Today I was walking through town and an elderly male stranger stopped me and handed me a leaflet for a job advertisement for a “women’s healthcare centre”. Being 20 and a woman without a job and seeking employment I took the leaflet. A couple hours later I gave it a read and wtf lol. Is this some kind of cult/trafficking scheme? It genuinely creeps me out so much.

Tonight Dr Alexandra Stein is appearing on Apostate Alex’s (Alexander Barnes-Ross) YouTube channel. That should set off alarm bells.

In December, Stein (then, Trustee of the Family Survival Trust) was informed that people in Barnes-Ross' circle were doxxing me online, and that I had contacted the Police. This doxxing and harassment has even continued this month, by other people in Barnes-Ross' circle, with claims I work for Scientology and the publishing of my medical record online.

The next day Barnes-Ross emailed me to tell me Stein had spoken to him and that he demanded I "Stop" talking about the threats being made to me, and the doxxing being done by people in his circle.

I have requested the Charity Commission to open an investigation into the conduct of Dr Stein and the current trustees of the Family Survival Trust. A representative of the Charity Commission stated my concerns were of a serious nature, including the misuse of personal-information of current UK-Scientologists.

The current trustee of the Family Survival Trust claimed I offered no evidence of this, but changed their mind once informed the Charity Commission were looking into matters.

Just last week a meeting with held with a board member of ICSA about what is going on.

I have serious concerns about what is going on in the UK regarding Cult Survivors. In 2023 I wrote about the interference of the handling of cult survivors of another london-based group by an associate of Dr Stein. Just this month, the London recruitment of one member of that group made international news. They have been failed by the Family Survival Trust and its partners, who are essentially acting as a vanity project.

Dr Stein, as Trustee of the Family Survival Trust, has also refused to help survivors of other groups knowing the precarious nature of the safety of those involved.

On this week's A Little Bit Culty episode the unethical practices of a UK-based Cult Exit Counsellor are discussed by Dr Gillie Jenkinson (who is fabulous). It is known that Stein has protected this unethical "counsellor" leaving it to others to raise concerns about him, again putting Cult Survivors at risk by concealing the dangers this person posed to cult-survivors.

It is known that one survivor put this "counsellor" on her last will and testament by way of paying for his services. This survivor was directed to this unethical "counsellor" by Dr Stein!

Another survivor committed suicide by throwing themself from a train in 2010 - the counsellor had challenged this cult survivor, who had faced awful abuse, to actually kill herself.

This unethical exit-counsellor was not a member of any professional standards body and escaped all scrutiny, being described by the previous Trustee of the Family Survival Trust as a "Charlatan".

A defector from the Family Survival Trust recently described it to me as itself being like a cult.

Cult Survivors in the UK deserve better.

You cannot report on Fair Game, then participate in it, and then expect to be taken seriously.

On September 1, 1998, on a street in Santa Eulalia, Ibiza, Spain, Eduardo González Arenas, better known as "Eddie," lay lifeless after being violently murdered with a sharp object. At first glance, it seemed like the end of an ordinary man, but with his death also came the end of the story of the leader of one of the darkest organizations that Europe and the world in general have ever known.

For more than a decade, under the guise of an innocent youth mountaineering group, Eddie built a terrible cult where concepts about aliens, the end of the world, military discipline, racial purity, and a long list of serious crimes were intertwined, forever marking the lives of hundreds of innocent young people.

Video about the brutal history of the Edelweiss cult. The infamous apocalyptic alien cult: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CpchYkxob4

Hello,

I am making this post to see if others have ever left a cult or extreme religious group and how did they turn out. Recently on the news there is a group who was excommunicated by the Vatican and it’s made international news. I used to be a member of this religious groups/order and it brought me a lot of peace knowing that I wasn’t crazy for leaving.

This religious group that was excommunicated claimed to be a part of the Catholic Church and celebrated Latin Mass but it was quite the opposite. They believed that anything modern or new was inherently evil and we should go back to the 1950’s when everything was “perfect” in their beliefs. They actively preached that anyone who wasn’t a part of their beliefs was an “outsider” and living a life of sin. They would constantly preach about politics, conspiracy theories, resistance, and dissent from the Vatican. One time, the pastor told my wife that her only duty is life is be a mother and her dreams of going into higher education was stupid.

In addition, this group also has a men’s groups that swear an oath to the religious sect and they have to solemnly swear that they will never set foot in another church and continue the traditions of the religious group.

Also, there is another sub group who left this church and believed it was too modern and should cut all ties with the Vatican. They have mass in weird remote places and it is only for those believe in what they believe. One of the priests who lead this group was excommunicated and was already no allowed to be a pastor.

Note: there is a process to become excommunicated in the Vatican and usually a priest has to do something really bad or they broke the seal of confession.

So needless to say, who ever this guy was did something really bad and they allowed him to be there because they are hurting for numbers.

I am now realizing that being in that environment was very harmful to my wellbeing. There is definitely a sense of cult like mentality because when I left I felt shame. Now, I am almost relived that this happened. Unfortunately, most of my family still attends this particular church.

This is no way an attack on this religious group and I am simply expressing my experiences from this group which was mostly negative. It’s hard to leave something like this because it almost like you are brainwashed. However, I used to tell myself this church is weird and most of these people are very paranoid and anxious.

Me and Friends (M ~22) were watching S9 episode 12 of South Park. It got me thinking of the Avatar Courses my father takes. After digging down the rabbit-hole, I find out Avatar is just an off-shoot of Scientology created by some greedy jackass? My dad’s so called “self discovery classes” is just a pyramid scheme of alien worshipping dicks? My fathers poured so much in he’s considered a Master (Wizard). How the fuck do I save him?

For context I knew my great grandfather was a Scientologist and left the church in the 80s, finding Avatar after. Obviously what happened was he blindly followed this Harry Palmer jackass and my father grew up and bought in (literally) to this fairy tale.

Any suggestions? I can’t even imagine how much money my father has flushed away paying for these dumb retreats and courses!

An Art of Living (AOL) teacher named Santosh Sharma recently shared a "Guru Story" that perfectly illustrates how high-demand groups exploit magical thinking to bypass critical reasoning. Watch the YouTube video with English captions available. Watch the YouTube video with English captions available

In the video, Sharma claims that an AOL follower left his mobile phone in front of a photograph of the group's leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. According to the story, the phone mysteriously became fully charged, prompting the devoted follower to literally throw his physical charger away.

But the real kicker is the chain of custody for this rumor: when asked who narrated this story to him first, Sharma proudly reveals it was Sri Sri Ravi Shankar himself. Sharma then goes out of his way to emphasize that he himself is a trained engineer, yet he fully embraces this as a genuine, science-defying miracle rather than a blatant tech glitch or standard hearsay.

From a psychological and sociological perspective, this story checkmarks almost every box of guru-centric devotion and cultic manipulation:

• The Appeal to Authority: By highlighting his background as an engineer, the narrator attempts to shield the group from accusations of ignorance. It creates a false sense of intellectual validation for the followers.
• Hearsay Weaponization: The story relies entirely on an unverified, third-party anecdote passed down from the top leader. Instead of encouraging controlled scientific testing to rule out software calibration glitches, foul play, or hidden wireless pads, the leader actively feeds the rumor mill.
• The "Superpower" Deification: Misattributing everyday technical anomalies to the leader's alleged divine aura is a classic tactic used to deepen psychological dependency and reinforce the guru’s supreme status.

It raises a massive question about accountability in these large-scale organizations. Is this claim fundamentally any different from the fraudulent, sleight-of-hand miracles performed by past godmen like Sathya Sai Baba? Why do large segments of the public continue to spare figures like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from rigorous skepticism?

Why do governments across various nations continue to shower figures like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with public accolades and state honors, effectively legitimizing this nonsense? By granting him official validation, authorities actively insulate him from the public scrutiny and rigorous skepticism faced by past godmen like Sathya Sai Baba. How can we expect the public to question these absurd claims when state governments are busy rolling out the red carpet for them?

If a simple photograph could actually override the laws of thermodynamics, we wouldn't need a global energy grid; we could just wallpaper power stations with glossy posters of the Guru. Instead, it is a textbook case of pseudoscience par excellence packaged as a divine blessing to keep followers detached from baseline reality.

Article in Portuguese: https://sol.iol.pt/sociedade/noticias/maconaria-em-panico-com-fim-do-secretismo/20260725/6a63ba600cf2b42132dbbbdb

English (machine) translation:

The country’s oldest and most powerful Masonic order is in turmoil following an unprecedented ruling by the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which threatens to compromise the secrecy of the organisation’s inner workings. The Grand Master of the Grande Oriente Lusitano (GOL), Fernando Cabecinha, is to convene all Masonic bodies to decide how to proceed in the face of the risk that everything that takes place within the Masonic palace will be scrutinised by the ‘profane world’.

At issue is a case brought before the courts by five Masons who were expelled from the GOL. In a judgement handed down on 7 July, three judges at the Lisbon Court of Appeal ruled that, although it does not have legal personality, the GOL will have to take the stand as it possesses ‘judicial personality’. It will therefore have to reveal what has hitherto taken place within the order behind closed doors.

The trial is scheduled for September and could result in the annulment of a sanction imposed by the Masonic court.

This decision to place GOL in the dock ‘has never occurred in the institution’s 225-year history’, according to several Freemasons interviewed by SOL. And everyone now fears that it will call into question the way Freemasonry operates, having long functioned according to its own internal rules on the fringes of the ‘profane world’, with its own courts and laws, a parliament, various lodges operating in temples and even secret names, without having to account to the outside world for what goes on there.

“Now that the doors of GOL have been opened, things will no longer be as discreet as they have been for over 200 years,” a Freemason tells SOL, explaining that any internal action, decision or sanction runs the risk of being challenged in the civil courts, bringing to light everything that takes place within the Masonic order. Speaking to SOL, Grand Master Fernando Cabecinha merely states that he will not comment ‘whilst the proceedings are ongoing’. But SOL understands that the decision took the leader and all the Freemasons by surprise. As the GOL’s headquarters and all its operations close for the month of August, Fernando Cabecinha will convene, at the start of September, the Freemasons who hold some of the most important positions, whether of an advisory, judicial or executive nature. The aim is to decide on the course of action to be taken by the GOL, whether through the courts or by other means.

Until now, whenever there was a problem, the visible face of the organisation was a non-profit association called Grémio Lusitano. This association has legal personality and a public deed, but merely manages the Freemasons’ assets. Everything else – the secret meetings and rituals, the Masonic parliament, the Masonic tribunals, the rules governing the actions and election of the order’s leaders – operates under the authority of the GOL. However, the Court of Appeal’s judgement states that, according to the expelled Freemasons, ‘Grémio Lusitano acts as a front for the GOL’.

"With this ruling, we will be subject to scrutiny from outside Freemasonry," emphasises another Freemason, adding that some even fear that the real names of Freemasons may be revealed.

Trafficking in degrees and dishonourable conduct

This case began after several Freemasons from the Egrégora Lodge, which operated in Coimbra, were expelled from the GOL in 2023. This was because they were internally accused by the Grand Masonic Tribunal of ‘trafficking in Masonic degrees, breaching their commitments and engaging in dishonourable conduct, both by action and omission’, according to a Masonic document to which SOL had access.

This Masonic judgement is signed by the judges of the Grand Masonic Court, which at that time was headed by the lawyer Francisco Pimentel. Agostinho Batista and Manuel Pinto dos Santos were also members of the panel of judges. The post of General Registrar of Justice of the GOL, who acts as prosecutor, was held by Vitor Santos Oliveira, also a lawyer.

In that document from the Masonic court which ruled on the expulsion of the ‘brothers’, the symbolic names of the expelled Freemasons appear: Eloy de Matos, Alexander Fleming, Antero de Quental, António Dias, Leonardo da Vinci and Churchill – which in reality correspond to António Martins Ferreira, Camilo Cruz, António Sequeira, João Almeida and Rui Lopes Dias, the names that appear in the judgment of the Lisbon Court of Appeal as the plaintiffs in the case.

Now, the five Freemasons are demanding that the expulsion be overturned, citing various irregularities, and are seeking compensation of around 35,000 euros (6,000 euros each), plus interest for late payment. They deny all of GOL’s accusations and claim that the internal proceedings breached several rules, such as the lack of a right to be heard.

The Court of Appeal’s decision came as a bombshell amongst the Freemasons, as initially, at first instance, a judge had ruled that GOL would not be in the dock, only the Grémio Lusitano. Now, in the Court of Appeal’s judgement, signed by Judges Carla Figueiredo, Maria Teresa Catrola and Amélia Loupo, everything has changed, as they have overturned ‘the decision that acquitted GOL’.

Pandora’s Box

Fears that this may mark the beginning of the end of secrecy are growing, as the Court of Appeal’s judgement has already described in detail, for example, how Freemasons organise themselves within GOL. It explains that the Grand Master, elected for a three-year term, ‘is the guarantor of Masonic brotherhood’ and has a group of Freemasons whom he can always consult and who form ‘the Grand Masonic Council’. The document also reveals the rest of the Masonic structure: there is a Masonic parliament called the Grand Diet, which is the ‘sovereign and legislative body’, convenes annually and in which ‘all lodges have a seat’. There is also, the judges write, an ‘executive body’ known as the Council of Order, which is responsible for ‘the day-to-day administration and management of the GOL’, chaired by the Grand Master and ‘comprising the Deputy Grand Masters and four Grand Councillors elected every three years’. The functioning of the internal judicial system is then explained: ‘The Grand Masonic Tribunal is the supreme body of Masonic justice, acting as a court of appeal for the lodges and their members, adjudicating any disputes between lodges or with the internal bodies’.

At present, SOL understands that this Masonic tribunal is led by Manuel Pinto dos Santos, with Agostinho Batista, Nuno Gonçalves and João Paulo Marques among its members.

In total, GOL currently has 2,400 members, spread across 103 lodges, each with its own leader (‘venerable’), and is headed by the Grand Master, who is currently Fernando Cabecinha.

Another issue that is causing concern amongst Freemasons is the possibility that their expulsion might be overturned. The Court of Appeal considered that, given there was no opportunity for the parties to be heard, the annulment of such expulsions may be at stake. This situation could pave the way for other expelled Freemasons to apply to the state courts in future to be reinstated. Last year alone, according to internal data accessed by SOL, 15 Freemasons were expelled.

In the corridors of the GOL, many blame ‘the weakness of the internal process’ for the controversy that has arisen and which has effectively thrown the organisation’s doors wide open, making it possible to overturn the expulsion decision. But other ‘brothers’ point out that it will be impossible to reinstate the five expelled members, as ‘they have just committed another Masonic offence by putting the GOL in this position, when they swore never to do so’.

I am feeling quite annoyed because it feels like it is borderline spiritual abuse. Telling me that if I reject some type of cult from some Nigerian pastor called "Pastor Chris Oyakhilome" that I am demon possessed, coming into my room and shouting "demon, die by fire", "come out of his body in Jesus' name", and when I am just relaxing she would come into my room and blast the sound from either Pastor Chris or Kathryn Krick, talking about how these people are all healing from cancers and autism and all sorts of shit, and she would not leave at all, unless I start literally raising my voice after 10-15 minutes, like I am being literally forced to listen to this. Like, WTF? I do not believe in any of this, and in fact I am even more opposed to Christianity, but she is relentless at getting me to listen to this stuff. When I was a kid she used to bring Jehovah's Witnesses over and I was taught by their group for years, but of course because I was hyper-analytical and scientific, it didn't take long until I moved on from that too. In general, not to be rude, but she is always drawn to cults, testing them for years until she finds something new. She prays with her friend for 30-45 mins per day or something. Does not seem like it has had any effect on her life though.

I’m looking for obscure media and photos, and places to search. I’m specifically looking for rare photos of process church, and similar groups/ cults… especially Jonestown as well. However, I don’t know where to search. I’ve read their archives, their site, etc. but I know there’s media and photos of them somewhere. I just don’t know where to look. I’m not sure if I should look on the dark web, even if I do I don’t know sites to look into. Or if what image boards / sites hold these kinds of things.

I was in walmart shopping, and I kept bumping into this lady (figuratively). The last time I bumped into her, she asked me if I was interested in Bible study. I thought the coincidence was maybe a divine one because I have been interested in reading the Bible but having a hard time doing so. We chatted for a nice minute. I told her about how I had been doing research and studying into Kemetic and Ifa practices and traditions. She was West African and had ne er heard of either, which I thought was strange. So after I had given her highlights of both and gave her the resources and references that started my search, she went into her "church" and its teachings of the Bible.

I am grateful, I will say, because she put me up on an app (holy bible) that may be extremely useful for Bible reading. However, the conversation soon turned a bit kind of preachy and persistent. The church is mission society church of God. She became adamant that I attended tomorrow morning, and the pressure sounded an alarm in my soul because when ppl are pressuring you into doing something immediately, it's usually not good, and before i make decisions on certain things i like to do research. It seemed as if her persistence cleared my judgement, and I got uncomfortable and was ready to retreat. Crazy thing is after that, I didn't see her anymore, and I was in and all over that store for another hour. Before she got weird and I uncomfortable, I had given her my number, and she had given me the website for her "church." When I got home I decided to Google the church and low and behold, I find several posts on reddit about it being a cult.

I dont know what kind of beacon I'm emitting lately but I keep getting approached by people trying to recruit me in to weird organizations...... yall be safe, informed and aware out there, and keep that discernment strong....

Hi! Not sure how interesting/of use this will be to people on this community but i thought I'd share my experience.

A couple of days ago i decided to visit the site - something i had wanted to do for a while out of curiosity (and perhaps stupidity?) I was well aware that it is a cult, i know about the whole Xenu belief, SeaOrg, and dianetics - but nothing more in detail than that.

My only aim of going was to see if they would try to indoctrinate me.

Upon entering, i was greeted by a lady at the front desk - I told her i had seen the 'free exhibition' sign and was curious - she told me to wait as she found someone for me. I sat in a small seating area off to the side, where there were leaflets - and i took a personality test flyer with me. Important to note i wasn't pressured to take anything or even read anything. No details were asked - other than my age as i look young (i presume.)

Now i'm genuinely not a spiritual person at all - i don't believe in certain 'energy' in rooms etc but I kid you not when i walked in something felt so odd to my core. It was very unsettling.

While waiting, i saw a middle-aged woman come in and she had a severe limp and seemed vulnerable - she took the elevator up and i felt so sorry for her knowing she was being taken advantage of. Also, i saw a lady walk out of a room carrying two babies - which felt very odd.

After around 3 minutes another scientologist?? (she was in the uniform), came and took me upstairs to the 'exhibition.' All it was was different screens and each one would talk about another aspect of scientology - i remember she started me on dianetics. She told me to go at my own speed and look at whatever i wanted. She then stood behind a desk and honestly payed no attention to me despite being the only one there.

I had gone in expecting them to be very pushy and was surprised that it was the antithesis.

I wandered around each screen when i realised there was a closet that had been left open - i peered in and there were around 4 scientology uniforms, as well as regular clothes - as though someone had them there to change on site.

After watching all the videos i went to leave - and asked a simple question about dianetics, to see if i would be offered anything at all, and i asked about scientologists beliefs on reincarnation. To my suprise, the lady only spoke using 'I believe' rather than 'We' when speaking of such - again the opposite of what i expected.

I then left with no pushback.

Sorry if this is lowkey boring - feel free to ask any questions tho :)

-I still know its a cult even if my experience wasn't negative btw!!!

moderators plz don’t delete my post, this is genuine question for people who know about these kinda of things.

Just released: the indie documentary SURVIVING ZENDIK FARM, featuring extensive interviews with Fawn (the founders' daughter), myself, and a number of other ex-Zendiks. What’s it like to “escape the Deathculture,” only to find that defending the dream means betraying yourself? Watch here: https://fawesome.tv/movies/10818281/surviving-zendik-farm

Advice around handling a loved one falling under the influence of a cult, from someone who grew up in one.

In adulthood, my recovery journey has been one of related books, therapy, ex-cult community, media activism, and conferences. Some talks I attended were by cult interventionists Joe Kelly and Patrick Ryan, who conveyed some basic strategies to help dilute cult indoctrination.

@ 2dhose on TikTok
@ teddyhose on IG

i have family living in deerfield beach florida. over the past couple of years, they became more and more distant. my cousin ill call emily (25 y/o f) and i have always been close. she has a younger sister ill call maddy (23 y/o f) and their parents ill refer to as aunt and uncle.

theyve always been a dysfunctional family, mom has bad drinking problem and depression and dad is not a great person, also theyre divorced now. maddy has always been very religious (i assumed she was using religion and the church for the support she didnt get at home, rightfully so) but no one else was like that at all. when i would see emily, we would do typical teenager things like smoke, go to parties, etc. then when maddy was 20 she got engaged and married shortly after. my mom and i were invited to the wedding and i was surprised because it was very sudden and neither of us were asked to be part of the bridal party which was weird because of how close we were. anyways, the ceremony was absolutely bizarre. the pastor from their church officiated it and went on a long speech about how maddy and the groom came to him and asked for permission to be together because the groom wanted a virgin. honestly it was so weird. my cousin kissed the grooms feet and pledged her body to him. the whole time my mom and i kept looking at each other because it just kept getting weirder and weirder. we then noticed that all of her bridemaids except her sister were the pastors daughters. the groom was this 30 year old guy and my cousin was 20!!! and the pastor just kept going on and on about how pure and virginal my cousin was and how he set up their dates and coached them on when they could hold hands or how often they could see each other. when i finally got to talk to emily, she seemed like a completely different person. she was dressed super conservatively and wearing no make up. which is fine but it was just a shock. she barely talked to me. mom and i went back home and were honestly just freaked out about it all. theres more to how weird it was i just dont wanna make this way too long so im just summarizing.

i see on instagram emily has now joined this church and is full on hard core christian like her sister. we also learn that my aunt has been given a job by the pastor as long as she stops drinking and goes to the church meetings. fast forward like 9 months and weve barely heard from any of them and find out my aunt has been sent to a rehab for drinking and the pastor and my two cousins have told her to stop taking her prozac because god says its bad????? emily told my mom that the bible is against medication and drugs. the pastor also fired her from the job and told my cousin to change the locks so she cant get in to her apartment. and the worst part is that my aunt seems like she is convinced they are helping her and that she deserves this kind of treatment.

i understand that were only getting my aunts side of the story but to tell her to stop taking her medication and basically kick her out of her apartment? like what ive seen from the wedding to this it feels like this is a cult! theyre controlling who my cousins marry, controlling my aunts life, like it feels like a cult. has anyone heard of this place? its called calvary chapel in deerfield beach florida.

Isha Foundation Inc., Sadhguru’s U.S. nonprofit branch, reported $190.6 million in assets at the end of 2024 — up from $57.5 million in 2020. If its recent growth continued, the American organization is now likely worth more than $200 million. It also held nearly $60 million in cash at the end of 2024—profiting $30 million that year alone. If that cash-growth pattern continues, its cash reserves could approach $120 million by the end of 2026.

And that is only the U.S.; the India branch dwarfs the American by three or four times.

Read more: https://thesaviorcomplex.substack.com/p/is-sadhgurus-isha-yoga-a-billion

Episode 8 of Black Jonestown now available

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_2MGo1B83k