Close Call with a Cult - Lessons in Mind Control (part 1)
"Life will seemingly inadvertently bring us experiences, events, situations and people which give us the opportunity to clear out these old memories and traumas, so that we develop greater wisdom"...
- How could I have let that happen?
- Surely I know better?
- Why didn't I spot the signs?
These are the sort of questions people ask themselves after their 'lightbulb' moment of seeing they have been manipulated or mind-controlled by an individual - or group of people - and finally having the wisdom and courage to walk away... for good. (ie once and for all and for one's own good - double-entendre intended).
And these are precisely the questions I found myself asking myself the day after my very close call with what I feel very strongly could be labelled a 'cult'*, after having been (almost) taken in by an organization proporting to be offering some of the best personal development practices in the world... which afterwards I could clearly and shockingly see could - and probably should - fall into the category of 'cult'.
The Promise of Freedom
It all looked and sounded so good on the surface:
- The promise of personal freedom...
- The ability to break through limiting, self-sabotaging behaviours and beliefs... (which is why I had signed up for the course in the first place)
- The opportunity of contributing to an enlightened planetary civilization...
Who wouldn't want that?
I certainly did (and continue to do so).
But somehow, I unwittingly found myself in (as I discovered after I left) a mind-control group, who through certain 'thought reform' processes disguised as self-improvement practices, would and could have steered me into a complete state of mental breakdown and potential psychosis... had I not listened to and followed a deeper inner wisdom and guidance within me telling me 'NO! There's something that doesn't feel right. STOP! Walk away'.
And once I had walked away, and consequently had my suspicions and fears confirmed through further investigative research and deeper inner healing work, I was able to gain the full understanding and LIFE LESSONS these types of experiences bring us, and were bringing me personally.
I personally believe that everything that happens to us does so for a reason, even if it doesn't seem so or make sense at the time. And in particular how challenging and even traumatic events (and this was a majorly traumatizing experience) can become our greatest gift... as long as we learn the lesson!
As I explored and integrated why I had allowed myself to be drawn into this experience, I saw that there were still dregs of emotional pain needing to be healed from a prior abusive relationship, which itself had its roots in childhood trauma.
Life Lessons
This is how life works... whatever is unhealed from the past is stored inside our body-mind, waiting to be healed and cleared... and life will seemingly inadvertently bring us experiences, events, situations and people, giving us the opportunity to clear out these old memories and traumas, so that we develop greater wisdom. As we move through these sometimes very challenging events, we come out the other side a better, improved, even transformed, version of ourselves. This is part of the process of human evolution and growth.
As I processed the trauma which had been triggered (and re-triggered) during the experience of this so-called personal development training, I recognized that life was testing me...
- testing me to make sure I could no longer be coerced by others...
- testing me to listen to my 'gut feelings' and inner wisdom...
- testing me to listen to my 'intuition' (inner tutor')....
- testing me to listen to myself and not others
- testing me to trust myself
And boy was it a test... which I nearly failed (although I don't believe we ever truly 'fail' - everything is a lesson). Had I not been able to walk away so quickly (as it was, within a couple of weeks, as opposed to the years some people can experience being caught up in such experiences), I trust that at some point I would have 'seen the light' and found my way out.
Real Freedom
But the point of sharing this experience, (along with upcoming workshops for people learn more), is to help others either avoid and / or heal from similar experiences. Because the sad reality is, mind control, in the form of bullying, harassment, unfair treatment, humiliation, shaming, control, coercion, verbal, emotional and psychological abuse... is rife in the world today. It is an epidemic.
And it's time to take our power back, and reclaim our true sovereignty**.
- It's time to really understand what it means to be guided and led by our highest, wisest self (which can only come from within oneself).
- It's time to listen to our wise inner guidance which leads us through gut guidance (the gut brain) and intuition (the heart)
- It's time to trust ourselves from the inside out
So if you're ready to heal past wounds from past traumas and abuses, or are currently trying to exit a suspected abusive relationship or situation, join my upcoming Sept 2024 workshop, and the sequel to this blog, where I'll be sharing more about the signs to spot and help you confirm you are being mind-controlled or manipulated in a harmful way by other people.
Kia kaha - stay strong! Trust yourself.
Your inner wisdom will always guide you in the right direction if you listen to it.
Upcoming Workshop
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* What is a cult - a few informative videos:
** Sovereignty in the 'higher self' spiritual sense of the word, not citizenry sovereignty as spoken about by many 'freedom' groups
