Newsletter - Lost Time: What Cults Take, and How We Take It Back
Normalizing Speaking Out and Helping Others Tell Their Story
This week’s livestream will be tomorrow, Wednesday, July 16th, at 3-4 p.m. EDT. I welcome everyone to tune in with questions and comments! Last week’s livestream was a great success; you can see the recording here if you missed it.
In this week’s episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, Without the Guru: How I Took My Life Back After Thirty Years, I spoke with Mike Finch, PhD, about his experiences with the guru Prem Rawat, who used to be Guru “Maharaji,” the Sat Guru - or God. We talked about why he was drawn in, and, most importantly, how he could finally permit himself to listen to his doubts - and overcome his phobia programming. He was finally able to leave the circle of Rawat’s influence. Of interest is that he pursued his doctorate from Oxford despite being deeply involved in an authoritarian cult. You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
In next week’s episode of Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum, I will be speaking with Tania Díaz, who is an anti-cult activist, self-compassion advocate, and host of a podcast dedicated to survivors of religious abuse, Voces: Espacio Sagrado para Sobrevivientes de Abuso Religioso (In English, Voices: A Sacred Space for Survivors of Religious Abuse).
I did my second Substack live on Sunday; I unpacked the growing dissonance within the MAGA base. The cracks in the MAGA cult are widening: Epstein’s shadow, betrayal by Trump’s own people, and a mounting sense of betrayal are pushing people to reevaluate the promise to “drain the swamp.” I shared some ideas on how we must reclaim our minds, reconnect with our humanity, and rise together to defend freedom before it’s too late.
I was delighted to see that Thom Hartmann, on whose Thom Hartmann Report I have been a guest, mentioned my book, Cult of Trump, and this Substack, in a recent post.
Last week, we posted a special blog post for our paid Substack Members titled "Are You In A Cult, or Just Talking Like You Are in One? The Power of Loaded Language." I first learned about the concept of loaded language by studying the work of psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, who defined brainwashing in China. It is literally everywhere, from high-control destructive groups to advertisements to political messaging. We must learn to understand and unravel the restrictions on free thought that Loaded Language produces.
If you're a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or licensed counselor seeking to better understand cult dynamics and psychological manipulation, our 9+ hour CE-credit course offers an in-depth and practical exploration of the topic. A CME-accredited version is also available for medical professionals. And for curious laypeople eager to deepen their knowledge without the need for continuing education credit, we offer the same comprehensive content at a lower price.
We’re also looking to expand our team: if you’re a good writer with a passion for freedom of mind and human rights, we welcome volunteer bloggers to help us craft thoughtful, relevant content. Additionally, we’re looking for a mental health professional with lived experience of undue influence to serve as a co-host for the Cult Conversations podcast. If this interests you, please reach out to us at center@freedomofmind.com.
How a person gets recruited into a cult and decides to leave is always a fascinating discussion. Every person has a unique story that sheds more light on the hows and whys that I consider when hearing another new story about mind control and its impacts on so many lives. People are often deceived into joining a cult to fulfill something they were already searching for before they ever met a cult recruiter.
For Mike Finch, he first looked to drugs to try to fill something in his life that was missing. Next, he turned to Buddhism. Buddhism is where he learned about meditation and began to try to reach enlightenment through meditation. A friend introduced him to the Guru, and Mike’s life would never be the same.
Read the blog post or listen to the podcast, below:
Are people being unduly influenced by Donald Trump’s tactics, such as name-calling? Yes. It is called loaded language, and cults employ these methods as well. When it comes to freeing one’s mind from cultic influence, one of the hardest things for many to overcome is the involuntary use of “loaded language.”
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!
Thank you for all that you do to help people escape or avoid high-demand groups and undue influence. I have a burning question of my own: Have you ever investigated America's SSI Disability program and applied the BITE model?
People on SSI Disability (and those who SHOULD qualify) are the poorest, sickest people in the country. After a grueling process of applying for assistance which can take years, and requires a lawyer, if someone DOES get approved, they are presumed to be welfare cheats, kept well below the poverty line , punished for trying to work, punished for accepting family/ friends assistance, and punished for getting married. Its presumed that if you can't support yourself, then you dont have the right to dignity or respect.
The govt interferes with our social ties, any efforts to work, or save money, is constantly asking us to justify ourselves, and using any pretext to cut off our benefits. This usually costs us our health care, which for us is deadly. In this brave new Internet world, they spy on our social media as well.
Its like an open air prison and creates an artificial divide between people: economically, socially, and sometimes geographically, disabled people and healthy people are segregated by an invisible Grand Canyon: iron lungs over here, Ironman over there. As if people who need assistance and health care, but could then work, don't exist.
Currently healthy people seem to be pumped full of thought-stopping cliches like "If you can work you are not disabled" ( like if someone with Down's Syndrome gets a job, they no longer have Down's Syndrome?)
"You're a leech on my hard-earned money." As if the parasite class is the least powerful, instead of the most powerful billionaires...
Maybe workers don't want to think about what awaits THEM when they can't work anymore. Of course, denial and repression won't protect them, just as shame and blame makes us no less disabled.
You are a brave man, or you would not have gone into this line of work. If you are EXTREMELY brave, you will analyze the SSI Disability program against the BITE model and publicly share your findings. I will post another note with links to give you the general idea if you don't already know.
Dr. Hassan,
How can those of us who are not in the cult, reach out to those who have fallen victim to it? I believe we need to unite, as Americans all, to save our cherished freedoms.