Newsletter: Exposing Cult Abuse and Controlling Our Own Minds
Being True to Our Core Values is Vital in these Scary Uncertain Times
This week’s episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, “Neural Surfing: Consciousness, Meditation, and Mystical Manipulation in Spiritual Organizations,” features an interview with my longtime friend and colleague, David Christopher Lane, PhD, a Professor of Philosophy and Sociology at Mt. San Antonio College. We discussed meditation and the importance of keeping the locus of control within your own mind rather than attributing any gains to a guru or organization. We also talked about his early work exposing the malfeasance of groups like Eckankar. It’s a wide-ranging and fascinating talk, and we plan to speak again soon! In the meantime, you can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Next week’s episode, “Healing Through Therapy in the Post-Cult Years: Art and Survival,” will feature an interview with journalist, researcher, and artist Nori Muster, who is also a survivor of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), often referred to as the Hare Krishna movement. She left after realizing the depths of the group’s abuses.
For March, my monthly blog post in Psychology Today, “Reclaiming Identity After Cults And Healing Moral Injury,” focuses on how reclaiming the authentic self is vital after a destructive authoritarian group overrides someone’s personal identity.
This week’s livestream will be Wednesday, April 2, at 1-2 pm EDT; I welcome everyone to tune in with questions and comments! Last week’s livestream was a great success; you can see the replay here if you missed it.
Lastly, take a few minutes to reflect on a group you’ve been involved with by using my BITE Model of Authoritarian Control™ survey. We’re continuing to collect data on both high-control environments and genuinely healthy, ethical communities. If you’ve experienced more than one, you’re welcome to submit multiple entries. Every response matters. Whether you’re a survivor of coercive control or someone who has found support in a positive group, your experience adds valuable nuance to our growing, evidence-based resource.
Please consider sharing the survey on platforms like Reddit, Facebook, or anywhere former members gather. The broader the participation, the more impactful the results. Thank you for being part of this vital work.
I spoke with my longtime friend and colleague, David Christopher Lane, PhD, a Professor of Philosophy and Sociology at Mt. San Antonio College. In this episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, we touched on his experiences surrounding “Guru” communities and his views on how meditation, at its best, can allow for understanding and altering consciousness in a pro-self-direction, empowering and revitalizing. However, at its worst, a person can lose their self-centering, allowing for openings to parasitic relationships and for mental, physical, or sexual trauma to occur or recur under unethical or authoritarian rule.
Read the blog post or listen to the podcast below
Leaving a cult can leave deeper wounds for longer than expected. Moral injury combined with identity confusion can leave survivors left behind as a clinical population.
How can you tell if that group your family member has joined is safe? Is your relationship hitting a “rough patch,” or is there actual cause for concern? With this anonymous, easy-to-use diagnostic tool, you can answer simple questions and determine if any group or relationship is beneficial or destructive, ethical or unethical, healthy or unhealthy. And now, you can share your results on your social media if you wish!
As always, please let us know what you think about these pieces or what you’d like to see us discuss in the future. Thanks so much!
I like the article about reclaiming identity. I can relate to the moral injury and to the deep sense of guilt and shame that come when we face up to the hurt that we caused to others while in the belief system. I tried to push my faith on others in ways that hurt them and just pushed them away.