Are we watching cult behavior?

I think so.

I am always amazed at how people can be seduced by a charismatic spiritual teacher and allow their emotional attachment to override their common sense. This happens in religious settings as well as in political ones and we have a front row seat to this right now.

Two ex-Mormons, Sam & Tanner, list 10 Signs You’re Probably in a Cult. Read their entire commentary at Medium.com

Here are the ten points. How many of these describe organizations you know of?

1. The leader is the ultimate authority

2. The group suppresses skepticism

3. The group delegitimizes former members

4. The group is paranoid about the outside world

5. The group relies on shame cycles

6. The leader is above the law

7. The group uses “thought reform” methods

8. The group is elitist

9. There is no financial transparency

10. The group performs secret rites

Recently, I watched a documentary about a spiritual teacher named Teal Swan. I was amazed that I had not heard of her since she has quite a large following. Some of her teachings are controversial and some people describe her as a cult leader. The documentary I saw was released in May, 2022 and is called The Deep End. The documentary team filmed Teal for three years. Once it was released, Teal said she was “bamboozled” and does not agree with the way she was portrayed.

Generally, cult leaders don’t see themselves that way and they don’t care anyway. They are all about power over other people, money, and fame even if the latter is within a smallish circle.

For those of us who are not in cults and who recognize the cults that exist around us, cults that our family members might be part of innocently, is there anything we can do? If we call a cult a cult, there will probably be push-back and defensiveness. The person might dig in their heels and declare even greater loyalty to their leader.

The most important thing to do is refrain from being judgmental or critical of the group or group leader. When you criticize the cult, you are criticizing your friend and no one wants that. You can ask what the group does for them. What do they see in the group? How has the group or teachings made their life better? By being interested in them and asking questions, eventually the person might begin to see through what they are being told.

In some cases, people never see the truth and never leave the cult. You can only stay as close as possible, reinforce any small holes you start to see in the teachings or beliefs of the cult and be ready when the person turns to you and asks” “What was I thinking?”

If we’re not in a cult, it’s important to remember to think for ourselves and not allow other people or organizations to do our thinking for us. Even those with the best of intentions can lead us down an unhealthy path, one that could envelop us, cloud our thinking, and let us make decisions we’ll regret later.

Remember to look beneath the surface of everything. You might be surprised at what you find.

Living in grace and ease,

Krysta

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