date=October 2, 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>
In a transcript and audio of [[Clare Bronfman]]'s testimony in a bankruptcy proceeding, Bronfman described the organization as a part of the [[Human Potential Movement]].<ref>{{Citation |title=NXIVM: 'He's the Vanguard' | date=April 16, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBddZeP_6Ws |language=en |access-date=June 16, 2022}}</ref>

=== Teachings ===
The oldest program of NXIVM, Executive Success Programs, had students recite a "Twelve-point Mission Statement", pledging to "purge" themselves "of all parasite and envy-based habits", to enroll others, and to "ethically control as much of the money, wealth and resources of the world as possible within my success plan." The Mission Statement also labeled students who shared Executive Success Programs materials as "breaking a promise and breaching my contract" and compromising "inner honesty and integrity."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/nyregion/nxivm-cult-trial.html |title=Former Sex Cult Official Describes Its 'Evil' Inner Workings |first=Colin |last=Moynihan |date=May 9, 2019 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Raniere |first=Keith |date=1998 |title=Twelve-point Mission Statement |url=https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/852-keith-raniere-s-twelve-point-m/14c1838fee817b774dfc/optimized/full.pdf |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

The doctrine of the NXIVM organization, "Rational Inquiry method", was treated as Raniere's scientific invention and submitted to multiple [[patent office]]s.<ref name=":8">{{Cite patent|number=EP1320843A1|title=Rational inquiry method|gdate=2003-06-25|invent1=Raniere|inventor1-first=Keith|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/EP1320843A1/en/}}</ref>

NXIVM taught that some people, called "Suppressives", try to impede progress within NXIVM.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gavin |first=Robert |date=May 13, 2019 |title=Witness: Raniere bragged of wanting to 'break' follower Allison Mack |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Witness-After-leaving-NXIVM-women-became-targets-13841142.php |access-date=June 20, 2019 |website=Times Union}}</ref> People who irrevocably turned against Raniere were said to have undergone "The Fall" and were labeled, in the words of a former member, as "Luciferians, lost people for whom bad feels good, and good feels bad."<ref name="auto5">{{cite magazine |last=Bryant |first=Kenzie |date=June 27, 2018 |title=How NXIVM Used a Simple Tool to Build Its 'Sex Cult' |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/06/keith-raniere-nxivm-patents-luciferian |magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref> Some members of NXIVM's inner circle were reportedly taught that, in past lives, they were high-ranking [[Nazi]]s.<ref name=VF1/>

=== Classes and programs ===
NXIVM conducted "Intensives," classes conducted for 12 hours daily for 16 days. One cited price was $7,500.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/nxivm-trial-founder-keith-raniere-was-crime-boss-posing-as-guru-feds-say |title=NXIVM Trial Opens: Feds Say Founder Keith Raniere Was 'Crime Boss,' Not Guru |first=Pilar |last=Melendez |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=May 7, 2019 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |via=thedailybeast.com}}</ref><ref name=NYT20180530/> Classes were divided into modules. In one module, "Relationship Sourcing", students were instructed to explore the benefits they would receive in the event of a partner's sudden death. Another module, "Dracula and his ghouls", reportedly discussed psychopaths and their followers. Other module titles included "Best People; Perfect World" and "The Heroic Struggle".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://frankreport.com/2017/06/15/part-1-master-ranieres-secret-teachings-what-students-learn-in-esp-intensives/ |title=Part 1: Master Raniere's secret teachings: What students learn in ESP 'Intensives'! |date=June 15, 2017 |website=Frank Report|access-date=June 20, 2019}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2020}}

=== Rituals and practices ===
Classes by NXIVM had a number of idiosyncratic practices, described within the Rational Inquiry patent as "rules and rituals" and third-party sources as including:
* '''Rules and rituals''': Rational Inquiry prescribes students to perform a number of gestures including a handshake, bowing, and handclap. Greetings included both a common [[handshake]] and an "ESP" or "NXIVM" handshake.<ref name=":8" /><ref name="auto2"/> In the second episode of [[The Vow (TV series)|''The Vow'']] Raniere suggests these elements are intentionally strange, telling his students, "We put rules and rituals up front to be the guardian at the gate. We want some people to say 'I don't want anything to do with this.{{'"}}<ref>{{Cite video |url=https://play.hbomax.com/page/urn:hbo:page:GXzPz7QUcmCB5uwEAAAAN:type:episode |title=Viscera |type=Television production |language=en-US |publisher=HBO |series=The Vow}}</ref>
* '''Stripe path''': Sashes or scarves were implemented in a ranking system similar to colored belts in martial arts.<ref name=":9">{{cite web |date=June 8, 2018 |title=The stripe path: How to make your way up in NXIVM |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/the-stripe-path-how-to-make-your-way-up-in-nxivm-1.4674369 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> The sashes or scarves came in different colors and patterns symbolizing contribution to the Executive Success mission.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9"/>
* '''Tribute''': The Rational Inquiry patent indicates that "pictures of the founders may be displayed to show respect and to give tribute."<ref name=":8" /> Classes ended with students expressing gratitude to Keith Raniere (as "Vanguard") and Nancy Salzman (as "Prefect").<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" />
* '''Exploration of Meaning (EM's)''': Described as "therapy by number", the "exploration of meaning" involved a senior member questioning participants as they delved into their childhood memories.<ref name=":8" /><ref name="rollingstone.com">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/nxivm-8-things-we-learned-from-sex-cult-expose-630616/ |title=Nxivm: 8 Things We Learned from 'Sex-Cult' Exposé |magazine=Rolling Stone |first1=Elisabeth |last1=Garber-Paul |date=May 30, 2018 |access-date=June 20, 2019}}</ref>

===Tourette's treatment claims===
A 2018 documentary film directed by Alessandro Molatore showcases a purported study of the use of NXIVM's exploration of meaning technique to treat [[Tourette syndrome]]. The film is executive produced by [[Clare Bronfman]]. The film identifies the Tourette's study's "lead researcher" as Dr. Brandon Porter, at the time a [[hospitalist]] at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany.<ref name=makesense>{{cite web |last=Berman |first=Sarah |date=May 1, 2018 |title=I Tried to Make Sense of the Alleged Sex Cult NXIVM's Bizarre Health Claims |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-tried-to-make-sense-of-an-alleged-sex-cults-bizarre-health-claims/|website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |access-date=April 15, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Molatore |first=Alessandro |title=My Tourette's |date=March 4, 2018 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6096256/ |type=Documentary |publisher=Truth Films |access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=August 20, 2019 |title=RE: In the Matter of Brandon Porter, M.D. |url=https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823141840/https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2 |archive-date=August 23, 2019 |access-date=June 7, 2022 |website=[[New York State Department of Health]]}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Brendan J. |date=August 22, 2019 |title=NXIVM doctor who conducted brain studies loses license |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-doctor-who-conducted-brain-studies-loses-14370824.php |access-date=June 7, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the sentencing of Clare Bronfman, prosecutors from the [[United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York]] wrote, "the participants in this 'study' have expressed significant distress at their involvement" and offered one [[victim impact statement]] from a Tourette's study's participant that said the study "did nothing for me except ruin my self-esteem, ruin my mental health, and made me hate myself. It did not cure my Tourette’s in any way."<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=The Government's Sentencing Memorandum as to Defendant Clare Bronfman|doc-number=922|date=September 14, 2020|pacer-number=420062|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref>{{better|date=November 2025}}

The purported treatment for Tourette syndrome was noted by one reporter as not having been tested in a scientific peer-reviewed setting.<ref name=makesense/> Another reporter reached out to NXIVM member [[Marc Elliot]], who promotes both the purported treatment and film, and did not receive a reply.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 1, 2020 |title=Self-Help Group NXIVM Once Claimed It Could Cure Tourette's — How? |url=https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/the-vow-nixvms-alleged-cure-for-tourettes-explained |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=Oxygen Official Site |language=en-US}}</ref> Dr. Alan Jern, Associate Professor of Psychology at [[Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology]], wrote in ''[[Psychology Today]]'' that "[d]espite NXIVM’s obsession with being taken seriously by influential people and mainstream institutions, their penchant for secrecy and refusal to follow the [[Scientific method|norms of science]] means that their research was scientifically pretty worthless."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Did the NXIVM Cult Actually Help People? {{!}} Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/overthinking-tv/202211/did-the-nxivm-cult-actually-help-people |access-date=November 12, 2022 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Human subject experimentation===
Another purported study Porter conducted within the NXIVM community was described as watching disturbing footage, including video of people being murdered, while their brainwaves, physiological activity, and facial and auditory responses were recorded through [[electroencephalography]], [[Galvanic Skin Response|galvanic skin response]] and video recording.<ref name="auto5" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4113542/Porter-Complaint.pdf|title=Porter Complaint|date=August 16, 2017}}</ref> 
The purported study is similar to a patent Raniere filed,{{original research inline|date=November 2024}} "Determination of whether a luciferian can be rehabilitated":<blockquote>One example of a test to determine whether a person is a Luciferian comprises a video clip of an ice skater performing in a competition. Everything goes flawlessly until, at the very end, a mistake is made during a jump and the skater falls to the ice—all hope of winning the event is gone. A Luciferian will experience pleasure and satisfaction from this. Accordingly, the Luciferian's neurophysiological processes will register pleasure over the skater's misfortune which may be identified and quantified using the medical instrumentation. On the other hand, a non-Luciferian will feel sympathetic and empathize with the unfortunate skater. Unlike the Luciferian, a non-Luciferian's neurophysiological processes will not register as pleasure for this stimulus.<ref name=":10">{{Cite patent|number=US20130281879A1|title=Determination of whether a luciferian can be rehabilitated|gdate=2013-10-24|invent1=Raniere|inventor1-first=Keith A.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130281879A1/en}}</ref></blockquote>
Several subjects complained to the New York State Board of the [[Office of Professional Medical Conduct]] about the experiments. Porter faced 24 professional conduct charges, including "moral unfitness to practice medicine".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesunion.com/nxivm/article/NXIVM-doctor-facing-state-charges-12890993.php |title=NXIVM doctor facing state charges |first=Steve |last=Barnes |date=May 5, 2018 |website=Times Union}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=CHRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=1 |title=Notice Of Hearing In The Matter Of Brandon Porter, MD |publisher=Office for Professional Medical Conduct, New York State Department of Health |date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> In August 2019, the [[New York State Department of Health]] suspended Porter's license to practice medicine in the state, finding that he conducted studies without an appropriate [[Institutional review board|human research review committee]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" />