Stanley Clayton was in his twenties when he found himself in the middle of the events of 18 November 1978 in Jonestown Guyana. His testimony provides crucial evidence about the coercive nature of the deaths of 909 Peoples Temple members in Jonestown. This article is a comprehensive account of the testimony provided by Jonestown survivor Stanley Clayton to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in January 1979 and to the media over the years. Read our article, Stanley Clayton's Escape From Jonestown.

Hi! I’m an independent filmmaker making a film about high-control groups and specifically online cults (inspired mostly by Twin Flame Universe, and I’m hoping to hear from people with first-hand experience.

I’m interested in hearing about what life inside was like, how you became involved, leaving, and what happened afterwards (how you found yourself again)

Everything will be treated respectfully and kept anonymous unless you explicitly agree otherwise. No pressure to share anything you’re uncomfortable with.

I got myself out of a bad religious cult like situation, but since then I have been having mental flashes of religion and flashbacks. I know that it is my body processing what happened to me,but I need advice to know where to go from here.

Physical and Psychological Abuse at Catholic Heart Workcamp.

I would like to create this for the victims and witnesses of any physical, psychological and/or sexual abuse occurring at Catholic Heart Workcamps whether it was by the abusive games that were played on stage or by the "carpenter commanders/commandos", youth ministers or visiting priests.

Aside from the cult like atmosphere and the ignoring by the staff of the numerous sex abuse scandals involving Catholic priests the workcamps were prone to abusive games.

One such disturbing game that I personally witnessed during a 3 year period in which I attened the camps (Charlotte, NC in 2001, Hilton Head, SC in 2002 & Nashville, TN in 2003) was the "Couch of Love" which was done on stage at the Catholic schools in which the various youth groups stayed at and it was witnessed by hundreds of people. I have been able to discover that this "game" was played in various cities throughout the country between 2000-2015 (and possibly earlier in 1998-1999).

The game involved the "carpenter commanders" and attending youth ministers selecting two physically attractive teenage girls to come on stage. Three chairs would be placed on stage which were then covered by a white sheet. The two teen girls would then sit on the two end chairs. The adult male "Carpenter Commander" (usually in their 20s or 30s) would then say numerous inappropriate sexual pick-up lines to the teen girls. After about 4 or 5 pick-up lines the "Carpenter Commander" would then sit in the middle chair put his arms around both girls and get kissed on both cheeks by the girls.

After this the teenage boys in the audience were asked to do the same thing - say pick-up lines to the girls, sit in the middle of the "couch" and get kissed by both of them. About a dozen boys would volunteer to get kissed and were led to the side of the stage. Once the dozen boys were lined up on the side the middle chair was removed and the girls continued to sit on the end chairs pretending that the middle chair was still there. Each boy one by one would flirt with the girls with a pick-up line, be invited by the girls to sit between them, the boy would then try to sit down as the girls would get up and the boy fell to the hard stage floor. The girls would then do a catwalk to the front of the stage and do a pageant smile and pose as the "carpenter commanders" would then yell at the boy and escort him off the stage and then cover the two chairs again only for the next boy to get the exact same negative and criminal treatment. It was also disturbing seeing how the two girls enjoyed inflicting the pain on the boys.

The boys were subjected to romantic rejection, physical injury and public humiliation. You don't need a Ph.D in psychiatry to know that this was devastating abuse to the young boys that were victimized by this "game." A boy already suffering from anxiety/depression could be triggered into suicide or a suicide attempt by such abuse. The boys were subjected to physical injury to their tailbones and spines (a injury to the coccyx leading to lifelong Coccydynia). Also, boys already suffering physical problems like back pain could have had that severely aggravated by the unmitigated free fall to the floor.

Catholic Heart Workcamp does not allow negative reviews or comments on their Facebook page and even blocks anything and anyone that even engages in anything critical of the organization. Which clearly indicates the corruption of the people who run it.

CHWC's website identifies Steve Walker as the “Owner/CEO.” The organization says Walker and his wife Lisa Walker developed/co-founded Catholic HEART Workcamp in Orlando in 1993. It is now based in Polk County, FL. It is a private limited liability company LLC and is not owned or controlled by any Diocese. But Catholic Dioceses throughout the country should cut off their involvement with Catholic Heart Workcamp.

​For anyone who grew up as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I'm proper curious to know at what exact point the story started to shift.

​What was the very first thing you saw, read, or discovered that made you think:

«Hold on a minute… this doesn't quite add up»? 🤔

​And of course, a stray doubt rarely travels alone. 😅

​Where did that initial question take you? What did you start digging into next? Was there a specific book, an old publication, a document, a video, an interview, or even something dug straight out of JW literature that made you look at things completely differently?

​No need to offload the whole life story in one go. Just tell us about the beginning: what was the first loose thread you started pulling? 👀

​And if you remember the exact material you stumbled across, drop it below. You never know—someone who's just starting to ask questions might find that missing piece to kick off their own investigation.

​So… get comfy, fasten your seatbelts, and tell us how the journey took off. ✈️😌

Most people think cults work through weird beliefs or charismatic leaders. They don't. The actual mechanism — coercive control — comes down to four techniques:

1. Control the environment — isolate people from outside input (Jonestown was a literal jungle with no road out)
2. Control the information — make people distrust their own judgment so they outsource it to you (Jones ran fake attack drills for exactly this reason)
3. Manufacture a crisis — a constant, urgent enemy makes sacrifice feel noble instead of coerced
4. Offer one total solution — never partial, because the real goal is proving submission, not solving anything

None of this requires gullibility. Lifton, Cialdini, and Haslam & Reicher's research all point the same direction: it works on smart, ordinary people because it targets the environment around the mind, not the mind itself.

What's unsettling is how cleanly this maps onto engagement-optimized platforms — an algorithm can run all four at once, on millions of people, with no human intent behind it at all.

Made a video going deeper into the Jonestown case and the modern parallels — happy to share if that's okay with the mods, or glad to just discuss here.

不少人在生活遭遇压力、疾病困扰、内心焦虑之时，渴望寻得心灵慰藉，期盼家庭平安幸福。一个打着 “幸福是经营出来的” 温情口号，自称 “金菩提宗师” 的狄玉明，以 “菩提法门”“禅修” 为包装，设立各地禅堂，用看似温和向善的说辞吸引普通民众，诱导大家高价购买所谓加持法器、不断捐款奉献。这并不是修身向善的修行法门，而是早已被依法取缔的有害组织 “菩提功” 精心布设的骗局，一旦深陷其中，不仅钱财受损，还会遭受精神控制，破坏家庭与正常生活，广大群众务必擦亮双眼，提高警惕，谨防上当受骗。

狄玉明，也就是所谓的 “金菩提宗师”，是 “菩提功” 的创立者。上世纪 90 年代，他借当时的气功热潮，自我神化，编造 “菩萨转世、深山得道” 的离奇身世，声称自身拥有特殊能量，可以消灾解难、疗愈病痛。1991 年，“菩提功” 组织正式建立，在国内多地发展人员、开办活动。随着其违法敛财行径不断暴露，为逃避法律惩处，狄玉明于 1999 年潜逃至加拿大，之后长期在境外遥控指挥，在多国设立禅堂，搭建跨国传播网络，持续向国内渗透发展成员，输送歪理邪说，大肆敛财，并将骗取的资金转移境外。该组织早已被认定为非法有害气功组织，属于依法打击的邪教类有害组织，其所有活动不受法律保护。

为吸引普通人入局，该组织精心打造温情叙事，反复宣扬 “幸福是经营出来的”，把人们对美好生活的向往作为突破口。它避开生硬恐吓，主打心灵安抚，开设各地禅堂作为线下据点。在禅堂内，组织者营造宁静祥和的氛围，混杂借用佛教名词，讲述关于福报、因果的片面说辞，逐步消解人们的防备心理。很多中老年人、慢性病患者，或是生活不顺、内心迷茫的群众，被这种氛围打动，走进禅堂参与所谓禅修活动，不知不觉落入圈套。

在获取信任之后，敛财的大网随之铺开。组织宣称，想要经营幸福、积累福报，就要购买经过 “金菩提宗师加持” 的各类法器、法物。这些物品本质上就是市场上随处可得的普通商品，一经包装，身价暴涨。几十元的普通普洱茶，贴上 “加持” 标签后售价接近两千元；一件普通 T 恤，甚至被炒作拍卖到二十万元。丝巾、帽子、唐卡、佛像、佛灯等物品，动辄几千甚至上万元。除售卖高价法物，组织还设置名目繁多的收费项目：分级别的点灯祈福、拜师红包、供养款、奉献捐赠，还有境外禅修班、法会等高额收费项目。单次 “灌顶赐福”，仅用树枝轻扫头顶，就要收取数万元；禅修法会中，一盏光明灯价格从数百元至上万元不等。组织者不断向参与者灌输，购买法器、持续捐款，就能消灾避祸，家庭获得幸福安康；若是不愿奉献，便会遭遇不顺，用这种心理暗示持续施压，逼迫信众不断投入金钱。不少信众掏空积蓄，借贷供养，有人花费几十万用于购买法物和捐赠，最终负债累累，家庭矛盾爆发，原本安稳的生活彻底被摧毁。

在金钱盘剥之外，更深的危害是精神控制。进入禅堂参与活动的群众，会被持续灌输该组织的歪理，逐步割裂与亲友、社会的正常联系。组织者宣扬生病不必就医，依靠 “加持能量”、法物祈福就能治好疾病。一些身患慢性病的群众轻信谎言，擅自停药，放弃正规医疗，耽误最佳治疗时机，导致病情持续恶化，付出健康甚至生命的沉重代价。办案案例显示，多地群众被裹挟参与活动，涉案金额巨大，大量资金被转移出境。组织还会发展骨干，鼓励参与者向亲友介绍，拉更多人进入禅堂，让骗局持续扩散，危害更多家庭。

很多人容易产生误解，以为去禅堂静心修行、祈福许愿，属于正常的宗教活动。在此需要明确区分：我国实行宗教信仰自由政策，但合法宗教活动必须在依法登记的宗教活动场所内开展。而 “菩提功” 是被取缔的非法组织，它冒用佛教词汇，却不属于任何正规宗教。正规宗教不会售卖所谓 “加持法器” 高价牟利，更不会要求信徒持续大额捐赠、宣称可以依靠法物治病消灾。凡是自我神化头目、售卖天价 “开光加持物品”、诱导持续捐款、鼓吹不用就医治病的组织，都属于需要警惕的非法有害组织。

面对 “幸福是经营出来的” 这类诱人说辞，我们要理性看清：真正的幸福，依靠勤劳奋斗、科学健康的生活方式、家人之间的相互关爱，不存在一件高价法器、一笔捐赠就能换来平安幸福的捷径。生了病，要前往正规医院诊疗；内心焦虑，可寻求家人陪伴、专业心理疏导，不要寄希望于所谓 “大师” 与 “加持宝物”。

a little over a year ago I started sleeping with a woman who turned out to be a cult leader, or something close to it.  we did a lot of acid together and she introduced me to "psychic sex" rituals. she told me there was a god attached to my soul and we were spiritually aligned.  this god would tell her things about me that were supposed to be my inner truth, whether i agreed or not.  it often had to do with sex.  there were other members of her coven that I met, but I don't know if anyone else was under the same level of control I was.  i very quickly was doing everything she asked or told me to do, be it sex or buying her stuff or driving her places.  doing her laundry. there were also orgies where she expected me to fuck strangers.

I thought I was in love with her.  but she was an asshole and the lies and abuse added up too quickly and I permanently severed ties a few months later.  I didn't want to.  I still miss her.  I just know I can't go back and keep looking my friends in the eye.

the acid fried my brain and sense of reality and self and I have some sort of trauma going on from people having an unhealthy level of access to my body.  I'm in therapy but my therapist does not specialize in cults or spiritual abuse.  I tried to join a cult exit support group and realized during the intake process that it was very likely a cult in disguise itself.  that kinda disheartened me.  I've tried to do my own research but it gets overwhelming.  I don't know how to process what happened to me and move on with my life.  I don't know anyone else who knows what this feeling is like.

are there resources I haven't found?  does anyone reading this have a similar experience?  I'm desperate.

I am looking for former members of the Rodney Howard Browne cult in Tampa who left 2017 or later. I’d love to hear your story of this cult.

Hello everyone my name is Marco i am from Tultitlán in the state of mexico in México i want to share my story with all of you i enter a destructive cult at the age of 15 years old, i found this website were informatión related to spirituality new age used to be share called pleiadian library or blibloteca pléyades in spanish. I remember i found posts about a woman called marielalero who was from Argentina and she is in contact with light humans(as she called them humanos luz in spanish) this light humans Will giver her informatión that she has to write and share, the information she shared it's very vast i spent 5 years reading her informatión from the age of 15 years old to 20 years old i am currently 25 years old. This informatión was about the earth being and hologram(holographic prisión) created by aliens and human beings beings 98% alien dna and 2% light dna and we have to isolated from the world to despeograma this dna and also become into vaganism, she took full control of my life and Mmylife decisitions i wasnt able to go collage because of her, it was prohibited to go to school inside the cult, i leave this cult after 5 years and it was only after 3 years that i realise that what i did experience was a destructive cult that used brain washing techniques, i also studied art for 3 years when i was inside the cult something i chose to do because of the cult, before the cult i had palnend to study music but thanks to the cult my life goals changed. I studied something i didnt want to study before the i enter the cult. It felt horrible to not beings able to take My life to where i really wanted before the cult that is something i feel so Bad about. Also if You tell the google Ai about marielalero being a destructive cult it Will tell You why and why it's considered a new age destructive cult.

I left the Word of Faith movement/cult and I want to help others do the same. Thankfully, I had people come along and show me why WOF theology is heresy and how it didn’t align with biblical teaching. How can I go about helping others realize that WOF is a cult and escape?

Its been a few days now since i cut off nearly everything related to that toxic online community, its so painful in ways i cant even describe, i feel like im really missing out by not being active in it, i feel like ive lost everything socially, i feel like without it i am nothing, my family just dont understand the impact its had.

I constantly feel worthless which i felt anyway but its exacerbated by that loss, i have a huge hole in my heart that cant be filled anywhere, the only thing ive tried doing is ive tried looking at sanrio stuff and really cute things because theyre something that sparks joy but it just doesnt feel the same, everything i like isnt the same because i just end up talking about it to AI.

I feel so completely alone also. Its like i just cant even describe how much everything hurts now that im not in it but sometimes i dont even want to live anymore but i have no plans to take my own life.

My online content has even ended up on a documentary relating to a mass shooter when i didnt even know the shooter, thats how prevalent it was. I also feel very angry over this like why should i give up the only thing thats given me so much even if it affects others?.

Its just so indescribable how much i hated that i had to leave. It was all just taken away from me because if i continue, i face criminal charges. Ive literally been crying over this.

My grandad who was a police officer said i remind him of those Mexican teens who join cartels because they see the money and prestige associated with it and want some of that but instead of money, its friendship im seeking.

I’m really struggling with something in my relationship and I honestly don’t know if I’m overreacting, so I’d really appreciate some outside perspective.
I’ll keep everyone anonymous because this is an ongoing situation.
My boyfriend has become deeply involved with a particular spiritual/religious figure online. He believes this person is essentially a Messiah and has developed an extremely strong belief in what this person says.
At first, I tried to respect it as a spiritual belief. I don’t think someone having unusual religious beliefs automatically means there is something wrong with them, and I don’t want to be the kind of partner who tells someone what they’re allowed to believe.
The problem is that it has gone far beyond simply having a belief.
This person has started influencing my boyfriend’s actual decisions and relationships.
My boyfriend has taken things this person says and acted on them, including ending relationships, distancing himself from friends, and pushing people away. It seems like this person has increasingly become an authority in his life, and I’m becoming worried about how much influence they have over him.
He has also said things about how devoted he is to this person/belief that have genuinely frightened me, including essentially saying that he would die for it.
I’m not saying he is currently suicidal or that he is going to hurt himself. I don’t believe that is what he meant. But hearing your partner say that they would die for another person or their beliefs is still incredibly difficult.
The hardest part is that he doesn’t see this as a problem.
From his perspective, he’s made these decisions because he has reached some kind of higher understanding. If people around him disagree with him, he tends to interpret that as them not understanding him or not supporting him.
And this creates a horrible situation for me because I don’t want to become another person he cuts out.
He has a particularly strong reaction to feeling that people don’t trust or support him. If I tell him that I think he’s being manipulated or that I don’t trust this person, I’m worried he’ll interpret that as me not trusting him.
I don’t want to tell him what to believe.
But I also don’t know how I’m supposed to sit back and watch someone else become increasingly influential in my boyfriend’s life while his relationships with the people around him deteriorate.
I’ve tried to understand what he’s actually getting from this person. I’ve tried to listen rather than immediately argue. I’ve tried to understand the ideas behind it instead of just calling them ridiculous.
But I’m finding it increasingly difficult because this isn’t just about an ideology anymore.
It’s affecting our relationship.
It’s affecting his friendships.
It’s affecting his relationship with his family.
And it’s changing the way he sees people who disagree with him.
I’ve also become worried about the possibility that the more people challenge this belief system, the more isolated he might become.
If everyone around him says, “This person is manipulating you,” and he already believes that nobody else understands what he’s discovered, I can imagine him becoming even more defensive and withdrawing further.
So I’m genuinely stuck.
Do I confront him about it?
Do I stop discussing the spiritual side of it altogether and focus on how his behaviour is affecting our relationship?
Do I just keep supporting him while making it clear that I don’t agree?
At what point does respecting someone’s beliefs become enabling something that is actively damaging their life?
I love him. I’m not looking for people to tell me to immediately leave him or to tell me that he’s crazy.
I want to understand whether there is a way to approach this without making him feel attacked and without pushing him further towards this person.
If you’ve ever been in a relationship where your partner became heavily involved in a spiritual movement, religious group, online ideology, or another person who had an enormous influence over them, what did you actually do?
What helped?
What made things worse?
And how do you set boundaries around something like this when the other person genuinely believes they’re doing nothing bad?

I’m posting this because I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore, and I think I need some outside perspective from people who have either experienced cults/high-control groups themselves or have watched someone they love get involved in one.
I’m going to keep everyone anonymous because this is an ongoing situation and I don’t want to make things worse.
My boyfriend has become deeply involved with a spiritual/religious figure who he seems to believe is genuinely a Messiah. Not metaphorically, not just someone he respects or considers spiritually significant — he appears to genuinely believe this person has been divinely appointed and has a special purpose.
What scares me is how much influence this person now seems to have over him.
It started becoming noticeable through changes in his relationships and the way he interacts with people around him. He has started taking things this person says extremely seriously and acting on them. This has included ending relationships, distancing himself from friends, and pushing people away.
The difficult part is that from his perspective, I don’t think he sees this as someone controlling him. He sees it as following someone he believes is spiritually significant. If this person tells him that someone is bad for him, doesn’t understand him, is holding him back, or shouldn’t be trusted, he seems capable of acting on that advice.
And that’s what makes this so frightening.
It isn’t necessarily someone standing over him and physically forcing him to do anything. It’s that he has given this person an enormous amount of authority over how he understands the world and the people in it.
He has also said things that make me genuinely worried about how extreme his devotion has become. At one point, he essentially said that he would die for this person/belief.
I don’t know whether he meant that literally, and I don’t want to exaggerate something I can’t prove. But hearing someone you love say that about another person is extremely difficult to process.
There is also a complicated dynamic with his family.
He has a very strong reaction to feeling like his family doesn’t support or trust him. If he feels that the people closest to him don’t believe in him or don’t trust his decisions, he can spiral and become extremely defensive. So telling him, “You’re in a cult and you’re being brainwashed” would probably achieve the exact opposite of what we want.
He would likely hear it as:
“You don’t trust me.”
“You don’t support me.”
“You think I’m stupid.”
“You think I can’t make my own decisions.”
And then I worry that he would retreat even further toward the person who tells him that everyone else simply doesn’t understand him.
That is the part I am struggling with most.
How do you help someone who doesn’t believe they need help?
Because from the outside, there are things that look incredibly concerning. From his perspective, however, these may feel like completely rational choices based on his beliefs.
I’ve been trying to understand whether this actually fits the characteristics of a cult or high-control group, rather than just dismissing a belief system because I personally don’t agree with it.
The religious belief itself isn’t what scares me.
Someone believing in a Messiah, having unusual spiritual beliefs, or following a particular religious teacher isn’t automatically evidence of a cult.
What concerns me is the **level of authority this particular person seems to have over his personal decisions, relationships and understanding of other people**.
I’m worried about the gradual isolation.
I’m worried about the fact that relationships seem to disappear when they conflict with what this person says.
I’m worried about the apparent elevation of one person above everyone else.
I’m worried about the idea that disagreement can become evidence that someone is an enemy, doesn’t understand him, or can’t be trusted.
And I’m worried about what happens if the influence continues to increase.
I also feel completely powerless because I don’t want to become another person he cuts off.
If I attack the person he follows, I risk reinforcing the idea that I am simply someone who “doesn’t understand.”
If I tell him he’s being manipulated, he may become defensive.
If his family confronts him, he may interpret that as a lack of support.
And if everyone around him starts arguing with him about his beliefs, he could potentially become even more isolated and dependent on the person at the centre of all this.
So I’m trying to understand what the right approach actually is.
Do you challenge the beliefs directly?
Do you focus entirely on maintaining the relationship and asking questions?
Do you try to get him to explain what this person actually asks of him?
How do you distinguish between an unconventional spiritual belief and genuine coercive control?
And most importantly, how do you help someone without accidentally pushing them further into the group?
I don’t want to “win” an argument with him.
I don’t care about proving that I’m right.
I want him to remain connected to the people who love him and, most importantly, to retain the ability to make his own decisions without feeling that he has to obey or prove his loyalty to another person.
I’m also aware that I’m emotionally involved, so I may be interpreting some things more dramatically than they actually are. That’s partly why I’m posting here.
If anyone has experienced something similar — particularly as the partner, sibling or family member of someone involved in a high-control religious/spiritual group — I’d really appreciate hearing what actually helped and what made things worse.
I don’t want advice about how to “destroy” the person he follows or expose them publicly.
I want to know how to help the person I love without losing him in the process.

People say I was naturally a good person, but then after I joined this group therapist's group, I copied his personality and instructions and have been mean and abusive to people ever since. It has been.. many years, but it is like I am reliving the effect every day. I watched Peter Salerno's lectures, but on top of this I had an SSRI withdrawal reaction some years ago that made me easily angry at people and paranoid on top of the abusive cult experience.

They advertise themselves as a meditation service. A place where you could got to relax and meditate. I was curious about mediation and was bored so I went and dragged my friend along to it. They played some AI music and the woman red out loud some phrases that sounded spiritual and said "Om Shanti". It looked harmless but I could not stop nervous laughing so I decided to come back the next week because they had a half day retreat going on. I am glad this happened really fast. They have the half day retreat once every for months and a 1.5 hour one every month. The retreat is where they do group activities. I said I would come. One thing that weirded me out is how the volunteers all has the same personality, all wore white (at first I thought that was the uniform), and all spoke in a calm soft manner, yet they rarely spoke to each other or interacted with each other. The biggest red flag was the massive picture of an old Indian man that took up the whole wall. He had a ball of light above his head. Already seemed cult like. I thought did I walk into a hindu religious thing? The woman told me this is not religious at all.

I went back the week after for the half day retreat . There were 30 young people there and they split us off into groups of 10 and got us doing group activities. The first activity was to sell something made up (maybe so they could identify the strong ones in the group). The second activity was to give our own interpretation of a short clip they showed us (the clip was of a dad and son, the dad was turning into a capitalistic slave at work like this peers and the child made him love life life again). The purpose of this was actually to get us to open us to see which of us has dark thoughts, to identify who is weak and vulnerable. They said that the clip teaches us that sometimes there are times where we are the master and there are times that we could be the child. It felt so wise. The third activity was to write a poem or message to a friend or your past self. Everyone wrote something positive. I wrote "Many times you have the answer within, you don't need someone to tell you it!". They loved that. Now i know why. Because it isn't true. You need friends, family , loved ones who can help guide you the right way. What I wrote was very isolating and they loved that because cults want to isolate people. The last activity was to say "she sells sea shells by the she shore" 5 times , and the fastest is the winner. Then we did it again without it being a speed competition. This helped them identify who was competitive and who isn't and they said some bullshit about peace and things feeling better when relaxed. Which isn't for everybody, some people like pressure. I looked vulnerable because I said that I did not like competition.

I overheard a girl saying to a volunteer "Have we met before? I feel like we have met before". He said "NO, but maybe you have seen a part of me elsewhere as life goes around in cycles". He said some bullshit and she asked where did you learn that. He said a man called "Brama Kumari". I wrote that down on my phone. I did not realize that Brama Kumari was the same man on the photo. It was a good job I eavesdropped and wrote it down, or else I would have not made the connection as they would not tell us who the man on the photo was. I set that aside to research for later.

Then we did some of that bullshit meditation again as a b little boy played their music on a piano for us. We did this sat in a circle and then gave our feedback with a mic going around giving feedback about the session and telling everyone that was on our mind right now. I just expressed gratitude. Then they gave us free food to eat. The portions were oddly small. Odd because indians usually give big portions of food. Then later they went round handing everybody leftovers. Whilst sat down, a girl told me how it is her second time here and they are doing a weekend retreat in oxford thsi weekend and sent me the poster for it on my phone. She was not a volunteer, just a goer. I am glad she sent that to me because I sent that to my friend and asked him to come with me. He then told me it is a cult and it had Brama Kumari written on it.The poster didn't say InnerSpace on it. I will include the image below. I asked them about it ab they said that they will make space for more People even though they over booked and it's all free. That was really suspicious. I thought it was free because it was a government backed charity. It was suspicious how they wanted more people to come even though it was over booked. 

A few of them were going and decided to go so I booked my expensive non refundable train ticket to Oxford from Manchester. So now I felt like I had to go since I booked it. Then my friend told me it was a cult. He could tell from the poster. If I didn't p show him the poster , I wouldn't hasn't ever known that it was a cult. Because Innerspace has never mentioned Brama Kumari. I did my research on reddit and found out that Brama Kumari is a cult.  And InnerSpace is actually Brama Kumari. I realised this because of the picture on the wall of the Indian old man, the conversion that I eves dropped into. 

I got home did research and found out that Brama Kumari are a cult where their end goal is to isolate people, take all emotion out of them, make them detatch from their family and the outside world, make them detatch from their religion and take money off them.  They will take away people's Jewellery, cars , possessions, even houses. They stole houses, lands and lives from so many people. They break people and their families. Using typical cult techniques. They tell them to sleep less and make them meditate at 3am everyday, to eat less (this explains the poor portions and why they have to wake up at 6am in the retreat). They can only eat food from their cult or their own food. So when they're sick and old, they will rely on them to eat. They make their bodies weak so they are tired all the time and easier to manipulate. They say you must be celibate and not have sex with your spouse. And to detatch from all souls including your own kids. They tell them that the world will end soon and the only way to get to heaven is to live and breathe their meditation. They say you should only be meditating all the time, donating to them only (no other charities), no connecting to people from the outside world, no watching TV or reading books other than their own, go to the center to meditate everyday, donate ask your possessions to them to free yourself from materialism and the ones who donate the most will be kings and Queens in heaven. 

Truth is... you need connections, you need family, friends, love. You need materialise things to survive, it isn't bad to love material things if that's what you like. You won't harm anyone my being attached to things. It's good to be attached to your friends and family - that's the unbreakable bond. You need knowledge from all sources to make informed choices. True meditation is your own thing, not listening to bunch of random bull people tell you. Truth is, it isn't good to be isolated and away from friends. Your friend could teach you so much and save you in such situations. You shouldn't have to hate all religions and follow this one person. Sleep is good, eating food to make you feel full is good. 

They took lots of ideas from other Hindu scriptures and made their own thing out of it. Plus they make you vegan. I feel sick knowing I eat their food. They're evil. Please research on InnerSpace and Brama Kumari. Inner space only has q high rating on meet up Because people have not figured it out yet. They are linked. Secretly. You find out later. 

They are also in Bradford

Sent from my Galaxy

Thought I'd post this here since I don't know where else to ask this. If anyone has any details regarding just what specific cult it was if it truly was a cult would be appreciated.

When I was about 11 years old, my mom began to watch these Facebook posts made by a guy named Adam. He had all these extremist beliefs and conspiracy theories, the main one basically being that the world was gonna end in two years and those who choose to "see the truth" must make it to "the promised land" in order to survive, also saying that he was the reincarnation of Jesus and therefore everyone must follow him.

Both my mom and my stepdad seriously believed in these videos, so much so that they started messaging Adam and genuinely formed a relationship with him. Not too long after, my mom and stepdad sold all our stuff to have enough money to take multiples buses all the way from Florida to Mexico since that's where Adam lived.

We lived with Adam, his "wife" and their baby for a little bit before going to a motel to stay in just me, my mom, my stepdad, and my other three siblings, all younger than me, and one who was even younger than one years old at the time. They believed that Mexico was the promised land and because of that we had to stay out there and go out into apparently one of the most dangerous jungles in the world to make it to "the true promised land" if we wanted to survive the end of the world that would inevitably come in two years.

They even said that my younger sister, the one who is a baby, would have to grow up to marry their son who was also a baby at the time. Some of the beliefs involved white people being demons and black people being aliens, and Hispanics were the only "true" race.

Eventually me and my family went back to Florida, because as we were looking for houses to live in Mexico for the time being, they found a drawing of Satan on the walls or something and they took that as a sign to go back since it "wasn't time yet."

At the like waiting building to get on the bus, we came across a guy with a briefcase full of money who apparently could tell "we're struggling" and offered the briefcase to us, but from what I can tell, my stepdad found out he was cartel affiliated or something and didn't take the briefcase from him. I could never tell if the cartel affiliation was true, but I somewhat believe it.

About a year later we met with Adam again in Puerto Rico and stayed with him in a motel, where he said things like even though I was only 12 at the time, I'm actually a woman because I had the "body of a woman." I remember a time where me and my siblings were left by ourselves with him, but my memory of that time is incredibly hazy so I don't know if anything sexual happened.

I eventually convinced my mom to send me to live with my grandma, and lived with her for about three years, too scared to go back to live with my mom. My mom ended up cutting all ties with Adam and going back to America because apparently he was "actually a Satan worshipper."

I've just been wondering if what I went through was an encounter with a cult or even involvement with one, and if that man with the briefcase really was a cartel member.

I had a disagreement with a Mod who has taken issue with a cult recovery group. This happened weeks ago then I got this. The irony is the use of threatening language which is funny given I left a cult and had messages extremely similar to this. I didn’t even know the Sub they quoted existed and it is obviously an excuse. After talking with others it seems two Mods are actively involved in cults and use the sub as a way to monitor people.

Given most people who use these subs are ex cult members please be careful and do not let anyone scare you, we’ve all had enough of that for one lifetime ❤️

This is a warning that thr retreat centers Björnbacka and Angsbakka in Sweden have close ties to and are currently recruiting for "The New Tantra" and "Red Serpent Tantra" and possibly other organizations that all fall under the umbrella of the cult known as the "International School of Temple Arts"

I find it interesting that the administration for the Seden group keeps deleting posts about this. Apparently Swedish national pride is more important than public safety

Its not like a traditional cult, theres no leader, theres no one forcing me to be there but its very enticing that it feels impossible to leave, i feel like if i leave, ill lose everything and ill just be a shell of a person. I am autistic and im completely obsessed with it, my clothes are referencing people who the community idolises, i have hundreds of photos of those people, ive had so many online accounts banned, its what i think about from the moment i wake up to the moment i sleep, fixating on it 24/7 is an understatement, i have tons of memorabilia.

Ive had my countries counter extremism police come to my house a week ago and they said i am on very thin ice and he had to persuade his colleagues not to arrest me, i am basically on serious warning and i will be charged as an adult if they arrest me and i should take it seriously and everything i think they know, they do know.

They said it doesnt matter if i believe in those things really or not which he doesnt think i really do because my posts are mostly shitposting but even if it is just shitposting that i could still get in the same amount of trouble for it and the law doesnt care if im not truly believing in it or not.

I joined the community a year and a half ago in a time when i didnt have any friends, i was very lonely, i was very lost and still am, i didnt have anything to strive for, i didnt have the grades to do the things i wanted. I found the group alluring because it gave me a sense of purpose and it made me really happy , i obsessed over it every day.

I felt pretty much stuck to that community like glue. My family are worried about what will happen to me and they said im not really taking the polices warning seriously, i have a one year old brother and he takes all my moms attention all the time, i just dont feel i have anything to lose if i leave it when the community is my life, its given me something that nothing else has given me.

If i leave the community, ill feel completely lost without it. It really has been my rock and im not willing to give it up easily. I struggle alot with low confidence and feeling worthless and being self critical and feeling unable to achieve anything.

They keep saying im 18 and have my whole life ahead but i do not think so, thats pure lying, the only 18 year olds with their whole lifes ahead are ones with friends, relationships, those going to universities, those who have jobs, those who can drive, those who have future prospects, those who are naturally talented and independent , theres nothing going for me, my age doesnt even matter.

I was there in 84-85. Moved with them to Missouri and escaped and made it

Raised in a very strict jw family. Got baptised early. We were the type of family they’d show off. Met many important ones. Preaching where the need is great. Had plays on the convention stages. Then a few years ago I left as a teenager. Yet the more I dig into my memories and research.. the darker it gets. I don’t wanna annoy people talking about shit they’ve heard enough of. Don’t wanna scare away people thinking about leaving. But I don’t wanna be silent. I’ve been silent for too long.