Authoritarian cults turn members into predators and prey. Hoyt was recently attacked by someone he had not heard from in 25 years, someone who believes he still has the right to bully him. This individual has sent 85 aggressive texts in just a few days. Hoyt calls it 'disturbingly nostalgic.' Jon and Hoyt talk about how to overcome the triggering caused by past predatory behaviour and the dangers of former members who continue to act out their roles as predators.Links:The Kundalini video Jon mentionsThe Jung documentary Jon mentions is no longer on YouTube, apparently, but you're only Jung once.Jon's new book is out on Kindle
Anne worked closely with Werner Erhard and continues to recover from the Landmark Trust experience. We explore some of the many ideas (and words!) that Erhard lifted directly from Scientology, and how these ideas have seeped into corporate and academic culture - to the detriment of society. Overcoming the conditioning from authoritarian groups need not be an arduous process, but it demands a precise approach. Jon shows how to put aside the brainwashing.Links:Anne's book Anne's Instagram Anne's YouTubeSeek SafelyJon's new book is out on Kindle and paperbackChris Shelton's YouTube
We don’t just suffer from physical and psychological injuries – we also suffer from moral injuries. Often this is because we stood by while awful events were taking place. The effects of moral injury were terrible for the generation who were forced into the Vietnam War and returned to find that they were reviled rather than admired, and for those of us who feel powerless to change the circumstances we find ourselves in today, the sense of moral injury is similar.Here is the study Steve mentionsAnd his article in Psychiatric Times
Jon was a tad surprised when Steve Moffic shared his interest in a fellow psychiatrist's book about past life therapy. Jon came to believe in reincarnation through Buddhism, so when he joined Scientology, aged 19, he readily accepted the idea. However, after speaking with more than a thousand sometime Scientologists, Jon is highly sceptical, leading to a fascinating conversation with Steve, a former professor of psychiatry.Links:The complete essays of Michel de MontaigneSteve Moffic's articles in Psychiatric TimesJon's new book on Kindle and in Print
Anne Peterson spent years setting up seminars and working closely with Werner Erhard, the founder of est, The Forum, and Landmark Trust. Jon describes the Chinese thought reform program, which stimulates Anne to talk about the 'Advanced Course' (yes, Erhard peppered his teachings with Scientology expressions). A wide-ranging discussion touching on the similarities between Scientology and Erhard. Est was devised after he had dipped into Scientology and its offshoots.Links:More on the Bear Fedio IndexThe paper, The Discipling DilemmaMore on the Andrew Carnegie homestead floodHubbard's affirmationsAnne's interview with Brandon HurstMore on Darren Mack and the murder of Charla Mack
Breath of Fire is an excellent documentary about Kundalini Yoga, a group invented out of thin air by the self-styled Yogi Bhajan, who claimed to be a Sikh and to have a system of yoga. Bhajan was neither a Sikh nor a yogin. His techniques lead to dissociation and hypomania (false ecstasy) and then to the depths of depression. Followers can spend years believing that they've failed on the path to enlightenment when, in reality, they were conned into using dangerous and untested methods to induce euphoria.Hoyt Richards is a documentary maker, actor, and former member of another eastern-themed cult, Eternal Values.Notes and links:Jon says "Yogi Bhajaj" throughout, but realizes that the name is "Yogi Bhajan." These things happen sometimes.The term "S.P." in Scientology usually means "Suppressive Person," ie, someone who is not to be trusted. However, Jon and others in the ex-Scientology community have reclaimed this title as a "Social Personality."The Sharpeville Massacre deserves much more recognition than it normally gets; here is a page from South African History Online. Also do check out the other resources cited in this Wikipedia article.Here is the complete poem Jon quotes toward the end of the video.
Bonnie escaped the Sea Org in LA in 1985. Scrambled by OT III, she spent six years wandering around in a daze. Here she talks about her rapid recovery.Scientology is the most effective form of mind control ever devised. Most people will never realize that they have been reconstructed. This video shows how quickly recovery can happen once you have the right tools. Vital for anyone who has been involved with Scientology or has known anyone who was involved.Links:Steve Hassan's TED talk: "How Can You Tell if You're Brainwashed?" More on the Bear-Fedio index for Temporal-Lobe EpilepsyMao's battle against sparrows (and the famine it caused)Tory Christman's YouTube channelJon's paper, Possible Origins of Dianetics and ScientologySpike's notes:Silent birth/ labor: Scientology women are expected to go through labor - and give birth - in complete silence, due to the belief that any words spoken might lead to unwanted "engrams" for the baby. "Dead-Agent" - Scientology uses "dead agent" packs to discredit critics and information critical of the cult. In L. Ron Hubbard's own words: The technique of proving utterances false is called "DEAD AGENTING." It's in the first book of Chinese espionage. When the enemy agent gives false data, those who believed him but now find it false kill him—or at least cease to believe him. So the PR slang for it is 'Dead Agenting.'— L. Ron Hubbard, Handling Hostile Contacts/Dead Agenting, 1974"Liberties" - days/ time off from duty. These are rare and contingent on getting all expected work done, and can be withdrawn for "bad" behavior (such as talking back or thinking independently).I honestly have no idea what an "airing cupboard" is. According to the pictures and descriptions I found online, it seems to be what we silly Americans would call a "linen closet," to keep towels, sheets, and other linen in, but when Jon said he used it for airing clothes, it only confused me further. Help/ clarification from other UK folks would be welcome.Sparrows are lovely birds and deserve all the love, kindness, and breadcrumbs they can get.
the concept of flow is well known in psychology. Cults offer instant flow but it's a deception. Flow can only be achieved by experience. There are no short cuts to competence only to euphoria and dissociation. A fascinating discussion with leading expert Joe Szimhart.Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's TED talkJoe’s short video on flow
In Opening Our Minds, Jon wrote about an outburst of mass sociogenic illness or mass hysteria in Chechnyan schools. Almost a hundred pupils thought they'd been poisoned by the Russians. It took two years for them all to be released from hospital as a cognitive therapist helped them to understand the condition.History has seen many examples of the madness of crowds - the Salem Witch Trials or those described by Huxley in The Devils of Loudon (filmed as The Devils), but are all human groups to some extent carriers of crazy ideas?Dr Moffic brings his lifetime as a therapist and his experience as a social psychiatrist to bear on the question.buy Jon's book, Opening Our Minds: Avoiding Abusive Relationships and Authoritarian GroupsMore on gender in JudaismSee Jon on Ladbible Jon is deeply indebted to Khapta Akhmedova for her painstaking help with this chapter. For a detailed account of mass hysteria, see Aldous Huxley, The Devils of Loudon, which was the basis for Ken Russell’s stylish film, The Devils. Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, deals with the Salem witch trials and is also available in two film versions.
As a child, Pamela was on the maiden voyage of L. Ron Hubbard's flagship. Aboard ship, she studied alongside the younger Hubbard kids. She tells the remarkable story of her teenage years working at the first Celebrity Center in LA, and how her mother was driven into psychosis by Scientology's upper levels. Her father, despite years as a dedicated staff member, died from multiple sclerosis. Even though she left decades ago and has lived a fulfilling life, she realizes the profound impact Ron Hubbard had on her life.Links:Pamela's websiteand visit her on Instagram and TikTok
The most popular languages by native speakersand by total number of speakers
he deficits and benefits of the human potential movement. Anne worked with Werner Erhard for years and saw his tyrannical behaviour up close. Do large group awareness trainings (LGATs) lead to transformation or breakdown? Anne talks about the value of Jon's Opening Our Minds in understanding the tricks and traps of these influential groups. How Scientology affected all of these groups and the way that euphoria readily trumps reason. How feelings of knowing lead us to irrational behaviour and the frequent contradictions in the teachings of Ron Hubbard and Werner Erhard. Includes discussion of Scientology secret 'implant station' teachings.
The International School of Temple Arts (ISTA) utilizes the Large Group Awareness Training (LGAT) model. It focuses on sexual intimacy with the promise of spiritual transformation. Cara gives a fascinating account of her eight-year marriage to a one-on-on guru, who claimed to be descended from both Mesmer and Gurdjieff. She then relates her intriguing experiences with ISTA which breaks down sexual barriers as an LGAT. Cara now questions the ethics and possible negative consequences of ISTA as well as ISTA's refusal to take responsibility for those consequences or change practices that can have harmful consequences. Dave has a long experience of LGATs. They are part of a discussion about the ethics and efficacy of LGATs and are in discussion with others who have worked as trainers to see if there is an ethical framework in which group encounter can be safely and productively applied.Links:Korean Mock "Funerals" for a better lifeIra Chaleff's work on Courageous Followership and Intelligent DisobedienceLippman's Socrates for Six-Year-OldsMore on the Bear-Fedio indexMore on Decult
Jeff Hawkins was in Scientology for 40 years. In the 1980s, he created the project that put Modern Science of Mental Health back on the bestseller list. He abandoned all of Hubbard's ideas about marketing to do this. Jeff gives many insights into the true nature of Scientology management. He worked directly for David Miscavige and, like many others, was physically assaulted by him. Jeff runs a recovery group in Portland, Oregon.Links:survey of public perception of ScientologyJon's paper, Possible Origins for Dianetics and Scientology
Anne ran Landmark approved seminars for many years. She witnessed the return of Werner Erhard and often worked with him. Her fascinating book Is This a Cult? details the first phase of her own recovery. est and Landmark contain much that is familiar to Scientologists and survivors of Mind Dynamics, Subud, Silva Mind Control from which Erhard appropriated ideas. A deep dive into the twists and turns of est, the Forum, Landmark and large group awareness training with many surprises along the way.links:Buy Anne's bookAnne's Instagramfor more on Steven Hassan's Influence Continuumex-Scientology KidsSeek Safely Jon's paper, Possible Origins of Dianetics and Scientologydownload your own Predator Poster heremore on the work of Ira Chaleffmore about the Bear-Fedio index
Madame Blavatsky's close confederate Dr Franz Hartmann was a point of origin for both Nazi Aryan Race theory and Hubbard's Scientology. He co-founded the Ordo Templi Orientis, the 'sex magick' group later headed by 'the wickedest man in the world' Aleister Crowley. Hubbard plundered Crowley's teachings to create Scientology.#scientologycult #scientology #theosophy #crowley #blavatsky #lronhubbard
Authoritarian cults like Scientology use loaded language to restrict and control thinking. Spike joins Jon for a discussion of this and some of the vital ways in which language is used to bypass reasoning.#scientologycult #scientology #lronhubbard #dianetics
Links:The appendix to Orwell's 1984The Hubbard "Zimbabwe" interviewJon's paper, "Scientology: Religion or Intelligence Agency?"More about the Bear Fedio IndexThe hospital scene in Star Trek IVSpike's open letter to the media relations director of LegolandSpike's love of Lego made manifest
award-winning psychiatrist Steve Moffic discusses the potential crisis in the US and Scientology's war on psychiatry. Steve criticises the pharmaceutical bias of psychiatry, while defending the proper use of medicines. Both the US and the UK have struggled with understaffing for the treatment of mental disorders. Steve and Jon talk about the drift from a caring society into social media doomscrolling; the benefits of sleep and proper nutrition.Please put any questions for Steve's next chat with Jon in the comments section. Steve loves to answer questions! (Podcast listeners, please go to our YouTube to leave comments; for some reason Spotify does not "support comments in [your] region"....Links:Scientology vs Psychiatry latest newsThe brain problems experienced by King Charles Spaniels Jon Stewart on the pharmaceutical industry
Since Scientology gave birth to Silva Mind Control, Leadership or Mind Dynamics and est, in the 1960s, there has been an industry in 'large group awareness trainings' (LGATs), including The Forum, Landmark Education, Lifespring and Tony Robbins. Wikipedia tells us LGATs 'may compromise participants' mental wellbeing'. Dr John Hunter realized that the LGAT he attended at his boss's request claimed the symptoms of hypomania (excessive elation) as 'transformations'.
After two decades of research, John has published an excellent book suggesting that LGATs and many other forms of conversion use stress and humiliation to generate the brain's reward chemical dopamine which is then released in a gush of elation - hypomania. Studies have shown that these euphoric states are transient and often result in broken marriages and careers as well as mental breakdowns and even psychosis.
John's new book is a vital insight into the ways in which even highly intelligent people's critical thinking is bypassed. He argues that many religious conversions may be based in this simple neurological process. A must-watch!
Exposing LGATs: The Dark Side of Personal Growth Seminars
Cult expert Joe Szimhart discusses Cosmism, the bizarre set of fairy tale ideas that underlie Putin's 'neo-Traditionalism' and the creation of a vast Eurasian state. The relationship between these ideas and other forms of fascism - including Nazism - showing the occult notions that remain unknown to the true believers in authoritarianism.link to the paper Joe mentionsMore on Russian Cosmism on Joe's channelSpike's geeky note about Dorothy and Oz - in the movie, Dorothy wakes up at the end and it's all been a dream. But in the books, Dorothy's adventures were real: when she arrives home, her aunt Em asks her where she came from and Uncle Henry had built a new house to replace the one blown away in the cyclone. In a later book (Baum wrote 14 Oz books in all), she actually moves to Oz with her family. Sorry, just had to be *that* person....
Actor, documentarian, and cult survivor Hoyt Richards discusses the danger of former members engaging before they have healed. Hoyt is concerned about the infighting in the wide world of survivors. Jon adds reflections from his four decades of work with former members. Many people leave an authoritarian group and deny the harm it did to them and the harm they did to others because of their cult beliefs. They may then descend into rage against the group rather than feeling compassion for its victims. Often, members don't understand the manipulative methods they have acquired during membership and continue to act aggressively and self-righteously. Hoyt and Jon propose ways of overcoming the toxic residue of cult involvement, where the world-saving deceptions of the group turn to saving the world from the group rather than helping members to escape and recover. Jon's response to Zeller's "review" of Cult of Trump (the publicity flyer)
